Sunday, December 31, 2006
Night visits to Edfu allowed from New Year
Beit Khallaf K1 - Recent photographs
Tempest in a teapot
Ancient Sinai art draws the faithful to the Getty
Travel: the Dead Sea, the Nile and others
In the Valley of the Kings we marvelled at the brightly coloured hieroglyphics covering the tomb walls. And - in an extraordinary clash of ages - I found I had a full signal on my mobile phone just outside the entrance to the incredible tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun. Nearby was the equally awesome temple of female pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut. Carved into the foot of a 300ft cliff, the shrine has a panoramic view over the lush Nile banks where farmers with hoes were bent over cabbages, carrots, sugar cane and potatoes.
After lunch at a five-star hotel (included in the day-trip price) we saw that the best had been saved for last - the jaw-dropping Karnak Temple which was once the most holy place in Egypt."
Saturday, December 30, 2006
High visitor numbers to Sunken Treasures
Defining cultural moments of 2006
Travel: Four night Nile cruise
More on Karnak 12th Cenutry BC Carving
Power station controversy at Graeco-Roman Tel Al-Dabaa
Conflict also arose between the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and the Ministry of Electricity which will lead the construction process. The press has weighed in daily to offer a plethora of contradictory opinions, leaving the public confused as to the genuine issues. Rumours have spread that the conflict has been deliberately created by the SCA and the ministries of tourism and construction in an attempt to ensure another location is found for the nuclear station and Tel Al-Dabaa is left free for abuse by a mega tourist project like the huge complex at Marina Al-Alamein.
Last Monday, however, a committee of SCA experts and Ministry of Electricity officials embarked on an inspection tour of the 70 sq km site of Tel Al-Dabaa and finally came up with concrete ideas to suit all parties."
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Off again
Have a very happy New Year if I don't post before
All the very best
Andie
xx
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
EAIS Newsletter January 2007
The Egyptian Antiquities Information System website has been updated with the latest Newsletter, at the above address. In PDF format, it includes information about the latest activities of the EAIS and relevant organizations. Announcements and subjects include:
- Announcement that the EAIS is now the official GIS centre of the SCA
- In its third project phase, the EAIS wishes to ensure dissemination of data by launching an interactive online service
- The EAIS have provided the World Heritage Centre with up to date maps for SCA manged sites, to enable them to identify and fill gaps in their files
- There is an update on CRM projects, including the Rosetta heritage project and SCA registration procedures
- There is a report on the 1st annual Quarryscape workshop, which took place in October 2006.
See the above page for more on the above, and for additional topics and information
Book Review: The Secret Lives of Cities
Backlog updates
The following is a summary of the main facts taken from the above URLs:
- The discovery was made in teh Avenue of the Sphinxes linking Karnak and Luxor temples
- The carving dates to the 12th Century BC (c.1188-1069BC) from the reign of Senakht, father of Ramesses III and foudner of the 20th Dynasty
- It is made of quartzite and measures 170x80cm
- It is carved with 17 lines of hieroglphys
- The subject matter concerns the achievements of a high priest of Amun named Bak En Khonso, and shows his family tree. It claims that the priest supervisted the construction of Karnak's main hall
Egypt's historic sites seriously threatened (11/12/06)
In a review of 94 major World Heritage sites made by the George Washington University in cooperation with the 'National Geographic' journal, the major historic and tourist attractions of Egypt are all among the bottom-25 of the list, receiving from 50 to 58 out of 100 possible points."
More re robotic probe of Great Pyramid
But Ng aimed higher. . . . After 30 years, Ng's forceps concept has traveled an amazing journey from the surgery room to outer space, to deep-water archeological sites and back in time with the Egyptians in Giza."
