Ancient Egypt this week Redux: Call the Doctor

Ancient Egyptian doctor returns to Hearst Museum, all three tons of him

The three-ton lid of the coffin of an ancient Egyptian doctor has been carefully removed from storage and maneuvered into a new resting place at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology’s newly renovated gallery in Kroeber Hall at UC Berkeley.

When the museum reopens to the public in April 2017, visitors will find the “Doctor” near the entrance, where he will command a spotlight for years to come.

Laboratoriorosso

Laboratoriorosso is a company whose activity focuses on a wide range of subject matters ranging from publishing, exhibit logistics and organization, documentary making, audiovisual products. Sandro Vannini is Laboratoriorosso’s Director. Over the past nine years the company has produced five documentaries, photographic printed and electronic books, and many 3D animations, using high-resolution photographic shooting techniques. Future projects include more documentaries in Egypt and the production of new photographic books.

Filling the Holes in Egypt’s History Left by Looting

UPON ENTERING THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM AS TOURISTS SCAN THE CASES OF “WONDERFUL THINGS,” ONE CASE CONTAINING A STUNNING SARCOPHAGUS STANDS OUT. IT’S EYE CATCHING NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BEAUTY OF THE ARTIFACT, BUT ALSO BECAUSE THE LABEL DESCRIBING ITS LOCATION SAYS “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” NO, THIS IS NOT A REPRODUCTION—IT’S A STOLEN ANTIQUITY THAT WAS TRAFFICKED OUT OF EGYPT, AND ONE OF THE FEW LOOTED PIECES THAT HAS MADE ITS WAY HOME.

Known as “Shesep-Amun-Tay-Es-Heret,” or simply “the Lady of the House,” this artifact was the highlight of a repatriation ceremony that took place in April 2015 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS ICE) seized the sarcophagus in 2009, not from a shipping container or from the auction block, but from an antiquities dealer’s garage in Brooklyn during the investigation for a case dubbed “Operation Mummy’s Curse.”

Nine-year-old reviews the new Egyptian Mummies exhibition
Photograph: Ryan Hernandez, MAAS

Nine-year-old reviewer Thom Blake gives us his first impression of the Powerhouse Museum’s latest exhibition.

This exhibition is all about six different Egyptian mummies and how they were buried. It also explores what is under the wrappings of these ancient mysteries.

Defy Age Using a 3,600-Year-Old Face Cream Recipe With a Deadly Ingredient
WELLCOME IMAGES/PUBLIC DOMAIN
Stanley Jacobs has been fascinated with ancient Egypt for as long as he can recall, but his obsession with one particular passage in one particular document started a little over 15 years ago. At an annual meeting of Egyptology enthusiasts, he hunted down, on the recommendation of a patient, an ancient Egyptian text about surgery known as the Edwin Smith Papyrus.

Stolen relief of Queen Hatshepsut recovered from London

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities received from London on Tuesday a limestone relief that was stolen from Queen Hatshepsut’s temple in El-Deir El-Bahari in Luxor and illegally smuggled out of the country.

3,000-year-old stone found in Egypt meat shop

An Egyptian archaeologist has found a 3,000-year-old stone that dates back to the era of the pharaohs while roaming around a street in the northern city of El-Mahalla.

Archaeologists find compelling evidence for new tombs at Qubbet Al-Hawa site in Aswan

During excavation work carried out below the visitors’ pathway in the northern part of the west Aswan cemetery, at Qubbet Al-Hawa site, archaeologists from the University of Birmingham and the Egypt Exploration Society (EES) Qubbet Al-Hawa Research Project (QHRP), stumbled upon what is believed to be an ancient Egyptian encroachment wall.

Groovy Historian's Medicine in Ancient Egypt



Photo of the week

Mummified remains of Pharaoh Seti I, 19th Dynasty, one of the best-preserved Egyptian mummies, as photographed by Emil Brugsch (1842-1930). Seti I was the father of Ramses the Great (Rameses II)

Ancient Egypt this week: Highlights of 2016

‘My highlight of 2016’ — An Egyptian figure of a lady

‘This Egyptian wooden figure of a lady sold for $845,000 in April, nearly doubling what it sold for in 1992,’ explains Max Bernheimer, Christie’s International Head of Antiquities. The remarkable piece, which is dated to between 1900 and 1800 B.C., demonstrated the strength of the market, while offering a fascinating insight into Ancient Egyptian tradition.

Made from exotic hardwood, the figure is an example of what is known as a ka statue, intended to provide a physical resting place for the ka, or spirit, of a person. The ka was believed to endure after death, and statues such as this were typically placed inside an offering chapel, a tomb or a coffin — the latter appearing for the first time in Egypt’s late Old Kingdom in the third millennium B.C.

