Tag: Saqqara

Missing statue of Pharaoh Akhenaten returned to Cairo Museum

State of statue of Akhenaten after its return to the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Photo by Ahmed Amin Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities Affairs, Dr Zahi Hawass, announced today that the missing limestone statue of King Akhenaten, the likely father of Tutankhamun, has been returned to the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

To date, four objects from the preliminary list of missing artefacts have been found; the Heart Scarab of Yuya, a shabti of Yuya, the statue of the goddess Menkaret carrying Tutankhamun, and now the statue of Akhenaten as an offering bearer.

Statue of Akhenaten returned

The statue of pharaoh Akhenaten is one of the unique statues from the Amarna Period on display at the Egyptian Museum. It is ~~seven~~ forty-three centimeters high and depicts the king standing, wearing a blue crown, and holding an offering table in his hands.

The statue is composed of limestone, with the exception of the calcite, or Egyptian Alabaster, base.

In a statement to the press, Dr. Hawass says that a sixteen-year-old male, one of the protestors at Tahrir Square, found the statue of Akhenaten beside a rubbish bin.

He brought the statue to his home and when his mother saw it she called her brother, Dr. Sabry Abdel Rahman, a professor at AUC. Dr. Rahman, in turn, called the Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs to hand the statue over.

Last night, at the Antiquities and Tourism Police station at Cairo Opera House, an archaeological committee headed by Dr. Youssef Khalifa, head of a committee appointed by the Minister, accepted the returned statue of Akhenaten. The committee approved the authenticity of the statue and confirmed that it is in fact the statue of Akhenaten that was missing. The statue was returned to Dr. Khalifa intact, except for the offering table that was found separately inside the Egyptian Museum (photo showing the statue before the break-in).

Dr. Tarek El-Awady, Director General of the Egyptian Museum, said that both pieces of the statue are now in the conservation lab and would be subject to restoration before being returned to its permanent case in the Amarna Gallery.

Restorator working on the statue of Tutankhamun standing on a panther. Photo by Stephanie Sakoutis

Treasures missing from the Cairo Museum

From the preliminary list of missing objects released; four objects this includes the limestone statue of ‘heretic pharaoh’ Akhenaten as an offering bearer have been.

The missing Heart Scarab of Yuya was recovered on the west side of the Egyptian Museum’s gardens, as well as some wooden fragments belonging to the damaged New Kingdom coffin.

One of the eleven missing shabtis of Yuyawas found inside the museum, underneath a showcase, and fragments belonging to the statue of Tutankhamun being carried by the goddess Menkaret have been found as well. All the located fragments belong to the figure of Menkaret. The small figure of the boy king is still missing.

Other objects not yet retrieved are the torso and upper limbs of a gilded wood statue depicting King Tut harpooning, a statue of Nefertiti making offerings, a sandstone head of an Amarna princess, a stone statuette of an Amarna scribe and ten wooden shabtis from Yuya.

In the mean while, restoration works on the items damaged at the Cairo Museum break-inthe statue of King Tut standing on a panther, and the gilded cartonnage mummy bands of Thuya, amongst othersare ongoing.

Further break-ins and looting at Saqqara and Abusir

In a second statement to the press, Dr Hawass announced that several sites have been vandalized. Today, Dr. Sabry Abdel Aziz, head of the Pharaonic Sector of the Ministry of Statefor Antiquities Affairs, reported to the Minister that the tomb of Hetep-Ka, in Saqqara, was brokeninto, and the false door was stolen along with objects stored in the tomb.

In Abusir, a portion of the false door was stolen from the tomb of Re-Hotep. In addition, many magazines also suffered break-ins: magazines in Saqqara, including the one near the pyramid of Teti, and the magazine of Cairo University all had their seals broken.

The Egyptian Military caught, and dismissed, thieves attempting to loot the sites of Tell el Basta; the military also caught criminals trying to loot a tomb in Lischt. There have also been many reports of attacks on archaeological lands through the building of houses and illegal digging.

Egypt tourist sites set to reopen

Despite these troubles, in a bid to see tourists return to Egypt, it was announcedthat all of thePharaonic, Coptic, Islamic, and modern sites would reopen to the public on Sunday, 20 February2011.

Dr Zahi Hawass Appointed to Egypt President Mubarak’s New Cabinet as Minister for Antiquities

Dr Zahi Hawass has been appointed the new Minister for Antiquities. Image Copyright - Sandro Vannini.

