An efficient drainage system for rain and wastewater is important for every complex society. Even today, water discharge is a central issue in Egypt, especially in the global metropolis Cairo. While irrigation is frequently discussed in Egyptology, dewatering systems are only rarely investigated.
No known depictions or textual sources mention dewatering systems, but there are a variety of archeological finds that elucidate the range, innovation, and high quality of ancient Egyptian engineering skills long before the arrival of Roman water management techniques.
Egyptian methods for dewatering in temples, tombs, and houses are well attested from the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE onward. For example, dewatering systems are used for rain as well as wastewater from bathrooms and kitchens, and there is evidence for these systems in houses, temples, and tombs. Moreover, used water also had to be removed from industrial sites such as those used for dyeing, washhouses, and mummification workshops, since considerable amounts of water were necessary during the embalming process.
Egypt's recent decision to transport ancient Pharaonic artifacts to a traffic circle in the congested heart of Cairo has fueled fresh controversy over the government's handling of its archaeological heritage.
Cairo has some of the worst air pollution in the world, according to recent studies. Archaeologists and heritage experts fear vehicle exhaust will damage the four ram-headed sphinxes and an obelisk, currently en route to their new home in Tahrir Square.
This week’s Hubble image shows an elegant spiral galaxy named NGC 4455, located in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair).
This unusually named constellation took its title from an Egyptian queen who ruled from around 250 BC. The Hubble astronomers explained the myth for which the constellation is named: “The story of Queen Berenice II is an interesting one,” the astronomers said. “A ruling queen of the ancient Greek city of Cyrene in modern-day Libya, and later a queen of Ptolemaic Egypt through her marriage to her cousin Ptolemy III Euergetes, Berenice became known for sacrificing locks of her hair as an offering to ensure her husband’s safe return from battle. Her husband did indeed return safely and her hair, which she had left in a Zephyrium temple, had disappeared — it had apparently been stolen and placed among the stars
Tourists in Egypt flocked to Queen Hatshepsut Temple on Monday to witness the sun fall perpendicular on the holy shrines of the ancient monument, a unique astronomical phenomenon marking the ancient Egyptian festival of the Goddess Hathor.
A group of Japanese tourists visited the temple, which is located west of Egypt’s Luxor, in order to witness the phenomenon, with dozens of visitors from countries around the world taking photos inside the complex.
Crowds of tourists and Egyptians are expected to flock to Luxor on December 21 to witness the magnificent phenomenon of the sun aligning on the Temple of Amun inside the 4,000-year-old Karnak Temple.
The annual two-hour event, starts at 6 a.m., will mark the first day of winter, as per the outstanding progressive knowledge of the ancient Egyptian.
Every year, attendees come to watch the sunlight as it falls perfectly perpendicular on the sanctuary of Amun Ra’a at the center of the temple; the sunrays then move towards the temple’s gates to reach Hatshepsut's ancient temple.
An Egyptian archaeological mission uncovered on Saturday a small royal statue of a Sphinx during excavation in Minya province, south of the capital Cairo, the country's Ministry of Antiquities said in a statement.
"The statue is made of limestone with 35 cm in height and 55 cm in length," said Gamal el-Samastawy, director general of the Antiquities of Middle Egypt, a department of the ministry.
"The clear and beautiful features and details of the statue mirrored the skillfulness of the ancient Egyptian sculptor," he added.
By analysing the dentistry of a woman who lived in Ancient Egypt, archaeologists have made a surprising discovery: her unusual profession. A video provides all the details...
With this incredible discovery, archaeologists have gone from surprise to surprise. A short time ago, a team of scientists from the University of Alberta, in Canada, analysed the teeth of a woman who lived 4000 years ago, in Ancient Egypt. From this study, they learnt a lot more than they expected.
On Dec. 9, the Grand Egyptian Museum received 309 artifacts dating back to different eras. Among them were 64 heavy artifacts transferred from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir.
The artifacts were transferred amid the tight security measures of the Tourism and Antiquities Police and the Security Forces. General Supervisor of the Grand Egyptian Museum Atef Moftah stated that some of the transferred artifacts will be placed on the Great Staircase, while other artifacts will be exhibited in different halls of the museum according to their era.
Archaeologists and astronomers visited on Monday the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor’s Qurna mountain to witness a sun alignment on the temple’s inner sanctum, lighting up an image of the sun god Amun-Ra inscribed in the form of a winged sun disk.
The sun alignment phenomenon takes place every year on occasion of the ancient Egyptians celebrations of the feast of the god Horus, an example of their greatness in the field of astronomy.
