Truth Behind Gospel of Judas Revealed in Ancient Inks

By: Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer 
Published: 04/08/2013 11:37 AM EDT on LiveScience

A long-lost gospel that casts Judas as a co-conspirator of Jesus, rather than a betrayer, was ruled most likely authentic in 2006. Now, scientists reveal they couldn't have made the call without a series of far more mundane documents, including Ancient Egyptian marriage licenses and property contracts.

The Gospel of Judas is a fragmented Coptic (Egyptian)-language text that portrays Judas in a far more sympathetic light than did the gospels that made it into the Bible. In this version of the story, Judas turns Jesus over to the authorities for execution upon Jesus' request, as part of a plan to release his spirit from his body. In the accepted biblical version of the tale, Judas betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

As part of a 2006 National Geographic Society (the Society) investigation of the document, microscopist Joseph Barabe of McCrone Associates in Illinois and a team of researchers analyzed the ink on the tattered gospel to find out if it was real or forged.

Some of the chemicals in the ink raised red flags — until Barabe and his colleagues found, at the Louvre Museum, a study of Egyptian documents from the third century A.D., the same time period of the Gospal of Judas.

"What the French study told us is that ink technology was undergoing a transition," Barabe told LiveScience. The Gospel of Judas' odd ink suddenly fit into place.

'Echoes' may resonate with just about everyone

by Phyllis A.S. Boros
Published 1:49 pm, Thursday, April 4, 2013


Regardless of age, gender, religion or ethnic background, one thing unites most of the world: a fascination with Ancient Egypt. On both scholarly and popular levels, interest is an "almost universal phenomenon."

With that awareness, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History will embark on one of its most ambitious exhibits of recent years: "Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs."

Incorporating more than 100 objects from various Yale University collections, as well as those on loan from other prestigious institutions around the country, "Echoes of Egypt" is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors during its run, Saturday, April 13, through Saturday, Jan. 4.

Curator of the landmark exhibition is Dr. Colleen Manassa, an associate professor of Egyptology at Yale's department of Near Eastern languages and civilizations. She is credited as author or co-author of five books and more than 20 articles and directs an on-going archaeological expedition at the Moalla Survey Project in Egypt.

The overall aim of the exhibition, Manassa said, is to help "merge interest in modern Egypt with interest in ancient Egypt ... and to look at how Egypt has been re-imagined through the millennia" influencing art, architecture and literature in a host of different periods and cultures.

Museum Pieces - A Middle Kingdom Pectoral

Photocredit: The Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester

Accession Number	5966
Object Name	Pectoral
Description	Gold pectoral inlaid with precious stones, including carnelian and lapis lazuli. The pectoral depicts two falcons standing on hieroglyphs reading 'nub', or gold. In between and behind the falcons are papyrus plants, and at top are two Eyes of Horus (wedjat-eyes) flanking a sun disc. The falcons are symbols of the king and the god Horus; the eyes offer protection.
Width (cm)	4.2
Primary Materials	Carnelian Gold Lapis lazuli Stone
Period/Dynasty	Middle Kingdom (Dyn. 12)
Site Name	Africa, Egypt, Middle Egypt, el-Riqqa
Acquisition	Haworth, Mr Jesse (Donation)

This small (4.2cm wide) object has perhaps the most dramatic biography of any in the Manchester Egypt collection, and one which would not seem out of place in a Hollywood movie script. Known today as the Riqqeh Pectoral after the site at which it was discovered, this ornate chest ornament, with two loops for suspension indicating that it was worn on a necklace, is an undoubted highlight of the Manchester Museum. The piece was created using a technique termed cloisonné, in which separate gold sections are filled with semi-precious stones. Lapis lazuli (dark blue), carnelian (red) and turquoise (blue/green) give the pectoral its colourful appearance and gem-like lustre. The reverse is chased in gold with details of the figures: two wedjat eyes (or ‘eyes of Horus’) flank a sun disk above two falcons (sometimes described as ‘crows’) on symbols for ‘gold’. The composition is arranged symmetrically around a stylised papyrus umbel suggesting a sekhem sceptre – a symbol of power. Two inward turned papyrus stalks frame the group.

