Exhibition: Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre at Adelaide

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21417369-5006348,00.html

"More than 150,000 people visited the Louvre exhibition in Canberra earlier this year and Art Gallery of SA director Christopher Menz is anticipating similar numbers during its three-month stay in Adelaide. With 500 individual objects making up more than 200 displays, the exhibition is 'certainly the biggest and most complex we've ever had in this new wing', Menz says.
Staff from the Louvre have worked alongside those from the Art Gallery over the past 10 days to install the exhibition. Selected from 60,000 objects in the Louvre's Egyptian collection, the exhibition is subtitled Journey to the Afterlife."

See the above page for more.

Also covered, with rather nice photos, at:

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=182&ContentID=24092
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21343885-5006348,00.html

Also at:

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21411270-2682,00.html

More re New 7 Wonders

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/03/b6f87c2d-b14b-4a44-bc18-a81dab777f3e.html

Another article about the New 7 Wonders vote, the results of which will be announced on 7th July 2007: "Tia Viering, the project's spokeswoman, said Internet votes for the new wonders list have been received from people in over 100 countries -- with the most votes coming from China, Greece, India, Brazil, the United States, Peru, Mexico, Australia, Germany, Canada, and Britain. . . . Not everyone is pleased with the initiative. Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni thinks the idea of creating a new list of seven wonders is 'absurd.' And the chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, has asked for the Giza pyramids to be removed from the voting, because, as he told the Middle East News Agency, they 'don't need a vote to be among the world's wonders.'Viering is unfazed by the fuss.

Also at:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/06/opinion/edjohnson.php

Exhibition: Mummies - Secrets of the Pharaohs

http://www.huliq.com/15714/franklin-institute-s-theatre-presents-mummies
"Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs brings to life ancient wonders, historic intrigue and a modern-day forensic adventure, all in one eye-popping new film, opening at the Tuttleman IMAX Theater. A natural complement to Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, at The Franklin Institute through September 30, 2007, Mummies takes viewers on a journey back thousands of years to explore why mummification was so vital to ancient Egyptian life.
Why are people endlessly fascinated with mummies? The worldwide curiosity about mummification is an age-old phenomenon as enduring as mummies themselves. During Egypt’s history, literally millions of mummies were made. In Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs, filmgoers will marvel at the sight of these human time capsules, shown in larger-than-life detail on the giant screen.
Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs unravels the mysteries enshrouding the ancient royal mummies, how they were embalmed and where they were hidden, and also recreates the dramatic story of their recovery—an 'Indiana Jones'-type tale of tomb-raiders and hidden treasure that led to one of the most significant archaeological finds in modern history. Featuring top Egyptologists and researchers, Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Bob Brier and DNA scientist Angelique Corthals, the film also embarks on a genetic analysis of mummies that could have huge implications for the study of modern human diseases."

See the above page for more.

NASA Finds Sun-Climate Connection in Old Nile Records

http://tinyurl.com/2wga8x

Long-term climate records are a key to understanding how Earth's climate changed in the past and how it may change in the future. Direct measurements of light energy emitted by the sun, taken by satellites and other modern scientific techniques, suggest variations in the sun's activity influence Earth's long-term climate. However, there were no measured climate records of this type until the relatively recent scientific past. . . . Alexander Ruzmaikin and Joan Feynman of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., together with Dr. Yuk Yung of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif., have analyzed Egyptian records of annual Nile water levels collected between 622 and 1470 A.D. at Rawdah Island in Cairo. These records were then compared to another well-documented human record from the same time period: observations of the number of auroras reported per decade in the Northern Hemisphere. Auroras are bright glows in the night sky that happen when mass is rapidly ejected from the sun's corona, or following solar flares. They are an excellent means of tracking variations in the sun's activity. Feynman said that while ancient Nile and auroral records are generally 'spotty,' that was not the case for the particular 850-year period they studied. "

BU scholar preserved treasures taken by Nazis

http://tinyurl.com/yt4gd5
While history books tell the story of the Nazis' destruction of human life, little is written about their attempt to destroy and steal the culture and art of Europe. Even less is known about those who worked to save the treasures. Named the Monuments Men, the largely unknown group of several hundred men and women worked during and after World War II to save nearly one-fifth of Europe's artwork and artifacts from destruction and theft. . . . Lindsay unpacked thousands of works, he said. . . . Perhaps his most memorable find, he said, was a sculpture stolen by the Germans in 1912. A large box marked "the colored queen" was delivered, and speculation about what the crate held abounded. He was ordered to open it by superiors fearing the contents had been pilfered.
'You had to be suspicious all the time,' Lindsay said. 'Everybody had sticky fingers.' Lindsay obeyed orders and opened the wooden crate, and there, buried under black tar paper and white spun glass, was pure beauty. 'There she was,' he said, 'that face looking up at me.' It was a statue of Queen Nefertiti.

Exploring hidden doors in the Great Pyramid

http://tinyurl.com/2n5fup

"Doors will soon open to reveal one of the mysteries of the Great Pyramid in Giza, Dr. Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Discovery News in an exclusive interview.
Hawass, one of the world's leading Egyptologists, said he will show what lies behind secret doors inside the 4,500-year-old pharaonic mausoleum by the end of this year.
'Finally, people all over the world will know what is behind the second door in the southern shaft and the third door in the northern shaft,' Hawass said.
Built in 2550 B.C. for the pharaoh Cheops, also known as Khufu, the Great Pyramid is the largest of a family of three pyramids on the Giza plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo."

This is the entire item on the Discovery website.

More at:

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/03/20/hawass_arc.html

Important rescue archaeology in the Sudan

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article20843

"Sudan’s archaeology is finally stepping out of Egypt’s shadow as teams work against the clock to rescue an entire swathe of Nile Valley heritage from the rising waters of a Chinese-built dam.
'The paradox is that, yes, an entire area is being wiped off the map but thanks to the rescue project, Sudanese archaeology is being put on the map,' said Sudan’s antiquities chief Salah Ahmed. The Merowe dam is a controversial hydro-electric project — one of the largest in Africa — being erected on the Nile’s fourth cataract and due to start flooding the valley over more than 100 miles (160 kilometres) within months.
Archaeologists admit that an incalculable amount of information will be forever lost.
But the largest archaeological rescue project since the Nubian campaign launched in the 1960s during the construction of the Aswan dam in southern Egypt has unearthed heritage that would likely have remained untapped.
'This area was completely unknown to archaeologists, it was a missing chapter in Sudan’s history and nobody was planning to go there because it’s very hard from a logistical point of view,' Ahmed told AFP.
Sudan’s pre-Christian civilisations built more pyramids than the Egyptians but have received little attention since being defeated by Egyptian warrior Pharaoh Tuthmosis I (15 century BC).
'Of course, there is no Abu Simbel here,' said Ahmed, in reference to the massive temples originally carved out of the mountain under the reign of Ramses II and relocated as part of a monumental transfer when the Aswan dam was built.
But teams of archaeologists from Britain, France, Germany, Poland and a dozen other countries have been relentlessly searching the fertile Nile river banks near Merowe for at least five years now and made some significant discoveries.
Some of the artefacts found in the soon to be flooded area enabled archaeologists to redefine the borders of ancient kingdoms, such as Kerma which ruled part of Nubia between 2,500 and 1,500 BC.
'We found very rich Kerma occupation farther upstream, extending the frontiers of this important kingdom by more than 200 kilometres (120 miles)," Ahmed said.
"We also found for the first time in the fourth cataract area the foundations of a pyramid, with Meroitic ceramics. This gives political importance to the area because it shows someone important was buried there.'
Funerary archaeology in the area also benefits from exceptional chronological continuity, offering experts a rare chance to retrace historical developments. 'The fourth cataract is very interesting for the study of transitional periods, which are often shrouded in mystery and uncertainty,' said Vincent Francigny, a resident archaeologist at France’s Khartoum-based SFDAS institute. Only a tiny fraction of the vast area has been excavated and archaeologists, currently wrapping up their season, will have little time left to make more discoveries before the waters start rising.
In addition to scorching heat and accessibility problems, there is simmering tension between the government and local communities being evicted by the dam’s growing reservoir."

See the above page for the full story.

Also at:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070318/lf_afp/sudanarchaeologydam_070318042304

"Sudan's archaeology is finally stepping out of Egypt's shadow as teams work against the clock to rescue an entire swathe of Nile Valley heritage from the rising waters of a Chinese-built dam.
'The paradox is that, yes, an entire area is being wiped off the map but thanks to the rescue project, Sudanese archaeology is being put on the map,' said Sudan's antiquities chief Salah Ahmed. The Merowe dam is a controversial hydro-electric project -- one of the largest in Africa -- being erected on the Nile's fourth cataract and due to start flooding the valley over more than 100 miles (160 kilometres) within months."

