Egyptology and Egyptian Archaeology

In case anyone is really bored, there are some lulz available at this site, which purports to explain the connection between Moses and Sinhue (i.e., they both not only actually existed they were the same person and Moses was a 12th Dynasty Egyptian having adventures in the Levant). Also, these people were also apparently Senuseret III.

Especially epic is the use of Edgar Cayce as a legitimate, serious source. Bonus cameo by Velikovsky.

Okay, tbh, this is probably too easy a target because it's obviously made of crazy, and there is a hell of a lot of tl;dr. I just thought I'd pass on the link, in case anyone's suffering from insomnia.

Warning: it may not be as funny as advertised, since I'm kind of drugged up at the moment. It is possible drugged!Tab is easily amused.

A burial believed to be that of the Sixth Dynasty Queen Seshestet, mother of King Teti, was announced today by Zahi Hawass and the SCA.

After five hours spent lifting the lid of a sarcophagus in a pyramid discovered south of Cairo last year, they found a skull, legs, pelvis, other body parts wrapped in linen, and ancient pottery, the government's antiquities department said.

( Full article )

Here.

Archaeologists have found the bust of pharaoh Ramses II in Egypt's Nile Delta, Culture Minister Faruq Hosni said Wednesday, bringing experts closer to finding a temple belonging to the king.

( Read more... )

(Oh, Tell Basta. Good times.)

Khufu's second boat pit is going to be excavated, and the boat reassembled.

[The first one, excavated 50 years ago, is reassembled in the Boat Museum near the great pyramid; the second one was saved until excavation techniques improved.]

( article text from Yahoo )

Pyramid No. 29 as described by Lepsius, has been rediscovered at Saqqara. Link with photos and videos.

( article text )

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I haven't been around, I've been sick for, like, ever.

As a propitiatory offering, I bring some article links.

The first three are all Ptolemies-related:

Someone is trying to get the Pharos Lighthouse rebuilt. I... can't imagine it will work, because the location and quite a lot of the blocks are already in use in the fortress of Qait Bey. There are some fairly LOLarious remarks in the article, though.

The tomb of Cleopatra and Marc Antony is set to be uncovered this year. Until recently access to the tomb has been hindered because it is under water, but archaeologists plan to drain the site so they can begin excavation in November. There's also a suggestion the remains of Cleopatra may lie within. I wouldn't hold my breath; traditionally, both bodies were misidentified and throw out to sea.

Rising Sea Levels Threatens Egypt's Ancient Cities, especially Alexandria. It should be noted that the loss of silt deposits, now that the yearly Nile innundation is stopped, is also contributing to the loss of Delta land. The problem is most dire in Alex.

And finally, a bit of Egyptomania: Egypt-themed land at Legoland! The article's in French but you can always look at the pictures. This may finally get me to Legoland. ;)

Heee, at aristoboule's suggestion, I'm posting this here... and I'm curious as to everybody's thoughts. I haven't seen 10,000 BC myself, but I recently had to deal with a really weird guy who came up to me during the film festival I was helping staff, and try to tell me all about it (it was emphatically not one of our films) and how he was now totally convinced, because the movie had conclusively proved it to him, that ancient Egyptians had used mastodons to build the pyramids.

...Now really, is there anything in reputable Egyptology that would lend any credence to that? And can anybody tell me of a good pet store that will sell me a megatherium?

This is my first post to this community (I just joined), and I am curious to find out more about other members. Hence the question.


What person from Ancient Egyptian history do you find most interesting or like the most? Why?


I have many favourites, but a special place will always be reserved for Horemheb, general and pharaoh. His political career (especially set against the Amarna and post-Amarna background) is simply fascinating. And (on a more shallow note) he's got some very neat statues.

What do the people in this group think about the claims that at least a few boats from ancient Egypt managed to make it to North America and back (without, of course, establishing any kind of colonies).

