Mexicans Arrested for Stealing Egyptian Antiquities in Chile

Latin American Herald Tribune

Two Mexicans were arrested when they were caught trying to steal priceless Egyptian antiquities from an exhibition in Chile’s capital, police said Sunday.

Jose Garcia Nielsen, 24, and Alberto Tinajo Cazares, 22, were caught attempting to steal the antiquities late Saturday at the Parque Arauco shopping center in Santiago’s Las Condes district, where the Archaeological Treasures of Egypt exhibition is being staged.

Security guards caught the two Mexicans, who will appear before a judge on Sunday, in the act of stealing the artifacts, police said.

The security guards called the Carabineros militarized police force, which arrested the two suspects and recovered the antiquities.

Nefertiti revisited

Ahram Online (Nevine El Aref)

The conflict between Egypt and Germany over the 3,400-year-old iconic bust of Queen Nefertiti has again come to the fore following the discovery of a 1924 document revealing the mysterious story behind Germany's possession of the Nefertiti bust.

The latest edition of the German magazine Der Spiegel, published last week, contains a report that the German Oriental Association (DOG) had discovered a 1924 document claiming that Ludwig Borchardt, the discoverer of the Nefertiti bust, used a trick to smuggle the bust to Germany. According to the magazine, the document's authenticity is currently being analysed by experts.

The newspaper also said that the document was written by an eyewitness who claimed that Borchardt, who was keen on reserving the bust for Germany, intentionally disguised it by covering it with a layer of gypsum to ensure that the committee charged with supervising the distribution of new discoveries between Egypt and foreign mission would not see how beautiful the bust was or realise that it was actually made of exquisitely painted limestone.

New edition of AEC Egyptology Newsletter

To suscribe email egyptology@ysu.am <>

9th September 2011, Number 19
Contents:

Edito: Why Egyptology?
Call for financial help to rebuild Khonsu-Ms' sarcophagus
Excavations to resume in Egypt despite revolution
Staying on top of research concerning prehistoric human origins

You can susbcribe at the above address but if you cannot get hold of the current issue email me and I'll send it to you (PDF).

New edition of BMSAES

British Museum

Editorial

This issue presents the latest results from British Museum fieldwork at Elkab and Hagr Edfu, along with an article re-assessing the Great Enclosure at Naukratis. This site is currently the focus of a large research project in the Department of Greece and Rome, which will include the systematic cataloguing of artefacts from the site, both those housed in the British Museum and at other institutions.
Elisabeth O'Connell, Neal Spencer


Contents

British Museum Expedition to Elkab and Hagr Edfu 2011
W. Vivian Davies and Elisabeth R. O’Connell

The Egyptian temple and settlement at Naukratis
A. Jeffrey Spencer

New edition of Egyptological

Egyptological

Edition 2 of the Magazine section of Egyptological is now live on the above address.


Here is the Editorial for the edition:

Egyptological is getting bigger with 10 new articles or reviews published today and another album of photographs for your enjoyment.

Egyptological Magazine

In the Magazine we are pleased to see the return of two authors from the first edition. Brian Alm is continuing his popular series on the religion of the ancient Egyptians while Barbara O’Neill returns with another lavishly illustrated article. The image alongside, from the tomb of Nebamun is just one of the images in her article on the depiction of animal companions in tombs.

We are delighted to welcome two new authors. Philip A. Femano has written a must-read article questioning the purpose of the blocking stones in the Ascending Passage of the Great Pyramid. Gary Beuk presents a biography of one of the best known early Egyptologists, and certainly the most colourful, Gionanni Battista Belzoni.

Andrea Byrnes has added an article on the little known subject of Libyan Desert glass, a real treat for any Tutankhamun fans who have not heard of this unusual material found amongst his jewelery.

We hope you will show your appreciation for all of our writers by leaving comments on their pieces.

Our plan is for the Magazine to feature reviews as well as articles and you will find three of those as well, written by us. We attended the AWT conference last weekend and offer an overview and the first of our detailed reviews of invidual lectures. More will follow over the next few weeks.

Colloquy

Our new readers are reminded that Egyptological has three distinct sections: the Journal; the Magazine; and Colloquy. New within Colloquy you will find a review of an hieroglyphs course by a triad of new authors Glynis Greaves, Pat Kennedy, Sue Drew and yet another review from Andrea. Since pictures are popular, there is also a new photo album by another new contributor, Glyn Morris, who presents pictures of the Akhemenu Temple at Karnak.

