Amun-Ra Egyptology Blog: June 2014

Monday, June 30, 2014

Roman city located near Rosetta

Remains of ancient city discovered 25km south of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile Delta

by Nevine El-Aref , Monday 30 Jun 2014

During a magnetic archaeological survey under the Nile, 25km south of Rashid (Rosetta), a complete Roman city has been located.

The survey revealed that the city includes several structures including a huge rectangular building which archaeologists suggest could have been used for administrative or religious activities.

Part of the city is dated to the Hellenistic period and others to the late Hellenistic period and the beginning of the Roman era.

“It is a very important discovery that explores daily life in the Nile Delta during the Roman period,” said Antiquities Minister Mamdouh El-Damaty.

He explained that it also reveals the architecture style of buildings and the mechanisms of urban planning in the Hellenistic era.

The international team includes archaeologists and scientists from the United States, Italy and other European countries.

Mohamed Qenawi, the head of the Egyptian research team, explained that early studies show that the discovered city was constructed during the Late Pharaonic period and lasted into the Roman era. He asserted that further studies would reveal more details of this buried city.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/41/105138/Heritage/GrecoRoman/Roman-city-located-near-Rosetta.aspx

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Museum Pieces - Faience throwstick of Akhenaten

Photocredit: The British Museum

Faience throwstick of Akhenaten

From Tell el-Amarna, Egypt
18th Dynasty, around 1330 BC

Length: 39.000 cm (max.)
Width: 4.370 cm (max.)
Thickness: 1.760 cm (max.)

EA 34213

To ensure the king's regeneration

Wooden examples of throwsticks that were meant to be used have been found in the burials of Amenhotep II and Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, while model ones made of faience are known for most of the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC) kings until the early Twentieth Dynasty (about 1186-1069 BC).

While the wooden examples might actually have been used for hunting game birds, the faience ones could not be thrown without being broken. So what was their purpose? As is often the case in ancient Egypt, the explanation lies in the symbolism of rebirth and new life. Scenes of hunting game birds with throwsticks are common in New Kingdom private tombs. The Egyptian words for 'throwstick' and 'beget' (procreate) are very similar. Scenes of hunting game birds may therefore be an allusion to the creation of new life. The shiny and brilliant nature of faience suggests an association with the sun-god, Re; the blue-green colour is also associated with rebirth and new life.

This model, placed in the burial of Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV, 1352-1336 BC), would thus be a ritual object designed to ensure the king's regeneration after death.

F.D. Friedman (ed.), Gifts of the Nile: ancient Egy (London, Thames and Hudson, 1998)

Source: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/f/faience_throwstick_of_akhenate.aspx

Friday, June 27, 2014

The mask of no return?

A legal challenge for the return of the 3,300-year-old mask of ancient Egyptian noblewoman Ka-Nefer-Nefer has failed after US attorneys missed a filing deadline, writes Nevine El-Aref

The controversial mask of a noblewoman, Ka-Nefer-Nefer, who once graced the court of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II was in the limelight again last week, when the case against the Saint Louis Art Museum in the US to have the mask returned to Egypt fell apart because the attorneys missed a filing deadline.

Presiding Judge James Loken remarked that the US government, which had brought the case, would now have to “beg for a do-over.”

According to the Daily RFT blog, the US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to grant the government what it wanted. Loken, who wrote the judgement, chastised government lawyers who “knew many months prior to the order of dismissal of the possible need to amend the pleading.”

Accordingly, the court issued its decision that the mask would stay where it was and would not be returned to Egypt.

Judge Diana Murphy concurred with the ruling, but mentioned that the fight over the Ka-Nefer-Nefer mask has much greater significance than just a missed deadline. “I concur in the court’s opinion, but write separately to express my concern about what the record in this case reveals about the illicit trade in antiquities,” she said.

She added that “the substantive issues underlying this litigation are of great significance, and not only to museums which responsibly seek to build their collections. The theft of cultural patrimony and its trade on the black market present concerns of international import. These issues affect governments and the international art and antiquities markets, as well as those who seek to safeguard global cultural heritage.”

