A long-held theory that a deadly epidemic triggered the sudden abandonment of Akhetaten, the short-lived capital of ancient Egypt, is now under serious doubt. A new study published in the American Journal of Archaeology by Dr. Gretchen Dabbs and Dr. Anna Stevens presents evidence suggesting the city may never have been affected by any plague at all.
The city, known today as Amarna, was founded by Pharaoh Akhenaten—formerly Amenhotep IV—during a radical shift in religious ideology. His exclusive worship of the sun god Aten led to the construction of Akhetaten as a break from Egypt’s traditional religious centers.
But within two decades, the capital was largely deserted, sparking long-standing speculation that the Akhetaten plague in ancient Egypt played a role in its collapse.
That theory has largely relied on written sources from outside the city, including Hittite plague prayers and letters from Amarna referencing disease outbreaks in Megiddo, Byblos and Sumur. However, none of these texts directly mention a health crisis within Akhetaten itself.
New research disputes epidemic theory
To test the theory, researchers conducted a detailed review of archaeological and bioarchaeological data from Amarna and its surrounding cemeteries. Between 2005 and 2022, 889 burials were excavated from four key cemetery sites that are estimated to hold between 11,350 and 12,950 individuals.
Dabbs explained that their team used established patterns from confirmed epidemic sites—such as disruptions in burial practices, demographic imbalances, and high mortality indicators—to evaluate the evidence.
The findings at Amarna did not match any of those markers. Most individuals were buried in a deliberate and respectful manner, with grave goods, textiles and mat coffins, and few signs of disease.
Only seven cases showed evidence of tuberculosis, and other health indicators pointed more to economic and social stress than to an epidemic.
One of the few irregularities was a notable number of multiple burials, but Stevens noted that these often involved adult women and children, indicating cultural or familial customs rather than emergency burials.
Evidence points to planned abandonment
Paleodemographic modeling also showed that mortality levels, life expectancy and overall burial numbers aligned with what would be expected for a city of Akhetaten’s size and duration.
Moreover, evidence shows the city was abandoned gradually, with possessions removed and low-level occupation continuing even after Akhenaten’s death.
Dabbs said the plague narrative likely endured because of circumstantial links between Amarna, illness and historical texts written about other places.
She emphasized the importance of avoiding assumptions based on sources from different regions or periods when interpreting specific archaeological sites.