Weekly Websites

Amarna, Ancient Egypt’s Place in the Sun

http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/exhibits/amarna/index.shtml

An excellent website from the UPenn, complementing the Amarna exhibition: "Amarna, Ancient Egypt’s Place in the Sun, a new exhibition at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia, offers a rare look at the meteoric rise and fall of this unique royal city during one of Egypt’s most intriguing times. The exhibition, the centerpiece of the Museum’s event-filled “Year of Egypt” opened on November 12 and runs through October 2007."

KV5
http://www.kv5.com/articles/article_12.3.html

"Tens of thousands of objects have been found in KV 5, most badly broken or battered by past floods that have hit the Valley of the Kings [11513]. These floods washed tons of mud and debris into low-lying tombs. The objects are embedded in this "matrix" and great care must be taken to remove them safely while recording precisely where they were found. Even potsherds can provide information on chronology, the movement of trade goods, and funerary practices. A major problem is determining what was original to the tomb and what was washed in by later floodwaters. The archaeological context (where the object was found and what lay around it) can tell us the function served by a tomb chamber."

Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin
http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10015

"AFOB online continues to be one of the foremost fieldwork resources. There are over 250 listings for archaeological projects around the world. Each AFOB listing features a project profile window with icons to provide information on the size of the project, age requirements, and academic credit availability. The listings continue to provide in-depth descriptions of the projects and accommodations, as well as bibliographies and other detailed information."

Hierakonpolis: 2007 Field Note 4 - All Drawn Out!
http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/hierakonpolis/field07/4.html

"Any excavation at Hierakonpolis would not be complete without collecting bucket after bucket of ceramic sherds. At parts of the site the ceramic pieces are so abundant you literally cannot take a step without stepping on a few or even several. What do we do with all of these collected broken ceramics? We draw them and by doing so we can re-create the pottery vessel from which they originated.
Before we can draw the pottery we must first sort the collected fragments and distinguish exactly which sherds are important enough to draw. It is unrealistic to try to draw every sherd we collect, but most people are surprised to learn just how much information can be gained just by looking at a particular sherd with a trained eye. Pottery is our best guide for determining the relative date of the occupation at a particular location within the vast site of Hierakonpolis and the types of vessels can also tell us something about the activities taking place there, or the function of the locality."

Dictionary of Middle Egyptian
http://www.twonotes.com/hg/dictionary.pdf

In Gardiner classification order (PDF format).

Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane
http://history.memphis.edu/murnane/

All articles are available for download in PDF format

James P. Allen, "The Amarna Succession"
Michel Azim & Vincent Rondot, "Note archéologique et épigraphique sur les architraves de la grande salle hypostyle du temple d’Amon-Rê à Karnak"
Peter Dorman, "The Long Coregency Revisited: Architectural and Iconographic Conundra in the Tomb of Kheruef"
Jacobus van Dijk, "The Death of Meketaten" Richard Fazzini, "Two Semi-Erased Kushite Cartouches in the Precinct of Mut at South Karnak"
Luc Gabolde, "Un assemblage au nom d'Amenemhat Ier dans les magasins du temple de Louxor"
Marc Gabolde, "Under a Deep Blue Starry Sky"
Helen Jacquet-Gordon, "The Festival on which Amun went out to the Treasury" Kenneth A. Kitchen, "Egyptian New-Kingdom Topographical Lists: An Historical Resource with ‘Literary’ Histories"

Cómo "Leer" el Arte Egipcio
http://www.egiptomania.com/arte/

"Análisis iconográficos e iconológicos de las obras en tanto que manifestaciones supra-artísticas del antiguo Egipto, en los que se detallarán los elementos que las acompañan, sus diferentes características, así como la inserción de aquéllas en su contexto ideológico, cultural e histórico."

More re New 7 Wonders

http://www.timesnow.tv/To_wonderful_to_be_a_wonder/articleshow/1775063.cms

"The new wonders of the world are being voted for in a global contest. But one of the top contenders, whom voters have placed at the top of the list, doesn’t care for the distinction because ancient Egypt's Great Pyramids are undeniably ''wonder'-ful. Down the rambling deserts of age-old Egypt is one of mankinds most majestic creations -- the Great Pyramids of Giza. Built by Egyptians in 2500 BC as tombs for their pharos, the structures are the oldest and only surviving wonder of the ancient world drawn and documented up by Philo of Byzantium. But today, as the world votes the seven wonders of the modern world, Egypt says it wants no part of the latest contest."

See the above page for the full story.

Also covered at:

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=29&ContentID=23756

"Maybe it simply feeds modern society’s obsession with lists and rankings, but more than 2000 years after ancient Greeks identified the Seven Wonders of the World, millions of people around the globe are casting internet ballots to update the list.
Whether motivated by nationalism, conservation, curiosity or sheer boredom, more than four million Chinese, Indians, Mexicans, Brazilians, Americans and others have cast 28 million votes, organisers say. They have generated 21 wonder finalists, including the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, the Acropolis in Athens, Jordan’s ancient city of Petra and the pyramids of Giza in Egypt. "

Pharaoh's pots give up their secrets

http://tinyurl.com/3xmoyz (New Scientist)

"For a century, they have been on display in the Louvre museum in Paris, labelled as Canopic jars holding the embalmed innards of the great Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II. But the four pots, covered in hieroglyphs, are not what they seem.
An analysis by French chemists has revealed that the jars in fact contain ordinary cosmetics, produced at a much later date.
The blue jars arrived in the Louvre in 1905. They carry the name of Rameses II, and seemed to contain embalmed organs, including a trace of what appeared to be heart tissue. Yet Rameses's actual mummy still has its heart - the one organ ancient Egyptians left inside mummies so it could be weighed in the afterlife by the god Thoth. 'The jars look like the pots of unguents found in King Tut's tomb, among others, not like other Canopic jars,' says Jacques Connan of the University of Strasbourg, France.
With the Louvre's permission, Connan's team sampled traces of material in the pots, and analysed them using mass spectrometry and chromatography techniques used in the petroleum industry to identify complex organic mixes.They found no evidence of beeswax, bitumen or other materials Connan says were common in Egyptian embalming. Instead, the ratio of non-radioactive isotopes of carbon was typical of animal fats, while the fatty acids matched pig fat. There were also unusual molecules formed from fatty acids joined with aromatic alcohols found in pine or cedar, woods ancient Egypt imported from the Levant.
Connan concludes that the jar probably held scented ointment made by heating aromatic wood in fat, of the type Egyptians used to anoint their heads, and sacred images (Journal of Archaeological Science, vol 34, p 597).
The ratio of radioactive carbon-14 dated the material at 1035 BC, give or take 50 years. Rameses II died in 1213 BC. A yellowish powder, a remnant of the embalmed packages the jars contained in 1905, turned out to be pure mastic tree resin - which is still used in foods and embalming - from 275 BC.
The Louvre now believes the pots were made for a temple to the sun god Amun-Ra. Because Rameses II built the temple, his name is on the jars, but they were probably used to hold ritual ointments, then later recycled as containers for resin-embalmed remains."

Also covered at:

http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_2083486,00.html

"One of the star exhibits at the Louvre's egyptology wing, a collection of four jars said to have contained the embalmed organs of Egypt's greatest pharoah, Rameses II, have a sadly less glamorous vintage.
The beautiful turquoise-blue earthenware pots, emblazoned with Rameses' name in hieroglyphs and with incantions to the gods Mut and Amon, are genuine.
But the belief that they held Rameses' preserved innards to help ease the pharoah into the afterlife is false, French investigators say."

And at:

http://tinyurl.com/2nh7b8
"The blue jars which have been in the Louvre Museum in Paris since 19O5 carry the name of the legendary ruler who governed his country from 1279-1213 BC and seemed to contain preserved organs - including a trace of heart tissue.They are covered in hieroglyphs and decorated with the symbolic image - or cartouche - of the pharaoh. Two of the jars had been desecrated and the other two were untouched.It was the custom of the time to store the organs of the body in such 'Canopic' jars - a type of funerary vase made from earthenware ceramic.But Rameses' actual mummy still has its heart – the one organ ancient Egyptians left inside mummies so it could be weighed in the after-life by the god Thoth."

And at:

http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/news/science/ancient-egyptian-make-up-uncovered-$1065688.htm

http://tinyurl.com/2jh49h (elperiodico.com) with a photgraph of one of the pots.

The Journal of Archaeological Science website is at:

http://tinyurl.com/3cgbl5

Modern Technology Reveals Mummy's Past

http://www.physorg.com/news93244999.html

"Charles F. Hildebolt, right, a dentist and anthropologist with the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University, talks about the research he helped conduct on a baby mummy as it sits on display at the St. Louis Science Center, Thursday, March 15, 2007, in St. Louis. The mummy was donated to the Science Center in 1985 after it was acquired in the Middle East by a Missouri dentist in the early 1900s. Little is known about the mummy, but researchers believe it to be a boy who died at about seven to eight months old about 2,000 years ago. The baby mummy had a European mom, and likely came from a wealthy family. But where he lived and why he died - and at such a young age - remain a mystery. The mummy, exhibited for the first time Thursday at the Saint Louis Science Center, has been the year-long focus of an international team of investigators. The museum said it may be the most extensive research project ever undertaken on a child mummy."