Dr Zahi Hawass, has been promoted in the shake up of Egyptian President’s Hosni Mubarak’s new cabinet according to a report from AP. Formerly the Vice Minister for Culture, and the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Dr Hawass will now take the role as Minister of a newly created department – the State Ministry for Antiquities. Literary critic Dr Gaber Asfour has been named the new Minister of Culture, replacing the long-serving Farouk Hosni.

The cabinet shake up comes in the wake of political turmoil across Egypt, which saw a lack of police protection for key sites such as Cairo’s Egyptian Museum. Looting at the museum saw damage caused to several artefacts including those discovered in the famous Tomb of King Tutankhamun, as well as reports of severe looting at sites including Saqqara, Memphis Museum and Abusir. Former director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Wafaa el-Saddik, also revealed that museums in Egypt do not have insurance.

Last year, Dr Hawass was installed by President Mubarak as the Vice Minister for Culture in a move to allow him to postpone his pending mandatory retirement as the Secretary General of the SCA, as Egyptian ministers do not have a set age for retirement.

With several museums and heritage sites across Egypt in a state of disarray, Dr Hawass’ first priority will be to account for the missing artefacts, begin the restoration of damaged historical treasure and reopen museums and popular tourist spots such as the Great Pyramids of Giza as soon as possible.

Ancient Egyptian Father and Son Tombs Discovered at Saqqara

Archaeologists have discovered two ancient Egyptian tombs, belonging to a father and his son, at the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt. The rock-hewn painted tombs were unearthed last week, and with at least one tomb never looted, are considered an important find.

The discovery was made during routine excavations at ‘Gisr El-Muder’, west of Djoser’s Step Pyramid, the first pyramid in Egyptian history. Work in the area has been ongoing since 1968.

Dr Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s antiquities chief, says the tombs belong to 6th Dynasty government official ‘Shendwa’ and his son, ‘Khonsu’.

The older tomb consists of a painted false door bearing the different titles of the tombs owner. Amongst Shendwa’s honorary titles is ‘Head of the Royal Scribes’. The door’s decorations show scenes of the deceased seated before an offering table.

Click the image to see a larger version

Directly located beneath this faux door is a burial shaft leading down about 20m. Inside the shaft, the excavation team discovered a painted relief and a 30cm-tall limestone obelisk.

This obelisk is a symbol of worshipping the sun god Re, says Dr Hawass. He adds that Old Kingdom Egyptians erected small obelisks in front of their tombs and inside temples related to the tombs of the Queens pyramids.

When opened, Shendwa’s tomb was found intact. No tomb robbers had ever found and plundered it, but sadly the wooden sarcophagus had disintegrated through humidity and erosion.

Alongside thesarcophagus was a collection of limestone jars, including five offering vessels in the shape of a duck, with duck bones still inside.

Khonsu’s tomb was discovered next to his father’s. The team located its false door, an offering table directly opposite that door and a floor lintel decorated with 6th Dynasty symbols. The false door lists Khonsu’s official titles, most of which he inherited from his father. Above it is a small coloured relief depicting Khonsu in different poses.

The 6th Dynasty ruled from 2374 to 2191BC, around 200 years after the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Finding an intact burial at Saqqara is not exceptional, as you can see in this video, showing the discovery of the tomb and opening of the sarcophagus. Another recent ‘6th Dynasty’ discovery is that of Queen Behenu’s burial chamber, and, of course, there are the ongoing quests for Userkare’s pyramid.

Where Will the Pyramid of Userkare be Discovered?

pyramid of userkare - where will it be discovered? One of the pharaohs recorded on the Royal List of Abydos whose tomb is still unaccounted for is the mysterious Userkare. In our Heritage Key video The Hunt for the Lost Pharaoh:Userkare Dr Vasko Dobrev speculates on the possible location for the tomb of Userkare, a 6th Dynasty pharaoh who ruled shortly after Pharaoh Teti was assassinated by a priest.

In this video, Dr Dobrev – Egyptologist and Archaeologist – shares that he believes Userkare to be buried at the Southern end of the Saqqara necropolis, where other 6th Dynasty kings can be found as well.

The plateau that Dr Dobrev is currently excavating at Tabbet al-Guesh for IFAO (Institut Franais dArchologie Orientale) measures 15 hectare, enough to contain an 80 x 80 metre pyramid, or a 60 x 60 metre temple (see map).