Remains of Nefertari, Ramses II’s most beloved queen, on display in Turin’s Egyptian Museum

A group of international researchers has discovered that the remains of a pair of mummified and fragmented legs that resided for over a century in Turin’s Egyptian Museum belonged to Nefertari, one of the most famous queens of Ancient Egypt: she was pharaoh Ramses II’s favorite wife. The study, authored by Michael E. Habicht of the University of Zurich, Raffaella Bianucci of the University of Turin, and other researchers, was published on PLOS ONE.

Top Five Egyptian Archaeological Sensations of 2016
© REUTERS/ MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY

Here are the most significant Egyptian archaeological discoveries that made waves around the world in 2016:

• Oldest Ever Egyptian Papyri
• ​‘Surprise' Discovery at Antiquities Dealers' Home
• Pharaoh Ramesses III Murder Intricacies and Postmortem Cosmetic Surgery
• Mummified Remains of the beautiful Queen Nefertari
• Secret Doorways Hidden in Tutankhamun's Tomb

Tutankhamun's secrets, mummies and meteorite dagger – Ancient Egypt in 2016

It has been a busy year for historians and archaeologists who study the ancient Egyptian civilisation. Many exciting research projects have been taking place and a number of interesting discoveries have been made.

From secret chambers to hidden tattoos revealed on the skin of ancient mummies, IBTimes UK takes a look at the most important archaeological finds of the year.

Still Christmas shopping?

My Ancient Egypt Adventure 

An ancient Egyptian goddess has transported you back to ancient Egypt! What happens next is up to YOU! Filled with excitement and hilarity, this compositional challenge lets you tell your very own story starring...YOU! Combining National Geographic Kids' photography and illustrations in colorful laugh-out-loud pages, this engaging, entertaining, and educational book introduces you to this amazing ancient civilization, and invites you to enter a new world imaginatively by combining your story with theirs.

Spend the Day in Ancient Egypt: Projects and Activities That Bring the Past to Life

Royal jubilees, towering pyramids, face painting, and jewelry making? The sky's the limit when you spend the day in ancient Egypt! Picture this: You get out of bed and, as you go to brush your teeth, you suddenly realize that you've traveled back in time over 4,500 years to ancient Egypt. The sun is shining, the Nile River is almost flooding, and everywhere you look, humongous pyramids are being erected. You have a strong hunch that it's going to be a truly amazing day. You'll spend the day with a family in the land of Giza during the Fourth Dynasty and learn all about Egyptian culture with loads of exotic and fun-filled activities.

Or, for those who really want to drive themselves crazy, consider the the fact that Amazon can cater to all your .. ahem.. refined Egyptian Christmas needs from papyrus bookmarks to Abayas to mummy excavation kits. Click here for a link to a list of Amazon Egyptian products.

King Tut Was Eastern European, According to the DNA Results

Scientists at Zurich-based DNA genealogy center, iGENEA, have reconstructed the DNA profile of King Tut, his father Akhenaten and grandfather Amenhotep III.

Researchers discovered that King Tut belonged to a genetic profile group known as haplogroup R1b1a2. More than 50 per cent of all men in Western Europe belong to this genetic group as do up to 70 per cent of British men.  But among modern-day Egyptians, less than 1 per cent of residents belong to this haplogroup, according to scientists.

Photo of the Week: Mouse God Egypt
This photo is from Kara Cooney's Facebook page.

Video Friday: Top 10 Egyptian gods

Naturally, there is a lot of overlap among the various videos, but there also are a couple of surprises. Who would have guessed Sepa made the top 10? The imagery in the videos is interesting, although clearly some borrowed a lot from Gods of Egypt. And, to no one's surprise, the god most likely to be chosen numero uno is: Amun-Ra (or Amun or Ra).

The Top 10



Another top 10



Top 10 most powerful



Top 10 Most Famous Ancient Egyptian Gods And Goddesses



Top 10 Egyptian Gods And Goddesses

Ancient Egypt this week: The legs and lives of mummies

In the Year 2016

In the year 2016, the discoveries were largely that of laboratory exercises though field excavation brought some interesting finds. Perhaps the most beautiful work of art found in 2016 came in November with the discovery of the Third Intermediate Period coffin of a servant of the palace Amenrenef, and hey what would a year be without finding more statues of the goddess Sekhmet. The year also brought the opening of the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings to tourist as well as the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens

The Washington Monument Looks Like an Obelisk Because of Egyptomania

In the 1800s, America was desperate to look like it had been around for a while, so it was adopting old styles. Really old. In a technical sense, the Washington Monument isn’t an obelisk, because it isn’t made from a single piece of stone. That fact makes it no less impressive.