See the above page for the full story.

Also covered at:

http://www.leadingthecharge.com/ViewArticle.aspx?id=76124&source=2

http://tinyurl.com/358b9w (stltoday.com)

Saturday Trivia

Treasure Pyramid

http://www.robingames.com/games/treasure-pyramid/

"Lost for more than 5000 years, the Treasure Pyramid has been waiting to be discovered. You've found an ancient map that will lead you there. Embark on an adventure that will have you puzzling your way through the lost temples of Egypt. Dodge dangers, find treasures and collect the 7 jewels that will unlock the long-lost majestic pyramid."

Amenhotep, Son of Hapu: A Tale of Egypt

http://tinyurl.com/3xmoyz
"One of the most realistic, fictional accounts of ancient Egyptian life ever penned, Scribe’s Ascent is the first novel in the Amenhotep, Son of Hapu: A Tale of Egypt series. As Egypt’s foremost éminent grise, Amenhotep narrates in Scribe’s Ascent his rise from a miserable provincial backwater to a position second only to Pharaoh’s in power."

A Queen's Destiny
http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=41397&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
"Nobilis announces Kheops Studio' Cleopatra: A Queen's Destiny, an adventure game in which the player will be plunged in the tormented period of the Antique Egypt. Help the young new queen Cleopatra to take the good decisions for her Empire and become the queen of kings. Scheduled for Q3 2007, your quest will lead you through Alexandria and all its mythic monuments like: the Library or the Lighthouse of Alexandria."

Ankh
http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=41445&mode=thread&order=0

"Cairo... the ancient city of thousand shapes, colors and smells. And of Pharaohs, crocodiles and assassins. It won't be easy for Assil to get an audience at the palace to get rid of his death curse. Even worse, the number of his foes is growing faster than his curse takes posession of him. And that's already quite fast. Only a keen mind can save Assil from certain death: You!
During his quest, Assil meets a whole bunch of weird people, from happy slaves to frightened crocodiles and finally Osiris himself, the god of the underworld.
Based on the original Ankh from Artex Software (1998), Ankh will be fateful port of ts PC countpart although restricted in specifications such as limited voiceovers, and graphics, but the point & click adventure aspect will remain identical.
Currently only scheduled for release in Germany, somewhere in August 2007."

King Tut's Gold
http://www.ereleases.com/pr/20070308009.html

"A young Egyptian boy studying to be a scribe embarks on a series of adventures and mysteries that propel him into the services of three royal families in Bill Butler's new book, "King Tut's Gold: Mystery of the Golden Water-Screw" (now available through AuthorHouse). Ahmes-VI is a 14-year-old student scribe at the Temple of Karnak. He is invited to travel with his father, an irrigation engineer, to Nubia, the land of gold and "Ta-Seti," the bow people. With invitations from the royal sculptor Bek, they travel on the royal barge with Egypt's most powerful lady, Tiye, the queen and wife of King Amenhotep-III. Tiye and Amenhotep-III are the grandparents of the boy King Tutankhamen. The queen is making her last journey to Nubia, where she has been summoned by her aunt Catava, a powerful sage who gives prophecies of the next two kings. Catava predicts that one king will cause a crack in the religious foundation of Egypt's 2000-year-old pantheon of gods. As a tribute to the next kings of Egypt, the sage Catava orders the preparation and construction of a 10-foot cylinder, a golden water-screw that will be kept in a sacred magical pond. The wondrous object will be used to pour out unlimited amounts of the finest, purest Nubian gold for King Akhenaten, Queen Nefertiti and their son, the most memorable monarch in all human history, King Tutankhamen. "

See the above page for more.

Book review (fiction): THE WATER THIEF By Ben Pastor Thomas Dunne
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/08/AR2007030802514.html

"Ben Pastor's The Water Thief is one of those books that undermine the categories of fiction. It has all the earmarks of a mystery: a disputed death in the past, present-day murders (the book's "present," that is: the 4th century), an investigating hero and a surprise villain. But Pastor has taken such pains to conjure up Italy and Egypt back then, to take the temperature of the Roman Empire, to depict local officials coping with the challenges posed by the spread of Christianity, that the result is far richer than the traditional whodunit."

Travel: Saqqara, Dashur and Giza

http://blogs.bootsnall.com/sgwood/?p=45

"So we started at Sakkara (or Saqqara, depending upon the translation). There, we were first taken to the Tomb of Mereuka and the Pyramid (realy a pile of rubble) of Teti. It was mildly interesting in the way of carvings and such, but more of an introduction into the world of baksheesh (Egyptian tipping). Basically, at the door, a “watchman” would strike up a conversation and then follow you to explain the site, expecting to be kicked back some Egyptian pounds at the end. The next and more wonderous site was the Step Pyramid of Zoser, built in 2650 BC as the very first of the pyramids as we know them. We were not allowed inside, but the outside was more than worth it. Some of the surrounding funerary complex has been rediscovered and rebuilt, but mostly there is a lot of desert. In fact, by climbing one set of stairs, we had an expansive view over the Sahara. Truly a site on the edge of nowhere!"

Exhibition: Cultural treasures in Taiwan

http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?CtNode=122&xItem=23980

"For many in Taiwan, spending days wandering the halls of the British Museum in London, enjoying exhibits from around the world while getting a dose of global culture strong enough to last a lifetime, was a dream beyond their reach. Time constraints and the daunting reality of having to fly nearly 10,000 kilometers have always presented seemingly insurmountable barriers, thwarting cultural aspirations, no matter how strong.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the National Palace Museum and the British Museum, locals can now experience a partial exhibition of the European museum's extensive collections showcasing the different facets of the evolution of human civilization. The exhibition, titled "Treasures of the World's Cultures: The British Museum After 250 Years," runs from Feb. 4 to May 27 and is part of a series of events staged to create a more culturally festive atmosphere before the launch of the Lunar New Year celebrations.
Divided into 13 sections--including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Europe, Asia, the Islamic World, Africa, Oceania and the Americas--the exhibition showcases works of sculpture and painting, as well as historical and cultural artifacts in a wide range of materials, such as precious objects, glass, gold, silver, bronze, stone, wood, and ceramic from the Paleolithic Age up to the 20th century. Of the 271 historical artifacts valued at over US$150 million on display, 15 percent will be making their first appearance in Asia."

A Sliver of Ancient Egypt in Central Park

http://www.nysun.com/article/50597
The Dahesh Museum, at Madison Avenue and 56th Street, has extended the run of its outstanding exhibition Napoleon on the Nile to April 22. Napoleon's Egyptian venture was militarily disastrous. But the "savants" he sent along with his soldiers helped lay the foundation of modern Egyptology. Part of the Napoleonic booty was the Luxor obelisk (though it didn't go up in the Place de la Concorde in Paris until the time of Louis Philippe).
Egyptian obelisks have been swiped for centuries: They are rare and precious things. Only 22 remain in the world. Egypt still possesses five and Rome has 13. The Romans originally looted the obelisks, but the 16th-century Pope Sixtus V directed their present locations in the Eternal City. Istanbul, London, Paris, and New York each have one obelisk.
The obelisk behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in Central Park, is the only ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Americas. How many people are aware of how immensely more important it is than the Met's Temple of Dendur? At least most New Yorkers have stopped calling the obelisk 'Cleopatra's Needle,' in a silly attempt to "sex it up" by association with the actress Claudette Colbert."

Hawass: Lucky hat #2

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/836/he2.htm

"The hat given to me by Ptti Rabbit has rescued me from death. It really did save my life. How was this? Well, the story began little over a month ago, two weeks before I travelled to the US for my eye surgery. I was excavating a site at Taposiris Magna 45km west of Alexandria to search for the tomb of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. To spruce up the excavation work, I appointed an Egyptian team to work there in collaboration with Katherine Martinez from the University of the Dominican Republic. While we were digging there, cleaning an area near a wall, a huge stone weighing approximately 20kg suddenly fell on my head. I am grateful to God that the stone was only about 30cm higher than my head because it did not have to fall very far. After the stone fell, I felt that my head was about to crack open, but I said thank you to my hat because it had saved my life. I hope that people will now stop criticising me and my hat and realise that it has its uses."