More material is planned for Colloquy over the next few weeks. The beauty is that you don’t have to wait for the next edition. Colloquy is like snacking between meals!

Egyptological Journal

The next edition of the Journal will be published within a month or so.

Writers, Photograpahers and Volunteers Wanted

Egyptological is a free magazine for the community, by the community. We are always looking for new contributors. Please see the Participate section of the site for details of writing for us or submitting photographs.

We also really need more volunteers to help us. The more material we publish, the more work that is for our wonderful volunteers who have helped with proof reading. We would particularly like to thank Karen Hauck, Joyce Scribner, Cheryll Agg and Rebecca Kelly. If we are to continue to publish several articles a month, we really need more help with proof-reading and, for some articles, translation. If you can help, please contact us.

We would also particularly like a couple of assistants who could take on the role of Events secretary between them and keep the site up to date with any new Egyptology events around the world.

* * * * *

We hope you enjoy the new edition of our Egyptological Magazine. We are very grateful to the authors who have contributed material to make this second edition such a great success and would like to say a big thank you to them all. We could not do this without you.

Heritage at risk in Libya

CNN (Libby Lewis)

Before Moammar Gadhafi, there were the Phoenicians. And the Greeks. The Romans. The first Arabs. They're a reminder that no civilization -- and no leader -- is forever.

The Libyan transitional leaders have a lot to deal with once they stop being rebels, and begin shaping a new Libya: Keeping law and order, setting up a rudimentary government, dealing with money -- and oil.

But what about Libya's other wealth? Its archaeological treasures?

They are all over the country.

In the south, in Acacus, rock paintings 12,000 years old cross an entire mountain range.

In the east, the city of Cyrene holds a thousand years of history -- Roman general Mark Antony once gave it to Cleopatra.

And along the coast, the splendid ruins of Leptis Magna that were buried for centuries under the sand was said to be one of the most beautiful cities of the Roman Empire.

What will happen to these sites in the days ahead? If you look at history, their fate does not bode well.

Archaeological Institute of America

We, the presidents of the undersigned cultural organizations, call on the international community to protect the ancient sites and antiquities of Libya, which face very real threats of damage and destruction caused by the unfortunate events and military action currently taking place there. The cultural heritage and archaeological resources located in Libya are irreplaceable elements of the world’s shared memory, going back thousands of years. The importance of guarding these treasures while civil unrest is underway cannot be overestimated.

We strongly urge immediate action to protect Libyan antiquities, cultural heritage, and archaeological sites, as illustrated at www.archaeological.org/news/aianews/4604. Through such action, significant archaeological artifacts and irreplaceable historic objects will be preserved in situ and in the many museums and sites across the country. Such an initiative will also help stem illicit international crime organizations that have links to money laundering, human trafficking and the drug trade and are known to exploit civil unrest and political instability for profiteering.

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

Following Libya's uprising, the UNESCO’s Director General Irina Bokova called on the world’s nations, Libyans and international art and antiquities traders to protect Libya’s cultural heritage.

In a release sent by UNESCO Media Service, Bokova stated that looting, theft and the illicit trafficking of cultural property are manifestly in contravention of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, the only international instrument that focuses exclusively on the fight against the illicit trafficking in cultural property.

“The heritage of a nation is essential to the ability of its citizens to preserve their identity and self-esteem, to profit from their diversity and their history and build themselves a better future,” Bokova said. With this timeless truth in mind, she called on the people of Libya, on neighbouring countries and all those involved in the international art and antiquities trade to do all they can to protect Libya’s invaluable cultural heritage.

Chaos in the Caliph's Quarters

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

With three photos.

Al-Muiz Street in Islamic Cairo is now totally transformed. When it was first closed off into a pedestrian-only open-air museum, the architecture imposed a serenity and power. Unfortunately, this is no longer in evidence. Chaos reigns, instead.

The lack of security following Egypt's January 25 Revolution provided peddlers, vendors and grocers opened the path (literally) for them to sell their wares all over the street, often even on the monuments. They use vehicles as a short cut, transforming the open courtyards of the Fatimid and Ottoman mosques into parking lots.

