Ancient Egypt September 3 2018

Labor Day in Ancient Egypt

Labor Day is a holiday in the United States, and one most of us look forward to celebrating. (Who doesn't like a day off work?) This link is to a post I did for Labor Day 2015; to be perfectly honest, not that much changed in ancient Egyptian labor practices since2015.

THE B-LIST: Mystery, mysticism and mummies — uncovering adventure in the deserts of Egypt
Universal Studios

From Indiana Jones to Lara Croft, Nathan Drake to Captain Nemo, you've just got to love a good adventure built around a treasure hunter.

And while the lost Incan cities of Peruvian jungles, Mexico's fabled Fountain of Youth and mountainous Chinese ruins make for memorable settings, there's one place known for magic treasure that never fails to fire the imagination: Egypt.

Hidden Stories of Egyptian Museum

A tour in the Egyptian Museum would take its visitors to ancient Egypt. It is a time travel journey to decipher the symbols of the amazing monuments and to know the meaning of the most important archaeological pieces in the museum.

The Egyptian Museum has an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. The museum was opened in 1902, during the reign of Khedive Abbas Helmy II in the heart of Cairo.

Student discovers writing on pieces of ancient Egyptian mummy case
This historical photo shows the ancient Egyptian mummy case on display at the Stanford museum before the 1906 earthquake broke it into pieces. Credit: Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries

When Ariela Algaze signed up for a spring 2018 course on museums, she didn't expect to get wrapped up in the mystery of an ancient Egyptian mummy case that Jane Stanford herself purchased more than 100 years ago.

"I was just excited to learn how to put an exhibit display together," said Algaze, a Stanford art history sophomore. "But I became obsessed with finding out everything I could about this artifact."

A Female Figurine from Ancient Egypt

Countless figurines have been found in Egypt, from steatopygous figurines in the Predynastic to blue faience nude figurines, from paddle dolls to innumerable shabtis, statuettes designed to spring to life in the afterlife to work for their master in the Fields of Reeds. This particular figurine – E.6895 – predates the New Kingdom (c. 16th Century BCE) and is something of a curious find. The object comes from Garstang’s excavation at Abydos (1906-1909). The statuette features an elaborate headdress or wig, and is decorated with rounded impressions across the entirety of the figurine. These “punctures” are paralleled on other figurines from the Pharaonic Period.

New Books in Egyptology – July-August 2018

Every two months the Nile Scribes update our readers on the most recent Egyptological publications. From accessible reads to peer-reviewed scholarship, we hope to illustrate the wide variety of topics discussed in Egyptology, and perhaps introduce you to your next read! This summer has seen a vast array of topics addressed through new publications, ranging from astronomy and ceramics to imperialism and tomb robberies. Below are eleven new books that were released this summer (July and August 2018).

Archaeological inspection unearths a partial Ptolemaic necropolis in Alexandria

An Egyptian archaeological mission discovered a Ptolemaic necropolis in Alexandria’s western cemetery while carrying out a preliminary archaeological inspection before erecting an iron gate around a workshop at the Gabal Al-Zaytoun railway station in Alexandria.

Pyramid of Khafre’s maintenance works start after Eid el-Adha
Pyramid of Khafre – Egypt Today.

Head of Central Administration for the Restoration and Development of Monuments, Dr. Gharib Sonbol, stated that maintenance works in the pyramid of Khafre will be held after the Eid el-Adha vacation (Muslim celebrations).

The maintenance is carried periodically by the Ministry of Antiquities in an effort to protect the ancient Egyptian monuments.

Sitchin’s rocket in the tomb of Amenhotep-Huy

Painting of the west wall in the tomb of Huy by Charles K. Wilkinson (1920s),  Image © Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

 If you had ever wondered how I came to be writing cranky blog posts debunking memes on the internet, and for that matter, critiquing old art history publications, it is a slightly organic process for me.  I often use the internet for research and I research Near Eastern iconography, which naturally now and then involves searching for images or publications.