Aid metamorphosis

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/836/ec1.htm

"With a diverse range of development projects that span nearly the whole of Egypt, the USAID programme aims to launch projects that can sustain themselves in the long run without USAID's help, according to the ambassador. "Our assistance is not intended to last forever, we don't wish to create dependency," Ricciardone told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We want to help make the Egyptian economy so strong that it can sustain itself without foreign assistance, and work in a natural way to attract investment."
A recent trend in the aid programme, which was unheard of a decade ago, is the conservation of ancient monuments such as the Shonat Al-Zebib conservation site in Abydos, south of Sohag. The site which marks the funerary cult enclosure of King Khasekhemwy dates back to the Second Dynasty, making it one of the world's oldest free-standing masonry buildings. Ricciardone believes that conserving such monuments can have a direct effect on poverty eradication. "We hope that by preserving these monuments we will also add to the attraction of Sohag in terms of tourism, and that too can generate some employment opportunities," he explained.
The conservation effort, which cost LE5 million, took place under the umbrella of the Egyptian Antiquities Programme (EAP) and was conducted by New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. The conservation work included the use of sand bag buttresses to stabilise the deteriorating mudbrick walls surrounding the funerary."

Journal of The Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 32

http://thessea.org/journal.php
Volume 32 (2005) of the annually produced Journal of The Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities is now available. A list of articles, together with their abstracts, is available at the above address. Full articles, available in PDF format, are available for members only.

Roman frescoes at Luxor Temple

http://touregypt.net/teblog/luxornews/?p=450

Photographs of the restored frescoes and the restoration team, on Jane Akshar's Luxor News blog, above.

Travel: Nile cruise

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-news/article2353922.ece

"I had never really thought of us as ideal candidates for a cruise. Apart from being about 30 years too young, the long time spent on the water, the too-brief visits to dry land and the communal nature of life on board had never appealed. But then we decided to fill a big hole in our travelling CV and visit Egypt. With barely a week to spare and a long list of ancient sites to see, three nights on the Nile followed by a few days in Cairo made sense. Besides, maybe a river cruise would be more of a cruising-lite version.
Luxor was our starting point, the beginning or the end of the line for the 300 or so craft that ply the route between it and Aswan further upstream. We had to walk through one unremarkable vessel to get to the Sun Boat IV - our home for the next three nights - and it felt like stepping out of a Ford into a Mercedes."

Experimental Archaeology Day Conference

http://www.sogaer.ex.ac.uk/archaeology/conferences/present/exp2007.shtml

I don't usually cover conferences (EEF are so much better at it), but I thought that this was one that was unlikely to be picked up by Egyptology information services, as it is not exactly mainstream to Egyptological studies. The conference will take place on 17th November 2007. The above website introduces the conference as follows:

"The vast and exciting potential of experimental archaeology often goes unrecognised in academic archaeology. The basis of this conference are the key issues that surround the integration of experimental archaeology as a mainstream methodology.

Key themes:
Explore the scope of ‘experimental archaeology’ and distinguish between full experiments, pilot experiments, pre-experiments, experiential activities, public demonstrations and hobby projects.
The role of experimental archaeology in academic research.
Improving ways of promoting experimental archaeology in academic research
Improving communication between academic experimental archaeologists and crafts people.
How to communicate experiments and results to the academic community and the public."

See the above page for the full story.

Book review: Art of Being Tuareg: Sahara Nomads in the Modern World

http://www.indiana.edu/~jofr/review.php?id=419

"Art of Being Tuareg is the counterpart of a traveling museum exhibition of the same name, which recently debuted at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History until February 25, 2007. Future tour locations and dates include the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University from May 30, 2007, to September 2, 2007, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art from October 10, 2007, to September 2, 2008.
The editors, who also are the curators of the exhibition, state that the publication is one of only a few of its kind written in English."

Edited by Thomas K. Seligman & Kristyne Loughran. 2006. Seattle: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. 292 pages. ISBN: 0-9748729-6-2 (hard cover), 0-9748729-4-6 (soft cover).

See the above page for the full review.

Integrated project to restore pyramids blocks

http://tinyurl.com/352pxy (sis.gov.eg)

"Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni decided to carry out the urgent project of maintaining blocks of the Khoufu Greater pyramid in the frame of the related great enterprise implemented by the ministry since 8 years on 3 stages. Dr. Zahi Hawwas, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities stated that a technical and engineering committee comprises a group of scientists and experts in antiquities including Dr. Farouq el-Baz is formed to test status of the greater pyramid's blocks and preparing for its restoration. Hawwas said that it is the beginning for other pyramids restoration process that extends to 10 years for its difficulty."

See the above page for more details.

Asian Tourism in Egypt

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1084387

"There is so much to Egypt besides the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. This is the message Samy Mahmoud, tourism counselor, Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA), is spreading among Indian tourists.
Egypt is steeped in history, and their popular resorts such as the Sharm el-Sheikh are frequented by the likes Tony Blair and which Bill Clinton describes as paradise. But there are also temples and ancient churches that very few tourists know about. Also, many wonders lie beyond the borders of Cairo.
India is an important market for Egypt. In 2006, 65,000 Indians traveled to Egypt, which is an increase of 15% compared with 2005. As an effort to improve tourist traffic from India, Egypt is starting a flight from Delhi and adding one more from Mumbai. . . . Over the years Asia has become an important market for Egypt. Japan contributes 75,000 tourists followed by India and China. At the moment 60% of the traffic comes from Western Europe, 20% from the Gulf countries, 10% from East Europe and 10% from Far East.
A miniscule 4% is from Latin America. But the traffic from Asia has been steadily growing."

Palace hotels

http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=7213

Fourth article on the page: "While archeologists and hist-orians continue to warn of the dangers to the historic Citadel district posed by an in-progress office complex being constructed by Alkan Group, rumor has it the Ministry of Culture is planning to invite the private sector to invest in restoring historic Cairo.
Major hotel chains are reportedly being allowed to turn some of the monuments into hotels. Word on the street holds that the first building to be considered is going to be Wekalet Qaitbay next to Bab El-Nasr.
The Wekala was built in 885 by the Mamluk King Al-Ashraf Abul Nasr Qaitbay as a place for traveling merchants to sleep and peddle their wares. It displays all the beautiful characteristics of the Mamluk era’s intricate architecture.
This sounds a bit like the Bab El-Azab project a few years back, when the Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni declared that his ministry was going to turn the historic building into a hotel. The project sparked a media furor and the Ministry promptly dropped the idea."

Germany key tourist exporter to Egypt

http://tinyurl.com/2xal8r (sis.gov.eg)
"Germany is a key tourist exporting market to Egypt, said the Egyptian Minister of Tourism. Zuheir Garana said that about 1.1 million German tourists visited Egypt last year, expecting the figure to go up to two million in 2011. Speaking to German reporters on Friday on the sidelines of Egypt's participation in the International Tourist Bourse in Berlin, Garana said Egypt is a key tourism destination for German tourists."
See the above page for more details.

Half million visitors to Egypt's Sunken Treasures in France

http://tinyurl.com/2xs6gg (sis.gov.eg)

"Grand Palais Museum in central Paris witnesses a great attendance from the French people to visit Egypt's "Sunken Treasures" Exhibition that will end next week. Despite bad weather and heavy rains, masses are standing in rows in front of the museum to wait for the visit. Frank Jodiu, Chief of the European Institute pointed out the large number of attendants to visit the exhibition because of the French fondness of the Egyptian antiquities. Number of the visitors reached more than half a million."

Travel: Touring Egypt

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/3/10/lifetravel/17006220&sec=lifetravel
"One of the highlights is a relaxing sail on a felucca (traditional sailboat) down the Nile. The simple wooden boat uses one main sail made of cotton and is propelled by the wind. Amid the soft evening glow of the sun, we glided down the river, passing pretty resorts and cottages, old mausoleums and the vast Sahara desert.
We caught a glimpse of the majestic, Victorian-style Old Cataract Hotel, built in the 19th century, where the famous mystery author wrote Death on the Nile, and the impressive Mausoleum of the Aga Khan perched on a hill. The imam of the Ismaeli Muslims was buried here in 1957. For years till her demise in 2000, the Aga Khan’s wife used to stand at the balcony of their house (below the mausoleum) and wave to tourists passing by in feluccas."

The Journal of Egyptological Studies 2 (2005);

The Journal of Egyptological Studies 2 (2005, editor in Chief: Prof. Sergei Ignatov, Ph. D.) has been published. The volume contains the following articles:

Sergei Ignatov: “The Red Line” in the Ancient Egyptian Story of the Shipwrecked Sailor

Teodor Lekov: Ancient Egyptian Notion of Ka according to the Pyramid Texts

Emil Buzov, The social aspect of expression sA s “son-of-men”
Mladen Tomorad: Egyptian artifacts in the Archaeological Museum of Istria in Pula (Croatia)
Elka Koleva-Ivanov: Les relations entre Horus et le venin (mtw.t) dans les textes magiques
Danijela Stefanovic: The Holders of the Title iry pDt in the Period of the Middle Kingdom - Prosopography

Travel: Nile cruise

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/3/10/lifetravel/17102919&sec=lifetravel

"We checked into a luxury cruise ship with five-star facilities for a three-day cruise on the Nile to Luxor. Old, romantic paddle-steamers like the Karnak in Agatha Christie’s novel are a rare breed these days. Most of the boats plying the Nile are motor-run cruisers. But the view stays the same. We sipped cocktails on the top deck and watched the languid, rural life slip by – mud-brick houses amid lush, green fields and farmers hard at work.
Along the way, we stopped at different temples – the Temple of Kom Ombo, double, sandstone temples devoted to two different Gods – Horus and Sobek (built by the Ptolemies and completed by the Romans), Edfu Temple (the most well-conserved temple in Egypt built between 237 and 57BC) and Temple of Luxor (erected in 14th century BC).
Fortunately, we were always one of the first groups to arrive and managed to have a guided tour around the temples before hordes of tourists descended."