Ahram Online reports that a mudbrick wall dating to the New Kingdom period, blocks from colossal royal statues dating to the Middle Kingdom period, and Old Kingdom moulds for the manufacture of faience amulets and capital fragments of palm columns have been uncovered at the Heliopolis Temple site, which is located in the Matariya area of northern Cairo. “It came as a surprise that these layers directly overlay a stratum of the prehistoric settlement of Heliopolis,” said Aymen Ashmawi of the Egyptian Antiquities Department.
These Mysterious Egyptian Head Cones Actually Existed, Grave Find Reveals AMARNA PROJECT
Look closely at paintings of ancient Egyptians and you might spot something strange: cones the size of a coffee cup sitting atop some of their heads. The objects have long baffled archaeologists, many of whom have wondered whether they were merely a symbol. Now, a new study finds these “head cones” were indeed real: Researchers have recovered two of the curious accoutrements in burials dating back 3300 years.
Archaeologists made the discoveries at Akhetaten, one of ancient Egypt’s most unusual cities. The site was occupied for no more than about 15 years during the 14th century B.C.E. while Egypt was under the rule of the pharaoh who gave the location its name, Akhenaten. He developed a short-lived (and, in the eyes of later pharaohs, heretical) religious system focused on the worship of a single god, represented by the Sun. He may also have been Tutankhamun’s father.
The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced on Wednesday, 11 December 2019, that it has discovered a rare statue of King Ramesses II during excavations near Giza Pyramids west of Cairo.
In a statement, the ministry said that the statue was unearthed during excavation works the ministry’s teams started last week inside a piece of land owned by a citizen near the great temple of Ptah in at Mit Rahina (Memphis).
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.
Photo taken on June 28, 2019 shows relics unearthed from a tomb dating back to the Middle Kingdom era which is some 500 meters from the pyramid of Senusret II, the Pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty, in Faiyum, Egypt. Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany inaugurated on Friday the pyramid of Senusret II, the Pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty, marking its opening to visitors for the first time. Known as el-Lahun Pyramid, the royal cemetery dates back to the period between 1897 BC to 1878 BC and is located in Faiyum Governorate, 100 km southwest of the capital Cairo. (Xinhua/Li Yan)
An archaeologist reveals evidence hinting at Queen Hatshepsut's alleged affair with a local 3,500 years on in The Nile: Egypt's Great River With Bettany Hughes.
In the Channel 5 documentary, the presenter is taken to a part of the Egyptian pharaoh's temple that's usually off limits.
There, hidden wall carvings offer an intimate insight into the remarkable woman's life and hint at an illicit affair with courtier, Senenmut.
'He seems to be present everywhere,' says Bettany, as she explores the tomb. 'This is Senenmut – not a member of the royal family and yet beautifully depicted all over the Queen of Egypt's temple.'
Sometime in the third century b.c., an earthquake struck the eastern Mediterranean. In Thonis-Heracleion, past its peak but still one of Egypt’s greatest ports, the ground began to shake, and the soil gave way. The city had been built upon low-lying islets, bits of silt and clay left behind from the Nile’s summer floods. Temples would have towered over the city, where each year, priests would form the earthly body of Osiris—the god of the afterlife and rebirth—from gold, barley grain, and river water.
Did ancient Egyptian children compete to see who could spit seeds the furthest as they ate watermelons? It seems likely, because thanks to some DNA detective work we now know for sure that the ancient Egyptians ate domesticated watermelons with sweet, red flesh.
Adventures of a Space Archaeologist A satellite image revealed the houses and streets of Tanis, the capital of ancient Egypt from 1070 to 712 BC.Credit: DigitalGlobe/Maxar via Getty
The ancient city of Tanis was Egypt’s capital for more than 350 years before the centre of power shifted, and the city was eventually lost under centuries of silt. In 1939, archaeologists working there uncovered temples and tombs containing treasures to rival Tutankhamun’s. But Tanis was largely forgotten amid the horrors of the Second World War, until a fictional version featured in Steven Spielberg’s 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. In one scene, archaeologist Indiana Jones sneaks into a map room in which the entire city is laid out, and discovers that the Nazis seeking the titular ark are digging in the wrong place.
In 2010, space archaeologist Sarah Parcak had her own map-room moment at Tanis.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Michigan seized five jars of ancient Egyptian mummy linen coming illegally through the northern border last month.
Inspection of a shipment on a Canadian mail truck in Marysville, Michigan on May 25 revealed the illegal antiquities believed to be from between 305 to 30 BCE, CBP said in a news release.