A pharaoh is never buried alone, and if Dr Dobrev is right, there should be a necropolis near to Userkare’s tomb. On this plateau, excavations of a fifth of a hectare in the north-west part of Tabbet al-Guech have already revealed 15 tombs from the 6th Dynasty.

As an example for his theory, Dr Dobrev points out the tomb of Haunufer, in which the walls read ‘beloved by the King’. The text – an ‘Appeal to the Living’, meant to be read by people bringing offerings – does not specify which king. Maybe this information was unnecessary, as the King – possibly Userkare – was buried nearby?

VIDEO: The Hunt for the Lost Pharah Userkare

Now a second possible location for the Pyramid of Userkare has been found by Giulio Magli, a professor of archaeoastronomy at Milan’s Polytechnic University. He told Discovery News that a pattern of diagonal lines that connects the Egyptian pyramids might hold a clue to the location of Userkare’s tomb.

According to Magli’s theory, the pyramid – or a double-tomb complex – would be aligned with the Step Pyramid of Djoser, which was the most important pyramid at Saqqara. Giulio Magli’s research will be published in the next issue of Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry.

According to Discovery News, Dr Dobrev agrees that Giulio Magli’s suggestion makes sense, if plotted out on a satellite map. In the field, it is more difficult to see.

Where do you think Pharaoh Userkare’s tomb will be found? . Oh, and just for those wondering, neither Dobrev nor Magli say the ancient Egyptians would have used GPScoordinates or required alien intervention to figure out the alignment!

Queen Behenu’s burial chamber discovered at Saqqara

What is left of the north wall of Queen Behenu's wall, with the pyramid texts clearly visible. 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 2465-2150BC).

Click the photo for a larger view.

Pyramid Texts are religious texts composed of spells primarily concerned with protecting the king’s remains, reanimating his body after death, and helping him ascend to the heavens. The spells delineate all of the ways the king could travel through the afterlife, including ramps, stairs, ladders, and most importantly, flight. The spells could also be used to call on the gods for help, even threatening them if they did not comply. Unlike the Book of the Dead, into which parts of the pyramid texts later evolved, these Old Kingdom texts were not illustrated.

Dr. Philippe Collombert, who heads the mission, said that further excavation inside the burial chamber led the team to the queen’s sarcophagus. He adds that although the sarcophagus is in good condition, it still stays unclear if this queen was the wife of Pepi I or Pepi II: “It is a well-preserved granite sarcophagus engraved with the queen’s different titles, but says nothing about the identity of her husband”.

The French mission has been working within the necropolis of Pepi I at Saqqara, where they discovered the 25 meter long pyramid of Behenu and Pyramid Text fragments, since 2007. They have located a total of seven ‘queen pyramids’ dating to the reigns of Pepi I and Pepi II rulers of the 6th Dynasty – since the beginning of their project in 1989. The pyramids have been attributed to Queens Inenek, Nubunet, Meretites II, Ankhespepy III, Miha, and a yet unidentified queen.

Biggest Saqqara Tomb Discovered

Two large tombs have been discovered at the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Saqqara – one of which is the largest ever found at the site. The 26th Dynasty tombs, likely robbed during the Roman era, are nonetheless filled with important arefacts including coffins, skeletons, pottery and mummified eagles.

The tombs, discovered by an Egyptian archaeological mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities, are at the Ras El Gisr area of Saqqara, near the landmark’s entrance. Both tombs are cut into the hills of the region: the larger first tomb is hewn from limestone while the other is mud-brick.

The larger tomb is comprised of a rock-hewn hallway followed by several small chambers and corridors. During excavation the team discovered two dust-filled rooms which led to another hall decked with skeletons, coffins and pots. A further corridor ran down to a seven metre-deep burial shaft. A sealed room in the second tomb contained Saite pots and coffins.

Saqqara is one of the civilisation’s oldest burial sites, having first been built just south of modern Cairo around 3100 BC during Egypt’s first dynasty. Dubbed the ‘City of the Dead’, it is home to a great number of mastabas, rock-cut tombs and pyramids. Its most famous landmark is the Step Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt’s oldest pyramid. Recent SCAprojects at the pyramid have led SCA chief Zahi Hawass to speculate that legendary architect and polymath Imhotep is buried inside.

