Links to articles and videos about Mark Lehner and AERA
Decoding the Great Pyramid
NOVA podcast, 2026
What engineering secrets lie within the Great Pyramid, and who really built it? Innovations like rope-sewn boats, laser-precise alignments, and hidden internal chambers reveal a building team with knowledge far ahead of its time. Uncover clues buried around Giza that point to a surprising truth about the workforce responsible for one of history’s greatest construction projects.
Advanced Excavation Field School resumes at Giza after seven-year hiatus
Ahram Online article, February 18, 2026
Egypt has completed a six-week archaeological training programme at the Giza Plateau, marking the revival of a field school. The Advanced Field School in Excavation for the 2025–2026 season trained 29 archaeologists at the Wall of the Crow site in cooperation with the Ancient Egypt Research Association (AERA).
Great Pyramid Secrets Revealed
Expedition Unknown documentary, November 11, 2025
In the second of a special two-part episode, AERA team members Dr. Mark Lehner & Dr. Søren Sindbæk join Josh Gates to explore the interior of the Great Pyramid and examine how and why it was built. Join them as they investigate the tunnels, passages and inner chambers of the Great Pyramid, create a 3D scan of what may have been a scale model of the pyramid’s inner passages, and do some experimental archaeology to test hypotheses about how the pyramids were actually built. Available to stream on Discovery Plus and HBO Max.
Mysteries of the Great Pyramid
Expedition Unknown documentary, November 5, 2025
In the first of a special two-part episode, AERA team members Dr. Mark Lehner & Dr. Søren Sindbæk join Josh Gates to explore the interior of the Great Pyramid and examine how and why it was built. Join them as they investigate the tunnels, passages and inner chambers of the Great Pyramid, create a 3D scan of what may have been a scale model of the pyramid’s inner passages, and do some experimental archaeology to test hypotheses about how the pyramids were actually built. Available to stream on Discovery Plus and HBO Max.
The People Behind the Pyramids
ROST Architects interview with Mark Lehner, September 11, 2025
In Gold and Lapis Lazuli
The London Review of Books article, Vol. 47 No. 8, May 8, 2025
Robert Cioffi discusses The Red Sea Scrolls: How Ancient Papyri Reveal the Secrets of the Pyramids by Pierre Tallet and Mark Lehner.
How They Built the Pyramids
The London Review of Books podcast, May 7, 2025
In 2013, a group of French and Egyptian archaeologists discovered of cache of papyri as old as the Great Pyramid of Giza. Some of the texts were written by people who had worked on the pyramids: a tally of their daily labor ferrying stones, for instance, between quarry and building site, and the payment they received in fabrics and beer. On the podcast this week, Robert Cioffi discusses how and why the pyramids were built, and by whom.
The People Who Built the Pyramids—How We Know
Mark Lehner lecture at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, November 1, 2024
Rediscovering Sculptures of King Menkaure at the Giza Pyramids
Mark Lehner lecture at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, October 16, 2024
Between 1908–1910, Harvard’s George Reisner found some of the most iconic pieces of ancient Egyptian art at the Menkaure Valley Temple at Giza—including four magnificent triad statues and the larger pair statue now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Over a century later, Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA) reinvestigated the temple. Join AERA President Mark Lehner to learn about new findings that span 300 years—from the time of Menkaure to the end of the Old Kingdom (2447–2153 BCE). Lehner also revisits the site where Reisner found the famous pair statue of the king and an unidentified woman–possibly his queen, mother, or a goddess–with surprising new results.
Old Kingdom Technology with Dr. Martin Odler
The History of Egypt podcast, June 2024
Martin Odler specializes in ancient Egyptian technology. Specifically, the manufacture and use of metal in tools and industry. In this interview, Dr. Odler shares some of his research insights on the production and use of copper, at sites like the Giza pyramids during the Old Kingdom.
Khufu’s/Cheops Palace
National Geographic – Lost Treasures of Egypt documentary, May 2024
In the shadow of the Great Pyramid a team of archaeologists led by Dr. Mark Lehner unearth one of most important royal palaces in ancient Egypt.
Uncovering Egypt’s Past: ND Native, Renowned Egyptologist Continues quest
Minot Daily News article, May 2024
Uncovering Egypt’s Past: ND Native, Egyptologist’s Team Finds Storehouse of Pharaoh
Minot Daily News article, May 11, 2024.
How Many Ancient Egyptian Pyramids are There?
Live Science article, February 2024
How many ancient Egyptian pyramids are still standing, especially if you count smaller, private pyramids?
Kemet, the Black Land: Agriculture in Ancient Egypt with Professor Claire Malleson
Afterlives of Ancient Egypt with Kara Cooney podcast, February 2024
AERA archaeobotanist and Assistant Professor of Archaeology Claire Malleson (American University in Beirut) discusses agriculture in ancient Egypt. What can archaeologists learn about the way ancient Egyptians lived from botanical remains? What are the traditional narratives about agriculture in ancient Egypt and how is our understanding of it changing?
Who built the Sphinx? Who broke its nose? 4,500 years later, a fresh look
National Geographic article, July 2023
The popularity of Egypt’s iconic ancient wonder has shifted with the sands over the centuries. Here’s what we know about it, from years of archaeological detective work.
A Tour Around the Great Pyramid Temple
Scribe Magazine article, 2023
Zahi Hawass, Mark Lehner, and Daniel Jones take us on a tour around the Great Pyramid’s Temple.
Journeys of the Pyramid Builders
Archaeology Magazine article, July/August 2022
The cover story of Archaeology magazine is about Pierre Tallet’s work at Wadi al-Jarf, AERA’s work on the Giza Plateau, and how these two sites together help to tell the story of how Khufu’s pyramid was built.
