Monday, July 30, 2018

Ancient Egypt July 30



Min. of Antiquities seeks to put Egyptian Museum in UNESCO World Heritage
Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany visited the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir on Wednesday-Ministry of Antiquities' official Facebook page

The Ministry of Antiquities is working on a long-term plan to register the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir in the UNESCO World Heritage list, Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany announced on Wednesday.

This was during Anany’s tour at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to follow up the upgrade of the displays in the exhibition space and the procedures the museum is set to take after Tutankhamun’s treasures are moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Sailing Toward Osiris Review – Workers Along The Nile

Sailing Toward Osiris is an ancient Egyptian themed worker placement board game, which was released earlier this year (2018), by Daily Magic Games. Designed by W. David MacKenzie, with art from Denis Martynets, the game sees 2 – 5 players spend around 60 – 90 minutes (based on the player count) gathering resources, building grand monuments and negotiating. However, is Sailing Toward Osiris a title that is fit for the new Pharaoh? Let’s find out.

Ancient Egyptian graffiti, burial sites discovered by Yale archaeologists

A team of archaeologists — led by Yale Egyptologist John Darnell — has uncovered a “lost oasis” of archaeological activity in the eastern Egyptian desert of Elkab.

The researchers from the Elkab Desert Survey Project — a joint mission of Yale and the Royal Museums of Art and History Brussels working in collaboration with the Ministry of Antiquities and the Inspectorate of Edfu — surveyed the area of Bir Umm Tineidba, once thought to be devoid of any major archaeological remains. Instead, the team unearthed “a wealth of archaeological and epigraphic material,” says Darnell, including a number of examples of ancient rock art or “graffiti,” the burial site of an Egyptian woman, and a previously unrecorded, enigmatic Late Roman settlement.

The life of Queen Ankhesenamun, sister and wife of Tutankhamun

Ancient Egypt has captivated our imaginations for centuries. Egyptologists have made many fascinating discoveries over the years, but it seems as though just as many mysteries surrounding this ancient culture remain unsolved.

One of these mysteries is the story of Ankhesenamun; although inscriptions have been found that depict some parts of her life, the details are scant. This is in part due to the efforts of Horemheb, the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, to destroy all trace of her father — who he branded a heretic king — and his lineage.

Storied Media Group To Produce Docuseries On Excavation At Egypt’s Valley Of The Kings

Ahead of the 100-year anniversary of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, Storied Media Group has acquired the production and sponsorship rights to a large archeological excavation in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, to begin in September, led by renowned Egyptologist and archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass. The project is being pitched to multiple networks as a docuseries and possible live-event special. Storied Media Group was selected by Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities to document the event.

Ancient pottery found near River Nile dates to more than 4,000 years ago

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered an ancient pottery manufacturing workshop dating to more than 4,000 years ago.

Thursday’s statement by the Antiquities Ministry says the workshop is situated close to the River Nile in Aswan province in southern Egypt.

The Color that Means Both Life and Death

Ancient Egyptians reserved green for the bold beryl complexion of their god of life and death, Osiris – ruler of the underworld, who held dominion over the passage of souls between this world and the next. Typical depictions of Osiris, such as one found on the 13th-Century BC walls of the burial tomb of Horemheb, the last monarch of the 18th dynasty of Egypt, portray a skinny, grassy-skinned god, whose false pharaoh’s beard marks him out as a deity of incontestable pre-eminence.


Important facts about Alexandria’s ancient sarcophagus

The ex-dean of the faculty of Archelogy Cairo University Mohamed Hamza revealed to Egypt Today some important facts about the 2,000-year-old sarcophagus that was unearthed in Alexandria.

Alexandria sarcophagus arrives at new display at Mustafa Kamel Necropolis

Egyptian Ship Model Sheds Light on Bronze Age Warfare and Religion
Building a virtual 3D model of the Gurob model revealed many secrets.