Museum GC Oversees King Tut

http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1173363835376

A profile of Joseph Brennan, vice president of external affairs and general counsel: "Brennan's job pulls him into a variety of legal fields. He estimates that he spends about 40 percent of his workday on general legal matters, including intellectual property, contracts, employment, museum store business and building issues; about 30 percent working on agreements with other museums and governments; and the rest on a mix of community and government relations work, support for the museum's educational mission and repatriation requests from people seeking the return of artifacts."

See the above page for more.

Videos: Archaeological theory

http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/personal-histories/

Videos are available to accompany the earlier seminar on archaeological method and theory held at Cambridge earlier this year, entitled Personal Histories in Archaeological Theory and Method: Processualism and the New Archaeology in the 1960s.
Panellists were: Colin Renfrew, Mike Schiffer, Ezra Zubrow, Graeme Barker (chair), and Discussants were: Robin Dennell, Rob Foley, Paul Mellars and Marek Zvelebil.

Dating the Sphinx by pore structure?

http://www.azom.com/Details.asp?ArticleID=3673

A comprehensive look at particle characterization and its uses. The article, entitled Particle Characterization – Modern Techniques for Determining Particle Size, Shape, Surface Area and Porosity by Micromeritics suggests that porosity might be one way of dating the Sphinx at Giza:

"Surface area and porosity as a function of particle size or surface area and porosity independent of particle size are other physical characteristics that play an important role in particle technology. The effectiveness of odor removers depends on the active surface area of the adsorbent in them. The tightness of the weave of a cloth raincoat, and therefore its porosity, is adjusted to retard water penetration but permit air and vapour passage for comfort. Adsorbent towels and tissues, on the other hand, are made to have pores that readily wick up liquids. The tips of felt-tip pens have a still different requirement: their pore structure must hold a viscous ink but release it when compressed.
The pore structure of prosthetic devices influences whether or not tissue will attach. There is even a connection between the Sphinx of Egypt’s Giza plateau and porosity. The Sphinx may be coerced into revealing its true age thanks to the porosity of the stone from which it is made. A model of the weathering process based on the porosity of the stone has been suggested that may yield a timeline back to the date of its creation."

Meroitic Ethiopian Origins of the Modern Oromo

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=21760

The Meroitic Ethiopian Origins of the Modern Oromo Nation by Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis is available at the above address: "This paper deals, among others, with the development of Meroitic studies, the Meroitic civilization, the destruction of the city of Meroe, the dispersal of the Meroitic people after the collapse of their state, the Christianization of the post Meroitic states, the migration of the remnants of the Meroitic people in the direction of the Blue Nile and their possible relation of ancestry with the modern Cushitic language speaking Oromo nation. It must be stated clearly at the outset that the issue of Meroitic ancestry of the Oromo nation has not been considered, much less published in an academic journal or scholarly books. The paper was first presented in an academic conference organized by the Oromo Studies Association. Footnotes have been added recently."

A short history of time telling

http://tinyurl.com/2h3x4a (sciam.com)

"Thanks to documented evidence of the Egyptians' use of sundials, most historians credit them with being the first civilization to divide the day into smaller parts. The first sundials were simply stakes placed in the ground that indicated time by the length and direction of the resulting shadow. As early as 1500 B.C., the Egyptians had developed a more advanced sundial. A T-shaped bar placed in the ground, this instrument was calibrated to divide the interval between sunrise and sunset into 12 parts. This division reflected Egypt's use of the duodecimal system--the importance of the number 12 is typically attributed either to the fact that it equals the number of lunar cycles in a year or the number of finger joints on each hand (three in each of the four fingers, excluding the thumb), making it possible to count to 12 with the thumb. The next-generation sundial likely formed the first representation of what we now call the hour. Although the hours within a given day were approximately equal, their lengths varied during the year, with summer hours being much longer than winter hours."

See the above two-page article for the full story.

Exhibition: 1,000 years of offerings to Egyptian jackal deity

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/03/03/10108415.html

"A thousand years' worth of offerings to an ancient Egyptian jackal deity are the subject of an exhibition that opened on Thursday at Cairo's Egyptian Museum.
The exhibition, Anubis, Upwawet and Other Deities, is based on votive offerings that British archaeologist Gerald Wainwright found in a tomb built around 1800 or 1900 BC near the southern town of Assiut.
The tomb originally belonged to a local hereditary prince, but for more than 1,000 years local people used it as a shrine for personal devotion, filling it with tablets dedicated to the local jackal deity Upwawet."

Exhibition: Reproductions of Tutankhamun

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07062/766443-30.stm

"When the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show opens Friday, visitors can expect to see thousands of items for inside and outside the home -- everything from the latest in kitchen appliances to garden sheds, composite decking, and aluminum or iron fencing. But a King Tut museum? What's that got to do with your house or landscape? The reproduction King Tut burial mask, above, by the Egyptian Art Center of Cairo is among objects that will be part of the King Tut Museum at the Home & Garden ShowClick photo for larger image. Not much, confesses John DeSantis, the show's executive director and architect of the 6,000-square-foot exhibit of reproductions of Egyptian antiquities. But how often do you and your children get to see more than 250 pieces of ancient history up close?
The idea of a show-within-a-home-show is not as crazy as it may sound. Back in the old days, when this annual spring event was still held at the old convention center, the show often included some sort of special exhibition."

See the above page for more.

Egypt's international tourism website

http://www.ameinfo.com/112646.html

"Mr Ahmed El Khadem, Chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Authority, commented: 'Since launching just nine months ago we have welcomed a staggering 2.2 million visitors to the website. The latest enhancements are part of our ongoing efforts to provide visitors to Egypt with the best available advice and resources to help them make the most of their trip to our fascinating country.' The newly revamped portal reflects the Egyptian Tourist Authority's new branding, and features an updated layout with even more detailed content as well as extensive information on 15 key destinations. It also features a wealth of things to see and do, and has also been further enhanced with several unique interactive elements, including a new sound-enhanced Egyptian dictionary."

Hibis Temple, Kharga

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/834/tr5.htm
A snapshot of Hibis Temple in Kharga Oasis: "Darius I treated the Egyptians with respect and good will. His list of achievements includes finishing the canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea, extending the Serapeum at Saqqara and the completion of Hibis Temple in Kharga Oasis.
Dedicated to the Theban triad of gods Amun, Mut and Khonsu, the building of Hibis Temple was ordered by King Apries of the 26th Dynasty in 588 BC. It was finally completed 66 years later in 522 BC. The largest and best preserved temple of the Western Desert was actually concealed from sight all the way until the 20th century when it was dug out.
Hibis Temple, derived from the ancient Egyptian word hebet or plough, grabbed the spotlight in recent years when an underground local water table was confirmed to be on the rise; the temple was at risk. Though it was scheduled for relocation to a safer site, a last-minute decision ruled the temple to be restored in-situ."

Exhibition: Temples and Tombs

http://www.ncartmuseum.org/templesandtombs/

A website has been created at the above address to accompany the British Museum's travelleing exhibition, for its North Carolina leg.

Exhibition: Wonderful Things

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/03/04/helena_top/a01030407_01.txt

"More than 100 relics of adoration entombed with the Egyptian pharaoh have finally arrived in Montana - minus his mummy's curse. Most of the objects at the Museum of the Rockies' tantalizing new exhibit, Tutankhamun: 'Wonderful Things' from the Pharaoh's Tomb, are reproductions of the originals, which no longer travel.The reproductions were crafted by artisans at the Pharaonic Village in Egypt, as well as the Field Museum in Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As a collection, they offer visitors a rare chance to peer into an ancient world of life and death."

See the above page for more details.

Exhibition: More on Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs

http://www.altoonamirror.com/Life/articles.asp?articleID=9682

"King Tutankhamun became perhaps the world’s oldest media darling when British archaeologists discovered his approximately 3,300-year-old tomb in 1922. A display of his treasures set traveling show attendance records when it went on nationwide tour in the ’70s. The Franklin Institute is trying to rival that fanfare as it hosts an updated and upgraded Tut exhibit that more than doubles the size of the previous blockbuster. Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, running through Sept. 30, brings nearly 130 ancient Egyptian artifacts, many outside their home country for the first time, to Philadelphia — the last of four stops on a U.S. tour."

