Showing posts with label Osiris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Osiris. Show all posts

Monday, August 5, 2019

August 5, 2019




Through Gemstones, a Glimpse into Ancient Egyptian Civilization
Photo: Spencer et al. Amara West: Living in Egyptian Nubia , 69

On the second day of fieldwork in Abydos, Egypt, Penn doctoral student Shelby Justl stumbled upon something rare: an inscribed piece of ancient limestone called an ostracon. “You rarely find writing in Egyptian archaeology. Writing is either on papyrus, which decays easily, or on stone that fades over time,” she explains. “I translated the text and determined this was a land-transfer document, a bill of sale of two arouras of land.”



Modern Murals of Ancient Egypt

Murals by Alaa Awad in Luxor near the landing for the water taxis at the tour bus/taxi roundabout. Also, check out his Facebook page.



Tracing the Evolution of Beer in Egypt on International Beer Day
Credit: CBS News

Just over 10 years ago, International Beer Day was inaugurated in Santa Cruz as a day-long celebratory event dedicated to the popular brewed drink. Since, worldwide celebrations have taken place in breweries and pubs across the globe with connoisseurs and thirsty individuals gathering to taste and enjoy their favorite beers on the first Friday of the month of August.

Now we could brush this event aside as simply another one of those countless ‘International Days’ that seem to pop up all the time, were it not for the fun fact that beer has a history that can be traced back to ancient Egypt.

Scientists Hope to Recreate A Slice Of Ancient Egypt by Baking Bread with 5,000-Year-Old Yeast

Specialists are attempting to domesticate 5,000-year-old yeast present in clay pots to make the identical sort of bread that might have been damaged by the Ancient Egyptians.

The weird baking undertaking has been realised thanks to a particular process for extracting ancient yeast from artefacts with out damaging them.

In a related style, researchers additionally assume they might make ancient beer.

Note: Beer and Bread making is a always of interest. Here are a few of the articles I found in the past.





Excellently preserved polychrome limestone statues of the official Nefer were among the surprising finds of 2012 © archive of the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University
Between Prague and Cairo. 100 years of Czech Egyptology
© Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University

This year a century will pass since the first lectures in Egyptology, which associate professor FrantiĊĦek Lexa held at the Charles University in the summer semester of 1919. Czech Egyptology has made giant strides forward since then, and the Czech Institute of Egyptology of the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, the only institution of its kind in our country, commemorates the anniversary of this journey by an exhibition organized in cooperation with the Charles University in the exhibition premises of the Karolinum.

The Ba soul existing the tomb on the day of the shadow. Thebes Tomb TT 290. Wikipedia
Birth and Rebirth in Ancient Egypt
The Ba soul existing the tomb on the day of the shadow. Thebes Tomb TT 290. Wikipedia
Birth has always been one the most dangerous periods of human life. In ancient Egypt saving the lives of mother and child during that trial entailed special measures. One was medicine, which was really mostly magic, and the other were religious practices, including prayers to divinities like the Seven Hathors or Isis. But in Egypt, birth was closely paired with death, which was the gateway to rebirth.

Medical papyri, in particular Papyrus Kahun and Papyrus Ebers, or magical ones like Papyrus Berlin 3027, gave a large place to spells and recipes for the protection of mother and child during pregnancy and childbirth. The spells also noted the importance of ensuring human fecundity, one of the pharaoh’s duties towards his people.

Who Were the Mysterious Neolithic People that Enabled the Rise of Ancient Egypt?
Well preserved vs. wind‐eroded remains at Gebel Ramlah. Author provided

To many, ancient Egypt is synonymous with the pharaohs and pyramids of the Dynastic period starting about 3,100BC. Yet long before that, about 9,300-4,000BC, enigmatic Neolithic peoples flourished. Indeed, it was the lifestyles and cultural innovations of these peoples that provided the very foundation for the advanced civilisations to come.

Inside Besix-Orascom's Construction Plan for Grand Egyptian Museum

Located near the internationally famed Giza Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt’s planned Grand Egyptian Museum is set to become one of the largest – if not the biggest – archaeological museum in the world. Devoted entirely to a single civilisation, the museum – currently being built 15km southeast of Cairo – is set to galvanise the global fascination with ancient Egyptian culture.