An ancient alligator god. A living building. A doomed architect. The subjects of the best comics released in 2019 so far are an eclectic mix, and these stories highlight the stylistic range of the medium with drastically different visual and narrative perspectives. From poignant graphic memoirs to sensational genre tales, these comic-book series and graphic novels find exciting ways to explore the dynamic between images and text. Whether they are spotlighting forgotten sports stars, pitting assassins against each other, or recounting the pain of adolescent heartbreak, these creators take readers on engrossing journeys with their remarkable craft and passionate artistic visions.
Scroll to near the bottom of the article to read the review of Sobek.
To buy your own copy and see more graphics, click here.
Highclere Castle in Hampshire, England, is now famous as the shooting location for Downton Abbey, but one of the estate's real-life lords funded the search for Tutankhamen's tomb. George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earrl of Carnarvon, was born on June 26, 1866 and inherited the title and the estate in 1890.
Necropolis filled with ornate paintings discovered south of Cairo thought to have belonged to a Fifth Dynasty nobleman.
In a major archaeological discovery, Egypt on Saturday unveiled the tomb of a Fifth Dynasty official adorned with colorful reliefs and well preserved inscriptions.
The tomb, near Saqqara, a vast necropolis south of Cairo, belongs to a senior official named Khuwy who is believed to have been a nobleman during the Fifth Dynasty, which ruled over Egypt about 4,300 years ago.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, also known as the Pyramid of Khufu is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex in Egypt and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Built over a period of roughly 20 years, this colossal structure was sanctioned under the ruler of the fourth dynasty – Khufu – who many believe was buried in a tomb inside. Over the years, archaeologists and historians have argued about how a civilisation that existed around 2600BC managed to transport more than two million casing stones needed for the pyramid.
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi ordered to stage an international parade for the royal mummies to be transferred from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir square, to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Fustat, said Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Radi on Sunday.
The Egyptian Museum hosts 150 mummies for acclaimed ancient Egyptian kings like Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II, Thutmose II, Ramses I, Ramses II, and Ramses III.
Only 22 mummies (18 for royal kings and 4 for royal queens) and 17 sarcophagi - dating back to dynasties 17, 18,19, and 20 - will be transported to the NMEC, Head of the Egyptian Museum Sabah Abdel-Razeq told media on June 21.
The existence of an ancient treaty is exciting enough. But when that 3,200-year-old treaty was concluded 16 years after the cessation of battle, it demands even greater attention. What did peace mean in that context for the Egyptians? As the result of proper action, it was a value frequently represented in the world of monumental depiction, one that united all beings.
The treaty was concluded by Ramesses II of Egypt and the Hittite king Hattušili III in the 21st year of Ramesses’ reign, which was the 10th year of Hattušili’s reign, corresponding to the mid-thirteenth century BCE. Prior to the settling of the treaty, a major confrontation between Egyptian and Hittite forces had occurred at the infamous battle at Qadesh. There, in the northern Levant, the forces of a young Ramesses II clashed with those of Muwatalli, the brother of Hattušili.
Wine has always been a drink for gods and people. The noble drink was just like today an important economic good and stimulant and possessed besides a large religious and cultic meaning. Also in the country at the Nile it was already early professionally produced and enjoyed generously. Under the title "In vino veritas. Wein im alten Ägypten", the Papyrus Museum of the Austrian National Library presents more than 70 fascinating exhibits, up to 3,000 years old, on viticulture and wine enjoyment
Two more buildings at the site of an ancient Egyptian military fortress dating to the reign of Ramses II have been discovered by archaeologists working in the Beheira Governorate, north west of Cairo.
The two units attached to the fortress and residential building are believed to have been used as storage sheds for food, a statement from Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities said. The fortress dates to the 19th Dynasty, between 1279 and 1213 BC.
The Digital Giza project is a portrait of the considerable efforts devoted to Egypt by modern scholars from Harvard and Boston Universities, accessible to archeology explorers and academics who admire Egypt’s ancient history.
In 2000, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston launched the Digital Giza Project when Peter Der Manuelian decided to digitize all the excavations by Egyptologist George Reinser carried out over the course of more than 40 years, the official website of the project read.
As the old engineering school saying goes: Every journey of 300 feet begins with months of preparation, acquisition of four air dollies, and use of the right hydraulic gantry.
So it is that the Penn Museum, desiring to move its 13-ton red-granite sphinx from its longtime home in the Lower Egyptian Gallery to a new abode in the museum’s main entrance lobby, turned to Bob Thurlow, special projects manager, to work it all out.