The discovery of eagle mummies at Saqqara is sure to get famous mummy enthusiasts like Salima Ikram and Bob Brier excited. Watch a special video with Dr Ikram, explaining how animal mummies were made, here. Bob Brier has also enlightened us on how to ‘read’ a mummy – read the interview here.

Click the thumbnails above to open a slideshow of images from the newly discovered tomb.

Life of Adventure – Opening one of the Sarcophagi discovered at Gisr el-Muder, Saqqara

Nothing keeps Dr Zahi Hawass awake at night quite like the prospect of being the first person to lay eyes on a millennia-dead Egyptian mummy. I could not sleep with thinking about it all the time, he reveals at the start of Heritage Keys latest fantastic video by Nico Piazza, documenting the opening of an intact tomb at Saqqara. Thinking about the moment that I will come down, he continues, about 11 metres, and begin to open a sealed sarcophagus that no one ever touched since 2,600 years ago.

The camera pans across creepy piles of heavily decayed human bones lying in corners the latest intact tomb located at the massive necropolis of Egypts ancient capital Memphis, located 40 kilometres south of Cairo, is evidently one rich in human remains. The unidentified body found lying inside a giant limestone sarcophagus is the prize of them all.

As the coffin is cracked open in front of the expectantly onlooking media, Dr Hawasss excitement is palpable. Besides a fascinating look at ancient Egyptian burial practices, in this video we also get a revealing insight into the love of archaeology that drives the Director General of Egypts Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), as he gives one of his most revealing interviews yet. You can also purchase Dr Hawass’s book Life in Paradise: The Lost Tombs of Thebes which reveals the magnificent hidden tombs in the Theban complex, of which you can get a glimpse in a Heritage Key video with Dr Hawass and Dr Janice Kamrin (Watch the Video).

The contents of one of the niches inside the Saqqara tomb. Image credit - Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Life of Adventure

If you think a brown fedora is all that Dr Hawass has in common with fictions most famous archaeologist, think again at the start of the video we see him getting lowered into the tomb, which lies not far from King Djosers iconic Step Pyramid, at the end of a rope Indiana Jones-style. There’s not a stunt man in sight.

I came here about three days ago and I opened one coffin and I saw the sealed limestone sarcophagus, he describes, as workers hurriedly chip away at the seal of the sarcophagus in the background. Its size, material and quality give some firm clues as to the wealth and social standing of the individual buried inside. How can you afford to cut a limestone sarcophagus from Tora, which is located at the east of the Nile? Hawass ponders. Because this is very expensive.

Okay, Ready?

Dr Zahi Hawass next to one the newly opened sarcophagi in the Saqqara tomb. Image credit - Supreme Council of Antiquities. Okay, ready? barks Hawass, and the lid is finally lifted. As the first section is removed, its possible to appreciate just how thick and robustly made ancient Egyptian sarcophagi were the lid must be at least 30 or 40 centimetres thick. Once the sarcophagus is opened, Hawass squats down beside it and examines the smooth, almost perfectly embalmed mummy laid neatly inside.

When you open something like this, he confesses quite plainly, in a statement that perhaps hints at why the SCA maintain such a tight control over investigating major archaeological discoveries in Egypt, its so exciting, you have to do it by yourself to feel that.

Hawass tells the assembled camera crews and reporters that they next plan to put the mummy under an X-ray machine (a technique they’ve used on many mummies, including famous ones such as King Tut), which can on occasion expose them to be stuffed with amulets. Sometimes there could be 100 hundred pieces of gold and amulets, Hawass reveals, they put it inside and this can help the deceased to go safely to the afterlife.

A Beautiful Moment

There are 30 different mummies in the tomb in total. Most of the people buried here evidently werent as rich as the individual in the splendid coffin. Were shown four bodies in a corner, embalmed but otherwise simply laid on the floor, side by side. One has been buried next to his dog pets, as we learned in a fascinating interview with Dr Salima Ikram were so sacred to Egyptians they were very often mummified too. Next to another body is the smaller corpse of a child.

It is a beautiful moment in my life, Dr Hawass concludes, rather tenderly, of the experience of finding and investigating this wonderful intact grave at Saqqara. After the credits, another brief snippet of interview reveals why it was so special for the SCA chief. When the workmen were moving the lid, I put my eyes inside and was looking at the unknown! Hawass beams. And when I saw the mummy in that beautiful condition, I was so happy. It is something with a passion. The passion that I have for archaeology.

