A French archaeological team digging at Saqqara has discovered the burial chamber of 6th Dynasty Queen Behenu, wife of either Pepi I or Pepi II. The burial chamber was revealed while the team was cleaning the sand from Behenu’s pyramid in the area of el-Shawaf in South Saqqara, west of the pyramid of King Pepi I. The burial chamber uncovered by the French mission is badly damaged, apart from two inner walls which contain engraved Pyramid Texts. Those texts were widely used in royal tombs carved on walls as well as sarcophagi – during the 5th and 6th Dynasties (circa…
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Tutankhamun has always captured popular imagination, and been a major draw for museums. The British Museum’s 1972 exhibition of artefacts from his tomb smashed all expectations in the box office, drawing over 1.6 million visitors over its nine month duration. The pharaoh nicknamed ‘King Tut‘ has been the source of more speculation, satire and popular culture references than any other male king of Egypt. Last week pathologists announced the results from their studies into the genetic relationship of eleven mummies from the Egyptian New Kingdom (mid 16th to early 11th centuries BC), including those of the legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun. The…
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A multi-national team of Egyptian and European archaeologists excavating at the site of Amenhotep IIIs enormous funerary temple in the Kom El-Hettan area of Luxors West Bank have uncovered the 3,000-year-old head of a massive statue of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh, the king of Egyptian kings, whom DNA testing has recently proven was Tutankhamuns grandfather. The find made by the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project was announced on Monday by Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni. Measuring 2.5 metres, made from solid red granite and depicting Amenhotep III wearing the Upper Egyptian white crown, it has been…
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This Sunday tutters at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), in Toronto Canada, will attempt to set a world record for the most people tutting at one time. The art gallery is hosting the exhibit King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs. Heritage Key has a preview ofit here. The dance is a form of hip hop dance inspired by Ancient Egypt. It was epitomized by comedian Steve Martin in the 1970s on Saturday Night Live. The Gallery has already signed up more than the 250 dancers needed to set the record, said the AGO in a news…
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A panel of Japanese experts recently revealed what they considered to be the world’s greatest chat-up line, based upon reams of psychological and sociological research. The result? “This time next year, let’s be laughing together.” Apparently the sure-fire phrase is based on keywords guaranteed to get the romantic juices flowing. I’m not convinced: it’s hardly Shakespeare, barely even Barbara Cartland. Still, you might be surprised to learn that the world’s first chat-up wasn’t from a man to a woman, but from man to man. Yes, that’s right folks: the world’s first chat-up line is gay. The Tale of Horus and…
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Want to star in an Ancient World in London video, and learn about the stars at the same time? Then join Heritage Key and famed astronomy writer Paul Murdin at a cool London restaurant this Wednesday at 6:30pm, as the Secrets of the Universe author gives a special presentation on how ancient civilisations and British astronomers have discovered the cosmos. The talk, entitled ‘Unlocking the Wonders of Astronomy’, will show how man’s obsession with the heavens has endured for thousands of years, from the first cities of Sumer to the technological breakthroughs of today’s most powerful nations. The presentation will…
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After two years of investigation and negotiation, the 21st Dynasty coffin of Imesy is being returned to Egypt. Minister Farouk Hosni describes the coffin as beautifully plastered and painted with colourful religious scenes. It was intercepted at Miami International Airport in 2008 when the importer failed to show the necessary documents to prove his ownership of the ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, which was part of a shipment from Spain. This raised concern amongst the American authorities that the coffin had left Egypt illegally. An investigation was started by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) of the US Department of Homeland…
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Learning about ‘alternative’ sexualities through time is often a murky business, beset with the prejudices and right-leaning morals of almost every culture in history. And when you’re looking as far back as ancient Egypt, the task becomes infinitely harder. This makes the Petrie Museum’s latest endeavour all the more impressive, as it falls in line with LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Month, a UK-wide event running throughout February. Watch our special AWiL video on Love & Sex in the ancient world here. Like lesbian or gay history in general, you’ll have to do more than scratch at the museum’s…
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The latest Tut research has revealed a king who, while still in his teens, probably had to walk around with a cane (as seen in this stele), had a cleft palette, suffered from malaria and had a spine that was out of whack. As an Egyptologist told me today, this pretty much kills the idea of King Tut as a sort of warrior king who died in a chariot accident. But for those wanting to see a warrior in the family, you may be interested in another research finding. The new Tut research has confirmed who one set of King…
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The King Tut results are in and right now everyone is going gaga over the fact that malaria appears to have played a role in the boy king’s death. While this is an interesting find, there is another discovery – King Tut looked fairly normal, or at least he did not have a significantly bizarre or feminine physique – which also carries major implications for Ancient Egyptian research. First a bit of background. During the reign of Akhenaten(who is probably Tut’s father)Egyptian art became, well, very weird. The formal prose that the Egyptians had followed for thousands of years was…