Ancient Egypt this week: Colors of Egypt

Ancient Egypt: An Artist's Coloring Book 

I just added to my Egyptian coloring books with this offering by Dominique Navarro and the American University of Cairo Press

Embark on a colorful journey to reveal a hidden Egypt! Explore Egyptian gods, animals, hieroglyphs, designs, and more as you color the elaborate artwork, revealing vibrant details while learning unusual Egyptology facts and coloring tips along the way.

Learn about ancient Egypt color theory, including the history of primary colors in the Egyptian palette, their meaning and symbolism, to inspire your own artistic coloring choices. Use your imagination to color, or follow the suggestions accompanying each art panel, including techniques for adding texture, shading, and depth to your artwork.

The Osiris Fish

It was the first thing I saw when I opened my Ancient Egypt: An Artist's Coloring Book. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen anything like it before. So, I had to look it up to see for myself.

Was This Masterpiece Painted With Ground Mummy?

For centuries, European artists adorned their canvases with pigment made from the pulverized remains of ancient Egyptians.

From at least the 16th century until as late as the early 1900s, a pigment made from mummified human remains appeared on the palettes of European artists, including Delacroix. Painters prized "mummy brown" for its rich, transparent shade. As a result, an unknown number of ancient Egyptians are spending their afterlife on art canvases, unwittingly admired in museum galleries around the world.

The Nefertiti affair: the history of a repatriation debate

Anglo-French rivalry, a touch of Germanophobia, two world wars and a flawless artefact. This is the background of what became known as the Nefertiti Affair.

Even if you have never set foot in Egypt or you’re not sure why Nefertiti’s name rings a bell, you’ve probably seen her face somewhere. With the golden mask of Tutankhamun, the bust of Queen Nefertiti, now displayed in the Neues Museum in Berlin, is one of the best known pieces of Egyptian art.

Dying in ancient Egypt
Photo Credit: Chris Stacey

As silent witnesses to the past, ancient Egyptian mummies can add to our knowledge of their society well beyond what we can learn from the study of texts, art and funerary rituals.
In a study led by Macquarie University, researchers have successfully identified proteins present in skin samples from 4200-year-old mummies with evidence of inflammation and activation of the immune system, as well as possible indications of cancer.

For a slightly less technical version, read this one.

NASA Satellites Orbiting 400 Miles Above Earth Reveal Ancient Buried Egyptian Pyramids

By examining infrared images taken by NASA satellites orbiting 400 miles above the Earth, space archaeologists have identified 17 pyramids buried deep under the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis, Egypt. Tanis, abandoned centuries ago, is famous as the fictional home of the Lost Ark from the Indiana Jones movies. Satellite images also showed other lost structures, upwards of 3,000 settlements, and 1,000 lost tombs, buried for thousands of years.

Many aspects of pyramid construction still a mystery
Photograph courtesy of the Field Museum. The limestone block tomb of Unis-ankh, son of an Egyptian pharaoh, dates to 2400 B.C. and is part of the "Inside Ancient Egypt" exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum. Directions etched on his father's pyramid describe methods for transitioning from life into the afterlife.

The world's oldest inscribed papyrus journal was found just a few years ago in storage vaults at the world's oldest harbor. Discovered on Egypt's east coast near the Red Sea, the harbor was a stop for sailors whose ships transported copper and turquoise from nearby mines, and limestone tagged for the largest of Giza's pyramids -- the burial monument for the Pharaoh Khufu (also known by the Greek name Cheops).

The journal, written by inspector Merer, includes twice-a-day entries documenting activities by his staff of 200, dating back some 4,000 years ago

The Trial of a Mummy

This film has been created by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and brought to the viewer by the fine people at Archaeologychannel.org. It is an account of an 18th Dynasty court musician named Khonso-Imhep and his journey into the afterlife. Enjoy!

 http://www.archaeologychannel.org/player/player.php?v=mummytrial.mp4

Ancient Egyptians Collected Fossils

Ancient Egyptian worshipers of Set, god of darkness and chaos, collected fossils of extinct beasts by the thousands. From 1300 and 1200 BC, nearly three tons of heavy, black fossils, polished by river sands, were brought to Set shrines on the Nile. Many of the bones were wrapped in linen and placed in rock‑cut tombs.

What it’s like to be called Isis: ‘People ask, where’s your machine gun?’
Photograph: Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Women named after the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility describe the pain of dealing with constant ‘jokes’ about terrorism.

Before there was Isis, the extremist militant group responsible for the most brutal terrorist attacks and killings of recent years, there was Isis: an 11-year-old girl in Kent whose mother named her after the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility, magic and motherhood. “I was really proud of it,” Isis Hales says. And now? “I just …” she trails off and her mother, Lucy, steps in. “You wanted to change your name, didn’t you?” “Yeah,” Isis replies quietly. “That was about four months ago.”

Tutankhamun Coming Soon to ITV



Photo of the week: Humor