Wrocław archaeologists discovered unknown structures in Egypt

A team of scientists from the Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław discovered an about 4 thousand years old burial chapel with partially preserved equipment in one of the ancient necropolises in the area of Luxor in Upper Egypt.

The discovery was made in the yard of the rock tomb of an important pharaonic official - Horhotep in the Asasif necropolis adjacent to the famous Hatshepsut temple in Deir el-Bahri. The deceased lived during the reign of the pharaohs Amenemhat I and Senweseret I of the 12th dynasty.

"This is the first known deposit of monuments of this type known from the period of the Middle Kingdom (2055 - 1773 BC). Within the surviving fragments of walls built of dried mud bricks we discovered a fragment of limestone altar where sacrifices were offered and where ancients prayed. We found dozens of shattered pottery pieces, in which the family of the deceased had brought gifts for the deceased"- explains Patryk Chudzik, head of research.

The discover was made despite excavations previously conducted on the site by two expeditions - the French expedition in the mid-nineteenth century and the American expedition in the 20th century led by Herbert Winlock of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The chapel was located in the courtyard surrounded by walls made of mud brick and stone, a few meters above the entrance of the tomb complex. The tomb was robbed in antiquity. The more surprising was the discovery of sacrifices made after the funeral by Horhotep’s relatives.

Wednesday Weekly # 39

Welcome to the Wednesday Weekly, your weekly dose of links to Egyptology news, articles, blogs, events and more!

UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN

Leiden Egyptologist unravels ancient mystery
http://hum.leiden.edu/news-agenda/leiden-egyptologist-unravels-ancient-mystery.html

PAP SCIENCE & SCHOLARSHIP IN POLAND

Polish scientists will study the climate of Egypt thousands of years ago
http://www.naukawpolsce.pap.pl/en/news/news,400743,polish-scientists-will-study-the-climate-of-egypt-thousands-of-years-ago.html

Polish archaeologists found tombs dating back four thousand years in Egypt
http://www.naukawpolsce.pap.pl/en/news/news,400863,polish-archaeologists-found-tombs-dating-back-four-thousand-years-in-egypt.html

Wrocław archaeologists discovered unknown structures in Egypt
http://www.naukawpolsce.pap.pl/en/news/news,400866,wroclaw-archaeologists-discovered-unknown-structures-in-egypt.html

THE ANCIENT WORLD ONLINE

Open Access Journal: Histoire de la médecine en Egypte ancienne
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.nl/2014/06/open-access-journal-histoire-de-la.html

EGYPTIAN'S

New blogpost by Timothy Reid:

Ten Books +1 for Summer or Winter Days

http://tim-theegyptians.blogspot.nl/2014/06/ten-books-1-for-summer-or-winter-days.html

LUXOR TIMES

Napoleon sunken weapons discovered on the memory of his abdication

http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.nl/2014/06/napoleon-sunken-weapons-discovered-on.html

IN THE ARTIFACT LAB

By Molly Gleeson:

Completing the treatment of Tawahibre’s coffin

http://www.penn.museum/sites/artifactlab/2014/06/21/completing-the-treatment-of-tawahibres-coffin/

HAIR AND DEATH IN ANCIENT EGYPT

by María Rosa Valdesogo:

Hair: a Resource in Ancient Egypt Art for Expressing Movement.

http://hairanddeathinancientegypt.com/2014/06/18/hair-a-resource-in-ancient-egypt-art-for-expressing-movement/

THE BRITISH MUSEUM BLOG

by Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film, British Film Institute:

The sands of time: ancient Egypt and early film

http://blog.britishmuseum.org/2014/06/23/the-sands-of-time-ancient-egypt-and-early-film/

SCIENCEDAILY

Egyptologist unravels ancient mystery

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140619095824.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ffossils_ruins%2Flost_treasures+%28Lost+Treasures+News+--+ScienceDaily%29

THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

From Egypt to Manchester: Unravelling the John Rylands Papyrus Collection

Convenor: Dr Roberta Mazza, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, John Rylands Research Institute Research Fellow

Christie Seminar Room, The John Rylands Library, Thursday, 4 – Saturday, 6 September 2014

http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/jrri/conferences/header-max-160-chars-308128-en.htm