More re building blocks of concrete in Great Pyramid (9/12/06)
950 West Bank tombs to be restored
Book Review: History of a Lost Civilization: African Kingdoms of Kush (5/12/06)
Harkless shares their complete history through the Meroe, the last empire of the Kush. The Meroitic dynasties reigned for 40 generations as a people separate from Egyptian culture, developing their own language and script. Through research of recent archaeological campaigns, including the investigations of more than 200 pyramids and cemeteries, Harkless shares new information about the architecture, art and politics of the civilization. Many of their accomplishments surpassed those of Egypt"
Key facts re the physician Qar
- The surprise discovery was made during the cleaning of a burial shaft at Saqqara
- The burial is close to to Djoser's Step Pyramid complex
- Qar was a sixth dynasty royal physician
- The discovery was of a highly decorated painted anthropoid coffin made of sycamore, which the Al Ahram article describes both as Late Period and 30th Dynasty (which the description of the decoration certainly supports)
- The tomb contained graveboods including earthernware containers bearing the phusician's name, a circular limestone offering-table, bronze surgical instruments and 22 bronze statues of deities
- The mummy was apparently too long for tbe sarcophagus which may mean that the mummy was reburied in a sarcophagus to whcih it did not belong, for protection, by priests
Exhibition: Daily Magic in Ancient Egypt (4/12/06)
http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=18373
"The Walters Art Museum presents the exhibit Daily Magic in Ancient Egypt through November 18, 2007. Magic played an important role in religions of the ancient world. Amulets in particular were believed to posess great power to bring protection, health, luck, and even immortality through their images and symbols. This small exhibition will feature 46 amulets, scarabs, figurines, and ritual objects associated with this belief in the power of magic in ancient Egypt. The art and history of the ancient world comes alive in one of the Walters Art Museum’s best-loved collections, which comprises amazing treasures from ancient Egypt, Nubia, Greece, Rome, Etruria, and the Near East. The Walters’ collection is one of the largest and finest assemblages of ancient art in the United States. "
This piece is accompanied by a beautiful photograph of a 700BC collar with lioness head in gold.
Down the big river
Monday, December 25, 2006
HAPPY CHRISTMAS - and a website with Imhotep Museum photos
- Kat Newkirk
- Chris Townsend
- Carolin Johansen
- Jennifer Mason
- Kevin LaCroix
- Jane Akshar
- Greg Reeder
- Aayko Eyma
- Mark Morgan
- Bob Partridge
- Nick Reeves
- Paula Veiga
- Thierry Benderitter
- Geoffrey Tassie
- Andras Zboray
- Everyone who emailed and commented re my recent illness - you made me feel so much better.
Again, thanks so much to everyone for all your good wishes re my recent health problems. I received a phonecall from the hospital yesterday to say that the latest test results show improvement, and I can remain out of hospital for the moment - no more dialysis, no more hosptial beds, no more hospital food!! As a thank-you to all of you, I've put together a little website - a collection of around 45 photographs taken in November 2006 of artefacts in the new Imhotep Museum at Saqqara. It is at www.imhotep.cd2.com. I hope that it gives some of you some pleasure.
I have updated the blog with backdated news items, back to December 7th. Hopefully I haven't missed anything too important. It would have been well nigh impossible without the help of Kat Newkirk. I will probably be going away for a week or so to recuperate, and may not have access to the Net - but if I do abandon the blog for a period I will let you know in advance.
Finally, and also thanks to Kat, here's a little December nonsense from The Onion to raise a Christmas Day smile:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/56266
Egyptian Conservationists Fight To Protect Dwindling Mummy Population
"Experts suspect many mummies have simply become disoriented and wandered off their usual migratory paths, while others are thought to be doggedly pursuing trespassers who disturbed their sanctuaries, even as the foreign visitors return to their home countries thousands of miles away. Most conservation groups, however, stress that Egyptians should focus on preserving the mummies that still remain, though recent efforts to increase their numbers by breeding them in captivity have failed, since mummies are dead and therefore cannot reproduce."