BACKDATED BLOG ENTRIES START HERE

Blog Updates

Hi to all

The blog will not be updated for two and a bit weeks. I am off for a break in Aswan, and I am informed that the likelihood of picking up a wireless connection on my laptop is fairly remote. All being well, I'll post the Aswan photos when I get back. I just know that a load of really important discoveries will be made whilst I'm away!

All the very best

Andie

Ancient Egypt in Lego

http://tinyurl.com/38e294 (lavanguardia.es)

"El Museo de Egipto del Cairo presenta la exposición 'Secretos de los Faraones', que consta de 19 piezas relacionadas con el antiguo Egipto elaboradas con bloques de Lego.

El objetivo de la exposición, organizada por la empresa Lego, la embajada danesa en Egipto y el Museo Egipcio, es acercar a los niños y al público en general a la vida del antiguo Egipto a través de las reproducciones a partir de piezas de Lego junto a todo tipo de hallazgos arqueológicos."

Ancient Egypt in Lego at the Cairo Museum. See the above page for the full article and photos. To the right of the main photo are tiny numbered tabs - click on each tab to see the other photos. My favourite is Anubis.

Exhibition: More re Excavating Egypt (Petrie)

http://www.amherstbulletin.com/story/id/31809/

Another review of the exhibition Excavating Egypt: Great Discoveries from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archeology, University College London, currently at Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. As well as describing the exhibition, this article looks at some of the details of Petrie's life: "In addition to being one of the first to document where objects were found at excavation sites, Petrie changed the emphasis of archeological research by showing that the mundane objects he uncovered were often as important as much grander monumental sculpture and architecture in illuminating the culture and history of a region, said Larkin. He was also one of the first to regularly publish his findings.
Despite Petrie's devotion to scientific methods - he is considered "the father of Egyptian archeology" by many in the field - his life sounds a little like an Indiana Jones movie. Home-schooled in an upper-middle-class English family, a somewhat sickly only child, Petrie taught himself how to read hieroglyphs and grew so skilled at coin collecting that he became a consultant for the British Museum while still in his teens."

See the above page for more.

Revista del Instituto de Historia Antigua Oriental 12/13

http://www.filo.uba.ar/contenidos/investigacion/institutos/antoriental/publicaciones.htm
The Contents, with abstracts in Spanish and English, for the most recent issue of RIHAO are now available at the above page. As an example, one of the many papers is by John Baines: "Definiciones tempranas del mundo egipcio y sus alrededores. Abstract: This article considers the fundamental changes in the Egyptian presentation of order and of dominance of the surrounding world that took place during the formative period of the Egyptian state (Nagada III / Dynasty 0). The principal material analysed is drawn from the decorated knives, palettes, and maceheads of the period. These artifact types provide crucial evidence for reconstructing the message which the elite proclaimed to itself about Egypt and its relations with the outside world. "

Weekly Websites

An earlier Amarna discovery at Saqqara
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/feature3/index.html

During the process of a massive turn out of my house, I found an old National Geographic article by Alain Zivie, looking at the excavation of another Amarna era tomb at Saqqara. As usual with National Geographic, the photographs are absolutely beautiful (by Kenneth Garrett). Three of the photographs are linked to from the above page (in the left hand navigation column). The tomb consits of a colonnaded funerarcy chapel with a rock cut tomb belonged to Raiay-Hatiay, the son of a goldsmith who became a senior administator in the temples of Aten in Akhetaten (Amarna). One of the photos on the above page shows his titles. His wife, Maia is shown as well. The tomb was never used, and it is not known where he was originally laid to rest. The art work is typical of the Amarna period, and some some of the glorious original colour remains.

Notes by the photographer about the assignment can be found at:

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/feature3/assignment1.html

The Egypt Archive
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/html/index.html

The excellent and long established Egypt Archive is Jon Bodsworth's photographic archive of ancient Egypt. As well as covering some of the key sites of Cairo, Abydos and Luxor, a number of museums are represented as well. The photographs shown on the site are low resolution, but are copyright free - and the quality of even the low resolution images is very good. My favourite is this Old Kingdom wooden statue from the Cairo Museum:

http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/html/cairo_museum_17.html

In addition to the photographs, Jon has a Historical Archive containing some fascinating material including photographs of the interior of the Great Pyramid by the Edgar Brothers in the early 1900s, plates from an original 1877 copy of Piazzi Smyth's Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid, and plates from W.H. Bartlett's mid 1850s The Nile Boat or Glimpses of the Land of Egypt.

The fire makers of El-Kharafish
http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/riemer/index.html

"Since 1995 archaeological research on the interaction of climate and cultural development in arid zones of the Western Desert of Egypt has been carried out within the frame of the interdisciplinary ACACIA project (University of Cologne, Germany). The main period of interest is the so-called Holocene humid phase, c. 9000-5000 cal BC, when the Eastern Sahara had turned into a dry Savannah-like environment (Gehlen et al. 2002). In recent years the focus of research has shifted towards the late prehistory and the transition to the pharaonic occupation in the Western Desert, c. 3000-2200 cal BC, since there have been a number of surprising discoveries of pharaonic and late prehistoric sites. While most sites belong to pharaonic operations, such as along the 400km long Abu Ballas Trail (Kuper 2001), the site El-Karafish 02/5 is a temporary desert camp site of the local pastoral nomads."

Special Feature: Photos of Khufu's subterranean chamber

My sincere thanks to Jon Bodsworth of the egyptarchive website for his kind permission to reproduce the following on this blog, written by Jon after a recent visit to Giza:

A highlight of my recent trip to Giza was being able to visit the Subterranean Chamber under the Great Pyramid. As there aren't many photos of the chamber around I hope these might be of interest.

This photograph shows the grill over the entrance to the Descending Passage at the point it is intersected by Al-Mamoun's forced Passage.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2002_003.jpg

From this point the passage is cut through the bedrock of the mound in the centre of the pyramid and slopes on down for 300ft to the Subterranean Chamber at which point it is 100ft vertically below the base of the pyramid.

Several natural faults cut through the passage but one is much larger than the others and shows evidence of having been worked on as there are chisel marks and Old Kingdom cement. The consensus seems to be that the passage wall at this point was "made good"
with limestone blocks but that later investigators removed whatever had been put in place.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_059.jpg

The passage is meant to be lit by neon tubes but the nearer I got to the bottom the fewer there were working. So I had to fire my flash to get a clearer idea of what was ahead. Just before the bottom of the passage a large gap opens up on the right which is actually a short tunnel that leads to the bottom of the so-called "Well Shaft". Sadly, at the moment, the Well Shaft is blocked with rubbish which gradually built up through people dropping stuff down it from the top end in the Grand Gallery.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_061.jpg

Shortly afterwards the passage levels out and a final 18ft leads to the Subterranean Chamber. The passage also gets smaller and I found it too low to continue stooping and had to take to my hands and knees. It was almost totally dark at this point as little light was getting through from the neon tubes from either direction.

So I eventually emerged into the Subterranean Chamber which was dimly lit. This photograph is looking back at the entrance I've just come through.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_072.jpg

It's a strange looking place with blocks of stones left in the middle of being cut producing a range of bizarre shapes and cuttings.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_083_02.jpg
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_066.jpg

There is evidence all over the place of the process of cutting with chisel marks very obvious.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_067.jpg

The railing surrounds a deep shaft in the floor that was deepened by another 38ft by Perring in the 1830s. He was looking for any further chambers on the instructions of Howard Vyse.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_071.jpg

On the wall opposite the entrance a narrow passage continues for another 50ft until it stops in a dead end.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_068.jpg

As always when I've scrambled around inside the pyramid I'm struck with admiration for the workmen who managed to cut and remove the stone through such steep and narrow passages. All the stone they cut had to be carried out through the awkward passage I'd just come down. And, it also occurred to me, that anything that they had planned to put into the chamber would have to have been carried in the same way. If they had ever planned to bury Khufu in there it would have been a very small sarcophagus.

I hadn't been in the Queen's Chamber since the 1980s as it has been closed on all my recent trips. It was good to be able to see the shafts etc in light of the current interest in them.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_097.jpg

As the Queen's Chamber and the Subterranean Chamber are officially closed I was very lucky to have been able to visit them.

Jon Bodsworth
http://www2.blogger.com/www.egyptarchive.co.uk

Deterioration of Khufu's funerary barge at Giza

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/834/he1.htm

"Ever since its discovery in 1954, the magnificent 4,600-year-old wooden funerary barge of Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid, has been kept in poorly managed conditions. Its progressive deterioration has been calamitous. At long last, however, the responsibility of preparing a condition and conservation report on the vessel has been handed to Hani Hanna, chair of the International Conference on Heritage of the Naqada and Qus region, Egypt 2007.
Hanna summarised his comprehensive study by pointing out that the boat museum's environment and tourist visitation procedures needed to be urgently addressed, since the vessel had already been adversely affected by direct and indirect damage from humidity, temperature fluctuation, light and pollution. Outlining the reasons for and the extent of the damage, Hanna cited the serious harm caused by a wide range of other factors."

