A century ago, archaeologists excavated a 3,300-year-old Egyptian palace in Amarna, which was fleetingly the capital of Egypt during the reign of the pharaoh Akhenaten. Situated far from the crowded areas of Amarna, the North Palace offered a quiet retreat for the royal family. On the west wall of one extravagantly decorated chamber, today known as the Green Room, the excavators discovered a series of painted plaster panels showcased birds in a lush papyrus marsh. The artwork was so detailed and skillfully rendered that it was possible to pinpoint some of the bird species, including the pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) and the rock pigeon (Columba livia). Among the riddles they tried to solve was why two unidentified birds had triangular tail markings when no Egyptian bird known today has them.

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Persons: Akhenaten, Columba livia, Chris Stimpson, Barry Kemp, Stimpson, Kemp, Nina de Garis Davies Organizations: Oxford University Museum of, University of Cambridge, Metropolitan Museum of Art Locations: Egypt