HD Video: The Discovery of an Intact Tomb at Saqqara (ft. Dr. Hawass)

(Click here to read a transcript of this video)

If you enjoyed this frank chat with Dr Hawass, there are many, many more videos featuring the man bringing the denim shirt back into fashion with a vengeance on our video page. Hes recently been giving us the low-down on such fascinating topics as why Tutankhamuns tomb escaped major robbery, the legendary curse of King Tut, and exploring the famous Step Pyramid Egypts Stairway to Heaven. There are loads more video interviews with Hawass and other top heritage experts besides arriving on the site all the time, including a tour by the 8th Countess of Carnarvon of the wall paintings of the Tomb of King Tutankhamun (Watch the video) sign up to our RSS feed and youll be the first to hear about them.

Discovering Tut – Carter & Carnarvon: The duo that Unlocked the Tomb of Tutankhamun

“The whole discovery of Tutankhamun needed both ingredients to make it work. It wasn’t all Howard Carter, certainly not only Carnarvon. But it needed the two of them.” George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon, ebbs deeper into the bond which drove two of archaeology’s greatest characters to the biggest discovery of all time. But how did the two men, so different in background and expertise, even forge such a strong relationship?

Lord Carnarvon – or to give him his full tongue-twisting title, George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon – was an aristocratic explorer and adventurer of the highest order. Born into money and obsessed with sailing, photography, travel and motor racing, he was the pinnacle of a 19th century playboy. Yet a race too far in Germany left him badly injured, and when a doctor recommended he seek refuge from the harsh British winter, what better place to get your kicks than the ancient playground of Egypt?

“The discovery of Tutankhamun needed both ingredients to make it work.”

Howard Carter was a working-class lad who’d been taught the archaeological ropes by the meticulous Flinders Petrie. His star had already risen in Egypt, having been appointed the First Chief Inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Service in 1899. However a messy dispute with French tourists in 1905 had left him out of work – and by the time the two were introduced in 1906, Carter was making a meagre living selling paintings to tourists.

“Great-grandfather was introduced to Carter perhaps as a way of bringing more experience and expertise on the ground,” says the 8th Earl, as he rifles through Highclere Castle’s infinite archives, “in line with a very keen, enthusiastic and financially independent excavator.” The modern Lord and Lady’s affection for their illustrious forebear is palpable: not only have they built their own Egyptian exhibition in the castle’s cellars, but Lady Carnarvon has written two books on the pair and their discovery, Carnarvon& Carter(buy) and Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun (buy), both which you can purchase on Heritage Key.

Their enthusiasm is understandable – Lord Carnarvon typifies the spirit of adventure which spurred so many great discoveries. Yet the financial lengths he went to are staggering. Lady Carnarvon looks through some of the original photos from Carter and Carnarvon’s exploits together (and you can purchase Fiona Carnarvon’s book Carnarvon and Carter here) as she mentions the scale of their projects. 170 to 235 men worked on each tomb, and key players were afforded their own tents shipped straight from England – complete with food from luxury store Fortnum & Mason.

Lord Carnarvon (left) and Howard Carter (right) could not have found the Tomb of King Tutankhamun without each other's help. Lady Carnarvon chuckles at the sheer audacity of her forebear’s exploits. There was, “a tent for himself; a tent for his wife; a tent for Howard Carter; a tent for his doctor; and a tent for a dining room. It was extraordinary!” Even Carter’s famous rest house, recently converted to a museum, was shipped brick-by-brick from Bretby in Derbyshire. You can also learn more about the museum at Highclere Castle by purchasing Egypt at Highclere:The Discovery of Tutankhamun by Fiona Carnarvon.

Yet Tutankhamun, the king Carnarvon and Carter were determined to find, had still managed to elude them. Clues littered the Valley of the Kings: surely the boy-king must have been buried there somewhere? American archaeologist Theodore M. Davis had searched the area, yet Lord Carnarvon explains how the lawyer missed his squandered his turn in the spotlight. “He sent things back to America but rather thought that Tutankhamun was so unimportant that he’d been buried in a shallow grave.”