See the above page for the full details.

Details of TT359 and TT299 (Inerkhau) now online

http://tinyurl.com/2th4g4 (osirisnet.net)

Thanks to Thierry Benderitter for the information that the OsirisNet website has been updated with descriptions, photographs and diagrams of the tombs of Inerkhau - TT359 and TT299. I absolutely love the reconstruction by C. Robichon. Some of the photographs look blurred on the thumbnails, but click on the image and you will see the big, sharp version. The ceilings. are terrific. The presentation of the tomb spans three web pages (click on the links at the bottom of each page to move between them).

Restoration of 19th-century Al-Kutub Khana

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/834/eg4.htm

Not Egyptology but certainly Egyptian heritage: "Amongst the Islamic monuments in the busy Cairo district of Bab Al-Khalq stands the Kutub Khana Al-Khedewiya, also known as the Dar Al-Kutub Al-Masriya (Egyptian National Library). For six years this splendid Islamic building has been hidden under ugly iron scaffolding, but now the Dar Al-Kutub -- built in 1904 and the first National Library to have been built in the Arab world -- has been resurrected with its original features so as to continue its cultural role of welcoming visitors and researchers and of preserving the nation's intangible heritage. President and Mrs Hosni Mubarak, along with Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, attended last Sunday's reopening."

Travel: Bahariya now and 10 years ago

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/834/tr3.htm

An article that suggests that Bahariya has become far more tourist-orientated than it was ten years ago:

"On our next morning, it was time to prepare for the off- road part of our trip. Our journey would include the Black Desert, the Pyramid Mountain, the dune system of Agabat, and finally the White Desert where we would set up camp for the night. It was on this day that the impact of the elapsed years became truly noticeable. On the previous night, it had been a pleasant surprise to find that Shadia, who had sold me my favourite galabiya in the whole world eight years ago, had now set up her own little business with the help of a Japanese grant for small enterprises. She still has fingers to make Arachne jealous -- her embroidery only having improved with time, while her prices remained extremely reasonable.
But what an unpleasant surprise it was, on the other hand, to realise that the fire wood we used to gather ourselves en route to the White Desert for warmth and light at night is now only available for LE5 a batch. You can no longer hop down the jeep and scrape your fingers collecting the dried branches. You can no longer load it over the roof of the vehicle yourself. You can no longer have fun seeing who will gather the largest amount. You can only purchase the fire wood.
Then, another instance of change hit me in the face. I thought we would open a few cans of tuna for lunch in any sheltered spot on the way in the desert, just like in the old times, then pack up and resume our course. But no, now you stop at a cafeteria for the same cans of tuna, some fruit and a cup of tea. The cafeteria is laid back and clean. For some visitors it may even offer a welcome final stop of civilisation before the camp site. But to this visitor, it was certainly an unwelcome development that interrupted the sense of abandon which takes over with the turn of the jeep's wheels in the sand off the road."

See the above page for the rest of the story.

Exhibition: More re Anubis, Upwawet and Other Deities

http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=5924
A short piece about the new exhibition at the Cairo Museum: "The exhibition, Anubis, Upwawet and Other Deities, is based on votive offerings that British archaeologist Gerald Wainwright found in a tomb built around 1800 or 1900 BC near the southern town of Assiut. The tomb originally belonged to a local hereditary prince, but for more than 1,000 years local people used it as a shrine for personal devotion, filling it with tablets dedicated to the local jackal god Upwawet."
See the above for more.

Travel: Hibis Temple in Kharga Oasis

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/834/tr5.htm

"Darius I, Cambyses's successor to the throne, had a challenging task before him. Adapting a different approach than that of his predecessor, Darius I treated the Egyptians with respect and good will. His list of achievements includes finishing the canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea, extending the Serapeum at Saqqara and the completion of Hibis Temple in Kharga Oasis.
Dedicated to the Theban triad of gods Amun, Mut and Khonsu, the building of Hibis Temple was ordered by King Apries of the 26th Dynasty in 588 BC. It was finally completed 66 years later in 522 BC. The largest and best preserved temple of the Western Desert was actually concealed from sight all the way until the 20th century when it was dug out."

Zahi Hawass on his hat

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/834/he2.htm

"The story of this hat began many years ago. When I started my career, I used to wear a white cotton hat. However, I soon realised that this did not offer me total protection from the sun and besides, it didn't look good. Still, I continued to wear this hat for another seven years while I was excavating the archaeological site of Al-Ashmunein in Middle Egypt and the famous Delta site of Kom Au Bellou, where I discovered my passion for archaeology.
One upon a time while teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), I had a student named Patti Rabbit. It was she who brought me my current hat, which I wear to this day. She told me that this hat will always bring me luck."

See the above page for the rest.

Saturday Trivia

First white wine was a happy accident

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1860802.htm
"Dr Mandy Walker from CSIRO Plant Industry laboratories in Adelaide and her colleagues studied the genetics of Vitis vinifera, the grapevine species used to produce almost all the white and red wine varieties sold today. . . . Scientists know white grapes arose as a variant of red grapes at some point in history, but not exactly how.

The new research, published in the latest issue of the Plant Journal, helps answer this question. Specifically, Dr Walker and her team showed that the colour of grape skins is controlled by two genes, VvMYBA1 and VvMYBA2.

They found that either gene can regulate the colour by switching on production of a molecule called anthocyanin, which turns grape skin red.In white grapes, both the genes are mutated, meaning both ways for producing a red colour were switched off. . . . 'Mutations in single genes happen at a fairly low frequency, but the grapes had to have mutations in two genes to turn from red to white and that's just very, very rare.' Exactly when and where the switch might have happened isn't clear, Dr Walker says. 'It most likely occurred before the time of Tutankhamen,' she says.

White wine residue was found in flasks within the ancient Egyptian king's tomb, she says."
See the above page for the full story.

Review: The Professor's Daughter (Graphic novel)
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/02/27/091101.php

"Two of France’s most famous graphic novelists have teamed up to create an astonishing, beautiful and bizarre tale in The Professor's Daughter. Lillian, the daughter of a British professor who is taking home a mummy to put on display, takes the preserved body out of the sarcophagus and takes it on a stroll through Victorian London.The mummy is Imhotep IV and he and Lillian fall deeply in love. They can’t seem to get past a myriad of obstacles though - things just keep getting in the way. His dead spirit children come looking for him and wonder where their mother is, his father seems bent on destroying him, the Professor wants his mummy back, the London police want Imhotep for murder and oh, by the way, did I mention he’s a 1000-year-old mummy?"

The Pharoah's Wheat

http://tinyurl.com/2spape (thebulletin.us)

The pharaonic spirit inspired by the Franklin Institute's King Tut exhibit, ever-present throughout Philadelphia for the past month, has infiltrated the restaurants as well. Fountain Restaurant at the Four Seasons offers "The Golden Bird," a gold-leaf crusted squab stuffed with fava beans and farro; Aya's Café's "Pharaonic Feast" features a "Tut-style" lamb stew; and Haru has created a "Tutansushi" roll. The boy king has inspired the bars as well: McGillin's Old Ale House's "King Tut-tini," served in a martini glass rimmed with gold sugar, mixes Goldschlager with vanilla vodka; and the Swann Lounge's "Pharoah's Elixir," topped with gold leaf, mixes Amaretto and almond liqueur.

Review: Napoleon's Pyramids
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2007-02-28-napoleons-pyramids_x.htm
If you think that finding a smart, intelligent, well-written action thriller is as tough as deciphering hieroglyphics, your powers of deduction are on the wane.
The book you're looking for is Napoleon's Pyramids, and it's a two-fer.
It has a plot as satisfying as an Indiana Jones film and offers enough historical knowledge to render the reader a fascinating raconteur on the topics of ancient Egypt and Napoleon Bonaparte.
At the center of William Dietrich's engaging novel is the young Ethan Gage, a former protégé of Ben Franklin who is unwittingly set on a path to danger and high adventure when he wins an ancient medallion during a Parisian card game.

Ankh 3D adventure grame
http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/03/01/ankh/index.php

"RuneSoft has released a playable demo version of Ankh, a point-and-click graphical adventure game set in Ancient Egypt. Ankh isn’t a stuffy Myst-style game, though. Created by developer Deck 13, Ankh is a 3D cartoon adventure centering on young Assil, who’s thrown a wild party in the grand pyramid built by his father, the Pharaoh’s chief architect, and has fallen out of grace with the gods. A curse has now been cast upon him that he has to remove."

