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PHOTOGRAPHS BY ARALDO DE LUCA (LEFT), BPK/SCALA, FLORENCE (RIGHT)

An unprecedented look into the lives of an Egyptian power couple

For nearly four decades, Amenhotep III and his great royal wife, Tiye—the grandparents of King Tut—ruled together over a time of peace and prosperity in ancient Egypt. This placid period is a gift for today's archaeologists and historians because of the wealth of records it left behind: from a series of soapstone scarabs documenting the king's early years, to the 250-some palaces, temples, and monuments decorated with works of art that tell the story of their reign.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

EGYPTIAN MUSEUM OF CAIRO

Tut's great-grandparents don't look their age

Yuya and Tuyu were buried with treasures that hint at what might lie behind the boy king's tomb.

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KENNETH GARRETT, NG IMAGE COLLECTION

See a photo album of Tut's tangled family tree

But there's one key member of the royal family who's still missing: his famed stepmother, Nefertiti.

SEE MORE PHOTOS

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JAMES HARRELL, UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO

The world's first geologic map was far ahead of its time

More than 3,000 years ago, a government official took a roll of papyrus and sketched out the features of a valley in Egypt's Eastern Desert with astonishing detail and accuracy. It's so rare, in fact, the next known geologic map doesn't appear in the historical record for another 29 centuries.

MAPPING MINERAL WEALTH

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JAMES HARRELL, UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO

The Permian extinction almost ended life on Earth as we know it

About 250 million years ago, long before the reign of the dinosaurs began, something killed some 90 percent of the planet's species. Less than 5 percent of the animal species in the seas survived. On land, less than a third of the large animal species made it. Nearly all the trees died. Scientists are still trying to identify the killer responsible.

THE CLUES LEFT BEHIND

QUOTE

Like a homicide detective at a crime scene, [she] sealed the cone in a plastic bag for later lab work. 'You could say we're working on the greatest murder mystery of all time.'

Cindy Looy, paleobiologist

FROM: The Permian extinction almost ended life on Earth as we know it

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID LIITTSCHWAGER, HIPPOCAMPUS ANGUSTUS, SEAHORSE WORLD, BEAUTY POINT, TASMANIA

The weird, wondrous world of seahorses

They look like a mix of other animals—a horse's head, a chameleon's independent eyes and camo skills, a kangaroo's pouch, a monkey's prehensile tail—the males give birth, and we still have much to learn about them. Now these unique fish are threatened.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY OFOBS, AWI TEAM

If alien life exists in our solar system, it may look like this

The elusive zone where these creatures thrive is called the Aurora hydrothermal vent field. It's one of the closest Earth-analogs to the seafloor vents that are thought to be erupting on faraway ocean worlds, including the ice-encrusted moons Europa and Enceladus, which are considered among the best places to look for existing extraterrestrials.

OTHER GREAT READS

What happens when a star dies? (BBC) ››

The hunt for big hail (New York Times) ››

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