The Canopic Chest of King Tut was recently featured in a video with Dr Janice Kamrin, as she walks around the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and explains what this beautiful artefact would have been used for (Skip to the video by clicking here). As one of the treasures of the Cairo Museum, it was photographed in stunning detail by the established Egyptology photographer Sandro Vannini, and the images are bought to the Internet by Heritage Key. Discovered in the Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62), it is one of several Egyptian alabaster artefacts that were found by famed explorer Howard Carter.…
-
-
Some people might look to Dr Zahi Hawass, bedecked in Indiana Jones denim shirt and Stetson hat, for a paragon of archaeological cool. Others could point to Kathleen Martinez, currently hunting for the tomb of Cleopatra at Taposiris Magna, as the epitome of a dynamic modern adventurer. But how many Egyptologists could realistically hold their own on long-running US chat show TheLate Late Show, hosted by Scottish funnyman Craig Ferguson? I’m struggling to think of any – much less anyone who’s done it three times. It must have been child’s play when the lovely Dr Kara Cooneyspoke to me about…
-
Luxor, Egypt is one of the most culturally rich parts of the world and is often described as the “World’s Greatest Open Air Museum” for all the various tombs, temples and monuments in the area. Luxor is close to the site of the ancient city of Thebes, the capital of the New Kingdom and famed for its luxurious standards of living and high social order. The city served as an important trading route, and the base of political power in Egypt which made it a favourable destination for Pharaohs and nobles to be buried in tombs. The vastness of the…
-
Tutankhamun, or King Tut as he’s affectionately known, was the boy king who ruled Egypt during the New Kingdom’s 18th dynasty, from 1333 to 1324 BC. In life he wasn’t the most important or memorable of Egypt’s pharoahs, but in death he’s become the one pharoah everyone’s heard of. His death at the age of 19 has been the topic of much discussion (You can watch last week’s video on the mystery of King Tut’s death here) and he was buried in the Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile near Luxor (ancient Thebes). His tomb…
-
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…
-
Underwater archaeology may still be in its relative infancy, but that hasn’t stopped it making some of the world’s biggest recent discoveries. From Cleopatra to ancient plonk, there’s plenty more under the sea than a load of old shipwrecks – though they can be pretty spectacular too. Even Egyptological legend Zahi Hawass is getting a piece of the action, scouring the Nile for ancient treasure. So we thought we’d strike while the iron’s wet and bring you a top ten of the world’s underwater archaeology sites. If you think we’re talking rot, or if there’s anywhere we’ve missed, don’t hesitate…
-
Being a bit of a gaming geek, I’ll admit I was a tad bit excited to finally get my hands on the first expansion pack for The Sims 3 – World Adventures! As I’ve written before, this new game features forays into France, China and, my personal favourite – Egypt. Having played about in Heritage Key’s own fantastic virtual world experience, King Tut Virtual, I was looking forward to seeing how the new release from Electronic Arts would fare up. If you’re not familiar with The Sims games, then I’ll give you a quick run down. You play a character…
-
might be one of Egypt’s oldest archaeological sites, but it’s certainly one of the hottest right now. And the omnipresent Zahi Hawass has been enlightening fans on the latest breakthroughs and theories circulating the ancient necropolis. The first of these centres on the giant Step Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt’s first pyramid. Eleven burial shafts have been excavated, homes to each of the Old Kingdom pharaoh’s daughters. As such it was the only Old Kingdom pyramid built for the king’s family. Yet there’s another shaft, soon to be studied, which Dr Hawass (coming to London soon!) feels may be the final…
-
With the UN’s Climate Change summit taking place in Copenhagen next month, it seems everyone’s minds are adjusted to the environment. Zahi Hawass is no different. The sands of time and weather pose a serious threat to many of his famous Egyptian landmarks, and the antiquities chief has set up several projects to combat the forces of nature on some of man’s greatest achievements. Though the rising tides of the Nile have been threatening Egypt’s monuments for millennia, the 20th and 21st centuries have no doubt posed their biggest problems. Man has hardly played a positive role in this: take…
-
As we described in our recent handy guide to how to make a mummy, the ancient Egyptians went to great and grizzly lengths to ensure that every last bit of a body was efficiently preserved. The internal organs had to be removed in order to effectively dry out a corpse. They would then be individually wrapped and preserved separately in canopic vessels. King Tuts guts in keeping with the generally lavish and wondrous spirit of his mummification and burial were given extra-special treatment, as we discover in the first instalment of the new four part video series, Tuts Treasures. Shot…