But Davis was wrong. And when in 1922 Metropolitan Museum explorer Herbert Winlock pointed out a vase with King Tut’s name on it at the Valley, the search was afoot. The men had spent almost two decades scouring Egypt for ancient treasure – suddenly they were on the verge of greatness…

HDVideo:Discovering King Tut – Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter

(Click here to read a transcript of this video)

Look out for four more special Highclere videos, coming soon!You can watch a whole host of great videos here at Heritage Key – from the perils of Venice to the lost tombs of Thebes. Catch us here or on YouTube. Keep up-to-date with everything by subscribing to our RSS feeds, or by following us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and iTunes.

You can also buy Fiona Carnarvon’s books right here:
Buy Carnarvon & CarterHERE
Buy Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun HERE

Zahi Hawass on the SCA’s Projects at Saqqara’s Step Pyramid of Djoser

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 resting place of the legendary architect and polymath Imhotep, adviser to Djoser, designer of his pyramid and worshipped as a god on his death. Inscriptions of his name alongside the king show he was highly valued. Why could he not have earned a place in his most famous creation? “Since he designed the pyramid for the king and his family, and he may have been as close as family to the king,” writes Dr Hawass in his blog, “it could be a possibility that he was allowed to be buried within the pyramid.”

The second of the SCA’s Saqqara projects is in its early stages. Yet it promises to be filled with excitement, as experts dig on the west side of the Step Pyramid, somewhre that’s never been excavated before. Not only may the work lead to yet more exciting discoveries in the area, it will also clean out the area so conservation work can begin on the 4,600-year-old monument.

Could Imhotep be buried in the Step Pyramid?

This will include a comprehensive project in the pyramid’s burial chamber, work which will take plenty of care. “We will put plastic bags full of sand underneath Djosers sarcophagus, and cover the surface with sand, in order to protect it while we erect the scaffolding inside the chamber,” Dr Hawass writes. “Once the steel scaffolding is in place, we will begin the work of restoring the 29 meter tall burial chamber, and will leave the scaffolding permanently in the burial chamber to support it.”

So that’s three major projects under way, all of which under the watchful eye of Dr Hawass. Add to that the quest for Cleopatra at Taposiris Magna, work preserving the Sphinx and Austrian revelations at Tel El-Daba and the world’s most famous archaeologist has got plenty on his plate right now. Consider that Egypt stretches over 650miles from north to south, and you’d be forgiven for thinking Dr Hawass has added teleportation to his ever-growing list of discoveries.

The third of Dr Hawass’ projects will be the restoration of Saqqara’s famous Serapeum, a chamber dedicated to the Apis Bull. Dr Hawass says he has endured opposition from those who don’t want to see scaffolding erected inside the chamber, but feel it is the only way to preserve one of the necropolis’ greatest assets. “We have put iron scaffolding in all of the niches for the huge sarcophagi of the sacred Apis bulls,” Dr Hawass writes, “except for one on the very end that is very well preserved.This phase will be finished around the beginning of the new year, and then we will initiate Phase II, to conserve another tunnel.We are hoping that the restoration will be completely finished in the next two years.

How To Make A Mummy

Want to know how to mummify a body but don’t know where to start?Well, you’ve come to the right place.

Following on from our video featuring Dr Zahi Hawass, in which he gives Heritage Key a fascinating insight into how mummies are made (see the video embedded below), and an enlightening interview with Bob ‘Mr Mummy’ Briers on mummification, we’ve condensed millenia of wisdom into 7 not-so-easy and certainly not pleasant steps.

Egyptian embalmers were masters of their craft, and while we possess a lot of clues about the long and laborious procedure they went through in order to ensure the deceaseds safe transit into the afterlife, much also remains unknown about how, exactly, they managed to wrap corpses so well that they have managed to survive for millennia.

Only one mummification using Egyptian techniques has been carried out in 2,000 years in 1994 by Egyptologist Bob Brier. Its a process so tricky Brier recently told us hed prefer to never go through it again.

Video: Mummification Featuring Dr Zahi Hawass

As Hawass points out, Its very important to talk about mummification. To explain what happened really. So weve decided to give you a rough guide with Dr Zahis help to how to make a mummy in seven frankly gruesome steps. Definitely dont try this at home kids its not for the faint of heart.

Step 1: Purify

Your dead Egyptian pharaoh or queen or priest or musician or highly-thought-of pet has just been laid down in front of you ready for embalming. Mess this up, and you may be headed for the afterlife soon yourself slowly and gruesomely. So where to start?