Ancient Egypt conjures visions of towering monuments and glittering gold, but it’s often the small, unassuming archaeological finds that yield the deepest insights. The exhibition Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World explores some of these underappreciated objects and what they can tell us about the complex interactions among ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. This small wooden ship-cart model from an Egyptian tomb is one example.

A 2,000-Year-Old Papyrus to Talk About the Medical Condition Called “Hysterical Apnea”

Finally, they found out what’s written on an ancient papyrus – there are details about a condition which is called “hysterical apnea,” which talks about how women who don’t have enough sex become hysterical. We all know that female hysteria was a common diagnosis once, and there are texts that show that the condition made its appearance back in 1900 BC in ancient Egypt. Hippocrates, who was the founder of medicine, also believed in the existence of this condition from the 5th century BC.

To the King, My Sun, My God, the Breath of My Life… Amarna Letters Paint Remarkable Picture of Ancient Egyptian Rulership

“Your city weeps, and her tears are running, and there is no help for us. For 20 years we have been sending to our lord, the king, the king of Egypt, but there has not come to us a word from our lord, not one.” Amarna Tablet

The Amarna Letters offer a remarkable insight into the hopes, fears, challenges and diplomatic life in ancient Egypt - requests for gold, offers of marriage, warning of a traitor, and promises of loyalty to the pharaoh – these are just some of the themes that appear in this remarkable collection. Numbering almost 400 clay tablets, the content inscribed provides scholars with an unrivalled peek into diplomatic life in Egypt and across the Middle East during the 14th century BC.

Famine Stela: A piece of Pharaonic diary
Famine Stela at Sehel Island in the Nile, Aswan, Upper Egypt- Egypt Today/Mahmoud Sheleib

In the era of King Djoser, King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Neterkhet and founder of the Third Dynasty in the Old Kingdom, a shortage of the Nile flood in 2,700 BC led to a seven-year famine, leaving Egypt in a state of extreme distress. The king was perplexed as grains were insufficient, seeds dried up, people robbed each other, and temples and shrines closed. Looking for an end to his people’s suffering, the king consulted his architect and prime minister, Imhotep, commanding him to dig for a solution in the old sacred texts. Obeying the king’s order, Imhotep headed to a temple in the ancient city of Ain Shams (Old Heliopolis), where he discovered that the solution could be found in the city of Yebu (Aswan or Elephantine), the source of the Nile.

Monday, July 23, 2018

Ancient Egypt July 16 & 23 2018



Grand Egyptian Museum to open in 2020

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has instructed the government to complete the construction work on Egypt's massive new museum and open it to visitors by 2020, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said.

The presidential directives were issued during a meeting President Sisi held Tuesday with Prime Minister Dr Moustafa Madbouli and Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Enani, to review the latest developments pertaining to the progress of work on building the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza.

Hilary Waddington: Lights, camera, action

The Waddington collection in the Lucy Gura archive comprises 3 boxes/files of documents and photographs from the 1930s, which together provide a vivid insight into the experience and practicalities of excavation at Tell el-Amarna (ancient Akhetaten) in Egypt between the wars.


What's Inside This Massive Egyptian Sarcophagus?
Credit: Courtesy Egypt Antiquities Ministry

A massive black granite sarcophagus and a sculpture of a man who may be buried inside have been discovered in a tomb in Alexandria, Egypt.

The granite sarcophagus looks foreboding: It's nearly 9 feet long, 5 feet wide and 6 feet tall (2.7 by 1.5 by 1.8 meters). And, it may be the largest sarcophagus ever discovered in Alexandria, said Mostafa Waziri, general secretary of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, in a statement released by Egypt's antiquities ministry.

In Ancient Egypt, it was believed that people were protected by mystic eyes. To protect themselves from evil, the ancient Egyptians conducted various rituals including creating talismans to protect them, which is still a practice seen in many cultures today.

In "some sort of carbonated energy drink."

On Thursday, some archeologists over in Egypt decided to go against the threat of a world-ending curse to open up a 2,000-year-old black sarcophagus found in Alexandria. In it they found three skeletons, believed to be of military officials, marinating in a red liquid the Ministry of Antiquities called "sewage." And while the archeologists may not have unleashed an apocalyptic curse upon humanity, they have, however, unearthed at least a couple hundred people who now want to drink the red sarcophagus "juice."

