The Antechamber of the Tomb of Seti I (KV17) is a small room which precedes the burial chamber, and features on its tomb walls scenes depicted from the Book of the Dead. The renown photographer in the field of Egyptology, Sandro Vannini took several photographs throughout KV17, including the First Pillared Room which we featured recently. This week we look at the tomb engravings of the Antechamber, and who they depict. Sandro’s photography is the finest way to see Seti I’s tomb, after years of excavation have left it in a poor state of disrepair and leading to its closure…
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Here are the stunning first pictures of our exciting Stonehenge Virtual, as it reached the early stages of its development. You can see from these pictures how quickly work is moving forward on our own famous stones, where you’ll be able to explore the wonder of Britain’s best-loved ancient landmark. Our builders are certainly putting Stonehenge Virtual together a lot faster than their Neolithic counterparts! Thanks to some serendipidous virtual weather, you can see the midsummer sun weave its way across Stonehenge Virtual’s horizon. Maybe we’ll have 36,500 people flocking to our stones in celebration soon! But there’s much more…
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Dating work at Uluru Australias most famous ancient landmark is at risk following the revelation that tourists have been scattering the ashes of dead loved ones at the site. Mick Starkey, a spokesman for the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park, told ABCNews that human ashes had been discovered at two separate rock art sites over the past month. He said the practice could contaminate the sites and hinder efforts to date and record ancient art. “Obviously some people (have) been bringing and dropping their ashes off here,” he said, “and it’s going to cause a bit of problem…
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Heritage Key has just returned from a blustery, biting morning trip to legendary writer John Julius Norwich‘s house, beside the pretty canals of London’s Little Venice. It was a great interview, and one which we’ll be following up with articles, videos and photos right here – see below for tips on how to keep up with our content! A brisk wind whips up dervishes of crooked caramel and crimson leaves; whistling cold signals the city’s slide from autumn to winter. Yet a firm handshake and sincere smile minutes later leaves HK as warm as ever, as we enter Lord Norwich’s…
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The Staffordshire Hoard has been one of the most staggering and inspirational discoveries in British history. Hundreds of stunning gold Saxon artefacts, all bundled into one stash and found over a thousand years later by a lone metal detecting enthusiast – it’s a story that could have come straight out of an archaeological thriller. While the necessary steps are taken to secure their future, the treasures are being housed in Birmingham’s Museum and Art Gallery. Heritage Key talks to the museum’s resident scholar Dave Simmonds about his thoughts on a momentous breakthrough in British heritage. HK: The Staffordshire Hoard is…
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The Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62) contained many calcite jars and vases, but most were located in the antechamber and the annexe. However, the Cosmetic Jar with Recumbent Lion was found between the walls of the first and secondshrine of King Tut, in the burial chamber, suggesting it may have had more significance. Perhaps used in the funeral ceremony, the jar was found with residues of a costmetic inside – a blend of vegetable resin and animal fats.The Cosmetic Jar was one of the many artefacts from KV62 originally discovered by famous explorer Howard Carter, and photographed at the Egyptian…
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French archaeologistDr Alain Zivie, Director of Research at the French National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS), has devoted many years to investigating the 18th dynasty rock-cut tomb of Aper-el an Egyptian New Kingdom high priest and vizier from the Amarna Period, who served both Amenhotep III and the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten. Zivie discovered it at Saqqara in 1987. In an exclusive video interview, shot by Nico Piazza, he shows Heritage Key some of the abundant treasures hes found there. As Zivie explains, since the tomb which dates from the latter part of the 18th Dynasty, around 1353-1335 BC is so…
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The Neues Museum re-establishes itself as one of the premier ancient world destination in Europe–and the world really– after being closed since 1939. The collection combined with the restored/re-imagined building delivers an experience that every real ancient world explorer needs to embrace. You need to get straight to the Main Stairs to start your exploration of the Neues. Feel the vibrations of history from the not so old Soviet bullet holes that still pepper the structural walls nearest the windows to the romanesque columns and classical castings from the Parthenon. Use the modern stairs to transport yourself across time and…
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At the opening of the new Neues Museum in Berlin this week, it seems that one question is on everybody’s mind – will Germany return the bust of Nefertiti to Egypt? Dr Hawass of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities may be feeling a little more confident after obtaining an agreement from the Musee du Louvre for the return of the fragments from Tetiki’s tomb recently. There’s not much chance that Egypt would have received that reassuring phone call from President Sarkozy had the Louvre’s access to excavations at Saqqara not been threatened. These tough tactics have worked in this case.…
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The Nefertiti’s Bust – attributed to the sculptor Thutmose from whom’s workshop it was recovered in 1912 – is world famous. Thutmose must have been one lucky sculptor, being asked to capture for eternity the ravishing face of the Queen who’s ancient name meant A Beautiful Woman Has Come. The Queen Nefertiti – wife of Akhenaten and known in Germany as Nofretete – Bust is an icon of the Amarna period art and one of the most valuable items in the collection of the gyptisches Museum Berlin (to much frustration of the Egypt, which demands its return). She first went…