I have spent the majority of the last 6 years working between Egypt and London; during this time my archaeological career has changed track somewhat from working on heritage protection strategies in Luxor to assisting media production companies in producing documentaries set in the historical realm. The journey from archaeologist to televising producer has enabled me to travel both metaphorically and physically between the worlds of the media and archaeology while attempting to be part I hope of both, a sometimes difficult undertaking. Generally I spend most of the year, some eight or nine months in Egypt during the archaeological season which not coincidently also mirrors what has become a filming season for the major television networks such as National Geographic, The Discovery Channel and The History Channel.
Tag: Archaeology
Missing the revolution but making the party!
I have spent the majority of the last 6 years working between Egypt and London; during this time my archaeological career has changed track somewhat from working on heritage protection strategies in Luxor to assisting media production companies in producing documentaries set in the historical realm. The journey from archaeologist to televising producer has enabled me to travel both metaphorically and physically between the worlds of the media and archaeology while attempting to be part I hope of both, a sometimes difficult undertaking. Generally I spend most of the year, some eight or nine months in Egypt during the archaeological season which not coincidently also mirrors what has become a filming season for the major television networks such as National Geographic, The Discovery Channel and The History Channel.
However due to the economic conditions in the West, the last winter season was very quiet and filming projects were thin on the ground and I therefore decided to spend the Christmas period in England, a decision I was to regret for various reasons that I will expand on later. Before I left Cairo in early December I had finished a project for The Discovery Channel focused on ancient beer. The project was with a great team from the Dogfish Head brewery from the United States, who came over to Egypt from to investigate the Egyptians ancient beer brewing techniques and to seek inspiration for a new beer they were planning to launch. It was a great shoot and the resulting beer should be on sale in the near future, under the ancient Egyptian name for beer of Ta-Henket, but now I was ready to sample some warm British beer and Christmas turkey!
Arriving back in London in December after six years of Egyptian winters is not to be recommended! In what has been described as the worse winter since records began I developed a cold almost on the point of arriving at Heathrow airport which developed into a vile flu over the course of the Christmas holidays! Not exactly what I had planned for my winter break! Surfacing in the New Year, I became aware of growing dissent in the Arab world over the regimes which controlled almost every living moment of the peoples lives there. I had argued and discussed this issue with my friends late into the night in many cafes and bars in Egypt but I have to say I had no idea what was about to unleashed by the oppressed folks of the Middle East!
I should add a bit of background here, as well as being a television producer and what I call a creative fixer for production companies who work on historical programming my company Past Preservers has recently launched our own in house production company. We hope over the next few years to establish a niche for ourselves as a creative powerhouse in the documentary world and because of this new direction for us, I headed off to the United States in the middle of January to promote our new business venture at Realscreen a media industry event that was being held in Washington DC. My cousin has conveniently just relocated to DC, so it was a great chance to catch up with her and of course face more severe cold weather! Now I dont know if you have ever complained about a British winter, even the new extreme ones we get now, well if you have, try the East Coast of the United States in January. What was I doing?, the snow was higher than the cars, at first this was a great novelty, with my cousin looking on in bewilderment as I cooed and gushed about how beautiful it was, that was until we had to leave the centrally heated apartment and try to get to the bus stop! She warned me to cover every bit of skin, I mocked her and said I was from the North of England, where we routinely wear only short sleeve shirts on a Saturday night pub crawl, yet I was soon to discover I am a wimp and I think I actually cried real tears waiting for the bus.
On a side trip from DC to the big apple and a weekend with an old friend from London who has made it good and has the kind of apartment that a Friends character would envy, I started to realize that the world I had left behind in Egypt was beginning to change and change rapidly! Watching the demonstrations from the comfort of DC (indoors) I felt increasing concerned for the friends, colleagues and what has become my adopted family that I had left behind in Cairo.
What became apparent from the early days was that this would become a propaganda war as well as a battle for the streets; the hearts and minds of the rest of the world were to be targeted by the regime in an attempt to convince everyone that this uprising did not have popular support. The days following the withdrawal of the police from the streets, the attack on the Cairo Museum, the withdrawal of the internet and black Wednesday were all carefully managed attempts by the state to put an end to any idea of freedom for the Egyptian people.
