Ancient Egyptians took their board games seriously. The backgammonlike senet started out as a mere pastime, but over nearly 2 millennia it evolved into a game with deep links to the afterlife, played on a board that represented the underworld. Now, a version of the game sitting in a California museum might reveal when this dramatic transformation took place.
Senet probably wasn’t the world’s first board game, but it was one of the first to become a smash hit. It seems to have risen to popularity in all tiers of Egyptian society about 5000 years ago—and was still being enjoyed by Egyptians 2500 years later.
Get to Know the Doctor: Magic Spells (video)
Rita Lucarelli Egyptologist
The Greek historian Herodotus is widely known as the “father of history”. His magisterial Histories, written in the 5th century BC, has provided modern scholars with a wealth of rich detail on the Greco-Persian wars and the Mediterranean society in which he lived.
However, Herodotus has also attracted the ire of his readers for the apparent errors and inventions that permeate his text. The Greek biographer Plutarch once famously described him as “malicious”, and said that those who hoped to detect “all his lies and fictions would have need of many books.”
An 3,400-year-old inscribed Egyptian anchor uncovered in Israel is on display for the first time at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, within the exhibition “Emoglyphs. Picture-Writing from Hieroglyphs to the Emoji.”
As reported by Haaretz, the artifact was spotted by chance by an Israeli veterinarian swimming off the shores of Atlit, south of Haifa.
“I saw it, kept on swimming for a few meters, then realized what I had seen and dived to touch it,” Rafi Bahalul told Haaretz. “It was like entering an Egyptian temple at the bottom of the Mediterranean.”
A Ramses II obelisk, parts of which were unearthed in Egypt last August, is set to be fully re-assembled and displayed in downtown Cairo’s busy Tahrir Square, after the foundation of the monument was successfully installed in the center of the well-known traffic circle.
The step came as part of the government efforts to revamp the iconic square and draw attention to Egypt’s rich ancient history, with Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities having transported eight blocks of the statue unearthed in August 2019 at Zagazig, a city in Lower Egypt.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jewels of the Nile: 11 Awesome Egyptian Museums The Coptic museum holds the largest collection of Egyptian Christian relics in the world. Courtesy Experience Egypt, Egyptian Tourism Authority
For much of the 20th century, the Egyptian Museum in the center of Cairo was the gold standard for collections along the Nile.
Mainly because among the many nuggets inside were the glimmering death mask of Tutankhamun and all the other relics discovered in the boy king's tomb by archeologist Howard Carter in 1922.
But Egypt has always had far more treasures than a single museum could display.
The museum turned over the coffin after learning it had been looted from Egypt back in 2011
The coffin, believed to be crafted between 50 and 150 BC, was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art two years ago — but was fooled by phony documentation. It appears to have been stolen from Egypt during the 2011 uprisings. NBC New York’s Gus Rosendale reports.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has announced the “Queen Nefertari: Eternal Egypt” exhibition will be coming to Kansas City in November. The exhibition celebrates the mysterious queen and wife to Pharaoh Ramesses II, who referred to her as “The One For Whom The Sun Shines.”
The exhibit will not only focus on the queen herself, but also will feature the women of ancient Egypt. Emphasis will be put on royal life in palaces, everyday life of female artisans, and the strong underlying belief system of ancient Egypt. The exhibit is scheduled to run from Nov. 15 to March 29.
Inside One of Egypt’s Biggest Royal Weddings The relief above the text shows Ramses II (left), enthroned, wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt. The gods Ptah (second from left) and Seth (seated at right) sit with him. Standing to the right is his bride, Queen Maathorneferure, and her father, King Hattusilis (far right), who did not accompany his daughter to Egypt.
When Ramses II married a Hittite princess, it strengthened the political alliance between the two former enemies. But the arrangements weren’t easy to make.
RAMSES II ENJOYED one of the longest reigns in Egyptian history. He spent more than 65 years on the throne during a period of military and cultural splendor which would win him the title Ramses the Great.
In 1249 B.C. Ramses II had been ruling for 30 years. To commemorate such a notable occasion, pharaohs held jubilee celebrations known as Heb Sed. Ramses chose his magnificent new capital city, Pi-Ramses, to stage a suitably lavish celebration for this milestone.
When does vandalism become an archaeological feature? When it’s done in antiquity, of course.
In the featured image of this article above is a photo of a particular kind of vandalism commonly referred to as “pilgrim gouges.” I’ve noticed these peculiar scoops of stone in various photos of columns, ashlar blocks, monuments and so on, but never really stopped to think about what they were.
In hindsight, all the examples I can think of or locate on the net or in books, are within reach of people. Still, my first guesses included eroded palimpsests and some sort of vandalism in antiquity.
Check out Kat Luno's Art Work! Book Cover painting for "The Union of Isis and Thoth" by Nicki Scully and Normandi Ellis; Inner Traditions Bear & Co. 9" x 12" Oil on Panel.