Tasked with building the project is Belgian construction giant Besix, alongside its 50% owner, Egyptian contracting firm Cairo-based Orascom Construction, which is headed by chief executive officer, Osama Bishai.

Everything We Know About Cairo's New Grand Egyptian Museum
Ramses II at the GEM © Sima Diab

It's been a while since news first broke on Egypt's much anticipated new antiquities museum: the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), which will be the largest archeological museum in the world. The opening date has been pushed back over a year, but we have heard (by Presidential decree, no less) that it will definitely happen in early 2020 . If you have visited Cairo’s existing Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, you'll notice a definite leap from the 19th to the 21st century with this opening. Where the old museum has been a storehouse of treasures, the new one is a $1 billion state-of-the-art, glass and concrete display space that leads guests through a journey similar to Howard Carver's when he discovered the Boy King's tomb a century ago. The new location—outside central Cairo, on the Giza plateau on the edge of the Western Desert—looks out at the famous pyramids and adds even more atmosphere.

How the Pyramids Were Built Inspires Engineering Historians
Dog Sleeping on Great Pyramid © Michalea Moore

The Egyptian pyramids, represented most famously by the pyramids at Giza, are perhaps the most enduring and iconic vestige of the ancient Egyptian civilization. How the pyramids were built, however, remains a source of intense speculation among historians, archaeologists and engineers.

The scale and precision of the pyramids demonstrate the Egyptians’ extraordinary skills in mathematics, astronomy, logistics and engineering. Unfortunately, the Egyptians did not devote the same level of effort to documenting their planning and construction processes. Much of what we know about how the pyramids were built, therefore, comes from observations made and artifacts unearthed by archaeologists at Giza and other Egyptian pyramid sites.

Adventurers to Test Ancient Egypt-to-Black Sea Route
Members of the crew assemble the 14-meter long sailing reed boat Abora IV in the town of Beloslav, Bulgaria, on July 25, 2019 (AFP Photo)

Were the ancient Egyptians able to use reed boats to travel as far as the Black Sea thousands of years ago?

A group of adventurers believes so and will try to prove their theory by embarking on a similar journey in reverse.

In mid-August the team of two dozen researchers and volunteers from eight countries will set off from the Bulgarian port of Varna, hoping their Abora IV reed boat will take them the 700 nautical miles through the Bosporus, the Aegean and as far as the island of Crete.

The Slaughter Court in Sety I Temple, Abydos
Abydos Temple © Michalea Moore

On Sunday Mohammed Abu el-Yezid, from the Ministry of Antiquties in Egypt, came to the Essex Egyptology Group to talk about the Slaughter Court in Seti I's temple at Abydos. He is the Egyptologist and site manager for the province of Sohag (which includes Abydos) and he researched the Slaughter Court for his MA from Ain Shams University where he is currently studying for his PhD.

Searching for Smenkhkare

My book, Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt came out in paperback yesterday, and I’m just beginning to think about going back to Egypt looking for ‘missing tombs’ with a fourth group this October. One of the individuals I talk about in Chapter 3 is a little-known pharaoh called Smenkhkare. He (or perhaps she…?) was a pharaoh of the Amarna Period and probably ruled either towards the end of Akhenaten’s reign as a co-regent, or after Akhenaten’s death as his successor (whether immediate or not).





Assassin's Creed Origins - Game vs Real Life Egypt



360° Travel inside the Great Pyramid of Giza - BBC


I took this trek the first time I visited the Great Pyramid. Very few people make it to the burial chamber, because it's a steep climb that you make hunched over for a lot of the climb. Not sure how I did it, but by the time I reached the chamber, I had the greatest respect for the workers who hauled the sarcophagus to the top.

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.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Sunken Cities: Egypt's Lost Worlds


I recently saw this exhibit at the St. Louis Art Museum, the first city in America to host it. It will be in St. Louis through September 9. World-renowned underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team discovered  two lost cities of ancient Egypt, which were submerged under the Mediterranean Sea for over a thousand years.

The exhibit is quite well organized and provides ample room for a mass of people.  I went on one of the museum's free days, and every entrance time slot was full, yet, I never felt pushed or crowded. All in all, one of the best exhibits I've seen in some time.

I took several photos, and I hope you enjoy some of them.