AHRAM ONLINE

Bonaparte's cannons, guns found by Russian dive team in Egypt's Alexandria

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/104416/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Bonapartes-cannons,-guns-found-by-Russian-dive-tea.aspx

Giza Plateau to be revamped, with peddlers removed, horse rides regulated

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/104652/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Giza-Plateau-to-be-revamped,-with-peddlers-removed.aspx

DAILY NEWS EGYPT

Hollywood and the changing face of Cleopatra

http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/06/22/hollywood-changing-face-cleopatra/

TETISHERI

New post by Julia Thorne:

Flowering reed or reed leaf? A hieroglyphic puzzle

http://www.tetisheri.co.uk/blog/flowering-reed-or-reed-leaf-a-hieroglyphic-puzzle

DR. MGNH

New posts by Melinda Nelson-Hurst:

Digging in Museums and Archives – Tonight

http://drmgnh.wordpress.com/2014/06/17/digging-in-museums-and-archives-tonight/

Did this ancient Egyptian woman play an important economic role?

http://drmgnh.wordpress.com/2014/06/19/ancient-egyptian-woman-important-economic-role/

SALON.COM

The Ancient Egyptian invention that made everything else possible

http://www.salon.com/2014/06/22/the_ancient_egyptian_invention_that_made_everything_else_possible/

ACROSSBORDERS

New blogpost by Julia Budka:

Hieroglyphs are fun

http://acrossborders.oeaw.ac.at/hieroglyphs-are-fun/

THE GLEN DASH FOUNDATION BLOG

How the Pyramid Builders May Have Found Their True North Part II: Extending the Line

http://glendash.com/blog/2014/06/20/how-the-pyramid-builders-may-have-found-their-true-north-part-ii-extending-the-line-2/

DIANA BUJA'S BLOG

Elginism in Greece and Egypt. Manuscripts, Mummy Masks, Ptolemaic Texts – and Cultural Repatriation

http://dianabuja.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/elginism-in-greece-and-egypt-manuscripts-mummy-masks-ptolemaic-texts-and-cultural-repatriation/

Monday, June 23, 2014

Polish scientists will study the climate of Egypt thousands of years ago

Eight several metres deep boreholes in northern Egypt have been drilled by a team of Polish scientists led by Prof. Leszek Marks of the Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw. Detailed analysis of the obtained cores will allow the reconstruction of climate in this area over the last 10,000 years.

Drilling was carried out in February in the area of Lakes Edku, Borolus and Mariout in the northern Nile Delta. Articularly important, however, will be the analyses of geological cores from the Fayoum Oasis - from the southern shore part of Lake Moeris (Birket Qarun), as these cores have provided interesting information.

Previous researchers have made a number of geological drillings in the area, but without analysis as detailed as planned by the Polish team. Now, from only 8 cores researchers have collected more than 1,000 samples. Some of them will be tested in Polish laboratories by specialists in various fields of science.

"No one has ever obtained similarly complete cores from this area, or subjected them to such a detailed analysis. Therefore, the results of our project will be crucial for the reconstruction of the natural environment in Egypt, also with regard to research on the history of Egyptian civilization" - explained project coordinator, Dr. Fabian Welc of the Institute of Archaeology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw.

"We will date the samples using the radioactive carbon C14 method, we will examine the residual remains of plants, diatoms, and molluscs. In addition, we will perform a number of specialized analyses, including granulometric, lithological and geochemical tests. As a result, we will be able to precisely trace the changes in the environment of ancient Egypt over several millennia" - said Dr. Welc.

Polish archaeologists found tombs dating back four thousand years in Egypt

A team of Polish archaeologists discovered tombs from the early second millennium BC and unknown pharaonic carvings in Gebelein in Upper Egypt. It was a part of rescue studies associated with the devastation caused by the widening range of fields and settlements.

Gebelein is a complex of archaeological sites approximately 30 km south-west of Luxor. More than 5 thousand years ago it was a capital of one of the proto-states, which preceded the state of the pharaohs. The first European archaeologists came here at the end of the nineteenth century, but over the last few decades scientists seldom studied this area and did not publish the results of their research. Therefore, it is not well recognized. The name "Gebelein" means "two hills" in Arabic. It comes from the characteristic element of the local landscape - two hills. On the east hill there once was a temple of the goddess Hathor and a fortress.