See the above page for the full, wonderfully improbable story.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND HAVE A TERRIFIC 2007
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Luxor News Blog
Conserving the Deir Al-Surian library
Collaborating with them on what is known as the Deir Al-Surian Library Project is the Levantine Foundation."
Biblical Archaeology Review January/February 2007
Other articles in the issue are detailed on the BAR website at:
Exhibition: Harry Burton at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
The Met's web page for the exhibition, which runs from December 19th 2006 to April 29th 2007 is at:
Travel: Giza to Aswan
Exhibition: Tutankhamun at London's Dome?
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Review: The Egyptologist audio book
"The Egyptologist is chock full of clues and experienced mystery readers will pick up on them readily and be perfectly correct in his or her assumptions. That fact does not make is book any less enjoyable. The narration and language associated with each of the major characters makes this audio book a must-listen."
See the above page for the full story.
Apologies for the Blog Silence
This is a very swift and apologetic message to let you all know that I am still here.
I have been in hospital for some time. I was admitted to intensive care at St Thomas's Hospital in London UK at the beginning of December with gall bladder, pancreas, liver and kidney failure. Gall bladder, pancreas and liver are now recovering nicely. However, for the last week, my kidneys have still not been operational, and I have been on dialysis. I returned home yesterday for the first time, just for a break until Sunday, tomorow. On Sunday, depending on the results of blood tests, I may be allowed to return home for two weeks, which is what my medical advisors are hoping, but I also have to accept that I may be re-admitted. I am not sure when it will be possible to resume the blog on a daily basis, but I will attempt to bring it back together over the next couple of weeks.
I am sorry for leaving things in a state of limbo - I was taken ill very suddenly, and it is remarkably difficult to arrange anything from an intensive care ward!
My inbox is the scariest thing I have seen since I saw the inside of my gall bladder on the ultrasound, so please bear with me if you are waiting for a reply to an email! I promise to get through the messages eventually.
Thanks so much for all the messages of concern, and all the Christmas cards. I am feeling much better, and will be in touch properly soon.
Happy Christmas!
Love
Andie
xxx
Exhibition: Temples and Tombs
The Cummer Museum's web page dedicated to the exhibition is at:
Travel: The pyramids at Giza
Friday, December 22, 2006
Egyptian glass formed by meteorite strike
The glass—known locally as Dakhla glass—represents the first clear evidence of a meteorite striking an area populated by humans.
At the time of the impact, the Dakhla Oasis, located in the western part of modern-day Egypt, resembled the African savanna and was inhabited by early humans, according to archaeological evidence"
Antiguo Oriente No.4 2006
DAN’EL KAHN
AMANDA–ALICE MARAVELIA
TRACY MUSACCHIO
MORRIS SILVER
JUAN MANUEL TEBES
ANDRÉ J. VELDMEIJER
ITAMAR SINGER
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Mastaba D64 on Osirisnet
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Exhibition: 1 Million tickets to Tutankhamun sold at The Field
Monday, December 18, 2006
Carving sheds light on Karnak Temple
Friday, December 15, 2006
Stone Slab Proved to be Gate of Cambyses' Tomb
Cambyses later personally led a force up the Nile to conquer Ethiopia, but after annexing the north of the country, he ran short of supplies and had to return.
While on his way back from Egypt with his army in 522 BC, Cambyses was assassinated upon order of one of his brothers, Smerdis, which he himself tried to have assassinated. At his death, after a short period during which Smerdis assumed the leadership, more palace struggles led to the rise to the throne of Darius the Great, whose task was to organize such a vast empire."
More on move from Qurna
Exhibition: Egypt's Sunken Treasures moves to Paris
The Grand Palais, which was built early in the last century and houses art exhibitions from all over the world, combines an imposing classical limestone façade with a riot of Art Nouveau glass and ironwork. In 1993 one of the glass ceiling panels fell and the building was closed for 12 years so extensive restoration could be carried out. It reopened in 2005.