Trying to get information out of the country with the net down proved increasingly difficult but I knew in my gut that reports of Egyptians attacking the Cairo Museum could simply not be true, my six years of living there had proved to me one thing, Egyptians were not extremists and would and have previously fought to protect their heritage.
When I did mange to get through to Egypt (thank god for Skype and the occasional mobile network coverage) the picture I received was vastly different from the picture being painted by the state controlled media and being repeated ad nauseam by some news agencies and those with their own personal axes to grind. I was driven to distraction and anger when I posted updates from Egypt setting the record straight but was then shot down by those who it seemed couldnt wait to think the worst about the situation.
I feel it is worth reiterating a few salient points here about those days of uncertainty; at no time did the protestors in Tahrir square storm the museum or loot its contents, in fact the people tried their best to protect the museum even forming a human chain around the site, the withdrawal of the security forces was ordered by the regime, many then returned to the street under orders to loot and create the chaos that Mubarak had promised along with released prisoners and members of the despised interior security services Amn El Dawla. The people of Egypt were asked by the army to come out and protect their property and their heritage and this they did despite the significant danger to themselves. When I was able to contact Cairo and hear the news from my friends I was filled with fear for them but I also had so much admiration for what they were doing and felt complete and utter frustration that I could not be with them.
I left the conference in DC determined to get back to Cairo as soon as possible and spent most of the week there trying to convince everyone present not to believe the worst and to support the Egyptian people in their struggle against the regime. The doubters were numerous, especially I am sad to say in the archaeological world, mainly because I think they let their own personal views of Dr Zahi Hawass, the former Director General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and now the Minister of Antiquities cloud their judgment. Many however acted out of their own prejudiced viewpoint and colonial ideas of Egypt and Egyptians, when I pointed this out on social media sites such as facebook, I was attacked as agent of Dr Zahi and/or being nave and was even blocked from certain groups lead by people whos main agenda was to get their face on the evening news bulletins as a an expert on the situation in Egypt. This may seem a petty issue however it has been recently reported by the museum staff these attacks on their integrity during a very trying situation was and is extremely distressing.
Next time, I land back in a free Egypt! And discover the truth on the ground, visit the Cairo museum, head out to the sites, watch Dr Zahi move in and out and back again in his chair, oh and attend a party with millions of others!
SCA releases full list of treasures missing from the Cairo Museum
A month and a half after the Cairo Museum break-in, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities has posted online a listing of sixty-three objects that were found to be missing following the looting. Amongst the missing Ancient Egyptian treasures are ritual statues and a fan belonging to King Tut, Yuya’s shabtis, amulets, as well as amulets and jewellery.
Final List of Objects Missing from the Egyptian Museum, as released by the SCA, March 15th 2011:
- Gilded Wooden Figure of Tutankhamun on a Skiff, Throwing a Harpoon (the figure) – Carter no 275c?
- Gilded Wood Statue of Tutankhamun Wearing the Red Crown – Carter no 296b?
- Gilded Wooden Statue of Menkaret Carrying a Mummified Tutankhamun (the figurine of tutankhamun) – Carter no 296a
- Gilded Wood Fanstock – Carter no 600?