Photocredit: W. Ejsmond

"At the foot of the rocky hill we tracked down another place of worship of the goddess Hathor - sanctuary carved into the rock, with reliefs preserved on the walls. So far, the site has only been mentioned in the scientific literature and basically no one knows anything about it" - explained Wojciech Ejsmond, leader of the expedition.

Hathor was the goddess the ancient Egyptians usually associated with singing, dancing, love, and death. However, scientists know little about the cult of Hathor in Gebelein, the location of the oldest known temple of the goddess.

"We hope that the research that we want to carry out next year, especially reading the texts carved on the walls of the sanctuary, will provide us with more information on this topic" - added Ejsmond.

Wednesday Weekly # 38

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Archaeologists Return to Excavate Ancient Jaffa

Investigations include further excavations at the famous Egyptian Gate, a search for the ancient harbor, and exploration of the ancient destruction level at the Lion Temple.

Teams of archaeologists, students and volunteers will return this month to the site of ancient Jaffa on the central coast of Israel to pick up where they left off in 2013, when they uncovered more of the sensational evidence of a fiery destruction at the site's ancient Amarna period New Kingdom Egyptian fortress gate. The continuing investigations will also include new elements -- the search for the ancient harbor complex, and excavation of evidence of a 14th century B.C. destruction layer at the remains of the site's Lion Temple.

Under the direction of project co-directors Aaron Burke, Associate Professor of the Archaeology of Ancient Israel at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Martin Peilstöcker of the Israel Antiquities Authority, one team will continue the excavations at the famous fourteenth century B.C. Egyptian fortress gate complex, where in 2013 they uncovered the stark remains of an extensive violent destruction.

Excavations in 2012 first revealed the evidence, with clues to its extent indicated when excavators discovered a commemorative scarab of Amenhotep III dated to the mid-fourteenth century B.C., found within the upper destruction layers and apparently fallen from what the archaeologists interpreted as a second story administrative office floor. A year later, in 2013, they exposed the city gate’s passageway below more than 1.5 meters of destruction debris. The finds included arrowheads, a spearhead and lead weight, decorative ivory inlays, numerous charred seeds, a number of ceramic vessels, antlers from deer, and nearly two dozen cedar timbers thought to have once made up the gate’s roof and upper story. The seeds, identified as those of barley, olive pits, grape pips, and chick peas were a welcome find, as they provide an insight to the foods consumed at the site.

Remains of 'End of the World' Epidemic Found in Ancient Egypt

By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | June 16, 2014

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an epidemic in Egypt so terrible that one ancient writer believed the world was coming to an end.

Working at the Funerary Complex of Harwa and Akhimenru in the west bank of the ancient city of Thebes (modern-day Luxor) in Egypt, the team of the Italian Archaeological Mission to Luxor (MAIL) found bodies covered with a thick layer of lime (historically used as a disinfectant). The researchers also found three kilns where the lime was produced, as well as a giant bonfire containing human remains, where many of the plague victims were incinerated.

Pottery remains found in the kilns allowed researchers to date the grisly operation to the third century A.D., a time when a series of epidemics now dubbed the "Plague of Cyprian" ravaged the Roman Empire, which included Egypt. Saint Cyprian was a bishop of Carthage (a city in Tunisia) who described the plague as signaling the end of the world.

Occurring between roughly A.D. 250-271, the plague "according to some sources killed more than 5,000 people a day in Rome alone," wrote Francesco Tiradritti, director of the MAIL, in the latest issue of Egyptian Archaeology, a magazine published by the Egypt Exploration Society.

Tiradritti's team uncovered the remains of this body-disposal operation between 1997 and 2012. The monument his team is excavating was originally built in the seventh century B.C. for a grand steward named Harwa. After Harwa's death, the Egyptians continuously used the monument for burial (Akhimenru was a successor who built his own tomb there). However, after its use for body disposal during the plague, the monument was abandoned and never used again.

The use of the complex "for the disposal of infected corpses gave the monument a lasting bad reputation and doomed it to centuries of oblivion until tomb robbers entered the complex in the early 19th century," Tiradritti writes.

