Sunday, June 24, 2007

Weekly Websites

Ancient Egyptian Calligraphy - A beginner's guide to writing hierogplyphs

http://www.gizapyramids.org/pdf%20library/fischer_eg_calligraphy.pdf
Lovely book, in PDF format, which gives you detailed guidelines on how to draw each hieroglyph, stroke by stroke. Wonderful for those who are calligraphilcally-challenged! It is a large document and it takes time for the page it load.
Blog sobre el Antiguo Egipto
Editado por Francisco J. Martín Valentín y Teresa Bedman
http://www.tendencias21.net/egipto/index.php
I've found another Egyptology blog, this time in Spanish, which is attached to the Tendencias 21 website (Revista electrónica de ciencia, tecnología, sociedad y cultura). It is organized under four sections, one of which features regular articles about Egyptian themes, in considerable detail. Two recent postings, to give you an idea, are La conjura de Tiy, la Gran Esposa Real de Amen-Hotep III and Nuevas informaciones producidas en el desarrollo del Proyecto Sen-en-Mut (TT353). If you speak Spanish this is well worth visiting.

Archaeological Site Photography: Egypt

http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/lab/photos/egypt/
Click on the map or use the drop-down menu to go to photographs, available for non-commercial use:

All of these Archaeological Site photographs were taken by either John or Peggy Sanders, and, with few exceptions, were recorded between 1973 and 1990. At that time John Sanders was the architect, surveyor, and cartographer for the Nippur expedition, the Oriental Institute's archaeological project in Iraq; Peggy Sanders was an independent artist and photographer also working for the Nippur Expedition.

With the cooperation of the Oriental Institute we are making these images available via the Institute's website for personal, not-for-profit use by students, scholars, and the public. Any such use must name "John and Peggy Sanders" as the original source for the material. All images are subject to copyright laws and are the property of John and Peggy Sanders.

Hatshepsut: Wicked Stepmother or Joan of Arc?

http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/1/777777190131/
Joining Nefertiti in the spotlight this month, Hatshepsut is currently providing food for thought amongst people interested in the ancient Egyptian royalty. This article from the University of Chicago's Digital Archive is by Peter F. Dorman and takes an objective look at the myth of the female Pharaoh.

It is almost inevitable that historians, using the model of the brothers Grimm, have cast Queen Hatshepsut in the role of the wicked stepmother to the young King Tuthmose III. However difficult it is to assess the character of ancient royalty from the distant perspective of 34 centuries, half of the label is accurate: she was indeed his stepmother. The wickedness also seems to make perfect sense, in view of Hatshepsut's unprecedented act of apparent usurpation in donning the regalia of male pharaoh and stepping into the role of senior coregent while Tuthmose himself was too young to protest. For her presumption--and supposedly as an act of Tuthmose's long-nurturedrevenge--Hatshepsut was to pay the posthumous price of having her royal monuments attacked, with her kingly name and figure banished from her public memorials and from later king lists.

This is the kind of tale that makes history and its major figures come to life for the modern reader. Alas, while this scenario provides a stimulating read, new facts have come to light in the last 15 years which suggest that the real story is at once more prosaic and more complicated.


Global Egyptian Museum

http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.com/

At a rough estimate, over 2 million objects from ancient Egypt are kept in about 850 public collections, dispersed over 69 countries around the world. This website aims to collect them into a global virtual museum, which can be visited at any time, from any place. The Global Egyptian Museum is a long-term project, carried out under the aegis of the International Committee for Egyptology (CIPEG).

The Basic Mode, currently showcasing 1221 highlights, is geared to the interested public. A glossary of more than 400 items explains Egyptian terms and themes. Many objects are provided with audio comments and 3D-movies. The Advanced Mode, equiped with a powerfull search and data entry engine, opens up the full database - presently 11014 objects - to professionals and amateurs. Kids! offers
information for children at the age of 8-12 years in an interactive way.


Internet Archive articles on Egypt
The Internet Archive has freely accessible articles on Egypt available for download. This link shows the results of a search on "Egypt".


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting article, you make some interesting points. I learn more about Global Egyptian Museum.

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