The pectoral was found in association with two other items, each in the form of a king’s name: Senuseret II (Khakheperre) and Senuseret III (Khakaure). It can therefore be reliably dated to the second half of the Twelfth Dynasty (c. 1900-1840 BC). It is a fine example of delicate jewellery on a small scale, typical of the best Middle Kingdom royal pieces.

But it was the archaeological context of the pectoral that is most remarkable. Between 1911-12 English Egyptologist Reginald Engelbach was excavating in a cemetery at el-Riqqeh, near the entrance to the Faiyum lake region. At the bottom of a deep tomb shaft (no. 124), Engelbach discovered an apparently-intact chamber, the roof of which had collapsed in antiquity. At the centre of the chamber was a coffin containing a mummy – but with the arm-bones of another body lying on top of it. The remaining bones of this second individual lay nearby. According to the excavator, “it appeared as if it had been suddenly crushed while in a standing, or at least crouching position when the fall occurred.”

Within the mummy wrappings several items of jewellery, including the pectoral, had apparently been partially dislodged. All the evidence suggests that a robber must have been crushed in the act of rifling for valuables when the roof collapsed. Tomb robbery was a well-known fact of life in ancient as well as post-Pharaonic Egypt. Many objects are likely to have been stolen not long after they were interred. Yet it is exceptional to have the circumstances of a robbery preserved in such a fashion: a gruesome snapshot of the “mummy’s curse” in action.

The pectoral is one of the most often-illustrated items in the Manchester collection, and the most popular – judging by considerable postcard sales for this image. Few people, however, know the story behind its discovery. To put the pectoral into its proper – albeit unusual – archaeological context, the group of jewellery from Riqqeh tomb 124 will feature in Gallery 1 of our Ancient Worlds redisplay, as part of a narrative told from the point of view of a tomb robber – one of several guides to the exploration of archaeological finds.



Source: The Manchester Museum & http://egyptmanchester.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/object-biography-4-the-riqqeh-pectoral-acc-no-5966/

Djehuty Project discovers significant evidences of the 17th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt

The Djehuty Project, led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), has discovered on the hill of Dra Abu el-Naga in Luxor (ancient Thebes), the burials of four personages belonging to the elite of the 17th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, who lived about 3.550 years ago. These findings, discovered during the 12th campaign of archeological excavations of the project, shed light on a little-known historical period in which Thebes becomes the capital of the kingdom and the empire's foundations become established with the dominance of Egypt over Palestine and Syria to the north, and over Nubia to the south.


The project is led by the CSIC researcher José Manuel Galán, from the Institute of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures (ILC), and funded by Unión Fenosa Gas and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. 

The 17th Dynasty belongs to the historical period called Second Intermediate Period of Egypt (between 1800 and 1550 BC), characterized by the hegemony of rulers of Syrian-Palestinian origin settled in the eastern Delta. This is a period of great political complexity in which the monarchy did not control all the territory and the real power was in the hands of local rulers. 

Icons of Power – Revelations though ancient Egyptian art

Press Release: University of Auckland
5 April 2013

Icons of Power – Revelations though ancient Egyptian art

Ancient Egyptians depicted races from other lands as ‘alien’; weaker enemies as inferior, and more respected ones elevated in portrayals, according to a recent book Icons of power by Anthony Spalinger, University of Auckland Professor of Ancient History.

Published by Charles University in Prague the 228 page study explores the Egyptian narrative art and the ancient Egyptian concept of foreigners as ‘other.’

Icons of Power is a major contribution to Art History as well as Egyptology, with presentation and discussion of the ancient art and techniques used in wall reliefs from the Egyptian New Kingdom during the Empire Period (18th to 20th Dynasties). It promises to hold wide appeal for Egyptologists, scholars, historians and those interested in ancient art.