Museum Pieces - Predynastic Male Figurine

Figurine of a man

Period: Predynastic, Naqada II
Date: ca. 3650–3300 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt
Medium: Ivory (elephant)
Dimensions: h. 6.5 x w. 2.2 x d. 0.9 cm (2 9/16 x 7/8 x 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1954
Accession Number: 54.28.2

The earliest pieces of Egyptian sculpture represent men and women in formal poses. Figurines were made from mud or unbaked clay, ceramic, or ivory; details such as body hair, clothing, and tattoos were either incised or painted on the clay surface. This bearded man is made from the end portion of a hippo incisor. The features of his face and clothing(?) were incised into the ivory and filled with a black paste like substance. Figurines are very rare in this period of Egyptian art and little is known about their use in the Predynastic cultures that created them.

Predynastic Art

The term predynastic denotes the period of emerging cultures that preceded the establishment of the 1st dynasty in Egypt. In the 6th millennium bce there began to emerge patterns of civilization that displayed characteristics deserving to be called Egyptian. The accepted sequence of predynastic cultures is based on the excavations of British archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie at Naqādah, at Al-ʿĀmirah (El-ʿÂmra), and at Al-Jīzah (El-Giza). Another earlier stage of predynastic culture has been identified at Al-Badārī in Upper Egypt.

From graves at Al-Badārī, Dayr Tasa, and Al-Mustaqiddah evidence of a relatively rich and developed artistic and industrial culture has been retrieved. Pottery of a fine red polished ware with blackened tops already shows distinctive Egyptian shapes. Copper was worked into small ornaments, and beads of steatite (soapstone) show traces of primitive glazing. Subsequently, in the Naqādah I and Naqādah II stages predynastic civilization developed steadily. Pottery remains the distinctive product, showing refinement of technique and the development of adventurous decoration. Shapes already found in Badarian graves were produced in Naqādah I with superior skill and decorated with geometric designs of white-filled lines and even simple representations of animals. Later, new clays were exploited, and fine buff-coloured wares were decorated in dark red pigment with scenes of ships, figures, and a wide variety of symbols.

The working of hard stones also began in earnest in the later Predynastic period. At first craftsmen were devoted to the fashioning of fine vessels based on existing pottery forms and to the making of jewelry incorporating semiprecious stones.

Sculpture found its best beginnings not so much in representations of the human form (although figurines, mostly female, were made from Badarian times) as in the carving of small animal figures and the making of schist (slate) palettes (intended originally for the preparation of eye paint) and ivory knife handles. The Hunters and Battlefield palettes show sophisticated two-dimensional representation.

The basic techniques of two-dimensional art—drawing and painting—are exemplified in Upper Egyptian rock drawings and in the painted tomb at Hierakonpolis, now lost. Scenes of animals, boats, and hunting (the common subjects of rock drawings) were more finely executed in paint in the tomb, and additional themes, probably of conquest, presaged those found in dynastic art.

Sources:

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/54.28.2
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/180644/Egyptian-art-and-architecture

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Ancient Egyptian remedies

Does modern medicine have anything to learn from the medicine of the ancient Egyptians, asks Mai Samih

The ancient Egyptians, who embalmed their deceased so carefully, must have had a profound knowledge of anatomy. This is shown in tomb reliefs depicting surgeons dealing with patients and in famous medical texts such as those in the ancient Egyptian Ebers and Edwin Smith papyri.

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus who visited Egypt around 440 BCE wrote extensively of his observations of ancient Egyptian medical practices. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder also wrote favourably of them in his historical works. The ancient Greek fathers of medicine, Hippocrates, Herophilos, Erasistratus and later Galen, all studied at the temple of Amenhotep in Egypt and acknowledged the contributions of the ancient Egyptians to Greek medicine.

In his book Life of the Ancient Egyptians, author Eugen Strouhal quotes Herodotus describing Egyptian doctors by saying that “the practice of medicine is so divided among them that each physician treats one disease and no more. There are plenty of physicians everywhere; some are eye doctors, some deal with the heart, others with the teeth or the belly, and some with hidden maladies.”

