A burial ground containing the remains of dozens of children and infants has been uncovered in Egypt by a Polish team led by Prof. J Kabacińskiego of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology in Poznan.
Deep in the desert region of Gebel Ramlah, located near the southern border of Egypt, about 140 km west of Abu Simbel, the archaeologists examined a unique necropolis dated to around 6500 years.
To date, there are no known cemeteries in the Western Desert intended almost exclusively for children, infants and foetuses – some of these fragile and poignant remains were found during recent excavations.
“In several cases, newborns were buried along with an adult, probably representing the death during childbirth of the mother. In one case we were able to accurately determine the age of the mother – the woman was only 14 years old “- explained Kabacińskiego.
Graves in the cemetery were relatively small and shallow and could not have been visible on the surface. However, in the case of the child mother burial, archaeologists speculate that there was a clearly visible ground structure, as evidenced by the remains of kerb stones, delineating the extent of the burial chamber.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Monday, January 6, 2014
Mummies and the Tale of the Clogged Arteries, an Update
Published: Jan 3, 2014 | Updated: Jan 5, 2014
By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Looking for atherosclerosis in mummies brings the thrill of scientific discovery, but getting access to the "patients" can prove difficult.
In the Horus study, an international group of researchers performs whole-body CT scans on mummies, looking for evidence of arterial calcification. The study was inspired by a trip to the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, where a descriptive plate claims one of the pharaohs died of atherosclerosis.
But permission to image mummies isn't always easy to come by because of political issues, according to one of the principal investigators of the study, Gregory Thomas, MD, MPH, medical director of the MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in California.
So far, the team has reported results from a total of 137 mummies up to 4,000 years old from four ancient populations of Egyptians, Peruvians, Ancestral Puebloans of the U.S. Southwest, and Unangans from the Aleutian Islands (present-day Alaska). Scans revealed high rates of calcification.
By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Looking for atherosclerosis in mummies brings the thrill of scientific discovery, but getting access to the "patients" can prove difficult.
In the Horus study, an international group of researchers performs whole-body CT scans on mummies, looking for evidence of arterial calcification. The study was inspired by a trip to the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, where a descriptive plate claims one of the pharaohs died of atherosclerosis.
But permission to image mummies isn't always easy to come by because of political issues, according to one of the principal investigators of the study, Gregory Thomas, MD, MPH, medical director of the MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in California.
So far, the team has reported results from a total of 137 mummies up to 4,000 years old from four ancient populations of Egyptians, Peruvians, Ancestral Puebloans of the U.S. Southwest, and Unangans from the Aleutian Islands (present-day Alaska). Scans revealed high rates of calcification.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
King Tut's Mummified Erect Penis May Point to Ancient Religious Struggle
By Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor | January 02, 2014
Egypt's King Tutankhamun was embalmed in an unusual way, including having his penis mummified at a 90-degree angle, in an effort to combat a religious revolution unleashed by his father, a new study suggests.
The pharaoh was buried in Egypt's Valley of the Kings without a heart (or a replacement artifact known as a heart scarab); his penis was mummified erect; and his mummy and coffins were covered in a thick layer of black liquid that appear to have resulted in the boy-king catching fire.
These anomalies have received both scholarly and media attention in recent years, and a new paper in the journal Études et Travaux by Egyptologist Salima Ikram, a professor at the American University in Cairo, proposes a reason why they, and other Tutankhamun burial anomalies, exist.
The mummified erect penis and other burial anomalies were not accidents during embalming, Ikram suggests, but rather deliberate attempts to make the king appear as Osiris, the god of the underworld, in as literal a way as possible. The erect penis evokes Osiris' regenerative powers; the black liquid made Tutankhamun's skin color resemble that of Osiris; and the lost heart recalled the story of the god being cut to pieces by his brother Seth and his heart buried.
Egypt's King Tutankhamun was embalmed in an unusual way, including having his penis mummified at a 90-degree angle, in an effort to combat a religious revolution unleashed by his father, a new study suggests.