October 2011 was a fascinating, if precarious time, for Peter Hessler and his family to set up home in Cairo. Since January of that year, the chaotic events of the Arab Spring had been transforming Egyptian politics and society. Hessler arrived during a lull in proceedings but, before too long, the protests reignited and the rivalries spiralled out of control. The corpses piled up, the shells of burned out BMWs returned, and coups were on the horizon.
Many have written on these dramatic events, but Hessler introduces unexpected prisms of enquiry and the intimate perspective of an endlessly curious observer of Egypt past and present. The tone is set from page one. We are introduced to American archaeologists continuing their work as revolution engulfed the nation: unearthing small bronze statues of Egyptian gods while the crowds grew, not so far away, in Tahrir Square. Before too long, with the archaeologists fled, looters ransacked the dig sights. When the scholars returned, they found cigarette butts and cellophane wrapping strewn around the place.
Amr Bayoumi’s 60-min documentary Where Did Ramses Go? won the best long documentary award at the 21th Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts
Anargyros was also fascinated with Egyptology, and in 1903 he began construction of a grand mansion decorated inside and out with Egyptian décor. Finished in 1904, Anargyros named it “Neith” after the Egyptian goddess of war and hunting. It immediately became the most imposing building in Spetses, hosting kings, queens, and other dignitaries of that time. These guests entered past one of the mansion’s most impressive features, the two large sphinxes flanking the entrance.
Archaeologists have discovered two ancient homes near the Giza pyramids in Egypt. The structures may have housed officials responsible for overseeing the production of food for a paramilitary force more than 4,500 years ago.
Everybody loves Nesmin. The RISD Museum staff all refer to Nesmin by name. They encourage visitors to see Nesmin, to spend a little time with him on the third floor. Nesmin is much beloved, especially for a guy who died 2,250 years ago.
The Ptolemaic mummy has been on display since 1938, a well-wrapped bundle of cloth covered in intricate painting. Yet after much discussion, the museum has decided to put Nesmin back in his ornate coffin, where he was originally ensconced in the third century B.C.E.
The Latest Discoveries in Egyptology (July-August 2018) A Saite-Persian Period gilded mummy mask found at Saqqara (Photo: AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Every few months, the Nile Scribes bring you summaries of the latest news and discoveries in Egyptology, both from the field and the lab. We’ll introduce you to the newest archaeological finds or recently undusted manuscripts being rediscovered in museum collections, plus other new theories stirring in the Egyptological Zeitgeist. This summer has seen a wealth of new discoveries and research, with much excitement generated by the discovery of an intact, black sarcophagus in Alexandria. Another intriguing find was the identification of the world’s oldest cheese from the tomb of an Egyptian official at Saqqara.
The Eye of Horus, also called the Egyptian Eye, the Wedjat, or the all-seeing eye, was a powerful symbol for the ancient Egyptians. The Eye was widely used in funeral rites and as protective amulets in ancient Egypt. Often made of gold, wood, carnelian, or lapis, the Eye of Horus was often worn as jewelry worn by both the living and the dead or as an amulet to be tucked between the folds of linen wrapped around mummified corpses.
This is an ancient symbol that originated in Egypt where it was used in portraits of gods, usually seen carried on each hand, on their chest or carried by the cross’s loop. The ankh is seen in the Egyptian pantheon either in close proximity or in the hand of most Pharaohs and deities.
But this symbol is also found among other ancient cultures outside Europe, most notably in Persia (present-day Iran), and Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). It is also found on the seal of King Hezekiah in the bible.
The tombs of Mehu have been reopened to the viewing public for the first time in almost 80 years since it was discovered in 1940 in Giza, Egypt.
Mehu's tombs, which are situated in the vast ancient burial ground of Saqqara, are deemed to be the most beautiful tombs at the site.
The magnificent burial site was restored by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiques, who reinstated the tomb paintings pictured on the walls of the chambers.
Having opened in early April at Pointe-à-Callière in Montréal, Canada, the new exhibition Reines d’Égypte (Queens of Egypt) invites visitors on a tour of the east and west banks of the Nile during the New Kingdom. The Nile Scribes were able to visit Pointe-à-Callière this summer and see this special exhibition for ourselves. Including objects from temple, palace, and harem contexts on the east bank, the exhibition also featured objects associated with preparing for the afterlife on the west bank.
Papiro di Aaner video
Papyrus of Aaner, priest of the goddess Mut, Third Intermediate Period (1076 – 722 a.C.) Click this link to watch the video.