- Gilded Bronze Trumpet with Painted Wooden Core –Carter no 050gg
- Wooden Model Vase
- Terracotta Plaque in the Form of a Bed
- Bronze Seated Statue of Anubis
- Bronze Seated Statue of Bastet
- Bronze Striding Statue of the God Hapi
- Bronze Top of a Scepter in the Shape of the Goddess Hat-Mehit Wearing a Fish Headdress (Lates Nilotica)
- Bronze Striding Statue of Onuris
- Bronze Seated Statue of Osiris
- Schist Striding Statue of Neferhotep
- Bronze Standing Statue of Osiris
- Bronze Fish on a Stand
- Limestone Statue of a Recumbent Bull
- Bronze Standing Statue of Sobek in the form of a Crocodileheaded Man
- Bronze Striding Statue of the Goddess Neith
- Inscribed Bronze Seated Statue of a Cat (Bastet) Dedicated by Pediamen
- Inscribed Bronze Striding Statue of Harpocrates Wearing the Andjety Diadem
- Inscribed Bronze Sceptre of Ankhusiri
- Bronze Statue of an Apis Bull Wearing the Sun Disk and Uraeus
- Bronze False Beard
- Bronze False Beard
- Plastered Wooden Shabti of Tjuya Covered with Silver Leaf, Incised with Nine
- Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Ten Lines of Inscription in Yellow
- Painted and Gilded Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Seven Lines of Incised Inscription
- Plastered and Gilded Wooden Shabti of Tjuya with Nine Lines of Incised
- Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Eleven Lines of Inscription in Yellow
- Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Nine Lines of Incised Inscription in Yellow
- Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Nine Lines of Incised Inscription in Blue
- Uninscribed Calcite Shabti of Yuya
- Ebony Shabti of Yuya with Seven Lines of Inscription in Yellow
- Painted Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Two Vertical Columns of Incised Blue
- Unfinished Limestone Statue of Nefertiti as an Offering Bearer
- Red Granite Striding Statue of an Amarna Princess
- Quartzite Head of an Amarna Princess
- Steatite Statue of Bes on a Calcite Base
- Quartzite Statue of an Amarna Princess
- Steatite Statue of a Scribe with Thoth as a Baboon on a Limestone Base
- Painted Limestone Statue of a Seated Man
- Bronze Statue of an Apis Bull with a Sun Disk Between its Horns
- Striding Bronze Figure of Nakht
- Painted Limestone Shabti of an Official
- Faience Round Bead Bracelet
- Gold, Stone and Faience Collar
- Faience Bead Collar with Pendants in the Shape of Lily
- String of 28 Coral Beads
- String of Gold Beads and Figurines
- Part of a Lapis Lazuli Girdle of Merytamun B
- Necklace Composed of 44 Glass Beads Molded in Metal
- 10 Faience Amulets and a Faience Bead
- Painted Limestone Standing Statue of a Young Woman Wearing a Large Wig
The complete list available for download as .pdf from the SCA press site, or alternatively here contains for each of the objects the catalogue number, a short description, and where available, a low-resolution photograph or ‘sketch’ (see the Wooden Model Vase’) of the item.
No further statement regarding the ‘full list’ was given by the SCA.
New Clues to Welsh Origins of Stonehenge Bluestones
The source of Stonehenge’s bluestones a distinctive set of stones that form the inner circle and inner horseshoe of Stonehenge has long been a subject of fascination and considerable controversy.
In the early 1920s, one type of bluestone, the so-called spotted dolerite, was convincingly traced to the Mynydd Preseli area, in north Pembrokeshire. However, the sources of the other bluestones – chiefly rhyolites (a type of rock) and the rare sandstones remained, unknown.
Now geologists at Amgueddfa Cymru, the National Museum Wales, have further identified the sources of one of the rhyolite types.
The find also provides the opportunity for new thoughts on how the stones might have been transported to the Stonehenge area.
Dr Richard Bevins, in partnership with Dr Rob Ixer, University of Leicester and Dr Nick Pearce of Aberystwyth University, have been working on the rhyolite component of the bluestones, which leads them to believe it is of Welsh origin.
For their research, the team used standard petrographical techniques, as well as sophisticated chemical analysis using laser ablation induction coupled mass spectrometry in which the rock’s microscopic crystals are vaporised, with the chemical composition of the resulting gases unique for each form of rock.
They tested samples from Stonehenge and north Pembrokeshire, and matched one particular rhyolite to an area north of the Mynydd Preseli range, in the vicinity of Pont Saeson (ordenance survey map).
Matching up the rock from Stonehenge with a rock outcrop in Pembrokeshire has been a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack but Ive looked at many if not most outcrops in the Mynydd Preseli area, says Bevins.