Belgian Scholar Frans Jonckheere writes that there were 82 kinds of doctors known by name in ancient Egypt. No female nurses existed to help these doctors, but there were male nurses, dressers, masseurs, and lay therapists there for help. Czech physician Vincenc Strouhal wrote that the most advanced branch of medicine in ancient Egypt was surgery.

Wednesday Weekly # 37

Welcome to the Wednesday Weekly, your weekly dose of links to Egyptology news, articles, blogs, events and more!

THE GUARDIAN

Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old tomb from 11th dynasty in Luxor
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/09/archaeologists-discover-4000-year-old-pharaonic-tomb-luxor-egypt

THE ANCIENT WORLD ONLINE

Bibliographische Datenbank zur altägyptischen Literatur
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.nl/2014/06/bibliographische-datenbank-zur.html

Das altägyptische Totenbuch: Ein digitales Textzeugenarchiv
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.nl/2012/09/das-altagyptische-totenbuch-ein.html

LUXOR TIMES

11th Dynasty tomb and cachette discovered in Dra Abu El-Naga
http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.nl/2014/06/11th-dynasty-tomb-and-cachette.html

THE EGYPTIAN HISTORY PODCAST

Episode 30: Smooth Sailing on the Red Sea

Sankhkare Montuhotep III
http://egyptianhistory.libsyn.com/episode-30-smooth-sailing-on-the-red-sea

IN THE ARTIFACT LAB

New post by Molly Gleeson:

Fragmentary painted coffin from Abydos
http://www.penn.museum/sites/artifactlab/2014/06/04/fragmentary-painted-coffin-from-abydos/

HAIR AND DEATH IN ANCIENT EGYPT

by María Rosa Valdesogo:

Isis, Nephtys, Neith and Serket. Four Divine Egyptian Mourners?
http://hairanddeathinancientegypt.com/2014/06/04/isis-nephtys-neith-and-serket-four-divine-egyptian-mourners/

EGYPT CENTRE, SWANSEA

Guest Post by Beverley Rogers: Peering Beneath the Layers
http://egyptcentre.blogspot.nl/2014/06/guest-post-by-beverley-rogers-peering.html

BRILL

Brill Signs New Harvard Egyptological Studies Book Series
http://www.brill.com/news/brill-signs-new-harvard-egyptological-studies-book-series

AHRAM ONLINE

Replicas of King Tut's artefacts on display in Morocco
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/102894/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Replicas-of-King-Tuts-artefacts-on-display-in-Moro.aspx

German couple will return Egyptian artefact after learning it was stolen
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/102897/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/German-couple-will-return-Egyptian-artefact-after-.aspx

Illegal excavations foiled in Sohag's Akhmim
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/103108/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Illegal-excavations-foiled-in-Sohags-Akhmim.aspx

POPULAR ARCHAEOLOGY

By Dan McLerran:

Egypt and the Nile
http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/06052014/article/egypt-and-the-nile

AERA WEB

Part Four: Is that a person bowling? Or is it just hot today?
http://www.aeraweb.org/blog/part-four-is-that-a-person-bowling-or-is-it-just-hot-today/

UCL MUSEUMS & COLLECTIONS BLOG

Figure of the Moment
http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/museums/2014/06/04/figure-of-the-moment/

Petrie Pottery Project Guest Blog: Reinventing the (Potter’s) Wheel
http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/museums/2014/06/10/petrie-pottery-project-guest-blog-reinventing-the-potters-wheel/

ANCIENT EGYPT AND A MAPLE LEAF

New blogpost by Thomas H. Greiner:

The Biblical Museum and Ancient Egypt in Abbotsford, BC: an Update
http://thomasgreiner.com/2014/06/03/the-biblical-museum-and-ancient-egypt-in-abbotsford-bc-an-update/

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ANIMAL BIO BANK

Perth Mummy Study Day
http://ancientegyptbiobank.wordpress.com/2014/06/09/perth-mummy-study-day/

FACES & VOICES

Book binding cartonnage: a Rylands intermezzo
http://facesandvoices.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/book-binding-cartonnage-a-rylands-intermezzo/

SOUTH ASASIF CONSERVATION PROJECT BLOG

Weeks 4 and 5
http://southasasif.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/weeks-4-and-5/

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old tomb from 11th dynasty in Luxor

Spanish team find large pharaonic tomb that was probably built for a member of the royal family or a high-ranking statesman

Spanish archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old pharaonic tomb belonging to a leader from the 11th dynasty of Egypt in Luxor, the antiquities ministry said on Monday.