“The atmosphere of the street has changed totally – for the worse,” Ahmed Mahmoud, a bazaar owner at Al-Muiz Street told Ahram Online. He added that vehicles pose huge threats to the monuments lining the streets the run along. Three days ago, a stone block from the Sultan Brqouq mosque fell off while a huge truck passed.

Exhibition: Life and Death in the Pyramid Age

Michael C. Carlos Museum

Acquired from excavations at the sacred site of Abydos in Middle Egypt by Emory Theology Professor, Rev. William A. Shelton in 1920, this mummy is the oldest Egyptian mummy in the Western Hemisphere and one of no more than half a dozen known to exist in the world.

Current examinations being undertaken at Emory Hospital and in the Carlos Museum’s conservation lab promise to reveal much about the little understood origins of mummification in Egypt. No other mummy of this early date has been investigated using modern scientific procedures such as CT-scanning, radiocarbon dating, blood typing, and spectroscopic analysis.

The exhibition will also place the mummy within the context of ancient Egypt's practice of mummification, burial, and the cult of the dead, as well as exploring the social and political changes that marked the end of the Pyramid Age.

Photo for Today - Luxor Temple at sunset

This was on New Year's Eve. My father and I had no idea
that it was New Year's Eve until an Australian tourist
pointed it out. It was a good place to be for a day which
neither of us were intending to celebrate.

The obelisk outside the First Pylon was originally one of a pair. The
First Pylon dates to the reign of Ramesses II in the 19th Dynasty
and the obelisks were erected at that time.
The second obelisk is now in Paris on the Place de la Concorde,
moved there in 1835 by Napoleon. There's a photograph of the
French obelisk at the following address on Wikipedia.

UPDATED. Breaking News - a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings?

Kate and I were at the AWT Amarna conference (and fund raiser) this weekend where, together with a large number of other people, we considerably enjoyed two days of excellent lectures by some terrific speakers. In his usual style, the conference host Peter Allingham saved a particularly good punchline for last.

Stephen Cross, who has been consulting on excavations in the Valley of the Kings opposite the tomb of Tutankhamun, announced the possible discovery of a new tomb located only three feet away from where he predicted it would be! Excavations were stopped when the revolution started, but hopefully excavation permits will be granted for further excavation to determine exactly what is there. Cross has secured the commitment of a top Egyptologist and unlimited funding, so the potential is there. The chances of it being undisturbed are good.

Kate has written up a summary of Stephen Cross's lecture on her blog (http://www.kv64.info/2011/09/wow-kv64-update.html)

We will provide more details about the lecture and will also review the conference as a whole on Friday on Egyptological, and will write up a good selection of the other lectures over the next couple of weeks. Although the new tomb announcement was a great punchline to the conference as a whole, there has been some seriously fascinating work carried out at Amarna which was a revelation to me, and I am looking forward to writing up some of those lectures and discussing them.

I have to say that it was a marvellous end to a really enjoyable two days. My thanks to Peter Allingham, Janet and Mike Shepherd, and all the speakers for all their hard work. It was a really great event.

Apologies that I am running behind with other Egytology news - I will be updating the blog over the next few hours (see below).

Renovations resumed at Djoser's Step Pyramid

Youm7 (Dina Abd El Aleem)

Mohammed Abdel Fattah, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, inspected the ongoing renovations at the step pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara with General Mohammed el-Sheikha, head of the developments unit of the council Monday.

Abdel Fattah said that the pyramid is stable and there is no need to be concerned. He went onto say that the renovation company is fulfilling it duties and there are no obstacles to completion or issues with the already-appropriated three million EGP (U.S. $503,000) budget.

He added that this project must be completed because of the pyramid’s historical, archaeological, and artistic importance as the oldest pyramid in Egypt.

International smugglers increasingly target Egypt's artifacts

Al Masry Al Youm (Mete Eriksen)

The dismantlement of an international mummy and artifact smuggling ring by US authorities in July raised alarms about the status of stolen Egyptian artifacts in transnational black markets.

The daily newspaper Metro-New York recently reported that three New York men were arrested for smuggling 2000-year-old Egyptian artifacts into the US from the United Arab Emirates by lying custom officials about the contents of their luggage. In this case, the antiquities were worth US$2.5 million.

