• egypt

    Howard Carter

    9 May 1874 – 2 Mar 1939 Archaelogist and Discoverer of Tutankhamun Key Dates Howard Carter was born on 9 May 1874. He discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun on 5 November 1922. He died on 2 March 1939. Relationship People Associated Tutankhamun, George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, Giovanni Battista Belzoni, Theodore Davis, Almina Wombwell Howard Carter (9 May 1874 – 2 March 1939) was an English archaeologist and Egyptologist. He is noted as a primary discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 (subsequently designated KV62) – by far the best preserved and most intact pharaonic tomb ever found…

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    Four baboons adoring the rising sun

    Key Dates  This item dates from the 19th Dynasty of the New Kingdom, circa 1279-1213 BC. Key People  This statue was made during the reign of Ramesses II. Key People: Ramesses II Ramesses II, whose name is inscribed on the pectoral of each of the baboons, took a special liking to this massive statue; Four baboons adoring the sun was placed at the base of one of the obelisks of the temple of Luxor, with the baboons literally facing the sun.  It was thought that the baboons honoured the sun so as to guide it throughout its course each day.…

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    Papyrus Signed by Cleopatra

    Key Dates 50 BC The item dates from the reign of Cleopatra, around 50 BC. Key People Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt who signed the document. Mark Antony, Cleopatra’s lover and friend of Publius. Key People: Cleopatra Mark Antony At first glance this papyrus document may seem a nondescript artefact, albeit one from the Ptolemaic period of ancient Egypt. On closer inspection it may be one of the most significant artefacts relating to Cleopatra, the enigmatic last queen of Egypt. The papyrus is essentially a tax exemption, granting freedom from payment on the import of Roman wine to Egypt.…

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    Dendera Zodiac: The World’s First Horoscope?

    One of the most famous, popular and mysterious ancient Egyptian treasures of the Louvre, the 2060-year-old Le zodiaque de Dendéra – the Dendera Zodiac – has witnessed more than its fair share of controversy over the centuries. Stripped from the portico of a chapel dedicated to Osiris at the Hathor Temple at Dendera in 1820, then shipped to Paris, the beautifully carved bas-relief played an unlikely role in fierce disputes over science and faith in Napoleonic and Restoration France. Today, the zodiac continues to spark debate. As the first known depiction in history of the classical zodiac of twelve signs,…

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    Interview: Barry Kemp on the Latest Findings of the Amarna Project

    “There is no other site like it,” states the introductory paragraph on the website of the Amarna Project – the body which, since 2005, has been responsible for excavations and research at Tell el-Amarna, the short-lived capital city of the “heretic pharaoh” Akhenaten (who may well have been King Tut‘s dad) in the 14th century BC. As a living site, Tell el-Amarna is perhaps unparalleled in all of Egypt in terms of scale, ready accessibility and quality of preservation. Professor Barry Kemp – of the University of Cambridge – is the director of the Amarna Project, and also the chairman…

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    Amenhotep III

    Attribution: nrares 1403 BC – 1354 BC Relationship People Children Akhenaten Partners Tiye Amenhotep III was the 9th Pharaoh of the 18th  Dynasty. He ruled Egypt from 1391BC to 1354BC after his father Thutmose IV died. Amenhotep III was the son of Thutmose by Mutemwia, a minor wife of Amenhotep’s father. His reign marks the highest point of  ancient Egyptian civilisation, both in terms of cultural achievement and in political power. Amenhotep became king at the age of 12 with his mother Mutemwia acting as his regent. Early in his reign he took a wife, Queen Tiy,  who featured prominently…

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    Preview – King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs Hits Toronto

    Tut has returned to Toronto. After 30 years the boy king’s treasures are back in the Canadian city, with a new show set to open this Tuesday, at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It’s the first time the king’s been in town since 1979.  In that year Egyptomania was at its height, and Steve Martin was doing his King Tut dance and all. Before the media preview began today, the organizers tried to re-create a little bit of that 1970’s magic. A pair of dancers from the group ‘For the Funk of it’ performed a tutting dance routine in front…

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    Nefertiti – The Most Beautiful King of Egypt?

    The recent reopening of Berlin’s Neues Museum has brought back into the limelight one of the ancient world’s greatest treasures. Yet as Thutmose’s masterful Bust of Nefertiti takes centre stage in Germany’s latest collection, the woman behind Egypt’s most famous sculpture remains a conundrum. Heresies, lost kingdoms and mysterious kingships have made Nefertiti more than the ‘most beautiful woman in the world’. But who was she, and how did she become one of the greatest leaders in Egypt’s history? Nefertiti’s origins are a mystery. Born some time around 1370 BC, theories abound that she was the daughter of army general…

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    Mirror with Papyrus shaped handle

    Glasgow Scotland Key Dates 1900 BC This mirror with papyrus shaped handle hails from the Middle Kingdom period 2055-1650 BCE and was given to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum by the Egyptian Research Students Association (Glasgow Branch) in 1923 Key People The mistress of any royal household in the Middle Kingdom would have owned a mirror such as this. The Middle Kingdom spanned the 11th to 14th Dynasties and took in the reign of Pharaohs such as Wanka Intef II, Mentuhotep II, III and IV, Senusret I, II, III and Amenemhat I, II and III. In the Middle Kingdom the typical hand mirror consisted…

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    Building the Great Pyramid of Giza: Jean-Pierre Houdin’s Internal Ramp Theory

    We know lots about the Great Pyramid of Giza – it’s age (about 4,569 years), who it was built for (the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian King Khufu), who designed it (Khufu’s brother, the architect Hemienu) and even who rolled up their sleeves and did the work (tens of thousands of skilled labourers from across the kingdom, as opposed to slaves as was once believed). But ask a room full of experts how it was built, and you can expect a whole lot of head-scratching and beard-stroking, followed by heated argument and possibly some light fisticuffs. The main bone of contention is:…