Ancient Egypt this week: That city near Abydos

Articles about the 5,000-year-old city near Abydos have flooded my computer. Here are links to many of them, which might seem a bit repetitious. Yet each one might contain a new nugget of information. Happy digging!

Note: Some articles said a 7,000-year-old city, a mistake explained in the first article. Therefore, you might see both dates in the headlines. 

Remains of 5,000-Year-Old Egyptian City Unearthed

The remains of a 5,000-year-old city, including a cemetery and several houses, have been unearthed at the site of Abydos in Egypt.

The city, whose size is not clear, dates to the early dynastic period when the first pharaohs ruled a united Egypt, said Mahmoud Afifi, the head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities at the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, in an Arabic language statement.

• Egypt hopes discovery of 7,000 year-old city will heal tourism  
• Ancient City Unearthed In Abydos, Egypt Found To Be High-Profiled Town 5,000 Years Ago  (Video included)
• Archaeologists discover ancient Egyptian city close to Pharaoh’s tomb  
• 7,000-Year-Old Lost Civilization: Archaeologists Discover Ancient City In Egypt 
• 7,000 year-old lost city, cemetery unearthed in Egypt  
• ANCIENT CITY AND BURIAL GROUND UNEARTHED IN EGYPT  
• Historic Discovery: Archaeologists Unearth Secret Ancient Egyptian City and Cemetery
• Ancient city lost for 7,000 years unearthed on the banks of the river Nile
• Ancient residential city, cemetery discovered in Abydos
• Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives

Beautifully crafted glass artefacts appeared in Ancient Egypt earlier than in Mesopotamia
De Agostini / S. Vannini/Getty Images

Glass-making may have emerged in Ancient Egypt and not in Mesopotamia, as it was previously thought, researchers have said. While many beautifully crafted glass artefacts dating from 3,600 years ago have been found at the site of Nuzi in Iraq, researchers now believe these may not be the earliest manifestations of glass-making.

Think you know mummies? Think again.

Come face-to-face with six ancient Egyptian mummies and use the latest technology to go beyond the wrappings and discover what lies beneath in Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives, open 10 December 2016 until 25 April 2017.

If you're not in Sydney, Australia,  Meet the Mummies anyway. For another article with lots of photos and more explanatins, click here to read Egyptian Streets.

To celebrate the opening of Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives at the Powerhouse Museum, step inside Sydney Observatory and be transported back to the time and land of the Egyptian Pharaohs to explore Ancient Egyptian Skies.

The Nile: Longest River in the World

Known as both the "Father of Life" and the "Mother of All Men," the Nile was the center of life in Ancient Egypt. In the ancient Egyptian language, the Nile was called Ḥ'pī or Iteru, meaning "river." The Ancient Egyptians also called the river Ar or Aur, which means "black," in reference to the black silt left behind after the yearly flooding.

Egypt gifts six-metre-tall replica of Ramses II statue to Ecuador

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities is set to ship on Wednesday a gift of a six-metre-tall replica statue of King Ramses II to Ecuador, to be erected in the country's capital Quito.

Gayer-Anderson: The Man Behind The Cat

Gayer-Anderson, mostly known for the ancient cat that was once in his collection, led a fascinating life as an adventurer, surgeon, soldier, collector, dilettante, and lover and preserver of beauty.

One of the most beloved objects on display in the British Museum is a bronze figure representing the goddess Bastet. It stands 14cm high and takes the form of a seated cat with incised details, an inlaid silver sun-disc, a wedjat-eye pectoral ornament, and gold earrings and a nose ring.

If this story piques your interest, you might want to look at this article on The Gayer Anderson Museum in Cairo. Some of the photographs are simply stunning; the writing a little less than stunning. Even more stunning is this 3-D gallery of the house.

A Sexual Scene in Egyptian Art: Stele of Sebekaa

Egyptian art can hide very important information in small pieces.

That is the case of the stele of Sebekaa in British Museum.

This piece of ancient Egyptian art dates from XI Dynasty and it was found in Thebes. In just a space of 70 cm x 60 cm (aprox.) the Egyptian artist could include a number of typical scenes which dominated the corpus of funerary Egyptian art.

Photo of the week

This photo of the outer coffin of Queen Merytamun (M10C 119) is so timeless you can almost imagine it as the cover of a current fashion magazine.

Photograph by Harry Burton, 1929. Archives of the Egyptian Expedition, Department of Egyptian Art.