Kat is an oil painter & illustrator who loves working with color, symbolism, and portraiture. Her work is infused with a fascination for subjects such as world mythologies, psychology, science fiction & fantasy, as well as various mystical systems such as Tarot and Qabalah. Stylistically, she is influenced by a number of disparate artistic genres that all seem to coalesce into something cohesive in her mind. These include classical realism (particularly turn-of-the-century Russian realism), surrealism, visionary art, spiritual & religious iconography, as well as many kinds of illustration genres
A sarcophagus with a mummy inside is seen in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), Cairo, Egypt, on Sept. 21, 2019. Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany witnessed on Saturday the unpacking process of two ancient sarcophagi ahead of their restoration and display in a new museum. The mummies in the two sarcophagi belong to a senior official of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and his wife, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The golden coffin of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun will be restored for the first time since its discovery, ahead of a new museum exhibit next year.
The three thousand year old Egyptian relic is in a fragile state and will require careful restoration before it goes on public display next year.
When Mohamed Ghaly's workshop was reduced to rubble in February, he could never imagine that a new cultural centre dedicated to an instrument with Pharaonic roots would thrive just months later.
The semsemia, similar to a harp and made of beechwood with steel strings, is believed to have ancient Egyptian roots. It appears on ornate engravings on tombs.
Ghaly, a carpenter by trade, is one of the last craftsmen in Egypt keeping the cultural heritage of the instrument alive.
With its most famed objects going to a fancy new site, this most iconic of museums is approaching a crossroads, and some worry Egypt isn’t facing up to the very real challenges.
...The majestic Egyptian Museum sends out its siren song, a neoclassical vision in salmon pink that seems at odds with the madness that envelops it. This stately old dame has been attracting visitors since 1902, all of them enticed by its collection of treasures, from the sparkly equipage of pharaohs and their chilling mummified remains to ancient stoneware and everyday items used by the masses.
Smells are everywhere and humans have always been conscious of them, but ancient Egyptians were among the first to document and judge smells.
What are smellscapes?
The word smellscape refers to all the smells found in a given area. Many smellscapes together form a smellmap. The modern method of smellmapping starts with smellwalking – walking around in the city and recording the smells one encounters. Since odors cannot be recorded digitally, the notes can be either in writing or by recording one’s voice.
Tantalising radar shadows have revived hopes that one of history's most beautiful, and controversial, women — Queen Nefertiti — may indeed be buried in secret chambers within King Tut's famous tomb.
British and Egyptian Egyptologists earlier this week conducted a three-day radar scan of the world-famous tomb discovered by Howard Carter in 1922.
Thuya was an Egyptian noblewoman of the Eightieth Dynasty who was the mother of queen Tuye and the wife of Tuya. She is best known for being the grandmother of Akhenaten and Tutankhamun, two great pharaohs of the same era. Together with her husband, Thuya was buried in the Valley of the Kings in the famous tomb KV46, until she was found in 1905.
Every two months, the Nile Scribes bring you summaries of the latest news and discoveries in Egyptology, both from the field and the library. They introduce you to the newest archaeological finds or rediscovered artefacts from museum collections, plus other new theories stirring in the Egyptological Zeitgeist.
The beginning of summer has revealed a wide array of new finds including brightly-decorated coffins, parts of an older church hiding under a basilica, and a large amount of rock art near Aswan.
A sunken ship found in the Nile river may have lain undisturbed for over 2,500 years, but now it is finally ponying up its secrets. Scientists think that this ship has revealed a structure whose existence has been debated for centuries.
In fragment 2.96 of Herodotus' Histories, published around 450 BCE, the Ancient Greek historian - who was writing about his trip to Egypt - describes a type of Nile cargo boat called a baris.
According to his portrayal, it was constructed like brickwork, lined with papyrus, and with a rudder that passed through a hole in the keel.
The Giza plateau in Cairo, Egypt, has fascinated experts and the public alike for decades.
Questions on who built the pyramids and why, as well as what is hidden beneath the Sphinx have never been fully answered.
Matthew Sibson, an ancient history and civilisations expert, believes there are still many secrets to uncover and in his most recent video, he explores a little-known opening at the back of the Sphinx which may lead to a Pharaoh's ancient burial chamber below.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
![Pilgrim gouges on the buttocks of sphinxes on the Avenue of Sphinxes at Karnak. Photo by Cammyjams [Flickr].](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPSmb9EAMbdcXeVtW5bbQ_Zbrv4uzzQ5mh3qUbOmWEN0fokQRWNYS7kVAHItyIUrDdMC3spBDQlF-_XpqtgCRkDOMTWVBuCvOb0vD1RM7b9guI-z5_D8C3Q7HleHSQ2NgkpmnZeilP90i/s1600/pilgrim-1.jpg "Pilgrim gouges on the buttocks of sphinxes on the Avenue of Sphinxes at Karnak. Photo by Cammyjams [Flickr].")