While waiting to enter the exhibit, you can study a mural of what they believe the submerged city looked like. The temple looks a lot like Edfu to me, so it might just be their fantasy.



When I visited Egypt in 2006 and 2007, I saw some of artifacts in the exhibit. At the time, they were bringing them up and "stashing" them in a Roman amphitheater in Alexandria. I remember seeing statues resembling the ones shown here, although they were rather crusted in lichen so I can't be sure they were the same ones.

The first statue is of the goddess Isis, if memory serves.

The second statue is of Arsinoe II, which is a magnificent example of Graeco-Egyptian art. The drapery of her dress is amazing. This sculpture might have been a cult statue of Arsinoe in the Serapeum of Canopus

Now, let's get our steles on. It's almost impossible for me to say which one I liked best, although I'm tilted toward the young Horus standing on a crocodile (Set?) and holding snakes in each fist.


I found these statues, both of Osiris, remarkable because they are made of wood, not stone or marble. Only after I read the information and pressed my nose to the glass did I see the wood grain.



And speaking of Osiris. . . . the mysteries of Osiris supposedly became less mysterious based on these findings. I bought the exhibition catalog, which supposedly explains all this, but I have not yet read it. Nonetheless, there were plenty of Osirion pieces, and here are a few of them.

  1. This statue called the Awakening of Osiris has long been a favorite of mine and was not found in the Mediterranean.
  2. Osiris Vegetans Figure in a Falcon-headed Coffin (800-600 BC). This figure is also called a corn-mummy and was formed from earth, Nile flood water, and seeds and then swaddled in linen. They were sprinkled with water until the seeds grew, which symbolized both the rebirth of Osiris and the annual regeneration of Egypt. 
  3. Osiris on Funeral and Revival Bed (1773 -1650 BC) found at Abydos represents the moment when Isis in the form of a kite (bird of prey) revives him with the breath of her wings. The etching behind the statue shows the same story, which I believe is from a carving from the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. 
  4. Osiris-Canopus (AD 100-200) is marble sculpture, which was produced after Egypt  became part of the Roman Empire. 

Horus, Taweret, and the Apis Bull represent the gods as sacred animals.


These beautiful fragments are the god Bes and a sacred ram of the god Amun.

And finally, the most whimsical piece in the exhibition, a commemorative column with a votive foot from the Temple of Ras el-Soda. The temple was dedicated to Osiris, Isis, and Horus. The Greek inscription reads "Flung from his carriage by his horses at the spot, Isidoros, restored to health by divine intervention, in exchange for  his feet." Isidoros dedicated this sculpture to the "Blessed," which was a name frequently used to describe Isis.

For the most recent article on the exhibition, see Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds in Antiquities and the Arts Weekly.

Monday, April 30, 2018

Ancient Egypt April 2018



Emblems for the Afterlife

The decorated tombs of Beni Hassan, a cemetery site on the east bank of the Nile in central Egypt, not only bear the stamp of the artisans who decorated them, but also reflect the lives lived by the deceased. The tombs date to the 11th and 12th Dynasties of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (2050–1650 B.C.) and offer some of the best-preserved examples of how artists and tomb owners conceived of the natural world. Originally surveyed between 1893 and 1900 by Egyptologist Percy E. Newberry, they are now being reexamined by a team of researchers from Australia’s Macquarie University.

Ancient shrine, Roman emperor bust discovered in Egypt

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered an ancient shrine and a bust of a Roman emperor in southern Egypt, officials said on Sunday. The shrine of god Osiris-Ptah Neb, dating back to the 25th dynasty, was found in the Temples of Karnak in the southern city of Luxor.

This find has generated a lot of news:
Chariots! Swords! Action!
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Around 1 p.m. Tuesday, the thwack of Masonite on cardboard and blood-curdling war cries will ring out across the Quiet Green as the armies of Ramesses the Great and Muwatalli II fight for control of the ancient city of Kadesh, just as they did 3,300 years ago and 5,400 miles away.

Colossal statue of 'forgotten' pharaoh brought to life in 3D images

When a huge statue of a pharaoh was uncovered last year in Matariya, a working-class suburb of Cairo that was once the ancient city of Heliopolis, the press eagerly greeted it as a depiction of the great Ramses II, one of ancient Egypt's most famous rulers.

