• owenjarus

    ‘Huge’ structure discovered near Snefru’s Bent Pyramid in Egypt may be an ancient harbour

    Archaeologists have discovered a large structure – to the northeast of the 4,600 year old Bent Pyramid – which may be the remains of an ancient harbour.  It connects to one of the pyramid’s temples by way of a 140 meter long causeway. The discoveries were made by a team from the Cairo department of the German Archaeological Institute, and the Free University of Berlin. The team used magnetic survey and drill cores soundings to make the finds. The structure is mostly unexcavated and only a portion of the causeway has been unearthed. The structure itself is U-shaped, 90 meters by…

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    Nefertiti and the Aten in Colour! 16,000 Amarna Art Talatat blocks in Luxor with Original Pigment Preserved

    Archaeologists are examining a cache of talatat blocks in Luxor that depict Amarna period art in their original colour. “The amount of detail which is shown, where the colour had been preserved, it’s just amazing,” said Dr. Joceyln Gohary. “Some of the most striking details are in the clothing – particularly of the queen, Nefertiti – details of the dress and jewellery that she’s wearing,” she said. Dr. Gohary is leading an American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) project that is documenting, cleaning and conserving them.

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    19th Century Manuscript and Drawings by Egypt Explorer Frédéric Caillaud Discovered

    An unpublished manuscript, written by 19th century Egypt explorer Frdric Caillaud, has been discovered and it points the way to a 3,500 year old tomb of an Egyptian official. It is called Arts and Crafts of the Ancient Egyptians, Nubians and Ethiopians. It iswritten in French and illustrated with drawings. The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) is in the process of translating and publishing it. The work is being led by Dr. Andrew Bednarski. He gave a lecture and interview recently in Toronto, and provided me withsnippets from the bookand pictures ofthree of the drawings. Frdric Caillaud was one…

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    Mummies in Milwaukee! Mummies of the World coming to Wisconsin in December

    The good citizens of Milwaukee are set for a mummifying experience. From December 17, 2010 to May 20, 2011 the exhibit Mummies of the World will be hitting the Milwaukee Public Museum. The exhibit features 150 human and animal mummies showcasing mummification practices from around the world. The ‘Mummies of the World’ touring exhibit is currently on at the California Science Center. Egypt is famous for its mummies, but the practice is seen in many other cultures. The bogs of Northern Europe allow for mummification, as does the hot arid climate of Peru. Mummification techniques have even been used in…

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    Ancient Stone Monument to Napi Discovered on Canadian Prairies

    A stone effigy monument, in the shape of a Blackfoot creator god named Napi, has been discovered in southern Alberta south of the Red Deer River near the hamlet of Finnegan. One day Old Man determined that he would make a woman and a child; so he formed them both the woman and the child, her son of clay. After he had moulded the clay in human shape, he said to the clay, “You must be people … They walked down to the river with their Maker, and then he told them that his name was Na’pi, – Old Man.…

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    Archaeologists discover ancient ivory maskette on Canadian Arctic island

    The Tunit made our country habitable. They built the line of boulder cairns that guide caribou to the river-crossings where they can be ambushed by hunters, and they furnished the rivers with fish-weirs. An Inuit story, from Ancient People of the Arctic by Dr. Robert McGhee Today archaeologists believe that the Tunit, who are mentioned in Inuit stories, flourished in the arctic during ancient times, vanishing around the 14th century AD. Archaeologists first encountered their remains in 1925 at a place called Cape Dorset on Baffin Island. They gave them the name Dorset culture, a term that is still used…

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    Hips don’t lie! New technique to determine a skeleton’s sex

    Somewhere in the world bones from an ancient skeleton are discovered buried in an unmarked grave. The head is missing, most of the chest is gone and only a small fragment of the pelvis has survived. Researchers are then faced with a problem how do you tell if this person is male or female? The pelvis holds the answer, but only a small amount of it is left. Today a team of researchers lead by John Bytheway and Ann Ross, from North Carolina State University, and Sam Houston State University, announced a solution to thisproblem – in the form of…

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    Biggest of the Dead Sea Scrolls was created at Qumran

    The debate over the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls may end up coming down to a very basic element water. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the 1940s and 50s near the site of Qumran in the modern day West Bank. Its a mystery as to how they got there. Recent archaeological work by Yuval Peleg and Yitzhak Magen suggests that Qumran had nothing to do with the scrolls. It was first used as an outpost by the Hasmonean army and later became a centre of pottery production. They suggest that the scrolls were deposited in the caves…

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    Chinese president Hu Jintao may kick-off Terracotta Warriors show in Toronto

    A Toronto newspaper is reporting that Chinese President Hu Jintao may kick-off the Terracotta Warriors exhibit, at the Royal Ontario Museum, on June 26. It will be the largest Terracotta Warriors show ever displayed in North America featuring 250 artefacts in total including 16 human terracotta figures. It’s opening day coincides with the start of the G20 summit in Toronto, which the president will be attending. The Toronto Starreports that the president and his wife Liu Yongqing have been formally invited by the museum. Were hoping, but we know there are lots of things on their agenda, exhibit curator Dr.…

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    4600-year-old Skeleton Discovered in Northern Ontario

    A team of archaeologists, working with the Kitchenuhmaykoosik Inninuwug First Nation, has discovered a 4,600-year-old burial at the mouth of the Bug River, on the south side of Big Trout Lake in Canada. Big Trout Lake is located in the far northwest of the province of Ontario. Even today its difficult to access. The provinces road system stops nearly 400 kilometres south of the area, making planes the most practical way to get in and out. The lake is located on the same latitude as Manchester, but the climate is far colder. In the winter the temperature can go down…