Mummy X-Rays Reconstruct Ancient Egyptian Lives

Visualization of mummy in translucent mode revealing Nestawedjat’s heart (highlighted in pink), amulets on her throat, artificial eyes, and packing materials in her mouth and chest. A dislodged tooth can be seen between the amulets and her chin bone. All images © Trustees of the British Museum.

Meet Nestawedjat, a married woman who lived in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes. She was about five feet tall and died in her late 30s or 40s, around 2,700 years ago. After her death, the bones of her nose were broken so as to access the inside of her skull with a hooked instrument, and remove her brain.

Three-dimensional images of six mummies aged between 900BC and 140-180AD from ancient Egypt

A child is silhouetted as he looks at the mummified remains of a 2-3 year old Egyptian boy from the British Museum collection, paired in a world-premiere exhibit of CT scans displayed on screens (foreground) revealing the body that lays inside at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, December 8, 2016. The new exhibit features 3D visualization technology, showcasing six mummies between 1,800 and 3,000 years old which were scanned at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London and are being shown alongside the mummies themselves.

Archeologists Discover Nearly 2,000-Year-Old Pet Cemetery in Egypt

Containing 100 lovingly positioned creatures, the site suggests that the ancients could have valued their companion animals as much as we do.  The ancient Egyptians had complicated relationships with animals. They kept a wide range of pets, from cats and dogs to hippos and falcons, and many household pets were mummified and buried with their owner

Mysterious ancient Egyptian legs likely Queen Nefertari's knees

In 1904, the pioneering Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli cracked open a tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Queens. The crypt, which had been lost for millennia, showed signs of long-ago disaster. Two things were clear to the archaeologist: This tomb was once the final resting place of Queen Nefertari. And, plunderers looted the burial site in antiquity, possibly within a few hundred years of its royal inhabitant's death.

Have Egyptologists solved the mystery of Queen Nefertari's knees? Some archaeologists have criticized their findings, saying that despite all their tests, the researchers have only confirmed a long-standing theory, not added anything new to the historical understanding of the time period.

Ophthalmology of the Pharaohs: Antimicrobial Kohl Eyeliner

The bold eye makeup in the ‘60s, best exemplified by Sophia Loren’s winged ‘cat eye’ liner and Twiggy’s spidery eyelashes, had nothing on the ancient Egyptians and their gods. Their eyelids were heavily smeared with black kohl eyeliner, thick lines rimming the eyes, and the fashion was sported by everyone from peasants to pharaohs to effigies of the worshiped gods Horus and Ra. Though it may seem nothing more than a cosmetic fancy nowadays, kohl was considered to have potent magical powers and it has since turned out to possess unique pharmaceutical and antimicrobial properties. In fact, this deceptively simple beauty product may actually be one of the most ancient ophthalmological preparations known to man.

Egyptologist Melanie Pitkin: unearthing the everyday lives of Ancient Egyptians (Video interview)

Melanie Pitkin has fulfilled a childhood ambition by becoming an archaeologist and Egyptologist.

During her first visit to Egypt at the age of 20 she was involved in a dig at the Teti Pyramid Cemetery at Saqqara, south of Cairo. Over the past few years Melanie's been digging up desert graves among the ruins of the city of Amarna, briefly the capital of Ancient Egypt.

Penn archaeologist discovers ancient Egyptian boat in middle of desert

Penn archaeologist Josef Wegner and colleagues recently discovered a boat in the Egyptian desert that was part of the funeral procession for Pharaoh Senwosret III, who reigned around 1850 B.C.E.

When Penn archaeologist Josef Wegner and colleagues first came across structures buried deep beneath the sand in the Egyptian city of Abydos, they anticipated finding more evidence of a pharaoh cemetery they discovered in 2014. Instead, in the middle of the desert, they found a vaulted building.

Egyptians hope international recognition will stick for ancient martial art
Players of an ancient Egyptian martial art are striving to revive it and turn it into a sport that aims to foster morals, respect and chivalry. Tahtib was once known as a martial art but has since changed into a stick game or dancing art. Its players now say that they want it to be an internationally recognized martial sport.

Penn online course whisks thousands off to Ancient Egypt

What if they gave a course on ancient Egypt ... and everybody came?

OK, not everybody. But how about 23,487 people?