To many it came as a disappointment when a tiny inscription found on the back pillar of the statue suggested it in fact belonged to Psamtik I, a lesser-known pharaoh who ruled six centuries later, from 664-610 BC.

Egyptian mummies, hidden tattoos and the archaeologist who experiments on himself

Archaeologist Renee Freidman couldn't believe her eyes.

She was pointing a digital infra-red camera at a 5,500-year-old Egyptian mummy on display at the British Museum.

"I said, 'Mmm, there's a smudge on his right arm, I wonder what that is?'," Dr Freidman said.

"We had believed that only females were tattooed [in predynastic Egypt]. I really didn't expect anything.

Ancient Egyptian Incantations Tell of Biblical Human Sacrifice

Scientists have deciphered what they describe as a 1,500-year-old 'magical papyrus' that was discovered near the pyramid of the Pharaoh Senwosret I.

The text dates to a time when Christianity was widely practiced in Egypt.The  unnamed person(s) who wrote the incantations in Coptic, an Egyptian language that uses the Greek alphabet, invoked God many times.

King Tut Set to be the Egyptian Museum’s Newest Tour Guide

Thanks to augmented reality technology, Cairo’s famous Egyptian Museum is set to receive a new tour guide – in the form of Ancient Egypt’s famous pharaoh, Tutankhamun.

The New Kingdom king will appear to museum visitors as a hologram at the central Tutankhamun exhibit. According to Ramy Hammady, the application designer, the pharaoh will introduce himself and show visitors his riches. The experience will require a headset, into which Hammady’s ‘Museum-Eye’ system will be integrated, and will transform the gallery into Tutankhamun’s temple. There will be a floating user interface with options of what to look at as the pharaoh takes users on a tour of his palace.

EGYPTIAN CIVILISATIONS BROUGHT TO LIFE FOR THE BBC AT FAB LAB WARRINGTON

Egyptian artifacts discovered at Ancient burial sites have been faithfully recreated by 3D printing at Fab Lab Warrington. A series of canopic jars, used to preserve organs for the afterlife, and other objects were made as part of a festival held by the BBC that saw museums up and down the country come to life with new, interactive exhibits.

Close Call: How Howard Carter Almost Missed King Tut's Tomb

British backer Lord Carnarvon wanted to call off the search for the lost tomb of Tutankhamun after six fruitless years of searching, but Howard Carter convinced him to stick it out for one more season—resulting in the 20th century's most famous find.

A hush fell on the group of British and Egyptian observers standing at the sealed doorway on November 26, 1922. Three weeks earlier, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his team had stumbled on a rubble-filled stairway in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.

Ancient Egyptian papyrus could be the first record of a man getting fired for sexual assault

Over three thousand years ago, a man named Paneb was one of the most accomplished workmen in a town of artisans who chiseled the pharaohs’ tombs. Yet, his corruption and treatment of women made him insufferable and may have cost him his job. It is one of the earliest known cases of powerful men brought down by charges of sexual misconduct.

FBI uses DNA to solve mystery of 4,000-year-old Egyptian mummy

Scientists from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have solved a century-old mystery after using forensic DNA evidence to discover the identity of a 4,000-year-old head from ancient Egypt.

Stunning Greco-Roman temple in the Egyptian desert

It took scientists a while before they realized the enormity of their discovery. Aside from the temple itself, archaeologists have also discovered a trove of artifacts, including statues, coins, and pottery.

Image Credits: Egypt Ministry of Antiquities.
The discovery was made in Egypt’s Western Desert, some 348 miles west of Cairo and 200 miles south of the Mediterranean Sea, in the Siwa Oasis. As archaeologist Sarah Parcak explained, it’s not every day that you find this kind of temple.

Ramses II colossus revealed in Egypt's Luxor after restoration

Ministry of Antiquities celebrations of World Heritage Day extended to Luxor as Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany and Luxor Governor Mohamed Badr inaugurated a new display at Luxor Museum after the transfer of 122 artefacts from the King Tutankhamun collection at the Grand Egyptian Museum.








Click link to see an animation of this ostrakon from Turin Museum ostraca Deir el Medina
File:Female topless egyption dancer on ancient ostrakon.jpg