Goddio, with the support of the Hilti Foundation, explored the shallows off Alexandria and Abu Qir, retracing the last centuries of ancient Egypt in the Late Kingdom and under the Ptolemies, through the Roman and Christian periods, the advent of Islam, and even the French fleet which sunk in the Battle of the Nile in 1798."
http://www.physorg.com/news85470327.html
The same piece is also covered at:
More at:
The exhibition opened in Paris on 9th December 2006 and runs until 16th March 2007. It was visited by more than 450,000 visitors at its first stop in Berlin.
The Paris Grand Palais exhibition website can be found, in French, at:
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Antiquities smuggling: 'A crime against humanity'
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Shortcuts: How to make it as an archaeologist
Exhibition video: Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre
Conversations about the Tutankhamun exhibition
Monday, December 11, 2006
Fraud probe over a wonder of the world
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has interviewed several employees of Balfour Beatty over their role in the contract in Egypt to build one of the architectural jewels of the Middle East.
NI_MPU('middle');
A Unesco world heritage site, the modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina, on the shores of the Mediterranean, was completed in 2001. The library and cultural centre was designed to commemorate the original library, whose loss in antiquity was said to have changed the course of western civilisation.
Sources close to the inquiry said detectives were focusing on why the fixed-price contract issued by the Egyptian education ministry apparently rose by more than £50m after the work was commissioned."
3-D exploration of ancient temples
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Project to digitize materials of Middle Eastern libraries
Bad Vibrations
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Shabticollections.com
$1mn-mummy sold in New York
Friday, December 08, 2006
Cairo-Aswan Nile cruise to re-open / Egypt targets Chinese tourists
Dig days: A noble dream
Zahi Hawass talking about working with Mrs Mubarak on the new children's museum.
Dendara Temple attracting tourists again
Over the ages Dendara Temple, one of the best preserved in Egypt, was isolated in the parched desert. The only tourists who paid a visit were making a stop on a journey between Cairo and Luxor. More recently, it has been a destination from the Red Sea resort of Hurghada or a stop on a Nile cruise itinerary.
However, interest in it was low, and a few years ago the temple was closed to visitors and its cafeteria and gift shops were almost derelict. Now the SCA's site management policy to rescue Egypt's archaeological sites and make them more tourist-friendly has brought new life to Dendara. The temple has been resurrected not only as an ancient temple but a comprehensive tourist complex providing visitors with various cultural and entertainment facilities."
More re 6th Dynasty physician Qar
The sarcophagus was found by an Egyptian archaeological mission engaged in cleaning the burial shaft of the sixth- dynasty royal physician Qar, which neighbours King Djoser's pyramid complex at Saqqara almost 35km south of the Giza Plateau.
The team, which is led by Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), was taken by surprise when they stumbled upon the beautifully-painted anthropoid coffin. The covering featured a bearded man with a reddish brown face and large, open eyes lined with black kohl, thick eyebrows and red lips. His garment is painted dark blue and embellished by a collar with three rows of blue, green and yellow cylindrical beads and a pendant adorned with a figure of Maat, the goddess of justice, stretching her wings in a way that enables her to hold both sides of the lid."
Obituary: Bruce Trigger
As a historian of his discipline, Trigger was best known for his monumental History of Archaeological Thought, published by Cambridge University Press in 1989; the 2006 revised edition, which appeared just before his final illness, was in many ways a new book."
Thursday, December 07, 2006
UN approve draft resolution on artifacts
"Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis called on the United Nations yesterday to adopt a resolution that antiquities be returned to their country of origin . . . . 'The illegal trade of antiquities is in the same category as the illegal trade of weapons, narcotics and people. It amounts to a form of organized crime that is directly related to mobsters and money laundering,' the minister said while addressing a plenary session of the UN General Assembly in New York.. . . The draft resolution, submitted by Greece, was approved by the assembly."