Experts say the discovered amount is only the tip of the smuggling iceberg.

Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo and a leading expert on animal mummies, says the smuggling begins in various sites in Egypt and ends up in the hands of antiquity dealers in Europe, the US, and some areas in the Gulf.

“By removing a mummy, or indeed any artifact, from its context we are destroying its meaning and what it can contribute to the sum of human knowledge,” says Ikram.

"Also by removing mummies illegally," she adds, "they and their surroundings are being destroyed. Thus, a piece of Egyptian history is lost forever."

Foreign missions to resume excavations in Egypt

Egyptian Gazette

Seventy-five archaeological missions will resume excavation projects in Egypt as of Monday, said Mohamed Ismail, a senior official with the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

Several foreign missions had halted their operations in Egypt in light of the January 25 revolution and the security void that followed the 18-day protests which toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak. Many foreign embassies had asked their missions to leave Egypt.

Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque

Al Ahram Weekly (Samir Sobhi)

Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque, whose history is sometimes overlooked by visitors, is one of Egypt's most important cultural and artistic treasures

Al-Azhar is one of the most serene places to pray in, and the area surrounding the mosque attracts both architect lovers and outgoing Egyptians and foreigners

There is no end to the architectural gems to be found in the Gammaliya, Al-Husseiniya, Saliba and Bab Al-Wazir areas of Cairo. In fact the entire district should be viewed as an open-air museum, with every second building seeming to be at least a few centuries old. Minarets carved in stone fill the skyline, and within the surrounding mosques, schools and caravansarays there are carved wooden embellishments, stonework and stained glass that make the mind spin.

Many people go to the Al-Azhar district of Cairo on a regular basis, either to relax in the company of friends in the 24-hour cafes or to introduce foreign visitors to the proud heritage of the city. However, more often than not there is little time to admire the details of all the buildings in the vicinity. Take the Al-Azhar Mosque itself, for example. The story of this building is well worth telling not only because it is one of the oldest mosques in Cairo -- only the Mosque of Amr in Masr Al-Qadima and of Ibn Tulun in Saliba are older -- but also because it has had the unusual distinction of serving as a school of learning for Islam's two rival doctrines: Shiism and Sunnism.

Book Review: Roman Egypt

Bryn Mawr Classical Review (Reviewed by Nikolaos Lazaridis)

Livia Capponi, Roman Egypt. Classical World Series. London: Bristol Classical Press, 2010.

Livia Capponi, an enthusiastic and experienced papyrologist who is currently a lecturer in Ancient History at Newcastle University, has written a modest but well-documented introduction to Roman Egypt, a long historical period that begins with Augustus’ arrival at Alexandria on 1 October, 30 BC and ends with the Arab conquest of Egypt sealed by a treaty signed by the general ‘Amr ibn al-‘As and the patriarch Cyrus on 8 November 641. This introduction is intended for “students and teachers of Classical Civilization at late school and early university level”, according to the series’ mission statement on the back cover, even for “those with no previous knowledge of the classical languages and those who, before reading, did not even know what a papyrus was”, according to the author’s preface.

The book begins with a short preface in which the author briefly explains why the study of Roman Egypt is a difficult task that can be accomplished only by a few scholars who have the appropriate multilingual and multidisciplinary skills to be able to examine the diverse textual sources of this period. Although the author mentions that the book is looking only at a selection of aspects of Roman Egypt, she does not inform the reader on which criteria she bases her selection, a serious omission, I think, since it may lead the uninitiated reader to believe that these are the only important issues arising from the sources about this period.

Book Review: Alexandreia und das ptolemäische Ägypten

Bryn Mawr Classical Review (Reviewed by M. Weiskopf)

Gregor Weber (ed.), Alexandreia und das ptolemäische Ägypten: Kulturbegegnungen in hellenistischer Zeit. Berlin: Verlag Antike, 2010.

[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review.]