The pharaoh was buried in Egypt's Valley of the Kings without a heart (or a replacement artifact known as a heart scarab); his penis was mummified erect; and his mummy and coffins were covered in a thick layer of black liquid that appear to have resulted in the boy-king catching fire.
These anomalies have received both scholarly and media attention in recent years, and a new paper in the journal Études et Travaux by Egyptologist Salima Ikram, a professor at the American University in Cairo, proposes a reason why they, and other Tutankhamun burial anomalies, exist.
The mummified erect penis and other burial anomalies were not accidents during embalming, Ikram suggests, but rather deliberate attempts to make the king appear as Osiris, the god of the underworld, in as literal a way as possible. The erect penis evokes Osiris' regenerative powers; the black liquid made Tutankhamun's skin color resemble that of Osiris; and the lost heart recalled the story of the god being cut to pieces by his brother Seth and his heart buried.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Tomb of chief beer-maker discovered in Egypt's Luxor
by Nevine El-Aref , Friday 3 Jan 2014
A Japanese mission from Waseda University uncovered the tomb of Khonso-Im-Heb, who was the head of beer production for goddess Mut and the head of the galleries during the Ramesside era.
The discovery occurring during routine cleaning work carried out at the frontcourt of tomb number TT47, which belongs to a top official in the reign of the New Kingdom king Amenhotep III.
The tomb of Khonso-Im-Heb is T-shaped with two halls and a burial chamber. It is also connected to an unfinished tomb of an as-yet unidentified person called Houn.
Jiro Kondo, head of the Japanese mission, said that the tomb is well preserved and is fully painted with scenes depicting the tomb’s owner with his family members and in front of different ancient Egyptian deities.
Scenes of the “Open Mouse” ritual also figures on one of the tomb’s wall while the ceiling is decorated with geometrical paintings with vivid colours. A solar boat is depicted at its core.
Minister of State of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim told Ahram Online that security has been tightened around the tomb until the completion of the excavation works there. He said that a comprehensive restoration would be carried out after it is fully excavated to allow visitors.
Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/90724.aspx
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Museum Pieces - Funeral Ostracon
 |
| (Photocredit: The Manchester Museum) |
| Accession Number | 5886 | ||||||
| Object Name | Ostracon | ||||||
| Description | Ostracon of limestone, from western Thebes, probably of New Kingdom date and donated by Sir Alan Gardiner. It bears a unique ink sketch: a scene of a funeral. The sketch shows a tomb shaft – of the type known from Deir el-Medina – with a group of female mourners gathered around it. Within the shaft a man is seen descending, and within the chambers of the tomb itself the burial party carry a coffin into place. A striking detail is that one of the party has a jackal head. Given the informal medium, the sketch is likely to show the burial as it happened, albeit in schematic fashion. The implication is that one of the party is wearing a jackal-headed mask. A famous example in Hildesheim may represent such a mask, used for the impersonation of Anubis, the god of mummification. | ||||||
| Height (cm) | 16.0 | ||||||
| Primary Materials | Limestone | ||||||
| Period/Dynasty | New Kingdom | ||||||
| Earliest Date | 1539 | ||||||
| Latest Date | 1075 | ||||||
| Site Name | Africa, Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes: West Bank | ||||||
| Acquisition | Gardiner, Sir Alan H. (Donation, 1913) | ||||||
| Bibliography |
|
Friday, December 27, 2013
An unidentified royal statue head found in Luxor
A black granite head of an unidentified New Kingdom king's statue has been uncovered in Luxor
by Nevine El-Aref , Thursday 26 Dec 2013
The Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission unearthed on Thursday a large granite head of a statue of an unidentified New Kingdom king during routine excavation at King Thutmose III’s funerary temple on Luxor’s west bank.
Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Section at the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA), explained that the head is 29.6cm high, 24.3cm wide and 26.9cm deep. The head depicts a round face of a royal figure, not identified yet, wearing a wig, with traces of a broken nose, and two long ears that each reach 8cm. The eyes, he continued, have traces of kohl, with thick eyebrows.
Abdel-Maqsoud said that the head was found buried in sand in a pit on the northern side of the second court of the temple. Studies are underway in an attempt to determine which New Kingdom king it belongs to.
