The pyramids of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs have long stood proud as some of the world’s greatest architectural achievements. The heralded leaders to whom they were devoted are known throughout the world, yet the stories of the men who built them have remained hidden until recent times. Who were these people, how did they construct these massive mausoleums – and why did they devote their lives to such a breathtaking task? Modern archaeology and ancient testament may hold the key to these questions. Who Were They? Age-old storytelling, myth and the mysticism of the structures themselves, has led many in…
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Few events in the history of archaeology have stirred so much interest or had such an impact as the discovery of the tomb of the boy king, Tutankhamun in 1922. For the first time since serious exploration of the Valley of the Kings began in the early 1800s an intact tomb had been found. The finding unearthed the mummified remains of a king of Egypt interred many thousands of years ago, and revealed to the world the true wonder and artistry of the ancient Egyptians. The treasures uncovered at King Tut’s tomb stunned the world, and even today we stare…
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The burial chamber is the only room of Tutankhamun’s tomb which was decorated. The early and unexpected death of the young king left little time for preparation and, from the modest size and arrangement it is clear that this is a hastily converted commoner’s tomb not intended for a royal burial. Despite the sparsity of mural paintings in King Tut’s tomb, they are an essential part of the funerary process, and should not be overlooked. Funerary Rituals For a Pharaoh, and indeed for Egyptians in general, life was a preparation for death, the Afterlife and immortality. The ceremonies of burial…
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Empire Fuel The Roman interest in conquering Egypt around two millennia ago was far more than the love interest of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony in Cleopatra VII (Cleopatra). Egypt’s location as the gateway to the Middle East and Asia, together with its extremely productive agricultural sector and educated populace, satisfied some of the most pressing issues facing the Roman Empire in around 30BC. During the resulting 680 years or so of Roman rule before Egyptians once again ruled themselves, the country become predominantly Christian and lose most of its ‘old’ religious temples. It also enjoyed economic growth and played…
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Origin of the Species Ancient Egypt was the first culture to domesticate cats, between 4,000 to 3,500 years ago, and has long been associated with the animal. Some have suggested that cats were introduced to Egypt from Iran. However, archaeologists have found the remains of a cat in a burial mound in Mostagedda (near Asyut) which dates to around 6,000 years ago, so it is much more likely that cats are indigenous to Egypt. Of the two breeds known to have existed – the African wildcat (felis silvestris lybica) and the jungle cat (felis chaus) – it is said that…
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Back in 2000, which was by no means the very start of the ‘Stonehenge Saga‘, the Journal of Architectural Conservation published an article by Elizabeth Young and Wayland Kennet outlining the “national disgrace” that constitutes facilities at Stonehenge. The existing visitor centre was slated for its “grubby car park, tiny shop and loos”, and the authors complained that the stones themselves were fenced off. Additionally, attempts to agree on a plan to upgrade facilities had failed completely, and the situation had escalated into a “smouldering dispute that might, without care, burst into acrimonious flames”. Since the first proposals, in 1991,…
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Modern Discovery of an Ancient Army The enigmatic terracotta warriors were unearthed alongside their emperor in Xi’an, in the central province of Shaanxi, in 1974. They were found accidentally when peasants digging a well broke into a pit containing 6000 life-size terracotta figures. Further excavations revealed the terracotta army – footsoldiers, archers, cavalrymen and officers of all ranks. Current estimates of the three pits containing the Terracotta Army are over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses with many still buried in the pits. Discoveries in other pits have continued at the site with horse bones…
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The discovery of the Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids in Visoko (Bosnia-Herzegovina), in 2005, requires the traditional definition of a “pyramid” to be reconsidered and widened. Certain astronomical and mathematical knowledge incorporated in Bosnian pyramids are similar to Egyptian true pyramids, Chinese or Mexican step pyramids. Principle Investigator Semir Sam Osmanagich discovered the pyramids, and led a four-year excavation project to uncover them. The concept of the structures built in the shape of the pyramid with the inner chambers and passageways and the orientation toward the cardinal points had been present worldwide from Central and South America to Africa, Asia…
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Holding the symbols of office, she ascended the throne. Once the place where her husband sat, it was now hers, by a right that she was about to assert… Turning, she chuckled to herself as the long beard attached to her chin brushed her chest. She’d put on all of her dead husband’s regalia, knowing that despite her female form, the symbols would connote their own power. “By order of the god Khnum who made the gods out of clay, and who appeared to me in a dream last night, I was told to assume the rule of Egypt. ‘I…
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Wrapped In A Mystery The Sphinx of Greek myth was a baffling creature. She ambushed unsuspecting travellers, and then ate them when they couldn’t answer her riddles. But the original Sphinx – a colossal statue located at Giza, Egypt – is in many ways more enigmatic, and a riddle in its own right. This Great Sphinx spent most of its history buried up to the neck in sand, giving no clues to the colossal body, and the layers of meaning, lying below. Tuthmosis IV, the pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, apparently excavated the Sphinx, as did the Romans. But shifting…