Series 1, episode five of I Know This Place takes a trip into the past with Egyptologist Kara Cooney
Episode: 5 Featuring Ute Junker and Dr Kara Cooney
The pyramids at Giza are simply awe-inspiring; but they are just the start. Egypt is home to a dazzling collection of ancient tombs and temples, some of which date back 5000 years. Egyptologist Dr Kara Cooney talks us through ancient Egypt’s don’t-miss destinations, and tells us more about the intriguing civilisation that built these incredible monuments.
Source Picturesque Egypt by Georg Ebers 1885.
The answer according to the current scientific evidence is … YES (no, I'm not shouting)
Because that is how archaeology works, we collect evidence from as many sources as possible, and if it all points in one direction we draw conclusions. The pseudo crowd bleating that we all follow the party line in an elaborate cover up may work for politicians (looking at world politics consider me sceptical), but in science a whole bunch of fields rely on accumulating evidence … no evidence = no theory.
… or rather you can have as many theories as you like at home over a cabernet sauvignon, but for anybody with half a brain to believe them you have to prove it in writing, with evidence.
CREDIT MUSEO EGIZIO, TURIN
There's a bit of Indiana Jones in everyone, which is why people continue to be fascinated by ancient Egyptians and their tombs, says Julián Zugazagoitia, the Director and CEO of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
That, he says, and "we all search for immortality in some way or another."
At its core, Zugazagoitia says, Egyptian art is about preserving the "life presence" of a person. Egyptians believed that for the soul to live in the other world, the person needed to have her depiction in sculpture form.
Charles K. Wilkinson/Met Museum of Art
Human societies need food—and that often means wheat, which was first cultivated more than 12,000 years ago. Today, around one in five calories consumed by humans is from wheat. Over this time, humans have moved wheat species around the globe and transformed them through cultivation and breeding.
. . .
In Pharaonic Egypt, emmer was the most common wheat. It is claimed that the Romans therefore referred to hulled wheat as Pharaoh's wheat, which could be the linguistic root of "farro". Egyptians may have found that emmer wheat suited the local climate or that the hulls protected the grain from pests in storage.
Britain was fascinated by ancient Egypt long before Howard Carter found Tutankhamun’s tomb, with Napoleon’s Middle Eastern campaign (1798–1801) igniting interest across Europe. Nevertheless, the discovery in 1922 of King Tut’s final resting place sparked a new wave of Egyptomania.
Credit: Karen Almond / Met Opera
When Philip Glass’s Akhnaten appeared recently at English National Opera, in a spellbinding production by Phelim McDermott, it quickly became a sold-out sensation. Audiences were enthralled not just by the mesmerizing score but also by the glorious, colorful stage pictures and hypnotic dramatic flow. Anthony Roth Costanzo’s gripping performance of the title role—complete with extended opening nude scene—was hailed as a triumph. The production even incorporated juggling, with choreographer Sean Gandini’s troupe bringing ancient Egypt to life with their virtuoso routines.
Also see Writing Akhnaten.
Credit: Museum of Fine Arts of Rennes
Scans of an ancient cat mummy revealed that the 2,500-year-old feline supposedly resting within the wrappings wasn't a single animal. Instead, the mummy held the partial remains of three cats, according to new findings.
Ancient Egyptian cat mummies aren't uncommon, and archaeologists have previously found tens of cat mummies in burials. In ancient Egypt, pets were commonly buried with their owners. The desire to preserve animals as offerings to the gods led to the establishment of an entire industry and the mummification of over 70 million animals, according to a previous Live Science report.
Photo by Ramin Talaie/Corbis via Getty Images
As the UK welcomes a new exhibition on Tutankhamun's tomb – considered by many the greatest archaeological discovery of all time – mystery still surrounds ancient Egypt's most famous son. Here, Joann Fletcher unearths seven intriguing truths about the pharaoh and his legendary treasures
Egyptian coffins are inscribed with spells and images which stand in for spells. All function together as a machine to resurrect the deceased and to guide them safely through the next world. Given this function, its perhaps surprising that the texts from coffins are usually published completely divorced from their position on the coffin. Any additional meaning conferred on the texts by their placement on the surrogate body or relative to each other and the vignettes is lost. In order to understand a coffin as a magical machine, it's necessary to view the spells in 3D so that this relationship can be taken into account.
The aim of this project is to explore the relationship between texts and their positioning on a magical object through building annotated 3D models of coffins displaying the texts and translations.
Ever wondered what those curious Egyptian symbols – hieroglyphs – actually represent? We did the research and compiled a comprehensive list of the most common symbols and their meanings, so that you don’t have to.
As one of the oldest known human civilisations, Ancient Egypt has captured the imaginations of people for centuries. Known for its mummies, pyramids and pharaohs, there are few civilisations as impressive – especially considering that it lasted for an incredible 3000 years.
How did Ancient Egypt thrive for so long? It is believed that religion and written language were largely responsible for the civilisation’s success, as they allowed for ancient knowledge and values to be communicated between generations.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT BUCKING/BENI HASSAN SOUTH PRESERVATION PROJECT
DePaul does not harbor an especially large history department, let alone a department specifically dedicated to archaeology. As a result, a DePaul student might be surprised to hear that one of their own professors received a $75,000 grant for an archaeological preservation project. However, those who know Professor Scott Bucking were anything but surprised.
“He is irrepressible,” said longtime colleague and Associate Dean Margaret Storey. “He is deeply committed to his field, creative, determined, and he has a passion for what he does,” she continued.
Bucking applied for the grant to preserve a group of archaeological remains in Beni Hassan, a mountainous region of Egypt that sits along the Nile River Valley.
Via Flickr.
The civilization of ancient Egypt has always fascinated all those who came across it, local or foreigner. Spanning for 5,000 years of history, ancient or Pharaonic Egypt had left behind more artefacts than any other civilization in the world, from the colossal Pyramids of Giza to the many sculptures and mummies.
Ever since Egyptology as an interdisciplinary branch of history, archaeology, and science were established, more and more about their history came to be known to the world, and every year around the world, exhibitions about Egypt and its history open door to the public to deliver this knowledge. Here are some of these exhibitions that are making headlines in Autumn.
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