As found by djanewty: http://www.wrmea.com/archives/December_2007/0712065.html

( But is it a... Heb Prom? )

I just finished reading Year of the Hyenas by Brad Geagley. It's a mystery novel set around the Harem Conspiracy of Ramses III. It also deals heavily with the residents of Deir el-Medina, tomb builders for the Pharaoh. ( spoiler cut, although nothing you won't get from history )

I have been neglecting this comm terribly; I'm very sorry. Real life, etc etc. So I have come with some new links to share.

There is a new photo archive for Deir el-Medina; it aims to be very comprehensive. Since you are not allowed to take photos inside the tombs *cough*, this site may be especially useful for that. The photography is decent and the text quite informative and referenced; it's worth a look.

The Oxford Expedition to Egypt has opened their new site. It includes a database of Old Kingdom scene details. The database is housed at ArchSearch, which is quite an interesting place, and the OEE specific site is searchable by scene type gathered under 15 broad themes, for example the theme "Marsh-Related Activities" includes 28 scenes like "Fighting Boatmen" and "Hippopotamus Hunt." You can then view an example drawing of this scene (in some cases) or query which tombs contain this scene; the list of tombs includes a Porter & Moss reference as well as other publication references. It has the potential to be quite useful.

CESRAS.org is the home page for the Centre for Egyptological Studies in the Russian Academy of Sciences (in English) and their page of the month this month is about a leather tent that is the top of a funerary shine (and badly in need of funds for conservation). It's quite interesting, especially since leather generally preserves poorly.

This is all aristoboule's fault. Blame her. I will take credit, however. :p

( just one macro...for now... )

If you're near Philadelphia, Hawass will be giving a lecture at Penn's Irvine auditorium on 6 September. It starts at 7pm and costs $15 (I have no idea if there's a student price or not). He will be discussing the recent rediscovery of jars and seals reading Nebkheperre (Tutankhamen's prenomen). There's an article about the rediscovery here.

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If you're going to be in London sometime soon, starting 15 November, the big Tutankhamen exhibit that's been touring for a couple years now will be at the O2. If you're an O2 customer, you can get priority tickets from now until 12 September. The show will be here until 30 August 2008, so you've got a long opportunity, but I'd say pre-booking is essential. (My parents saw the 1972 exhibition and have described the Queue to End All Queues. Sadly, although I am an O2 customer, I won't be in London in November. I'm happy to pass on info, though.) Official site. It's worth a visit just to see the trailer. XD

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One more London note: The Yacoubian Building is opening at the Institute for Contemporary Art on 14 September. The most expensive film ever made in Egypt, it's based upon the novel of the same name by Alaa Al Aswany. The book dominated the Arabic bestseller charts for years. Right now the film's scheduled to play until 30 September. (I do get to see this, and I'm thrilled. I read the book a while ago and had started to despair of ever getting to see the film.) My feelings about the book are... complicated, but it presents a faithful and multifaceted view of modern Cairo, with sympathy for devils and angels alike.

There's been quite a lot of them in the last few years, hasn't there? I guess newspapers like the "gold" bit.

Or it could just be the increased focus on excavating oases, since that's where they've all been found...

Anyway, from here:

Golden mummies found in el-Kharga

A French team has discovered in western Egypt a graveyard dating back to the Ptolemaic era, antiquity officials said yesterday. Most of the 25 tombs, found in the el-Kharga Oasis, New Valley Governorate, consist of a chamber 2 metres square and 1.45 metres high, they added. Six gold-painted mummies were also unearthed in good condition.

Papyri, gold masks, funerary beds and bronze shaving implements were also found as well as statues of the four children of the god Horus.

I'm tabulaxrasa the imy-r for this asylum! If you want to introduce yourself, please feel free to do so!

I'll start: I've got a degree in archaeology, a MA in Egyptian art and archaeology, and I'm just finishing up another masters (MSc) in Forensic archaeology. Egypt's my true love, though. I'm pretty decent at Middle Egyptian-- or I was, before taking two years away! I did a semester as an undergrad at American University in Cairo and I've been homesick for Cairo ever since.

I hope we can make this community lots of fun-- one giant conference is what I'm going for here, although I'm afraid it has to be BYOB. XD