Mummies, embalming equipment discovered south of Pyramid of Unas in Egypt's Saqqara

The Ministry of Antiquities is set to announce the discovery of a number of mummies and embalming equipment at the Saqqara necropolis on Saturday.

The ministry told Ahram Online that the discovery includes a collection of inscribed mummification vessel measuring cups.

QUIZ: WHICH ANCIENT EGYPTIAN QUEEN ARE YOU?

They may be ancient indeed, but boy are they fierce! A few simple questions and we'll tell you which Pharaonic matriarch you probably were in your previous life.

Virtual Reality May Help Save Ancient Egypt's 'Sistine Chapel'

A new virtual reality experience may help save an ancient Egyptian tomb built for Queen Nefertari whose paintings are so beautiful that it has been compared to Italy's Sistine Chapel.

Built around 3,250 years ago for the favorite wife of pharaoh Ramesses II (who reigned from 1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C.), the Tomb of Nefertari is located in the Valley of the Queens, near Luxor. The tomb is open to just small groups of visitors, because the increase in humidity that comes when people enter can damage its paintings.

2-headed ancient Egyptian mummy shown to public for 1st time 

A bizarre mummy from ancient Egypt combining the heads of a girl and a crocodile was photographed for the first time. Before its picture was published in the media, the mummy was hidden from the public eye for more than a century.

The first ever photo of the unusual mummy was unveiled by the Turkish daily Hurriyet. Experts told the paper that the mummy was composed of the head of an unidentified ancient Egyptian princess and the head and body of a Nile crocodile.

Monday, July 9, 2018

Ancient Egypt July 9 2018



Archaeologist Howard Carter: How Persistence Led Him To King Tut's Tomb

Even Indiana Jones would probably have given up.

Howard Carter and his team dug through hundreds of boulders in Egypt's Valley of the Kings for about five arduous years, looking for the lost tomb of Tutankhamun. His research told him the tomb was there. But no one — not even he — could find it thousands of years after the child king's death. Carter's once enthusiastic financial backer was losing patience.


The Gold of the Pharaohs: Massive Egyptian exhibition in Monaco 

The Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition” kicked off in Monaco on Friday, showcasing 149 ancient masterpieces from the Egyptian Museum. The huge, unique event is hosted by The Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, between July 7 and September 9, under the auspices of Prince Albert II and the Egyptian government.

After a century in the limelight, ancient Egyptian sphinx going back into hiding

After this weekend, it will be years before visitors to the Penn Museum in Philadelphia will be able to see its ancient sphinx.

The Lower Egyptian gallery of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania is about to undergo extensive renovations, expected to last several years.

Egypt puts relics recovered from smugglers in Italy on display
REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

The relics date to different eras, suggesting that the smugglers were well organized, according to museum curator Ahmed Samir.

“They researched Egypt from north to south to extract these artifacts. Thank God they were returned to their country,” he said.

Discovering King Tutankhamun's tomb: Harry Burton's photographs
Tape is used to mask the paintbrush holding the head upright C.RIGGS/METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

A new exhibition reappraises the work of Harry Burton, who photographed the decade-long Tutankhamun excavation. The collection is a striking record of a groundbreaking moment in our study of the past.

It was one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries of the 20th Century.

But what was it like to first point a lens into the 3,000-year-old tomb of King Tutankhamun?

Two 4,500 Year-old Homes Found Near Giza Pyramids
Credit: Copyright 2016 by Ancient Egypt Research Associates

Archaeologists have discovered two ancient homes near the Giza pyramids in Egypt. The structures may have housed officials responsible for overseeing the production of food for a paramilitary force more than 4,500 years ago.

Mystery of Alexandria's largest coffin 

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered what’s thought to be the largest granite sarcophagus ever found in Alexandria, measuring nearly nine feet long.