Purification of the corpse is the crucial first step. The body needs meticulously washed with spices and with special wine made from dates, then rinsed using water from the Nile. Next, an incision should be made down the cadavers front, and his liver, lungs and intestines removed. Everything inside his stomach, Hawass explains.

Dont throw the bits away though youll need them later. Nothing gets wasted every last trace of the deceaseds remains must be sent onwards to the next world.

Step 2: Dehydrate

Next up: the all important dehydration of the corpse. Natron a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate found in dry lake beds in ancient Egypt is the crucial substance needed here, and lots of it. The body needs to be stuffed with piles of the little white, salt-like crystals, then buried in the stuff too. It acts as a drying agent that will eventually turn the flesh hard and leathery.

Not a drop of moisture should be allowed to escape while this is all happening the body needs to be placed on a slanted surface, so that any liquid that drips off can be collected beneath. Any rags used to mop up should also be kept theyll need to be buried with the corpse too.

How long should the corpse be left to dry for? This is something experts cant be certain of. Brier, in his modern-mummification, elected for 35 days, but the optimum period may be closer to 40 days, or vary from body to body.

Step 3: Treat the Organs

Its time to deal with the liver, lungs, intestines and other contents of the stomacht. As Hawass reveals in the video, each one of the individual internal organs, (the Egyptians) put on natron to dry, then they covered with linen. They would then place the organ in a wooden or stone Canopic chest or jar, and set it aside for burial with the body (in later burials, they would stuff the dried, wrapped organs back inside the body).

They would leave the heart, says Zahi, because the heart is a place of knowledge. It gives knowledge that they need in the afterlife. The brain has to go though. If you leave the brain inside the mummy, the brain can be damaged, Hawass points out. Insert a long hook into the nasal cavities and mash the brain into a pulp, before pulling it out piece by piece back through the nose. We warned you this isnt for the faint of heart!

Step 4: Cleanse

After the dehydration period has passed, its time for more cleansing inside and out. Wine made from dates should be used again, and also oils and spices. This prevents the skin now all dry and shrunken from turning too hard and shriveled.

Step 5: Restore

The fifth step is all about returning the corpse to as life-like a state as possible. With much of its interior removed, its necessary to stuff the body to fill the deceased out again, using sawdust and leaves.

They would leave the heart because the heart is a place of knowledge. It gives knowledge that they need in the afterlife. — Dr Zahi Hawass

The cadaver then has to be sealed. They closed everything open in the body of the deceased, Dr Zahi explains, like the nose, and areas inside here, he adds, pointing at the nether regions. The mouth, in some cases, can later be reopened in a ritual to symbolise breathing or eating (a practice that has given rise to all kinds of legends about revived mummies).

You might opt to add some jewellery at this stage necklaces, rings and bracelets made from gold and precious stones before the wrapping begins.

Step 6: Wrap

Giving your mummy that iconic bandaged look is perhaps the most delicate and time consuming part of the process it can take up to a week to wrap the body. First cover it with shrouds, then use long, thin strips of linen, starting with the head and neck, moving onto the fingers and toes, then separately the arms and legs.

The arms and legs next need bound together, and a spell from the Book of the Dead placed in the palms of the hands (to give the deceased some useful tips on how to pass through obstacles in the afterlife). More and more strips of bandage then need to be added and glued together at every layer using special resin. Amulets and other lucky charms can be placed in between layers, and you might also want a priest on hand to read out spells anything to give the Ka (the mummys spirit) the best possible luck on its impending journey.

Finally, youll have to wrap a sheet around the whole body, painted with an image of the god Osiris deity of the afterlife. Hes the boss from here on in.

Step 7: Last Rites

Your corpse is now officially mummified theres just a few formalities to attend to. Theres always a danger that the spirit might not recognise the corpse in the next world, so to prevent the two from becoming estranged, place a portrait mask over the deceaseds face before burial first in a series of wooden caskets, then inside a large, ornate stone sarcophagus.

Before the tomb is sealed, grave goods need to be dropped off furniture, food, drink, clothes, valuables. Even shabti slaves armies of miniature skivvies, intended to serve the deceased should they be called upon to perform manual labour in the afterlife. No eventuality on the deceaseds journey to the land of the dead should be left unconsidered. Because, as Dr Hawass signs-off, this time in the tomb is for eternal life.

That’s it. Of course, it’s not only human bodies that can be mummified. You can apply the same process to any animal – as seen in this video featuring Salima Ikram of the Cairo Museum.