Are you a huge fan of the pyramids? Read all the books, got the t-shirt, watched The Mummy too many times to know (it had better be the original)? Contemplate running away from home because you never got any Egypt-based toys for Christmas? Well worry no more, for long-running kids’ stalwarts Playmobil have come up with their latest incarnation: the sparkling new Egypt range. Ever wondered what was between the Great Sphinx‘s legs? What about the catacombs of Khufu‘s Pyramid? Playmobil have got all these bases well and truly covered with the toys, though Dr Hawass might have something to…
-
-
There are only five day left if you want to see the mysteries of the mummies come to life on the big screen – Mummies: The Secrets of the Pharaohs ends its two-year run at IMAXcinemas across the world next Monday. But you won’t just want to see it for the breath-taking sights, epic storyline and endless line of experts – the film stars none other than our favourite Egyptologist, Dr Zahi Hawass! The antiquities chief gives his best Indiana Jones impression, as the illustrious movie takes viewers on a technicolour tale through in time. First they can see the…
-
It’s a sombre tale; one of death, disease and live burial. But the body of a man found in Rajasthan, India reveals much more than an ancient horror story. The disovery in the town of Balathal, 40km north-east of Udaipur, is tying together some of the mysteries surrounding the tribes of the Indus Valley, who lived in the shadows of the mighty Harappans. The unfortunate man is thought to have been aged between 25 and 45, and predates the earliest-known human leprosy case by around 2,000 years. The previous oldest was an Egyptian dating to 400-250 BC, though the Ebers…
-
, Director General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), recently attended ceremonies marking the reopening, after major restoration work, of a number of Islamic monuments in Cairo. It follows his appearance at similar ceremonies recently marking the completion of a number of big-budget developments in and around the area of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. Islamic Monuments The restored Islamic monuments all in the Al-Darb Al-Ahmar area of Cairo include The Al-Imam mosque, the Al-Layth mosque, the Al-Set Meska mosque, the Ali Labib house and the well zone of Youssef, at the Salah El-Din Citadel. The…
-
An exciting new discovery is changing the way archaeologists view ancient Egypt’s first ties with the Levant. A four centimetre-long stone plaque fragment from Tel Bet Yerah features Egyptian symbols, and is believed to date back to around 3,000 BC – or the start of the country’s dynastic era. Rare enough in Egypt, Bet Yerah stands where the Jordan River meets Lake Kinneret (or the Sea of Galilee). And though links between the two areas are already known, this discovery shows ties may have been a lot stronger than previously thought. The find comes as a joint project between Tel…
-
Glasgow Scotland Key Dates 1900 BC This mirror with papyrus shaped handle hails from the Middle Kingdom period 2055-1650 BCE and was given to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum by the Egyptian Research Students Association (Glasgow Branch) in 1923 Key People The mistress of any royal household in the Middle Kingdom would have owned a mirror such as this. The Middle Kingdom spanned the 11th to 14th Dynasties and took in the reign of Pharaohs such as Wanka Intef II, Mentuhotep II, III and IV, Senusret I, II, III and Amenemhat I, II and III. In the Middle Kingdom the typical hand mirror consisted…
-
Ancient Egyptians may be best known for building pyramids, but internationally renowned maritime archaeologist Cheryl Ward wants the world to know that they were pretty good sailors, too. Ward and an international team of archaeologists, shipwrights and sailors recently built a full-scale replica of a 3,800-year-old ship and sailed it on the Red Sea to re-create the voyage Egyptian female pharaoh Hatshepsut took to a place the ancient Egyptians called God’s Land, or Punt. A 2006 discovery of the oldest remains of seafaring ships in the world in manmade caves at Wadi Gawasis, on the edge of the Egyptian desert…
-
We know lots about the Great Pyramid of Giza – it’s age (about 4,569 years), who it was built for (the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian King Khufu), who designed it (Khufu’s brother, the architect Hemienu) and even who rolled up their sleeves and did the work (tens of thousands of skilled labourers from across the kingdom, as opposed to slaves as was once believed). But ask a room full of experts how it was built, and you can expect a whole lot of head-scratching and beard-stroking, followed by heated argument and possibly some light fisticuffs. The main bone of contention is:…
-
On the banks of the Nile, some 200km north-east from Khartoum is the ancient city of Meroe – the southern capital of the Kushite empire, which spanned across Sudan and part of Ethiopia. Nearby are a group of villages called Bajrawia which is where today’s Flickr photograph was taken byVit Hassan, who captured this stunning sandstorm engulfing the area. The city of Meroe is flanked by over 200 Nubian pyramids, many of which lie in ruins as is evident in Vit Hassan’s fantastic capture of the site. Although once a flourishing city of great importance in its time, much about…
-
Every now and then a news story comes to light about the so-called Celtic mummies of China. The story has been making rounds for most of this century, from scientific conferences to ABCNews. Without detracting from the wonder that is the Cherchen mummies, lets set the record straight concerning the Celticness of these men and women” writes Emma Wohlfart on her blog PastPresenters. What arguments does she offer and err.. were we mistaken too? Emma – who introduces herself as a twenty-something writer with an archaeology degree, a laptop and a maxed out library card – agrees that there were…