The massive stone casket was buried more than 16 feet beneath the surface alongside a huge alabaster head – likely belonging to the man who owned the tomb.

Experts say the ancient coffin has remained untouched since its burial thousands of years ago during the Ptolemaic period.

1st Chinese archaeological mission in Egypt to commence in Sept
Archaeologists work on mummies found in the New Kingdom tomb in Luxor, Egypt, on Sep. 9, 2017. (AP photo)

Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anany said in a recent interview with Xinhua that the first-ever Chinese archaeological mission in Egypt will start working this September.

"The Chinese mission has completed all the procedures to work in Egypt ... their work will start in September in Upper Egypt's city of Luxor," al-Anany told Xinhua.

He added that the mission has chosen Luxor as it is rich in many uncovered ancient Egyptian antiquities.

The Latest Discoveries in Egyptology (May-June 2018)

Every few months, the Nile Scribes bring you summaries of the latest news and discoveries in Egyptology, both from the field and the lab. We’ll introduce you to the newest archaeological finds or recently undusted manuscripts being rediscovered in museum collections, plus other new theories stirring in the Egyptological Zeitgeist. In this edition, Graeco-Roman buildings were discovered in the Nile Delta and Siwa Oasis, new texts were revealed by the Sinai Palimpsest Project using multi-spectral imaging, and a beautiful set of Twenty-Sixth Dynasty canopic jars were excavated at the South Asasif in Luxor.

Horus – One Of The Most Important Ancient Egyptian Gods And Symbol Of Rulership and Justice

Horus was worshipped in different forms throughout Egypt from the predynastic period before Egypt was united under one ruler until Roman times. The pharaohs of Egypt took a Horus name to symbolize that they were the living embodiment of this god.

Monday, July 2, 2018

Ancient Egypt July 2



Egypt's smuggled treasures to Italy return home - General Prosecutor

Egypt has received 118 smuggled ancient Egyptian artifacts to Italy on Friday, Egyptian General Prosecutor Nabil Sadek stated Saturday.

The statement of the General Prosecutor affirmed that authorities of Cairo International Airport received the artifacts returning from Italy on late Friday.


Would You Like to Tour the Tomb of Nefertari? Grab Your VR Headset and Explore!

Have you ever wished you could be guided through a beautifully preserved ancient Egyptian tomb? This is a dream for many people, however advances in virtual reality (VR) can help you get one giant step closer to the real experience. QV 66, the marvelous tomb of Queen Nefertari, has just recently been brought to VR life in stunning detail – providing you with a personal tour of the famous tomb from your own home.

Reviving buried Ancient Egyptian art, design

Shaimaa Kamal’s the wood-painted gold wing sofa was presented in May 2018 with other pieces from pharaonic furniture line in the great Luxor Temple where she got her inspiration, as a part of Cairo Bank’s advertisement in this year’s Ramadan-Shosha Kamal Design House’ official Facebook page

Reinterpreting Phharaonic icons into contemporary designs, designer Shaimaa Kamal, who won the International Product Design Award in 2016 thanks to the glory of Pharaonic design, has succeeded to revive the buried Ancient Egyptian art and attract the world’s attention to Egypt’s great heritage of design.

These Skeletons from an Ancient Egypt Cemetery Were Riddled with Cancer
An ancient Egyptian woman in her 20s suffered from cancer that had spread to her skull. She may have had the HPV virus, researchers believe. Credit: Image courtesy El Molto

Archaeologists have uncovered six cases of cancer while studying the bodies of ancient Egyptians who were buried long ago in the Dakhleh Oasis. The finds include a toddler with leukemia, a mummified man in his 50s with rectal cancer and individuals with cancer possibly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).

26th Dynasty canopic jars discovered at Luxor's South Asasif necropolis

Excavators at a tomb in Luxor have found four canopic jars from the 26th Dynasty, dedicated to “the lady of the house Amenirdis.”

The discovery was made by an Egyptian-American mission led by Elena Pischikova and Fathy Yassin during conservation work carried out by the South Assasif Conservation Project in the Kushite tomb of Karabasken, a priest.