After resolutely excluding Pinterest from searches I quite often also come across links to pseudo-science posts that make uninformed claims about ancient art.  Rather than have a complete meltdown, or shun the internet entirely, I write these responses.  It is surprisingly relaxing, my partner sorts stamps, I sort blog posts, in a manner of speaking.

Great Sphinx in Egypt is 800,000 years-old, scientists claim

The Great Sphinx in Egypt is 800,000 years-old, according to a controversial new theory.

A pair of Ukrainian researchers say the mysterious structure is far older than the accepted claim that it was built during the reign of the Pharaoh Khafre between 2558–2532 BC.

Manichev Vjacheslav I. and Alexander G. Parkhomenko say evidence of water erosion at the monuments of the Giza Plateau shows the monument was partially flooded.

What really happened to the Library of Alexandria? - Elizabeth Cox

Picture of the week: Isis Temple, Philae, 1920

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.

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.

Ancient Egypt October 23

Archaeology: The wonder of the pyramids
James L. Stanfield/NATL Geographic Creative

In Giza and the Pyramids, veteran Egyptologists Mark Lehner and Zahi Hawass cite an Arab proverb: “Man fears time, but time fears the pyramids.” It's a reminder that the great Egyptian complex on the Giza Plateau has endured for some four and a half millennia — the last monument standing of that classical-era must-see list, the Seven Wonders of the World.

Lehner and Hawass have produced an astonishingly comprehensive study of the excavations and scientific investigations that have, over two centuries, uncovered the engineering techniques, religious and cultural significance and other aspects of the Giza site. Three decades in the making, the book has undergone many iterations in step with new findings, from tombs to data gleaned from the study of clay sealings, plant remains, bakeries, abattoirs and workshops.

Colors of Ancient Egypt

Color (Ancient Egyptian name "iwen") was considered an integral part of an item's or person's nature in Ancient Egypt, and the term could interchangeably mean color, appearance, character, being or nature. Items with similar color were believed to have similar properties.

What tracing a tough commute in ancient Egypt reveals about osteoarthritis
The climb to the Valley of the Kings from the village of Deir el-Medina. Anne Austin

Osteoarthritis is a disease that is millions of years old. Researchers have even found evidence for osteoarthritis in dinosaurs. It’s also one of the most prevalent diseases to impact our bones – and its rates will only grow with an ageing population worldwide. . .
My recent research on osteoarthritis from the ancient Egyptian village of Deir el-Medina is an example of looking into the past to help modern clinical studies. Bones and texts showed how decades of strenuous hikes led to higher levels of osteoarthritis in workers’ knees and ankles.

4000 years old wooden head discovered in Sakkara

A wooden head, probably of the sixth dynasty queen Ankhnespepy II, has been unearthed in the area located to the east of her Pyramid in Sakkara necropolis during excavation work carried out by a French-Swiss team from Geneva University.

Historian Daniel Rafaelic on the portrayal of Ancient Egypt in cinema

For decades, ancient Egyptians mystified both the public and specialized scholars around the world; but one Croatian specialist took this fascination a step further. Enthusiastic about Egyptian history and films related to or shot in Egypt, Daniel Rafaelic studied both archaeology and cinema. A doctoral candidate, Rafaelic now teaches at the departments of history, archaeology and psychology at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Volcanoes may have triggered riots in ancient Egypt
Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Famine is no pharaoh’s friend—just ask Cleopatra or Ptolemy III. But those rulers may have had more to blame than just bad luck: According to a new study, volcanic eruptions around the ancient world likely suppressed the Nile’s annual floods—critical for agriculture—by altering rainfall upriver in the Ethiopian highlands several times from the 3rd to 1st centuries B.C.E. The climatic consequences of those eruptions may have helped trigger tax riots and other forms of social unrest, social scientists say.

Other articles:

• A study shows how ancient Egypt struggled with drastic changes in the climate
• Ancient Egypt’s rulers mishandled climate disasters. Then the people revolted.

Who was Ramses II?

