The ancient Egyptian city of Tell el-Amarna (or Amarna, ancient Akhetaten) was the short-lived capital built by the controversial Pharaoh Akhenaten, probably the father of the famous Tutankhamun, and abandoned shortly after his death (c. 1336 BCE). It is one of the few Pharaonic cities to have been thoroughly excavated and is a rich source of information about the daily life of the ancient Egyptians.

Although the site was was first explored in the 18^th century by travellers and scholars, it was not until 1892 that it saw the spade of an archaeologist when Sir William Matthews Flinders Petrie started excavations there. He was followed by Ludwig Borchardt (1907-1914), and subsequently by the various excavators from the Egypt Exploration Society (EES) in the 1920s and 1930s. Work was resumed by the EES in 1977 under the direction of Barry J. Kemp, who continues to excavate the city and its environs, now on behalf on the Amarna Trust.

This volume, the first of two, presents the leatherwork excavated at the site by these various expeditions. The book consists of two parts: the catalogue and the preliminary analysis. The former presents the detailed description of the objects (among which chariot leather and footwear), accompanied by colour photographs and, where necessary, line- and construction drawings. The latter includes an explanation of the Amarna Leatherwork Project as well as initial interpretations of the material, including the results of comparative studies made by the author.

The fast majority of finds originate from the Pharaonic era, with a smaller portion originating from the Roman and Christian periods.