That's how many are enrolled, as of this writing, in the University of Pennsylvania's online course Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization. For those enrolled -- and everyone else -- there will be an Ancient Egypt Open House at the Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Lectures, tours, mummification -- an ideal way to get your Egyptian on. Like those 23,487 people.

Egyptian Paintings Collection by Antoine Heyvaert. Belgian painter

These were found in a Facebook post by the  Grand Egyptian Museum.

Isis and the Isaic religion in Egypt and Rome

A goddess of ancient Egypt and her worship in the Greco-Roman world. In Egypt, Isis was the daughter of Geb and Nut (Earth and Sky), wife of Osiris, and mother of Horus. Osiris was a god of fertility who was also identified with the deceased pharaoh. After his funerary rites, the divine ruler came back to life in the Underworld as Osiris, reigning there as king of the dead.


A trip on the Nile aboard the Neferu Ra

Ancient Egypt this Week Part II

Articles about Ancient Egypt flooded the internet this week, thus a second edition this week instead of endlessly scrolling through articles on Monday.

Osiris, the People's God: Religious Developments in the Middle Kingdom

With the collapse of the Old Kingdom, the Memphite kings and their patron god Re were no longer credible protectors of the land and its people. New divine cults were promoted, but the god Osiris attracted the most widespread support not only because he was associated with the divine rituals and rites performed at the king’s accession and coronation, but because he could also offer immortality to ordinary people.

#MYMASTABA at the Louvre

BECOME A PATRON!
BECOME AN ARCHAEOLOGIST…
HELP THE LOUVRE RECONSTRUCT THE MASTABA CHAPEL OF AKHETHOTEP

Design the mastaba of your dreams and try your luck to live your own archaeological adventure!
If your name is drawn by lot, you’ll win a trip to Egypt and take part in the upcoming excavation campaign of mastaba of Akhethotep alongside the Louvre’s teams on the prestigious Egyptian site of Saqqara.

What explains our fascination with ancient Egypt?

Egypt has exerted a peculiar charm since ancient times. The Greeks and Romans deferred to it as a far older civilation, whose monuments and writings seemed both baffling and magical. Egyptian culture appeared to have emerged fully formed and to have disasppeared almost as suddenly, but its 3,000 year cast a long shadow over later centuries and is felt even today.

Using medical imaging techniques for noninvasive probing of Egyptian artefacts

A Department of Engineering researcher used medical imaging techniques to discover the secrets behind Egyptian artefacts in the Fitzwilliam Museum's new 'Death on the Nile' exhibition.

3D Renderings of a Lost Egyptian City

After 3,500 years of isolation, scientists have recreated the lost city of Amarna with incredible 3D models. Pharaoh Akhenaten, the husband of Nefertiti, built Amarna with unique and inventive architectural techniques.


Excerpt from "Amarna" movie (Aton-Num exhibition) from Archéovision - Archéotransfert on Vimeo.


LIFE THROUGH WAX
BEESWAX IN ANCIENT EGYPT

The unique physical properties of beeswax; water-resistance, malleability and a low melting point, made it useful to the ancient Egyptians in a number of ways.

Beeswax was used to preserve the curls and plaits in wigs and could be used as a face cream.[1] In medicine it was used as an adhesive for bandages and to bind active ingredients into pills.[2] Boats were waterproofed with beeswax and complex metal shapes were created using the ‘lost wax’[3] casting technique.[4]

Ancient Egyptian Secrets Play Out in Historical Thriller

"The Sphinx and the Secret Atlantis Hall of Records" begins when an American Egyptologist comes across an astonishing find in Giza. He is little prepared for the huge consequences that arise from his discovery. As political and religious forces gather against him, he asks a former student to assist him in his work.

Ramesses II, victor of Kadesh: a kindred spirit of Trump?

Much like the president-elect, Ramesses II knew that bombast can sometimes outweigh truth. His tale of triumph at the Battle of Kadesh is a perfect example.

In 1274BCE, near the Levantine town of Kadesh, a miracle occurred: Ramesses II of Egypt, isolated from his forces due to faulty intelligence, single-handedly destroyed a Hittite army. Out of the 2,500 chariots attacking him, not one survived. The pharaoh subsequently threw countless enemies into the river Orontes, only sparing the Hittite king after he begged for mercy. It was a mighty victory – and a mighty mix of fact and fiction.

November issue of MOA Newsletter

The Ministry of Antiquities has just released the November issue of its newsletter.  PDF versions can be accessed via the following links:

English    Arabic    All back issues

Ancient Egypt this week: That city near Abydos

Articles about the 5,000-year-old city near Abydos have flooded my computer. Here are links to many of them, which might seem a bit repetitious. Yet each one might contain a new nugget of information. Happy digging!