Archaeology and History in Lebanon Autumn 2006
IRENE FORSTNER-MOLLER, KARIN KOPETZKY, SCIEM 2000, Vienna & CLAUDE DOUMET-SERHAL
IRENE FORSTNER-MULLER & KARIN KOPETZKY
An Upper Egyptian Import at Sidon. 60
DAFYDD GRIFFITHS & MARY OWNBY, Institute of Archaeology, University College, London Assessing the Occurrence of Egyptian Marl C Ceramics in Middle Bronze Age Sidon. 63
MARCEL MARÉE, Assistant Keeper, Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan, British Museum
A Jar from Sidon with the name of Pharaoh-Queen Tawosret. 121
DAFYDD GRIFFITHS
Analysis of Egyptian Faience Vessel Fragments Excavated in Sidon in 2005. 129
BACK-POSTED UPDATES FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Egypt finds 4,000-year-old doctor's mummy
Other sites reporting this story:
Predynastic website
The one focused on Predynastic Egypt can be found at:
www.predynastic.com
The one focusing on the prehistoric Near East can be found at:
www.near-east.historians.co.uk
I'll be working on the Predynastic photo gallery over the next couple of weeks.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Update on condition of the Temple of Seti I
New Kingdom temple found under farm land
"An Egyptian farmer found under his residence an over 3,000-year old temple with important inscriptions and drawings from that time, belonging to the New Kingdom (1539-1075 BC). The site, in the locality of Sohag, 500 kilometers south of Cairo, was found six meters deep in a place where it is thought that there are other temples of pharaohs of the 18th and 19th centuries.
According to local Al Ahram daily, on the walls are written names of kings, inscriptions and drawings.
Archeologists continue with excavations to find new buildings devoted to divinities Anoris and Miht of the New Kingdom."
Mummies in Manhattan Museums
Russian discoveries at Giza
Senenmut lecture at Mummification Museum
There is a website dedicated to the Senenmut project at:
More re concrete pyramid theory
Another summary of the findings can be found at:
Monday, December 04, 2006
Impacts of human activities on world heritage
More on move from Qurna
More at the International Herald Tribune website, with a photo, at:
V&A to drop reproduction fees for scholarly uses
More re Bruce Trigger
Sunday, December 03, 2006
New finds at the Deir el Bahri Temple of Hatshepsut
Numerous pieces of ostraca, pottery, ushabti figurines, papyri written in Coptic and fragments of a nemes headdress of king Thutmose III have also been unearthed.
The teàm also continued its programme of restoring, documenting, and drawing of the New Kingdom shrines on the third terrace of Deir el-Bahari, including those of Thutmose III, Queen Hatshepsut, and the northern and southern shrines of Amun-Re."
Bruce Trigger
A summary, by Trigger, of his publications and research interests, can be found at:
http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/programs/anthro/faculty/trigger.htm
More on move from Qurna
"The government began trying to get the families to leave after World War II, but talks repeatedly bogged down. Many residents, who depend on Luxor's tourist business to earn livings, argued that new homes being offered were too small and didn't come with new jobs.Over time, though, many grew tired of the standoff.In an effort to preserve the ancient tombs, authorities prohibited the homeowners from adding to their residences or installing modern plumbing, which forced people to bring water uphill using donkeys.Many people expressed happiness with the government's latest offer, which includes giving residents either new homes or plots of land in the complex that will include a market, police station, cultural center and schools."
See the above page and the following pages for more details of this story:
http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20061203-035041-9670r
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061203/ts_afp/egyptarchaeology_061203031239
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-12-03-voa8.cfm?rss=africa
http://www.topix.net/content/reuters/0776519037181194648531655873951487009167 (today.reuters.com)
More re Christies Mummy Sale
The auction house has made no public estimate of how much they expect it to bring, although the last time a mummy was sold at auction was in May 2003, when Christie's in England set a record of $1.4 million. Max Bernheimer, the head of the antiquities department at Christie's, said that this sarcophagus is in better shape and that the house is confident it will go for more than $1.5 million."