The wide surface of the tomb showed it was that of "someone from the royal family or a high-ranking statesman," the antiquities minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said.

The Spanish team was led by José Galán, who said the tomb would provide new insights into the dynasty that ruled in Luxor, the modern site of the city of Thebes, which was then the capital of ancient Egypt.

"This discovery confirms the presence of many tombs from the 11th dynasty in the Deraa Abu Naga region," said Galán.

One tomb dating back to the same period was discovered in the area five years ago. It contained a red sarcophagus, a well-preserved mummy, as well as arrows and arches that are now on display in Luxor's museum.

"The tomb may have been used as a mass grave, given the high number of human remains [discovered in it]," Ali al-Asfar, an antiquities ministry official, said on Monday, referring to the newly discovered site.

But it was also used during the 17th dynasty as pottery tools and utensils from this period were discovered in the tomb, Asfar added.

Luxor, a city of some 500,000 people on the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt, is an open-air museum of intricate temples and pharaonic tombs.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/09/archaeologists-discover-4000-year-old-pharaonic-tomb-luxor-egypt

Saturday, June 7, 2014

9 Pharaonic mummies discovered in southern Egypt

Spanish expedition cooperating with the antiquities ministry to discover new tomb in Aswan

By Menna Zaki

A new tomb that contains nine mummies was discovered in southern Aswan by Spanish archaeologists.

The tomb is said to belong to the Late Period (664 BCE-332 BCE) in Ancient Egyptian history, according to an official statement released by the Ministry of Antiquities on Sunday.

(Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Antiquities )

The tomb is believed to belong to two ruling families that lived in Aswan during the Middle Kingdom of Pharaonic Egypt, according to the research conducted by the Spanish expedition.

A wooden coffin was also discovered. The preserved mummy inside is believed to be a person who lived during the Late Period.

Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim announced that the discovery was made by Spanish archaeologists in cooperation with the Ministry of Antiquities in the area of Koba El-Hawa in Aswan. Several tombs of the rulers of Aswan during the period between 2000-1700 B.C. were discovered in this area.

Ibrahim said the area includes other tombs belonging to Upper Egyptian rulers during the Middle and Old Kingdom. One of the famous tombs belongs to “Hor Khof”, who is known as the only ruler whose autobiography was documented on the walls of his tomb. A tomb for King “Hakanab I”, whose temple was discovered behind the Museum of Aswan in the beginning of the 20th century, was also found there.

Alejandro Jimmenz, head of the Spanish expedition, said that the archaeologists have performed full documentation on the mummy of King “Haka Abe III”, which they have discovered previously during earlier visits to Egypt. Mummies for the members of the king’s family were also discovered, including that of woman named “Ja Ot Anktot”, and another mummy, the king’s brother, “Sarnbut”.

Source: http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/06/04/9-pharaonic-mummies-discovered-southern-egypt/

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Wednesday Weekly # 36

Welcome to the Wednesday Weekly, your weekly dose of links to Egyptology news, articles, blogs, events and more!

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

By Andrew Curry:

Artifact Trove at Egyptian Tomb Illuminates Life Before Pharaohs
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140530-egypt-archaeology-pharaohs-hierakonpolis-tomb/

AMERICAN RESEARCH CENTER IN EGYPT

ARCE-PA Presents:

Mini-Seminar: "Foreigners in Ancient Egypt: Context and Culture"

Saturday, June 14, 2014: 1 - 5 PM
Classroom 2

Penn Museum

This mini-seminar delves into the question of what it meant to be a foreigner in Ancient Egypt. Following a general background discussion of the topic by Dr. JJ Shirley, Dr. Kate Liszka and Dr. Beth Ann Judas will present their work on two distinct types of foreigners, the Medjay and the Keftiu respectively.
http://www.arce-pa.org/

AL-AHRAM WEEKLY

How did they do it?