Note: Some articles said a 7,000-year-old city, a mistake explained in the first article. Therefore, you might see both dates in the headlines. 

Remains of 5,000-Year-Old Egyptian City Unearthed

The remains of a 5,000-year-old city, including a cemetery and several houses, have been unearthed at the site of Abydos in Egypt.

The city, whose size is not clear, dates to the early dynastic period when the first pharaohs ruled a united Egypt, said Mahmoud Afifi, the head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities at the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, in an Arabic language statement.

• Egypt hopes discovery of 7,000 year-old city will heal tourism  
• Ancient City Unearthed In Abydos, Egypt Found To Be High-Profiled Town 5,000 Years Ago  (Video included)
• Archaeologists discover ancient Egyptian city close to Pharaoh’s tomb  
• 7,000-Year-Old Lost Civilization: Archaeologists Discover Ancient City In Egypt 
• 7,000 year-old lost city, cemetery unearthed in Egypt  
• ANCIENT CITY AND BURIAL GROUND UNEARTHED IN EGYPT  
• Historic Discovery: Archaeologists Unearth Secret Ancient Egyptian City and Cemetery
• Ancient city lost for 7,000 years unearthed on the banks of the river Nile
• Ancient residential city, cemetery discovered in Abydos
• Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives

Beautifully crafted glass artefacts appeared in Ancient Egypt earlier than in Mesopotamia
De Agostini / S. Vannini/Getty Images

Glass-making may have emerged in Ancient Egypt and not in Mesopotamia, as it was previously thought, researchers have said. While many beautifully crafted glass artefacts dating from 3,600 years ago have been found at the site of Nuzi in Iraq, researchers now believe these may not be the earliest manifestations of glass-making.

Think you know mummies? Think again.

Come face-to-face with six ancient Egyptian mummies and use the latest technology to go beyond the wrappings and discover what lies beneath in Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives, open 10 December 2016 until 25 April 2017.

If you're not in Sydney, Australia,  Meet the Mummies anyway. For another article with lots of photos and more explanatins, click here to read Egyptian Streets.

To celebrate the opening of Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives at the Powerhouse Museum, step inside Sydney Observatory and be transported back to the time and land of the Egyptian Pharaohs to explore Ancient Egyptian Skies.

The Nile: Longest River in the World

Known as both the "Father of Life" and the "Mother of All Men," the Nile was the center of life in Ancient Egypt. In the ancient Egyptian language, the Nile was called Ḥ'pī or Iteru, meaning "river." The Ancient Egyptians also called the river Ar or Aur, which means "black," in reference to the black silt left behind after the yearly flooding.

Egypt gifts six-metre-tall replica of Ramses II statue to Ecuador

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities is set to ship on Wednesday a gift of a six-metre-tall replica statue of King Ramses II to Ecuador, to be erected in the country's capital Quito.

Gayer-Anderson: The Man Behind The Cat

Gayer-Anderson, mostly known for the ancient cat that was once in his collection, led a fascinating life as an adventurer, surgeon, soldier, collector, dilettante, and lover and preserver of beauty.

One of the most beloved objects on display in the British Museum is a bronze figure representing the goddess Bastet. It stands 14cm high and takes the form of a seated cat with incised details, an inlaid silver sun-disc, a wedjat-eye pectoral ornament, and gold earrings and a nose ring.

If this story piques your interest, you might want to look at this article on The Gayer Anderson Museum in Cairo. Some of the photographs are simply stunning; the writing a little less than stunning. Even more stunning is this 3-D gallery of the house.

A Sexual Scene in Egyptian Art: Stele of Sebekaa

Egyptian art can hide very important information in small pieces.

That is the case of the stele of Sebekaa in British Museum.

This piece of ancient Egyptian art dates from XI Dynasty and it was found in Thebes. In just a space of 70 cm x 60 cm (aprox.) the Egyptian artist could include a number of typical scenes which dominated the corpus of funerary Egyptian art.

Photo of the week

This photo of the outer coffin of Queen Merytamun (M10C 119) is so timeless you can almost imagine it as the cover of a current fashion magazine.

Photograph by Harry Burton, 1929. Archives of the Egyptian Expedition, Department of Egyptian Art.

Video Friday: Disney does Ancient Egypt

Let's start December out with a little fun!

Egypt Melodies (Silly Symphony)

Without a doubt, this video is my favorite Egyptian Disney, but Silly Symphonies have always spoken to me.



Dance like a Pharaoh



Prince of Egypt



Entombed