Newly discovered temple sheds light on Ancient Egyptian ruler who fathered 160 children and loved building
A new temple has been found, dedicated to the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, at Abusir in Egypt and shows the might of Ramses II and the prevalence of the Sun Gods.

In history he has become one of the best known Egyptian Pharaohs, renowned for his might in battle and imposing his architectural stamp on the Ancient world.

In life he was known for the building programmes he started - even creating a new capital based on his name- and for leading the Egyptian army against the Hittites, Syrians, and Lybians.

Parts of a Ramses II temple uncovered in Giza's Abusir
Cartouche of Ramesse II. Courtesy of the Czech Institute of Egyptology

Parts of a temple to King Ramses II (1213-1279 BC), along with reliefs of solar deities, have been uncovered by an Egyptian-Czech mission during excavation work in Abusir necropolis in the the governorate of Giza.

Building like the Egyptians
Photo courtesy of Jonesville Elementary/Middle School

From the Book of Exodus in The Bible to the classic horror films of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Ancient Egypt has loomed large in both history and popular culture and nothing has loomed larger than its most distinguishing feature, the pyramids.


Picture of the week

Portrait of Giovanni Battista Belzoni (1778-1823) by Fabroni.

Ancient Egypt this week: Ramses the Great dominates

Children's footprints and rare painting fragments at the site of a mysterious Egyptian palace
Researchers found a preserved mortar pit at Egypt's Qantir-Piramesse site. In the preserved mortar they found children's footprints and painting fragments. The team have previously used magnetic imaging to find that the Qantir-Piramesse site was once an Egyptian pharaoh's palace-temple complex.

Archaeologists in Egypt unearth pharaonic structures

Archaeologists have unearthed several Pharaonic structures in Egypt's Nile Delta, the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry announced Tuesday. According to a ministry statement, an Egyptian-German archaeological mission discovered the buildings - one of which they believe is a palace temple - in the village of Qantir, located some 60 miles northeast of Cairo.

Professing Faith: Egyptian cow goddess sheds light on biblical stories

If I were to call one of my colleagues at the college a cow — not that I have ever been thus tempted, of course — doubtless it would be a great insult and would involve an angry phone call for the Human Resources office.

But in ancient times, this would be taken as a high compliment, particularly in the Egypt of the pharaohs. And the cow goddess may shed some light on more than one famous story in the Bible.

Gas Chromatography Reveals the Owner of Ancient Mummified Legs

An international team of archaeologists have identified a pair of mummified legs as belonging to Queen Nefertari, the royal wife of Pharaoh Ramses II — possibly the most powerful pharaoh in Egypt’s history. Nefertari’s opulent tomb was discovered in Egypt’s Valley of the Queens in 1904 by Italian archaeologists, with the remains being kept in a museum in Turin.

For Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, Life Was a Banquet, But the Afterlife Was the Greatest Feast of All

In Ancient Egypt, inanimate objects—particularly images created for tombs or temples—were believed to contain latent magical powers. What was drawn or etched on stone could later come into being in another cosmos. That is why so many pharaonic works of art show tables piled high with food. Nobody wanted to go hungry in the afterlife. On the contrary, the ancient Egyptians hoped they would enjoy the greatest feast of all in that other realm.

Girl, 17 going on 2,300, visits Fort Lauderdale

It’s been a hard-knock life for “Annie,” a 2,300-year-old ancient Egyptian mummy that’s the centerpiece of a new exhibit at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale.

Ancient Egyptian's Baboon Obsession Laid Hidden Within Luxor Tomb

A secret chamber inside a royal scribe's tomb shows that his muse was, apparently, a primate.

For Jiro Kondo and his team from Waseda University, it began as just another day of excavating at Luxor, an Egyptian city famous for its temples and other ancient monuments. The researchers were taking care of mundane tasks at an area to the east of the forecourt of the known tomb of Userhat, who was a royal scribe.

The complex nature of the Ancient Egyptian funeral

The Egyptians had some of the most elaborate funeral practices of any other great civilisation. However, it is important to understand that these customs evolved continuously throughout history, and therefore we cannot generalise them.