Archaeologists last week discovered 45 ancient Egyptian tombs at the site of El-Lahoun, in the Fayum. In a statement issued by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni claims that a sarcophagus holding a mummy has been found in in each of the tombs, located about 70 miles from Cairo. One of the tombs unearthed during the dig is from the 18th dynasty (1550-1295 BC), and contains at least 12 wooden sarcophagi stacked on top of each other. Each of these sarcophagi is thought to hold a mummy covered in cartonnage. The mummies are decorated with religious…
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My generation has grown up almost exclusively exposed to war in the Middle East. Two wars in Iraq, one in Afghanistan and countless battles between neighbouring nations in the region. The Middle East has been a battleground since time began – and now you can see exactly who has conquered it through the ages with mapsofwar.com‘s great-looking 90 second walkthrough. The map begins in 3,000 BC with the invention of the Egyptian Empire – though there’s no mention of the Sumerian states which comprised the Cradle of Civilization – and shows the spread of the Hittites, Israelis, Assyrians and Babylonians…
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Mariah Carey performed at what must be the world’s most awe-inspiring concert venue this week, as she belted out a set at the pyramids of Giza in Cairo, Egypt. The ancient backdrop surprised even the diva herself, who exclaimed to the 3,000-strong crowd, “Wow! I can’t believe I’m standing here! “Wow! I can’t believe I’m standing here!” “I mean you guys you’re maybe used to it, but us,” added Carey, pointing to backing singer Trey Lorenz, “that man comes from a town with 300 people only, and and I’m from New York.” The gig, for Middle Eastern telecommunications firm Etisalat’s…
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Germany has made a firm response to last week’s announcement by Zahi Hawass that Egyptian government will officially demand the return of the Bust of Nefertiti. Minister of Culture Bern Neumann today made it clear once again that the bust is going nowhere: Nofretete stays in Berlin! Hawass claims the bust of Nefertiti Nofretete in German was smuggled out of Egypt illegally and should be returned. According to Egypt’s head of antiquities, archaeologist Ludwig Borchard intentionally lied to Egyptian officials about the value of the bust. Bernd Neumann, also board member of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which oversees the…
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A new series exploring the life of Tutankhamun begins this week on UK TV channel Five. The four-part documentary Tutankhamun: The Mystery Revealed begins this Wednesday 19th May. Fronted by Dr Zahi Hawass, the series sees a team of researchers apply new forensic techniques to the study of Tutankhamuns remains. For the first time ever, archaeologists employed DNA testing on the pharaohs mummy and on his family. Tutankhamun:The Mystery Revealed Originally shown on the Discovery Channel under the title King Tut Unwrapped, the series capitalises on a whole string of unanswered questions that continue to cloud our understanding of this…
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The ancient Spice Route (probably named as a result of the ancient Incense and Perfume routes) was an epic journey which initially began in Arabia, but eventually evolved to link Moluccas (the Indonesian Spice Islands) with Arabia and from there into Europe. The route generally is believed to take in Malacca, Sri Lanka, and Kerala in India. At Kerela, it split into two, with one route to Europe going via Baghdad and the other Accra. Arabia had the monopoly on the spice route for over 2000 years, and its said that both the Roman invasion of Persia in 24 BC…
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I will soon be visiting Scotland for a exciting archaeological event. No, it won’t involve traipsing around soggy fields looking for cup and ring marked stones. Instead, I will be finding out about one of Egyptology’s most respected figures, William Flinders Petrie. In the Footsteps of Petrie is a study day dedicated to the life of Petrie, founder, along with Amelia Edwards, of the Petrie Museum. The event will be held at the exquisite Burrell Collection in Glasgow, and will explore Petries life of excavation and collecting. A lineup of Egyptologists from across Britain’s museums will offer lectures, a film…
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By ancient Olympic Games standards, the recent Australian Special Olympics IX National Games, an event held for athletes with an intellectual disability, were relatively small. As the Communications Manager for the games, my job was manic, but fortunately I had a team of volunteers to help coordinate the multitude of print and broadcast media on event as well as updating the Special Olympics Australia website, facebook and twitter at regular intervals throughout the day. Between frantic phone calls, tweets and manically hitting of the send email option, I did ponder for a moment how promoting and communicating results to the…
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This week Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawassplans to make a formal request for the return of the Bust of Nefertiti from Berlin. Neues Museum officials have already dismissed his continued attacks on the legality of the bust’s ownership, and are all but certain not to let go of their most prized asset. Hawass still has the backing of millions worldwide. But Nefertiti should stay where she is, and his quest to repatriate Egypt’s ancient relics is misguided, dangerous even, to Egypt’s cultural heritage. Dr Hawass has been planning the campaign for quite some time: in August last year he told…
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Archaeologists have discovered a colossal statue of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth at the north-western side of King Amenhotep III’s funerary temple at Luxor. The red granite statue depicting Thoth, the ancient Egyptian deity of wisdom, is 3,5 metres tall and 140 cm wide. In a statement, Dr Zahi Hawass said that evidence found at the excavation suggests more colossi could be found here still. The first traces of these large statues were uncovered during works aiming at controlling the subterranean water level on Luxor’s west bank. Only months ago, the head of 2,5 metres high statue depicting Pharaoh Amenhotep…