The temple of Thutmose III is a vey small temple located beside the temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Al Deir Al-Bahari. It was first discovered in February 1962 during routine restoration work carried out by a Polish excavation mission of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology led by archaeologist Kazimierz Michalowski.
The temple is poorly preserved and was dedicated to god Amun-Re. Although Thutmose III’s actual funerary temple Henkhet-Ankh is located a short distance away, such a temple had played some role within the king’s funerary cult.
Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/90118/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/An-unidentified-royal-statue-head-found-in-Luxor.aspx
by Nevine El-Aref , Thursday 26 Dec 2013
The Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission unearthed on Thursday a large granite head of a statue of an unidentified New Kingdom king during routine excavation at King Thutmose III’s funerary temple on Luxor’s west bank.
 |
| Photocredit: Ahram Online |
Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Section at the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA), explained that the head is 29.6cm high, 24.3cm wide and 26.9cm deep. The head depicts a round face of a royal figure, not identified yet, wearing a wig, with traces of a broken nose, and two long ears that each reach 8cm. The eyes, he continued, have traces of kohl, with thick eyebrows.
Abdel-Maqsoud said that the head was found buried in sand in a pit on the northern side of the second court of the temple. Studies are underway in an attempt to determine which New Kingdom king it belongs to.
The temple of Thutmose III is a vey small temple located beside the temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Al Deir Al-Bahari. It was first discovered in February 1962 during routine restoration work carried out by a Polish excavation mission of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology led by archaeologist Kazimierz Michalowski.
The temple is poorly preserved and was dedicated to god Amun-Re. Although Thutmose III’s actual funerary temple Henkhet-Ankh is located a short distance away, such a temple had played some role within the king’s funerary cult.
Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/90118/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/An-unidentified-royal-statue-head-found-in-Luxor.aspx
Friday, December 20, 2013
Ancient Spider Rock Art Sparks Archaeological Mystery
By Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor | December 20, 2013
Archaeologists have discovered a panel containing the only known example of spider rock art in Egypt and, it appears, the entire Old World.
The rock panel, now in two pieces, was found on the west wall of a shallow sandstone wadi, or valley, in the Kharga Oasis, located in Egypt's western desert about 108 miles (175 kilometers) west of Luxor. Facing east, and illuminated by the morning sun, the panel is a "very unusual" find, said Egyptologist Salima Ikram, a professor at the American University in Cairo who co-directs the North Kharga Oasis Survey Project.
The identification of the creatures as spiders is tentative and the date of it uncertain, Ikram told LiveScience in an email. Even so, based on other activity in the area, the rock art may date to about 4000 B.C. or earlier, which would put it well into prehistoric times, before Egypt was unified, noted Ikram, who detailed the finding in the most recent edition of the journal Sahara.
The main panel shows what appear to be a few spiders, with a "star" that's possibly meant to depict a web next to the spider on the far left. There are also comblike drawings that are more enigmatic; Ikram said they could be insects being trapped by the spiders, plants or even silken tubes spun by the spiders.
Archaeologists have discovered a panel containing the only known example of spider rock art in Egypt and, it appears, the entire Old World.
The rock panel, now in two pieces, was found on the west wall of a shallow sandstone wadi, or valley, in the Kharga Oasis, located in Egypt's western desert about 108 miles (175 kilometers) west of Luxor. Facing east, and illuminated by the morning sun, the panel is a "very unusual" find, said Egyptologist Salima Ikram, a professor at the American University in Cairo who co-directs the North Kharga Oasis Survey Project.
The identification of the creatures as spiders is tentative and the date of it uncertain, Ikram told LiveScience in an email. Even so, based on other activity in the area, the rock art may date to about 4000 B.C. or earlier, which would put it well into prehistoric times, before Egypt was unified, noted Ikram, who detailed the finding in the most recent edition of the journal Sahara.
The main panel shows what appear to be a few spiders, with a "star" that's possibly meant to depict a web next to the spider on the far left. There are also comblike drawings that are more enigmatic; Ikram said they could be insects being trapped by the spiders, plants or even silken tubes spun by the spiders.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)