Women explorers played a major part in the UK's fascination with Egyptian mummies a century ago, and girls who - much later - visited their collections in provincial museums are among today's up-and-coming archaeologists. Samira Ahmed looks at female influence in the mummy world.
It was a "light bulb moment - like being teleported back into ancient Egypt" says Danielle Wootton, remembering her excitement at seeing Bolton Museum's Egyptian mummy for the first time.
A maze of Ptolemaic burial chambers filled with more than 40 mummies, including men, women and children, was discovered at Tuna El-Gebel in Minya.
As the sun warmed the air at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in Minya governorate on Saturday morning, hundreds of media and officials gathered to witness the announcement of the first discovery of 2019.
Ancient statues inside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo Photo: Ovedc
But the disputed treasure, the Rosetta Stone, will remain in London.
The British Museum will participate in an ambitious €3.1m pan-European masterplan aimed at revamping and transforming the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in Cairo, focusing on areas such as collection management, communications and audience engagement. But the 2,000-year-old Rosetta Stone, one of the British Museum’s most important exhibits, will not return to Egypt as part of the initiative, insist officials in Cairo and London.
Taking place in a fictional version of Ancient Egypt, the game follows the story of Sphinx and his rather unwilling pal the Mummy. Sphinx is the strong and almost-silent type, preferring to fight his way out of a problem. On the other hand, Mummy is an Egyptian prince hit by a curse-gone-wrong who’d rather be solving puzzles than doing any physical work. They’re like ancient chalk and long-aged cheese, but they still work together perfectly.
Cat Killing a Serpent, Tomb of Sennedjem, Egyptian, Facsimile, 19th Dynasty, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (30.4.1)METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
“In ancient times cats were worshiped as gods. They have not forgotten this.” –Terry Pratchett*
Our perceptions of the ancient world are shaped by the way surviving relics appear in the present day. The cool white marble beauty we attribute to Classical Greek and Roman statues arises from the long faded lifelike paint these statues once bore. The bright limestone of Maya pyramids today shines against the surrounding background of deep jungle green, yet these buildings were once painted from top to bottom in deep reds, blues and greens. As for the imposing and regal black cat of ancient Egypt, those cats didn’t look the way you think either.
The Archaeological Mission of Alexandria Antiquities has announced that they have discovered a dazzling array of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts in Alexandria, Egypt, with Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, stating that the recent treasure trove of artifacts was a “unique discovery because the site was being used for industrial and commercial purposes.”
Years of steadily accumulating dust and grime had taken a toll on King Tut’s tomb, but a recently completed restoration project has revitalized the historic chamber, while making much-needed infrastructure improvements to prevent ongoing decay.
It’s been nearly a century since British archaeologist Howard Carter first peered into the Tomb of Tutankhamun. Since then, the site has attracted millions of visitors, which, while great for the Egyptian economy, has not been so great for the chamber itself. Its majestic wall paintings became dim, drab, scuffed, and scratched from all the moisture and kicked-up dust from the ceaseless train of shuffling tourists.
Ptolemaic era coins discovered in an ancient wine cellar north of Cairo (Egypt Ministry of Antiquities)
There were no 2,500 year old bottles of the good stuff lying around, but archeologists exploring an ancient Greco-Roman wine cellar north of Egypt's capital Cairo did make a number of intriguing discoveries.
Ptolemaic era coins, fragments of ceramic and mosaic works, and a sophisticated architectural design for controlling temperatures using various types and shapes of stones were among the artefacts they discovered.
The Petrie Museum has a range of sound-making artefacts from Roman Egypt. These include bells, reed panpipes, pottery rattles, cymbals, and wooden clappers. The exhibition demonstrates how researchers used laser-scanning technology to create 3D virtual models. These models were then 3D printed in plastic to create replica objects. Some of the models were also used to create craft replicas in materials like ceramic, wood, and bronze. All these replicas form an integral part of this exhibition together with 3D digital models based on the laser scans.
Listen: Cymbal With Elaborate Handle - Mid - Rhythm Paeonic
Edfu Temple © Michalea Moore
Many visitors to Egypt make their way down to Luxor to take a look at the largest temple in Egypt: Karnak. In this travel blog, the Nile Scribes travel up the Nile to visit five temples in Upper Egypt built during Ptolemaic and Roman times that should not be missed.
Note: Go me! I've visited four out of the five. Now, I have yet another reason to return to Egypt.
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