Weber has edited an excellent, well-written collection of essays investigating the Ptolemaic era, a collection (whose origins lie in 2007/2008) indicative of the advances made in the field since the 1980s when the imprecise term "multicultural" was first used to placate the “politically correct.” Weber’s introduction (pp. 9-29) makes clear that one is investigating cultural interactions, Kulturbegegnungen: a plural. The cultures and interactions are never static, nor is there a single Leitkultur. Weber proposes the investigation of five Problembereiche that cut across disciplines: a. the concept of monarchy, in which the desire for dynastic unity led to the adaptation of the Egyptian concept of sibling marriage; b. the elite of the land, Egyptian and Greco-Macedonian maintaining their respective positions, but prosopographical details preclude assigning ethnics based on one’s name; c. religion, in which the Ptolemies were active patrons, but a clear division between divine worlds seems to have persisted; d. the situation in the chora, illuminated for the most part by papyrus-preserved “personal” histories; e. dislike of the Ptolemaic rule: the priesthood saw the Ptolemies as the bulwark against a Sintflut of chaos and anarchy; it remains difficult to assign specific reasons for others’ dissatisfaction. Weber ends with advice (p. 24): “Generalisierende Aussage in grosser Stil ueber die griechische Elite oder die Aegypter verbieten sich daher.”

Dr Patricia Spencer retires from EES

Egypt Exploration Society (Patrica Spencer)

Dear Members,

At the end of 2011 I shall be retiring as Director of the Egypt Exploration Society, a post which I have been honoured to hold for 28 years - though with a succession of different job titles!

The Society’s Trustees have taken the opportunity afforded by my retirement and the departure in August of our Development Director, Victoria Perry (to be Chief Executive of a charity closer to her home in Worcestershire), to review the job description for the incoming Director and to include within it a development role. To create the necessary time and capacity for this within the Director post, the Trustees have agreed that I should retain my current ‘publications’ responsibilities and continue to work for the Society as a part-time ‘General Editor’, for one year in the first instance. I am very pleased that my employment with the Society will be continuing after my retirement as Director and am delighted that, as part of my new job, I shall be able to continue editing and producing Egyptian Archaeology.

The Society will shortly be advertising for my successor as Director and it is hoped that the appointment will be made by the end of October, with the new Director starting work in January 2012.

Best wishes,
Patricia

Dr Patricia Spencer
Director
The Egypt Exploration Society

Sad News: Jac Janssen

My sincere thanks to Jan Picton from the Friends of the Petrie Museum for letting members know that Jac Janssen has passed away. Jac Janssen did some pioneering research into Deir el-Medineh and made some very welcome suggestions about how the Egytpian economy was structured. Here is Jan's email:

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Professor Jac J Janssen on 23rd August at the age of 89.

Jac's knowledge of the economics of Ramesside Egypt and the lives of the people of Deir el-Medina remain unparalleled. His many publications, both alone and with Rosalind, demonstrate the range of this interests from commodity prices to children's games.

Jac did not suffer fools gladly but he was a kind man, a good friend, and very generous with his knowledge which he shared gladly with colleagues and generations of students.

After his retirement from his teaching post as Professor of Egyptology at Leiden University from 1979 to 1983 Jac moved to London. His marriage to Rosalind Hall, then assistant curator at the Petrie Museum, brought a lasting partnership in life and work with a number of shared publications. Anyone who met Jac and Rosalind recognised the closeness of their relationship. We extend our deepest sympathy to Rosalind for her great loss.

The funeral service will take place at noon on Tuesday 6th September, at the Dutch Church, Austin Friars, London (Liverpool St/Moorgate Tube) followed by a reception.

Those planning to attend should notify Rosalind, or email me and I will forward the emails.

If you wish to write to Rosalind and don't have the address, please send c/o the Petrie Museum.

Best wishes
Jan

Sad News: Professor John Evans

The Telegraph, UK

Evans rejected the "diffusionist" theory that such development could not have come about without the influence of hypothetical "invaders" from a supposedly more advanced Orient. Maltese prehistoric culture had flowered, he suggested, out of earlier indigenous cultures without any intervention from outside. His "anti-diffusionist" conclusions were validated by the development of radiocarbon dating, which showed that the Maltese temples predate the Egyptian Pyramids.

John Davies Evans was born on January 22 1925 in Liverpool to Welsh parents. From the Liverpool Institute he won an open scholarship to read English at Pembroke College, Cambridge, aged 17. His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, during which he served at Bletchley Park as one of the team involved in breaking each day's new Enigma code settings.

Photo for Today - The Tomb of Ankhtifi