We are however, confident that we have found the source of one of the rhyolites from Stonehenge because weve been able to make the match on a range of features not just a single characteristic. Now we are looking for the sources of the other Stonehenge volcanic and sandstone rocks.
Much of the archaeology in recent years has been based upon the assumption that Neolithic Age man had a reason for transporting bluestones weighing up to four tonnes all the way from west Wales to Stonehenge and the technical capacity to do it.
“This recent discovery is very significant as it potentially provides us with new clues for understanding how and possibly why the Welsh bluestones were transported to the Stonehenge area, explains Dr Richard Bevins, Keeper of Geology at the National Museum Wales.
It has been argued that humans transported the spotted dolerites from the high ground of Mynydd Preseli down to the coast at Milford Haven and then rafted them up the Bristol Channel and up the River Avon to the Stonehenge area.
However, the outcome of our research questions that route, as it is unlikely that they would have transported the Pont Saeson stones up slope and over Mynydd Preseli to Milford Haven.
If humans were responsible then an alternative route might need to be considered. However, some believe that the stones were transported by the actions of glacier sheets during the last glaciation and so the Pont Season discovery will need appraising in the context of this hypothesis.
Stonehenge-researcher Mike Parker Pearson called the discovery hugely significant.
It forces us to re-think the route taken by the bluestones to Stonehenge and opens up the possibility of finding many of the quarries from which they came, added Parker Pearson, Professor of Archaeology at Sheffield University.
Its a further step towards revealing why these mysterious stones were so special to the people of the Neolithic.
The findings are published in the March 2011 edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science, as ‘Stonehenge rhyolitic bluestone sources and the application of zircon chemistry as a new tool for provenancing rhyolitic lithics‘.
Six missing pieces of Pharaoh Amenhotep III & Queen Tiye statue found at king’s funerary temple
Egyptian Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny announced today that six missing pieces from the colossal double statue of the 18th Dynasty King Amenhotep III and his wife Queen Tiye, have been discovered at the kings mortuary temple on Luxors west bank.
The fragments were found during excavation work by an Egyptian team under the direction of Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).
The pieces from Amenhotep III‘s statue that were recovered come from the right side of his chest, nemes headdress, and leg.
Statue fragments of Queen Tiye that were uncovered include a section of her wig, and pieces from her left arm, fingers and foot.
A small section of the base of the double statue was also found.
The measurements of the six missing fragments range from 47cm to 103cm.
After French egyptologist Auguste Mariette discovered the double statue at Medinet (Thebes) in 1889, the statue was restored, and an Italian team filled in the missing pieces with modern stonework.
Today, the statue of Pharoah Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye – parents of Akhenaten – is a centerpiece of the main hall at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which was founded by Mariette.
The newly discovered pieces are currently being held at the site of Amenhotep III s mortuary temple on the west bank, but will soon be relocated to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo for restoration and placement into the colossal statue (explore the treasures hidden in the Cairo Museum’s basement, in this video featuring Dr Zahi Hawass).
Archaeologist Abdul Ghafar Wagdy, supervisor of the excavation at the site in Luxor, said that the pieces of statuary were found as part of a project to lower the ground water on the west bank of Luxor (watch our Heritage Key video about saving Amenhotep III’s funerary temple at Thebes).
These six pieces are only a few of nearly 1,000 statuary fragments that have been found dating from the Pharonic to the Coptic era.
All the pieces that have been found to date are being stored in the west bank magazines for documentation and restoration.
Video: Replica King Tut Treasures offer Real Discovery at Manchester Exhibition
Last week I visited the ‘Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures’ exhibition in Manchester with Mary-Ann Craig (video), and well… saw wonderful things, and everywhere, the glint of gold. The moment I marvelled at the recreation of the set-up used to remove Tutankhamun’s sarcophagi from his tomb, any doubts still left about the power of replicas disappeared, and I would strongly suggest you visit the touring exhibition before it leaves the UK.
Yet, if you want an expert opinion the matter (as well as a great introduction to your visit), watch our Heritage Key video with Robert Partridge, editor of ‘Ancient Egypt‘.