How did the ancient Egyptians move the huge stone blocks needed for their temples and pyramids in the absence of modern technology? reports Nevine El-Aref
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/6318/47/How-did-they-do-it-.aspx

Ptolemy in Beni Sweif

The recently discovered temple of Ptolemy II in Beni Sweif is set to rewrite the ancient history of the area, writes Nevine El-Aref
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/6316/47/Ptolemy-in-Beni-Sweif.aspx

EGYPTIAN'S

New blogposts by Timothy Reid:

OEDIPUS and AKHNATON
http://tim-theegyptians.blogspot.nl/2014/05/oedipus-and-akhnaton.html

Was King Hatschepsut the Original Owner of Theban Tomb 358?
http://tim-theegyptians.blogspot.nl/2014/06/was-king-hatschepsut-original-owner-of.html

THE ANCIENT WORLD ONLINE

The Gurob Harem Palace Project Online
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.nl/2011/11/gurob-harem-palace-project-online.html

LUXOR TIMES

Intact burial chamber discovered in Aswan, 9 mummies found
http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.nl/2014/06/intact-burial-chamber-discovered-in.html

HAIR AND DEATH IN ANCIENT EGYPT

by María Rosa Valdesogo:

Four Egyptian Mourners, Four Egyptian Locks of Hair.
http://hairanddeathinancientegypt.com/2014/05/29/four-egyptian-mourners-four-egyptian-locks-of-hair/

BRITISH MUSEUM BLOG

By Katherine Biggs, Education Manager, Digital Learning Programmes, British Museum:

Mummies, mobiles and 3D printing
http://blog.britishmuseum.org/2014/05/30/mummies-mobiles-and-3d-printing/

By Amandine Mérat (Curator) and Emily Taylor (Museum Assistant), British Museum:

A new look at ancient Egyptian textiles
http://blog.britishmuseum.org/2014/06/02/a-new-look-at-ancient-egyptian-textiles/

AERA WEB

New blogentries:

Part One: Worlds in Miniature
http://www.aeraweb.org/blog/part-one-worlds-in-miniature/

Part Two: Lions and lizards and…wait, is that a giraffe?
http://www.aeraweb.org/blog/part-two-lions-and-lizards-and-wait-is-that-a-giraffe/

Part Three: Person to Thing?
http://www.aeraweb.org/blog/part-three-person-to-thing/

JOYCE FILER

BLOOMING IN BLOOMSBURY & ANCIENT EGYPT
http://joycefiler.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/blooming-in-bloomsbury-ancient-egypt-without-images/

UCL MUSEUMS & COLLECTIONS BLOG

Pottery Project Guest Blog: Trade in Opium from Cyprus to Egypt
http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/museums/2014/05/30/pottery-project-guest-blog-trade-in-opium-from-cyprus-to-egypt/

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ANIMAL BIO BANK

Carry on Scanning!
http://ancientegyptbiobank.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/carry-on-scanning/

ZENOBIA: EMPRESS OF THE EAST

Blog by Judith Weingarten:

Egyptian 'Tomb Treasures of the Late Middle Kingdom'
http://judithweingarten.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/egyptian-tomb-treasures-of-late-middle.html

DEMONTHINGS - ANCIENT EGYPTIAN DEMONOLOGY PROJECT

“Inscriptions” features articles on Ancient Egyptian demons by Swansea students
http://www.demonthings.com/inscriptions-demon-articles-swansea-students/

PAST HORIZONS

OBJECTS FROM TUTANKHAMUN’S WAR CHARIOTS TO BE RESTORED
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/06/2014/objects-from-tutankhamuns-war-chariots-to-be-restored

ACROSSBORDERS

New blogpost by Julia Budka:

From Berlin via Thebes and Elephantine to Vienna
http://acrossborders.oeaw.ac.at/from-berlin-via-thebes-and-elephantine-to-vienna/

FACES & VOICES

Scott Carroll and mummy masks: update
http://facesandvoices.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/scott-carroll-and-mummy-masks-update/

Looting: A Call for Action
http://facesandvoices.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/a-call-for-action/

Amun-Ra Egyptology Blog

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