Exhibition: Daily Magic in Ancient Egypt
Toutankhamon Magazine December 2006 - January 2007
The December/January issue is now available. The contents listing is as follows:
Actualités :
- Les trésors engloutis d'Alexandrie, interview de Franck Goddio
Découvertes:
- Abydos, 2e partie
- Les nomes
Egyptologie:
- Le chaoubti meunier
- Le pilier Djed
Dossier:
- Nefertiti, l'égérie amarnienne
- L'âge d'Amenhotep IV
- La succession d'Akhenaton et Semenkhkharê
- Les parents de Toutankhamon
- Le pont d'Amarna
Aventurier:
- Sur les traces de Champollion
Voyager: - Special Soudan
- Les Monts Nouba
- Découvrir le Soudan
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Bulldozers have moved in to demolish houses in Qurna
They demolished four uninhabited mud brick houses in the village of Qurna, very near the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. Many villagers have already left to the new settlement of Taref built by the Egyptian government at a cost of $31m (£15.6m)."
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/02/africa/ME_GEN_Egypt_Residents_vs_Tombs.php
Update: Robotic exploration of Great Pyramid
No new information, but there is a photo of the robot on this page.
Reconstructed mummy at Segedunum Roman Fort
A new picture of ethnic diversity
Journal of African Archaeology
The details of the December 2006 JAA are available on the above page. Of particular interest to anyone concerned with prehistory is the following: A. Gautier & W. Van Neer: Animal Remains from Mahal Teglinos (Kassala, Sudan) and the Arrival of Pastoralism in the Southern Atbai
Saturday Trivia
There are three main civilizations to choose from - Greek, Egyptian, and Norse. Each of these may pick one major deity from the pantheon as a patron, and this determines certain abilities and units available to the player."
Egyptomaniacal Music
In the spirit of Egyptpmaniacal music, there is a heavy metal music group called Nile. Titles of their songs include Execration Text and Unas Slayer of the Gods. Some of their videos are on You Tube at the following url (Thanks Kat!):
Stargate Atlantis series 3
Friday, December 01, 2006
Scientist Says Concrete Was Used in Pyramids
http://english.sabah.com.tr/5DCB215B618A40198B165FF09594FD6C.html
"According to a French science magazine called "Science and Life", scientists have noticed the difference between the stones in pyramids and stones in stone quarries. Drexel University Professor Michel Barsoum and France National Aviation Research Office manager Gilles Hug told that there are distnictive differences between the stones of Giza Pyramids and the stones in the quarries which were thought to be the source of the stones. Researchers think that the stones in pyramids are geo-polymer based synthetics."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2480751,00.html
Artifacts found in Luxor
"An Egyptian-Polish archaeological mission discovered a large collection of pottery fragments, pieces of car tonnage and parts of the priest Bani-mesu's sarcophagus while excavating at Queen Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari on Luxor's west bank.
Numerous pieces of ostraca, pottery, ushabti figurines, papyri written in Coptic and fragments of a nemes headdress of king Thutmose III have also been unearthed.
The teàm also continued its programme of restoring, documenting, and drawing of the New Kingdom shrines on the third terrace of Deir el-Bahari, including those of Thutmose III, Queen Hatshepsut, and the northern and southern shrines of Amun-Re."
Al-Gourna residents to be relocated
"On Saturday, 3,200 families from Al-Gourna will be relocated to the Al-Taref city on Luxor's outskirts. They will be leaving their hometown to explorers who are bent upon unearthing not less than 100 ancient Egyptian tombs expected to be found there."
Cheops passages to be examined by robot in February
Dig Diary: tomb of Senenmut
http://www.institutoestudiosantiguoegipto.com/senenmut/es/campanas.shtml