As any good exhibition (especially one with many students, young and old, in its audience) should, ‘Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures’ starts by putting King Tut in context geographically, and most important on a timeline. Fast-forward to 1922, Valley of the Kings, where we join Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon for the most important archaeological discovery of all times KV62, or Tutankhamun’s tomb.
When Carter started clearing the tomb, he recorded each artefact (more than 5,000 in total), and made sure the most important treasures, and their location, were captured on glass plate (no film yet) by photographer Harry Burton. It is these detailed records and amazing black-and-white captures, that have allowed for ‘Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures’ to be produced, and when entering the recreation of Tut’s tomb chambers, you truly feel you are allowed a peek through Carter’s eyes. (See Burton’s images and the recreation of the chambers in the video below.)
To my surprise, it was not the reproduction of the tomb scenes ‘as was’ that fascinated me most. Most enthralling was the life-size depiction of how Carter managed to, despite the limited space in the tomb, lift the heavy, golden coffins out of the sarcophagus something that is terribly hard to convey in just images or text.
After the recreation of Harry Burton’s pictures as Bob points out, in full-colour and 3D you see high-quality replicas of the pharoah’s burial shrines, his coffins and golden death mask (see King Tut’s mask in 3D and take the quiz to test your knowledge), the canopic shrine and chest, one of Tutankhamun’s gilded chariots and many of the Boy King’s grave gifts the famous ones, as well as some very personal ones. From these, my favourite must be the tiny wooden chair used by the pharaoh when he was just a little child; an object I would have definitely overlooked, were it not for Bob.
Other often underappreciated treasures on display are the recreated coffins of two mummified foetuses (as they were found in his tomb, they are likely to be Tut’s), the trumpets and other music instruments, the beautiful miniature boats and a multitude of ritual figurines with their black, wooden coffins. Until I saw these statuettes all assembled, I did not realise just how many were amassed and repurposed for Tut’s burial.
There is more to be said for the exhibition than that it puts the discoveries made by Carter back in context. It is great to see Tut’s treasures, even if they are ‘mere’ recreations, given the space they deservewhich allows for looking at the artefacts from all angles, minus the annoyance of fingerprint-stained glass.
The impressive set-up does not only provide enough space for the boy king’s treasures, but also for their visitors. It is surprisingly pleasant to read* the detailed information signs without the breath of a dozen sweaty, smelly tourists on your neck.
Overall, a really gratifying visit (not the least thanks to Bob’s excellent tour), and if you are in charge of kids that need to be entertained or educated over the holiday season (or grown-up friends who could do with an introduction to ancient Egypt), DO take them to the Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures Manchester, rather than the Book of the Dead show currently on at the British Museum.
The journey through the afterlife is interesting, no doubt, but Tutankhamun’s replica treasures tell the story as well, with the addition of a personal touch and information and objects from the daily royal life in ancient Egypt.
For tickets, opening times and activity sheets for your kids to use, seetutankhamunmanchester.com. For the Christmas holidays, you can visit ‘Tut at Twilight’, have all your (ancient Egypt) questions answered by Egyptologists present in the galleries, and return home with your very own special Hieroglyphic exhibition mug.
* I am not a fan of audio guides. Although I consider a good narrative essential for an exhibition to be engaging, I do like to explore that storyline ‘at my own pace’, reading the information with objects I find interesting, skipping the parts (I believe) I already know off, or often return to a related object to take a better look. But Bob said the audio guide that accompanies the ‘Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures’ exhibition in Manchester is excellent, so please, don’t let my old fashioned ideas and inability to come to terms with new technology stop you from using it! 😉
Roman Pub Discovered Under New Luxury Hotel in London Syon Park
During excavation work in 2008 to build a new luxury hotel on the grounds of Syon Park in west London on the bank of the Thames workers encountered buried objects. The Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) department now confirms that these are Roman artefacts dating from the 1st century AD.
Thousands of artefacts have been collected during the field work including a late bronze age gold bracelet, which has no context in the Roman settlement. Additionally notes the Museum: “Human skeletons found, could have been the remains of former occupants of the settlement, although the placing of the skeletons in ditches is particularly curious and more research is currently being undertaken.”