A Refreshing Look at Egypt’s Ancient Pyramids
New York Times article, July 2022
Photographer Tanveer Badal came to visit our site last year as we started our excavations at the Lost City of the Pyramids.
The Red Sea Scrolls: How ancient papyri reveal the secrets of the pyramids
York Festival of Ideas lecture, June 2022
Pierre Tallet and Mark Lehner gave a talk at the York Festival of Ideas about their new book The Red Sea Scrolls: How Ancient Papyri Reveal the Secrets of the Pyramids. Watch their presentation on YouTube.
Egypt’s Sunken Treasures
Unearthed documentary, 2020
Egypt’s ultimate secrets could be hidden underwater, and a cutting-edge archaeological investigation uses hi-tech methods to scan the ocean floor in search of sunken sphinxes, temples, and shipwrecks.
Great Pyramid Temple Conservation Project
American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) article, 2020
Mapping the Sphinx
Nile Magazine article, Nov-Dec 2019
Mark Lehner knows the Great Sphinx better than anybody. For over five years he mapped it—by hand. In the process, he discovered the answers to the big questions surrounding the Sphinx. Now that historic archive of maps, photos and notes is online—and free for you to study in amazing detail.
Feeding the Forces: Providing for the Pyramid Builders
Rawi Magazine article, 2019
Claire Malleson, AERA’s Director of Archaeological Science, discusses what was on the menu for the builders of the pyramids and who was responsible for providing the supplies. You can also watch Dr. Malleson discuss this article with The National on YouTube.
Mark Lehner interviewed on Good Talk Minot
Good Talk Minot interview, 2019
Decoding the Great Pyramid
NOVA documentary, 2019
How did the ancient Egyptians engineer Khufu’s Great Pyramid? Who were the laborers who raised the stones? How did mobilizing this colossal labor force transform Egypt? In “Decoding the Great Pyramid,” Mark Lehner and the AERA team discuss our latest research.
Mystery of the Cursed Pyramid
Unearthed documentary, 2018
Egypt’s strange Bent Pyramid is one of the world’s most mysterious, ancient mega-structures; new discoveries help experts investigate its dark secret: if it was always intended to look so bizarre, or if something went catastrophically wrong.
Two 4,500-Year-Old Homes Found Near Giza Pyramids
Live Science article, 2018
The Long-Hidden ARCE Sphinx Mapping Project Is Unveiled
American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) article, 2018
Sphinx Mapping Digital Database: Unlocking the archive of the Great Sphinx
American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), 2018
Giza Pyramids: Stairways to Heaven
Discover Magazine article, 2018
How the Pyramids built Egypt, Taking a New Look at Life and Death in Giza
Current World Archaeology, 2018 (Full article available in the print edition with a brief summary provided on the CWA website.)
Unlocking the ‘Lost City of the Pyramids,’ and other Giza mysteries
CNN article, 2017
Did the Egyptians create a canal and a port to bring stone to the Great Pyramid?
Boston Globe article, 2017
Dark Secrets of the Pyramid
Unearthed documentary, 2016
In this new Science Channel documentary, AERA’s Mark Lehner and Glen Dash discuss their most recent survey work at the Great Pyramid of Giza and the system of blocks and grooves within the pyramid used to protect the King’s Chamber from tomb robbers. An accompanying Live Science article about this documentary is available here.
The World’s Oldest Papyrus and What It Can Tell Us About the Great Pyramids
Smithsonian article, 2015
How Egypt’s Great Pyramid Changed Civilization
Scientific American article, 2015 (Scientific American subscription required to read full article)
People Ate Pork in the Middle East Until 1,000 B.C.—What Changed?
Smithsonian article, 2015
New Research Reveals Why Pig-Use in Middle East Declined
New Historian article, 2015
Riddles of the Sphinx
Nova documentary, 2010
Egyptologist Mark Lehner describes the lives of the pyramid-builders, as revealed in his ongoing excavation at Giza. An accompanying interview about this documentary is available here.
The Mysteries That Surround The Pyramids & Ancient Egyptians
Naked Science documentary, 2006
For more than 4500 years, the pyramids of Egypt have stood as wonders of the world. When studying the Pyramids, the facts are truly astonishing with the Great Pyramid alone weighing almost six million tons and containing over 2.3 million stone blocks. This documentary looks at the great mysteries of how they are still around, who built them, how were they built, why were they built and what secrets still lie inside their stones?
Secrets of Lost Empires II: Raising Pharoah’s Obelisk
NOVA documentary, 1999
Brawn or brains? How did the ancient Egyptians raise massive spires created to glorify and honor the ancient Egyptian gods? Rising up to 100 feet and weighing up to 500 tons, these solid granite monuments reach heavenward, adorned with messages of praise, love and devotion. 3000 years later, return to the land of the Pharaohs and discover how the ancient Egyptians’ nautical experience, ingenuity and unwavering faith enabled them to praise these incredibly heavy monoliths with little more than sand, rope, wood, brawn and brainpower.
Secrets of Lost Empires: Obelisk
NOVA documentary, 1997
Secrets of Lost Empires: Pyramids
NOVA, 1997
Dating the Pyramids: Radiocarbon dating the pyramids.
Archaeology Magazine article, September-October 1995
This Old Pyramid: The great pyramids of Egypt, just how were they built?
NOVA documentary, 1992
The great pyramids of Egypt, one of the wonders of the world. But just how were they built? In search of an answer, NOVA sent a stonemason and an archaeologist to Egypt. With an Egyptian crew and original methods, this odd couple will use mind and muscle to solve the mystery of This Old Pyramid.