For more than a century, archaeologists knew that some ancient Egyptians and Nubians had tattoos—but only a few tattooed people had been identified across Egypt and Nubia’s vast ancient history. Egyptian texts are virtually silent on the practice and depictions of tattoos are often ambiguous.
Over the past decade, however, new technology and growing interest have dramatically changed our evidence for and understanding of tattooing. This includes my work with the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale (IFAO), where we made an incredible discovery—an extensively tattooed woman from the necropolis at Deir el-Medina, the community of the workmen who cut and decorated the New Kingdom’s royal tombs. With over 30 tattoos, this woman completely redefined what we knew about tattooing in ancient Egypt.
Since then, my colleagues and I have identified several other tattooed people at the site and new evidence for the practice of tattooing in ancient Nubia. Additional tattoo discoveries and collaborations with tattoo artists have also filled in large gaps on the practice. Today, we have evidence for more than 50 tattooed people from the Nile Valley.
This lecture will share the stories of these tattooed people and the remarkable legacy of tattoo practices they represent—a tradition that began over 5,000 years ago and continues today.

For a short introduction to ancient Egyptian tattooing, see this article I wrote for the American Research Center in Egypt.
https://arce.org/resource/tattooing-ancient-egypt/”