Jo Lyon, Senior Archaeologist at MOLA says “we have collected more than 11,500 pottery fragments, some of high status as well as many coins and jewellery. It is really just someone else’s rubbish–but it is treasure to us. We can now understand daily life during the mid-Romanization of Britain period. It was the height of their empire and they were spreading out. The area was settled for a sequence of 300 years.”
“The human remains,” comments Lyon, “were not found in a cemetery, but sort of in the back garden. It is extremely casual–odd even.”
The artefacts were found very close to the surface, less than 0.5 meter deep. The artefacts are all now in the MOLA lab being studied further. Hopefully there will be more to learn from this activity still.
The location is on the road between major Roman cities of Londinium (take a video tour of Londinium with history-buff Ian Smith) and Silchester and the settlement was likely a resting point for travellers. Interesting then that a new hotel is being placed in same area thousands of years later. It is a lovely spot overlooking the river. The new Waldorf Astoria hotel is planned to open in 2011 and may show some of the artefacts on their site. Hopefully the best pieces will not be auctioned-off to a private buyer like the Crosby Garret Cavalary Helmetthat fetched 2 million. However, the artefacts are on the property of the Duke of Northumberland, one of the wealthiest men in Britain, so it will be interesting to see what he decides to do with these discoveries.
The Museum of London Archaeology department is quite active helping construction companies to preserve the ancient heritage while still advancing the modern skyline and new buildings.
Mysterious horse found at Pompeii is in fact an ass
Ever since the remains of a seemingly unknown breed of horse were excavated at the ancient city of Pompeii, scientists have been puzzled over this find. Now, the riddle is solved: what was thought to be a horse, is actually an ass.
After DNA tests were done on a skeleton discovered amongst the ruins of an ancient Roman house in Pompeii in 2004, Italian scientists concluded they had discovered a new breed. Yet, after taking a closer look at the data, researchers from Cambridge and Munster say that in this study, a mistake was made. Their arguments the donkey DNA was contaminated with horse DNA, leading to an artificial hybrid DNA being formed are published in a letter to the editor of the Journal of of Cellular Biochemistry.
An ancient equine from Pompeii?
For the original study, five skeletons from the family of Equidae which includes horses, donkeys and zebras were analyzed. These skeletons had been unearthed at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii from the stables of the “Casa dei Casti Amanti”, the House of the Chaste Lovers. They were found well preserved, covered by the layer of volcanic ash that buried Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum when the Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
The mistake could have happened as early as during the excavation maybe DNA from one skeleton was transferred to another. It is also possible the error happened because of carelessness in the laboratory, or only later when the data was analyzed on the computer.
The research team that conducted the original study looked at the 2,000-year-old mitochondrial DNA of the horses DNA that does not belong to the nucleus, but to the “energy plants” (mitochondria) of cells. Four of the DNA types were easily assigned, they were consistent with typical mitochondrial horse genome. The fifth horse, however, seemed to be a horse-like indeed, but it possessed unknown DNA. The scientists concluded this was a previously unknown and probably extinct horse breed(Genetic characterization of Pompeii and Herculaneum Equidae buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD,abstract here).
It’s an ass
Now, Susan Gurney, PhD student at the Institute of Animal Physiology of the University of Mnster, and member of the Institute of Forensic Genetics and the University of Cambridge, reexamined the data of this study, and concluded an error was made.
Gurney says it is obvious that the mitochondrial DNA of a horse came in contact with the mitochondrial DNA of the donkey, forming the hybrid DNA which ‘came from an unknown breed’.
She showed that the first 177 blocks (nucleotides) of the DNA strand match with the nucleotide sequence of donkey DNA. The other 193 nucleotides are consistent with equine DNA.
It was easy to notice that, originally, it were two seperate DNA strands, Gurney says.
The mistake could have happened as early as during the excavation maybe DNA from one skeleton was transferred to another. It is also possible the error happened because of carelessness in the laboratory, or only later when the data was analyzed on the computer.