See the above page for the full story. Another review of the same game can be found at:
http://home.nestor.minsk.by/game/news/2007/03/0205.html

Book Review: Does Mozart have anything to do with Egyptology?
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2007/03/03/200703030021.asp

"Christian Jacq, a French writer known for his popular series "Ramsese," which features an Egyptian pharaoh, apparently thinks so. His four-volume series, titled "Mozart El Gran Mago (Mozart the Great Magician)," however, does not directly deal with Jacq's favorite topic.
Instead, Jacq introduces the secretive fraternal organization, the Freemasons, as a link between the genius of Salzburg and Egypt, a clever decision that honors and exploits the popularity of related conspiracy theories initiated by "The Da Vinci Code."
Jacq theorizes in the novel that Mozart was a Freemason. He also posits that Freemasonry's true origins trace back to ancient Egypt. "

See the above for the rest of the review.

Italian archaeologists to join efforts to save Sudan's artifacts

http://english.people.com.cn/200703/01/eng20070301_353343.html

"Two top Italian archaeologists will join the international efforts to save ancient artifacts from being submerged by a dam project in Sudan, Italian news agency ANSA reported Wednesday.
Twin brothers Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni, experts on Sudan's ancient history, have been called up to join the efforts coordinated by the British Museum of London and the National Corporation for Antiquities of Khartoum.
The two 69-year-old Italians are perhaps most famous for their 1989 discovery of the ancient Egyptian 'city of gold', Berenice Panchrysos, which is in today's Sudan.
The Merowe hydro-electric dam on the Nile River, Africa's largest hydropower project, is being built in the heart of Nubia, a region that stretches across southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
The project is scheduled to be finished on the Nile's fourth cataract in September 2008, and archaeologists are trying to rescue treasures in the region around the dam before it turns into a huge reservoir.
Nubia was an independent kingdom in ancient times and is believed to have served as a trade corridor between Egypt and tropical Africa in 4,000 B.C.
Inhabitants in the region, where Paleolithic remains such as cave etchings of animals and hunting have been found, can be traced to some 200,000 years ago."

This is the complete item on the People's Daily website.

St Anthony's Monastery

http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=5885

"In the barren expanse of the Eastern Desert, under the clarity of a seamless blue sky, lies a historic and often overlooked monastery.
Although the monastery ranks amongst travel book highlights, its distance from better-recognized monuments has protected it. A gentle pulse in a desolate landscape, St. Anthony’s is the picture of serenity. Secluded, majestic — although it’s a mere two-hour drive from Cairo’s city center — this subtle gem is a day trip away for culture lovers.
St. Anthony moved to the Red Sea Mountains in the 3rd century from the age of 18 until his death at 105. His legacy of rejecting the material and solitary reflection, has is the foundation of the oldest operational monastery to date.
The monastery is the only structure in sight for kilometers. Under gleaming rays of unobstructed desert sun, its thick, whitewashed walls radiate light. Seen from the one-way highway leading to it, it almost shines in the distance. The compound is cradled by the base of Mount Qalah’s sandstone crests and surrounded by the harshest of desert plains. Its environment is beautiful, yet bleak, and its vastness is at once liberating and threatening."

If of interest, I have put photos of both St Anthony's and St Paul's from my visit there last November online at

www.coptic.cd2.com

Exhibition: Anubis, Upwawet and Other Deities

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17403311/

"A thousand years’ worth of offerings to an ancient Egyptian jackal god are the subject of an exhibition that opened on Thursday at Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.
The exhibition, Anubis, Upwawet and Other Deities, is based on votive offerings that British archaeologist Gerald Wainwright found in a tomb built around 1800 or 1900 BC near the southern town of Assiut.
The tomb originally belonged to a local hereditary prince, but for more than 1,000 years local people used it as a shrine for personal devotion, filling it with tablets dedicated to the local jackal god Upwawet."

See the above page for more.

A slide show accompanies the article at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17403545/displaymode/1176/rstry/17403311/

Book: The Great Pyramid by John Romer

http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521871662

A summary of John Romer's new book (to be released in April 2007) by the publisher Cambridge University Press, with a contents listing, followed by a short review by Ian Shaw.

Ancient Egyptian cures for stomach disorders

http://tinyurl.com/yuovd5 (dsc.disovery.com)

More about the research partnership between England's University of Manchester and the Egyptian Medicinal Plant Conservation Project in St. Katherine's, Sinai:

"Although findings are preliminary, it appears that treating constipation preoccupied early doctors. 'The ancient Egyptians used a diverse range of plants for an equally diverse range of medical conditions,' lead researcher Ryan Metcalfe told Discovery News. 'Laxatives dominated the field, with bulk laxatives, such as figs, bran and dates in common use.'
Metcalfe, a scientist in the university's School of Medicine, added that the Egyptians used bowel stimulants such as the bitter fruit coloynth and castor oil, "which remained in clinical use until about 40 years ago."
One ancient remedy, believed to relieve excess gas and indigestion, consisted of cumin, a hefty portion of goosefat and milk. All were boiled together, strained and consumed."

See the above 2-page article for more information about both the project and its findings. Fascinating stuff.

Illuminating Ramesses at Abu Simbel

http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20070228/101685.shtml

Another piece about how the sun shines into the inner sanctum of the main temple of Abu Simbel to light the face of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. This has become something of a spectacle, with 1000s of people attending the event:

"Around 6,000 tourists visit Abu Simbel during the festival, with just a lucky few getting inside for the fleeting 20 minutes that the statues are illuminated.

Mohammed Hamed, senior inspector of antiquities at Abu Simbel, said, 'The astronomical phenomenon represents the agricultural season, and the cultivation season for the ancient Egyptians. Certainly astronomically, the temple has been designed on the 23 latitude and when the sun moves from the south to north it is at a moderate time of Spring, and this lasts for one day on 21st February. And when the sun moves from north to south it is at a moderate time of Autumn.'

The 3,200-year-old temple is a marvel of ancient technology and a tribute to the scientific sophistication of the ancient Egyptians."

This is a short piece, but well worth the look because of the photographs, which shown the sun reaching the inner sanctum.

The story is accompanied by a video, which can be found at:

http://www.cctv.com/video/cultureexpress/2007/02/cultureexpress_128_20070228_1.shtml

I couldn't get it to play in either Firefox or Explorer, even after disabling various security settings. I suspect that its just a setup problem, but this might prevent others from viewing the video too (Windows Media 9).

Exhibitions: Great Discoveries from the Petrie Museum

http://tinyurl.com/2kh9z6 (masslive.com)
It is nice to see that the labouriously named exhibition Excavating Egypt: Great Discoveries from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology is still getting good publicity as it continues on its travels around the U.S.. This piece gives a brief background to the Petrie Museum at UCL (London, UK) and gives a short description of the exhibition: " The exhibit at Mount Holyoke traces the development of Egyptian archaeology from its beginnings in the 1880s to the present through materials amassed by the Petrie Museum. On view are more than 220 of the Petrie's most important objects, in addition to selected small objects in a companion show of the museum's own Egyptian art."
See the above page for the full story.
The exhibition is currently at the Mount Holyoke College Museum of Art in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Further details of the Museum and the exhibition can be found on the Museum's website at:
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/artmuseum/exhibitions/index.html#petrie

Touna el-Gebel and the tomb of Isadora

http://www.algomhuria.net.eg/gazette/1/

"Touna el-Gebel, known in ancient times as the 'City of Memories' is in el-Minya Governorate, Upper Egypt. Its monuments and cemeteries reflect the romantic stories connected with this historic place. This city, which has been neglected for many years, should be restored and put on the tourist map.
The tomb of Isadora is particularly moving. Isadora died in 120 BC and the pictures on the walls of her tomb show her funeral procession on its way to Touna el-Gebel. Priests lead the way, followed by relatives. Another picture shows the arrival of the procession at the burial place. The high priest steps forward to open the door of the tomb. He then orders Isadora's remains to be placed on a limestone bed in the shape of a lion. In the last frame, only her father and her lover keep vigil at the place of burial.Isadora lived in the Roman era. Her father was a rich merchant. She fell in love with a young soldier, but her father prevented her from marrying him. The young couple eloped with the intention of getting married on the west bank of the Nile. While they were crossing the river, she fell overboard and drowned.

Another tomb belongs to Ptosiris, high priest of Thoth. Built in 350 BC, this tomb is decorated in an unusual combination of ancient Egyptian and Hellenistic styles.

Touna el-Gebel also has crypts associated with the cult of Apis, the bull. A large number of crypts contain thousands of mummies in wooden and stones sarcophagi."

This is the full feature on the Egyptian Gazette website, by Hassan Saadallah. It will only remain for a short period on the above page.

Monthly photo competition at Glyphdoctors

http://www.glyphdoctors.com/mod/data/view.php?id=906

The Glyphdoctors website has started a monthly photographic competition:

"The theme for the coming month is 'Pyramids.' Feel free to submit photos pertaining to this theme or vote on other ones submitted. The winning photo for the month will be featured in next month's newsletter."

If you are not already a member of Glyphdoctors, clicking the above link will lead you to a page which will allow you to log in, register, or sign in as a guest.

For more information about the Glyphdoctors website and the services that it offers, see:

http://www.glyphdoctors.com/