Content covers the entire stone wall reliefs of the temples found in Thebes, the Egyptian religious capital of the New Kingdom period, and the centre of worship of Amun-Ra, the Egyptian Sun god. It includes original colour photographs and extensive diagrams.

“The wall reliefs are arranged in registers, which are sequences of scenes very much like a series of photos. These registers are created in rows. Viewing them is almost like walking with a tour guide. All scenes are idealised images – They didn’t need to be real, but they did need to show the power of the Pharoah,” says Professor Spalinger.

Archaeologists Uncover Rare Leather from Ancient Egyptian Chariot

Nearly 300 leather fragments from an ancient Egyptian chariot, believed to date back to the New Kingdom, have been recently uncovered from the depths of the Egyptian Museum by a team of renowned archaeologists. Studying the technology and resources utilized in the building of such chariots, the team aims to reconstruct an ancient Egyptian royal chariot in 2014, using the same technology as that used by the ancient Egyptians.


“The discovery of such leather fragments is extremely rare and unusual,” said Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology, who is among the team of archaeologists working to unravel the mysteries behind these recently uncovered leather portions. “Only a handful of complete chariots are known from ancient Egypt, and of these, only one heavily restored in Florence, and that of Yuya and Tjuiu in the Egyptian Museum, have any significant amount of leather. Even then, they are largely unembellished and not as well-preserved as the fragments we found.”

Although horse-drawn chariots are often illustrated in ancient Egyptian artwork, archaeological evidence that goes beyond wooden frames is scarce. Due to their organic nature, leather fragments seldom survive. “The pieces were in a much better shape than we originally anticipated, and we were able to achieve a sense of how the leather unfolds,” said Ikram. “The fine condition that the leather was in suggests that it may have been preserved in a tomb. Leather finds from urban contexts such as Amarna, although still relatively good compared to those from many sites elsewhere in the world, usually show signs of disintegration, are brittle and, overall, in far worse condition.”

In constructing an exact replica of the chariot, Ikram and the team aim to gain an understanding of the construction technology and the leather used in its fabrication, as well as to test hypotheses about the uses of the different pieces of leather, which may prove to be a challenging endeavor. “Some leather pieces are folded over in a crumpled state, and the reconstruction of certain portions while trying to maintain accuracy in reproducing the technologies used might be more difficult than we anticipate,” said Ikram. 

The drama of Ancient Egypt’s 19th dynasty

by Thoraia Abou Bakr  /   April 4, 2013

Lecture explores the drama of Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom and the convoluted schemes for the throne


Most people are aware of Ancient Egypt’s rich, compelling history and culture, but have no knowledge of the period’s fascinating political dramas. On Tuesday 2 April, Dr Aidan Dodson gave a lecture at the American University in Cairo on the royal family after the death of Ramses II. Therein lies a drama worthy of an Emmy and better than any soap opera.

Dr Dodson points out that before the 19th Dynasty little focus was put on members of the royal family other than the king and queen. Even their offspring did not appear on tomb and temple carvings. However, starting from the 19th Dynasty, Ramses II appeared with his sons in battle on the walls of Beit-Al-Wali.

After the death of Ramses II, his thirteenth son Merneptah ruled briefly, as all his elder brothers had died. He was followed by his son Seti II, who reportedly had two wives, Takhat and Twosret, whom he married before being overthrown.  It was then that particularly intense competition over the throne began. The competition was between Seti II and Amenmesse, believed to be the son of Merneptah and Takhat.

The only existing statue, a bust of Amenmesse, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The rest of the statue is believed to be at Karnak. The name of Takhat is engraved on it, accompanied by a symbol of a vulture, meaning mother. It is believed that Amenmesse was the viceroy of Nubia. The symbol was then altered to read “wife” when Seti II reinstated himself as king.