Weekly Websites

Another collection of the far-from-weekly listing of recently visited websites. I really must make more of an effort in this department! I shall try to complete this slot on a weekly basis once again.

Names Matter: The Unfinished History of the Niagara Falls Mummies
The Egyptian Museum
By Gayle Gibson
A detailed, informative and entertaining look at the mummies in the Niagara Falls Museum by Egyptologist Gayle Gibson:

In May 1999 I accompanied collector Bill Jamieson to a former corset factory in Niagara Falls, Canada. We were there to say goodbye to some very old friends. Since 1958 the factory had housed the Niagara Falls Museum, and within it the mummified bodies of nine people who had once lived in ancient Egypt. For over 100 years these preserved remains had formed part of an old-fashioned museum, a cabinet of curiosities, which also included brightly painted Egyptian coffins, fossils, Civil War and Wild West memorabilia, the two-headed calves and the barrels used by dare devils who had challenged the Falls. The Egyptians were leaving this all behind, setting off by moving van for Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Under the supervision of Dr. Peter Lacovara, curator at the Museum, these ancient Egyptians now enjoy the finest care and most serious study that modern Egyptology can provide. Long relegated to obscurity, they are emerging into the light of the Twenty-first Century publicity. Reporters and film-documentary producers compete to track down their stories. A handsome member of the group, with his arms crossed on his chest, has even graced the front page of Canada's national newspapers, under the headline "Mummy from Oddity Museum could be Rameses I." The accompanying article asked, "Did pharaoh spend more than a century in Niagara Falls?"

Sadd el Kafara Dam (Dam of the Pagans)
Cracking Dams

The ruins of the Sadd-el-Kafara embankment dam were discovered over 100 years ago in the Garawi ravine in Egypt. The dam was built around 2600 BC and was 14 m high and 113 m along the crest. It is the oldest dam of such size known in the world. The of the dam was to retain the water from rare, but violent, floods.

The grossly overdesigned cross section of the dam was due to inexperience. Unfortunately, there was no channel or tunnel to divert the river around the dam site while it was being built. As a result, the dam was destroyed while still under construction during one of the rare floods it was intended to control.

See the above page for a diagram superimposed over a photograph of the dam. For those interested in reading more, the page's bibliography lists Garbrecht, G. "Sadd-el-Kafara: The World's Oldest Large Dam." International Water and Power Dam Construction, July 1985.

Free e-book: Manual of Egyptian Archaeology
BookMC

MANUAL OF EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND Guide to the Study of Antiquities in Egypt.
FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS AND TRAVELLERS.
BY G. MASPERO, D.C.L. OXON.MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE;PROFESSOR AT THE COLLÈGE DE FRANCE;EX-DIRECTOR GENERAL OF EGYPTIAN MUSEUMS.
TRANSLATED BY AMELIA B. EDWARDS.
NEW EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED BY THE AUTHOR.
With Three Hundred and Nine Illustrations. 1895

Virtual Reconstruction of an Egyptian Beaker
Ercim News Online
By by Marco Callieri and Flora Silvano

The Visual Computing Laboratory of ISTI-CNR, Pisa, frequently collaborates with museums and conservators-restorers in the development of new instruments that can be used in cultural heritage preservation, restoration and display. We present a small but interesting case study in which a broken artifact is virtually reconstructed and can be displayed with a user-friendly visualization tool.

The most immediate use for 3D models generated by scanning real objects is the preservation of their form for measuring purposes and documentation. But what can be done if the object is fragmented or incomplete? Thanks to the Department of Ancient World of the University of Pisa, we had the chance to work on an Egyptian artifact with such characteristics. Working with the digital model of the fragments, we were able to reconstruct the entire form of the object and enable users to interact with it via an ad-hoc display procedure. This kind of reconstruction can be obtained without altering the actual state of the artifact, unlike hands-on interventions using resins or other filling materials, and can be used to experiment and evaluate different alternatives.

The most complete piece of engraved glass found in the excavations at the site of Medinet Madi (Egypt) is a beaker of colorless glass (H. 15 cm.; D. rim 13.1), dated 2nd or 3rd century AD.

See the above page for the full story.