Although there is copious evidence for the Egyptian kings statues, huge depictions on temple walls, stelae the actual reality of the day-to-day work and personal authority of these individuals is often ignored in favour of discussions of divinity, art and ideology. There is good reason for this. Despite the extensive amount of evidence available to scholars, everything is shrouded in a thick layer of ideological presentation that masks the reality of the situation. This makes it difficult to separate fact from fiction: what are we to envision the king did every day? Initially, just for fun, it is interesting to…
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Dr Zahi Hawass’ quest for the Rosetta Stone is gathering pace. And with the SCA chief set to visit the British Museum tonight to promote his latest book and holding a repatriation conference next March, it’s an issue which could become a lot more incendiary in the coming weeks. Hot on the tail of Heritage Key’s own survey to decide whether the BM should return some of its highest-prized artefacts, national newspaper the Guardian has probed its own readership on the Rosetta Stone’s repatriation. That’s not to say the Guardian’s poll is particularly far-reaching. Readers are simply given two options…
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Egypt will host an international conference next March for countries seeking the return of ancient indigenous treasures being kept in foreign museums, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA and deputy-Culture Minister, said the conference – with Greece, Italy, China and Mexico attending – would be a world first. ”We expect around 12 countries to participate, possibly several more,” Dr.Hawass told the Herald. ”There is a moral imperative for museums around the world to return certain artefacts to the countries they came from, and we are going to identify how we can help each…
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Women invented metallurgy! This extraordinary revelation was made in a lecture last night at New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (which has an unfortune acronym pronounced eyesore) by David Anthony, Professor of Anthropology at Hartwick College and Guest Curator of the exhibition currently on view at ISAW until April 25, 2010: “The Lost World of Old Europe: The Danube Valley, 5000-3500 BC.” In his talk, entitled “The Rise and Fall of Old Europe,” Anthony delved into the mysteries of the highly sophisticated and populous culture that sprang up 7,000 years ago along the banks of…
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The news is awash with Barack Obamas plan to surge roughly 30,000 US troops into the country on a short-term basis. Some consider it a necessary measure to protect American security, while others think hes leading the United States into the next Vietnam. It’s an important debate. He might have just made the most important foreign policy decision of his presidency. Ever since the news broke I havebeen thinking about what lessons ancient history has to teach us about making a choice like this. In ancient times much of Afghanistan was known as “Bactria” and played a significant role in…
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Just as Cleopatra’s tomb could be discovered at Taposiris Magna, some of her greatest treasures will be winging their way to the States. Next June Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt will be showcased at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute for six months, before heading to three other US cities on a massive tour. The exhibition will bring together some of the best-known artefacts and freshest discoveries from Cleopatra’s city of Alexandria. The Institute’s senior vice president of marketing, programs and business development Troy Collins says the show’s treasures are coming from two major sources: “Land sources from the…
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Remember the ‘groundbreaking discovery’ of Cambyses’ lost Persian army a few weeks back, in the Western Desert of Egypt? Almost as soon as it had been announced, Zahi Hawass’ Supreme Council of Antiquities were all over it, rejecting the Castiglioni brothers’ claims they’d found the legendary fleet near Siwa Oasis. Yet any doubts as to the brothers’ credibility have been lost on Iranian officials, who have branded Dr Hawass’ rejection of the discovery as politically motivated, and have urged UNESCOto step in to save the army’s remains. The request by Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Toursim Organisation (ICHHTO) was made…
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Two Swedish museums have this month returned the remains of Maori people, believed to have been removed from New Zealand in the 19th century. The remains from five different people included a skull, a skeleton, two arm fragments and a mummified hand. A traditional Maori ceremony was held at the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg to hand over the remains. Representatives from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the countrys national museum, and New Zealand’s Ambassador to Sweden Barbara Bridge attended. The ceremony was all about talking to the spirits and acknowledging that even though the bodies…
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A Maltese explorer claims he may have solved one of Egypt’s oldest mysteries. Mark Borda and Egyptian accomplice Mahmoud Marai, an adventure holiday planner, have discovered a large rock in the Western Desert, some 450 miles west of the Nile Valley – inscribed with a king’s cartouche, royal images and hieroglyphs. Ancient Egyptians are thought never to have strayed past Dakhla Oasis, located around 200 miles from the river. Mr Borda will not disclose the location of his find to protect it from prying eyes. He immediately sent details of the text to compatriot and Egyptologist Aloisia De Trafford, based…
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Google will soon begin digitising artefacts and documents at Iraq’s National Museum, chief executive Eric Schmidt said on a visit to Baghdad. Some 14,000 digital images taken from the museum will be freely available online from the beginning of next year. The NationalMuseum of Iraq – opened in 1924 with a focus on objects from the Ur excavations and home to an extraordinary collection of Babylonian, Sumerian and Assyrian artefacts as well as rare Islamic texts – suffered damage and looting caused by the Iraqi war and only reopened to visitors February this year. Some 6,000 artefacts were recovered, but…