For many, ancient Egypt conjures up images of the Great Pyramids of Giza or the splendours of Tutankhamun’s tomb. A series of eras between those two well-known chapters in Egypt’s history are known as the intermediate periods. Historians have long referred to this time as a dark age, but recent scholarship is challenging that idea. Dr Glenn Godenho (https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/archaeology-classics-and-egyptology/staff/glenn-godenho/) is a Senior Lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Liverpool. His research focuses on this 120-year period following the collapse of the first kingdom that built the famous pyramids.