It’s fair enough not to be allowed to snap away inside the tombs of the Valley of the Kings (unless you’re Sandro Vannini , see why here). Flash photography – and that’s what you’ll need – can have a damaging effect on the delicate tomb paintings, some of which are around 4,000 years old. But jobsworth Egyptian officials denying you a snapshot outside the tombs? According to Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass, that’s not on. The SCA boss has come out this week to smash claims his men are forbidding photography outside some of Egypt’s biggest attractions including the pyramids,…
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As I write this piece, we are only hours away from the opening of King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto Canada. I was at the media preview on Friday and wrote an in-depth article on what to expect. For me the Toronto show was the first time in my life that I saw Tuts treasures in person. Its a very remarkable experience to see them withmyown eyes andonethat Im never going to forget. I thought I would take the opportunity to point out a few of Tutankhamun’s treasures which,…
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Seti I’s reign over Egypt is thought to have lasted between 13 to 20 years, and during this time he opened the kingdom up to trade with foreign nations and committed to the development of construction projects. This led to stability which united the country after the fragile rule of the previous Amarna kings. The sheer number and scale of building projects thatSeti I oversaw during his reign would go on to be one of the greatest artistic periods in Egyptian history. One of Seti I’s major accomplishment of the era was the completion of the Great Temple of Abydos,…
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Tut has returned to Toronto. After 30 years the boy king’s treasures are back in the Canadian city, with a new show set to open this Tuesday, at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It’s the first time the king’s been in town since 1979. In that year Egyptomania was at its height, and Steve Martin was doing his King Tut dance and all. Before the media preview began today, the organizers tried to re-create a little bit of that 1970’s magic. A pair of dancers from the group ‘For the Funk of it’ performed a tutting dance routine in front…
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With King Tut’s road trip hitting no fewer than three North American cities in 2009/10, you’d think the continent was getting its fill of Egyptian treasures. Not so Arkansas’ capital city Little Rock, whose Arkansas Arts Center currently plays host to ‘World of the Pharaohs: Treasures of Egypt Revealed‘, a celebration of all things Egyptian. Beginning September 25 and running until July 5 next year, the show combines ancient artefacts with a packed events calendar, comprising lectures, films and much more. The 200 treasures on show include a spectacularly wide range of items, including a risque bead dress, funerary stelae…
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Have you always wished to meet Dr. Hawass in person? Now is your chance!The world-famous archaeologist comes to London in December and Heritage World Press invites you to a special lecture by the Egyptologist – and maybe even dinner. Zahi Hawass will also introduce his two new books: Inside the Egyptian Museum and A Secret Voyage. Reception &Lecture at the British Museum Tuesday, 8th of December Dr. Zahi Hawass – probably the world’s most famous Egyptologist – will speak at a special lecture in the British Museum’s lecture theatre, after a reception in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery. The lecture –…
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A top paleontologist has discovered the remains of five ancient crocodile species in the Sahara desert. Paul Sereno, National Geographic’s resident expert in the field, has dubbed the suite of SuperCrocs after the characteristics they share with other modern animals. The group, found on a windswept stretch of rock and dunes, are proof of an obscure era when the crocs roamed the southern land mass of Gondwana, some 100 million years ago. The most spectacular of the five is SuperCroc itself, weighing in at a whopping 8 tons, and measuring over 40 feet. Four of the five had ‘upright’ legs…
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Jean-Franois Dumon and Alamanga have developed ‘Aaou’, an application for iPhone and iPodTouch which allows a quick translation of hieroglyphs. The iPhone app over 10,000 words or symbols to – depending on your iPhone settings – French or English. the translation in French / English of more than 10200 words and symbols and offers the possiblity of transliteration. ‘Aaou’ also allows you access through an index, to the uni/bi/triliterals as well as to an aide memory on the common hieroglyphs. The Aaou Hieroglyph Dictionary is priced at 4.99 euro and – of course – available via the iTunes app store.…
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Hes the most famous figure in ancient Egyptian history, but theres still plenty of mystery surrounding King Tut. Who better to clear up a few of them for us than Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities? In part one of King Tut Revealed a four part video interview exclusive by Sandro Vannini Dr Hawass broaches the tricky and controversial subject of how the Boy King, whose tomb KV62 was famously discovered in the Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter in 1922, met his premature end in 1323 BC at just 19 years of…
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The opening of Berlin’s Neues Museum and its ceremonial re-unveiling of the Bust of Nefertiti has provided a stark contrast to the recent climate on the repatriation of ancient artefacts. At the forefront of the debate is Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA): marauding worldwide with dossiers in hand, strong-arming museums into giving Egypt back its most prized possessions. Dr Hawass even sent one of his antiquities droogs to Berlin this month with a letter for the Neues‘ director. One can imagine it won’t be a shining eulogy to his work. Dr Hawass’ Famous Five “We…