Though the scientists couldn’t confirm the discovery of a new breed of horse, the results are still exciting, they say.
If the donkey DNA indeed belongs to the ancient skeleton, this shows that at ancient Pompeii, donkeys were kept that are closely related to those typically found in Italy today a line that has the Somali wild ass as ancestor. The find would then confirm this lineage dates back to as early as the Roman time. In other European countries, asses are mostly descendants of the Nubian wild ass.
Ancient Egyptian ‘Avenue of Sphinxes’ gets twelve Sphinxes longer
Archaeologists have unearthed twelve ancient sphinx statues at Luxor, Egypt.
The sculptures were found at a newly discovered part of the Avenue of Sphinxes, an ancient road stretching from the temple at Karnak to the temple of the goddess Mut at Luxor.
The discovery, made as part of excavation and restoration works at the site by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), was announced by Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni.
The statues of the mythical creatures, inscribed with the name of Pharaoh Nectanebo I, were found in the last sector of the Avenue of Sphinxes, a part of the sacred pathway that although its existence was known to historians from ancient texts was never precisely located.
Mansour Boraik, Supervisor of Luxor Antiquities, indicated this is the first time a new road that runs from east to west towards the Nile has been found.
The total length of the road to the Nile is estimated to be about 600 metres, with 20 metres excavated so far.
These 20 metres were built from sandstone, brought in from the quarries at Gebel Silsila, north of Aswan.
The discovery is not located within the known road of the Avenue of the Sphinxes between Karnak and Luxor Temples, but instead at the end of the newly discovered road of Nectanebo I, explained Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA.
Dr. Hawass added that along this way the sacred boat of Amun, king of the gods, traveled on the gods annual trip to visit his wife, Mut, at Luxor temple.
The Avenue of Sphinxes is about 2,700 meters long and 76 meters wide. Although the path was already in use during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, it was the 30th Dynasty Pharaoh Nectenabo I (380 to 362 BC) who constructed the avenue itself. He lined it with 1350 sphinxes, all inscribed with his name.
The sacred road was the location of important religious ceremonies, most notably the Beautiful Feast of Opet.
This festival was celebrated annually in Thebes, during the New Kingdom period and later. Hidden from sight in a sacred barque, the statues of the gods of the Theban Triad – Amun, Khonsu and Mut – were escorted down the Avenue of Sphinxes, from the temple of Amun in Karnakto the temple of Luxor, in order to relive their marriage.
19 New Objects from King Tutankhamun’s Tomb Discovered in New York
Researchers have discovered that 19 objects in New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art are from King Tuts tomb, and an agreement has been struck that will see them be returned to Egypt.
The research indicates that Howard Carter kept a few pieces which were bequeathed to the Met after his death in 1939. The artefacts are quite small and at the time it was not known that they were from the tomb itself.
Fifteen of the 19 pieces have the status of bits or samples, read a Supreme Council of Antiquities Press release.
The remaining four are of more significant art-historical interest and include a small bronze dog less than three-quarters of an inch in height and a small sphinx bracelet-element, acquired from Howard Carters niece, after they had been probated with his estate. They also include part of a handle and a broad collar accompanied by additional beads.
Going on display
If youre in New York City youll have an opportunity to see the objects first hand before they are returned to Egypt.
Dr. Zahi Hawass said in the press release that:
The objects will now go on display with the Tutankhamun exhibition at Times Square, where they will stay until January, 2011. They will then travel back to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they will be shown for six months in the context of the Metropolitan Museums renowned Egyptian collection,” he said.
“Upon their return to Egypt in June 2011, they will be given a special place in the Tutankhamun galleries at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, and then will move, with the rest of the Tut collection, to the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza, scheduled to open in 2012.
Although it was part of the paid archaeological digging concession and customary for the people who discovered tombs in Egypt to be allowed to take some of the artefacts back to their home country, Carnarvon and Carter were not allowed to take anything from the glorious Tutankhamun treasures. The French administrators of Egyptian heritage at the time cited a loophole that this clause only applied to tombs that had not been previously discovered–and the anteroom of KV62 had been robbed in antiquity.