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Egyptian Archaeology: Projects, Discoveries & Findings

As Ptolemy V and VI are both mentioned in the quotes it is clearly Ptolemaic.
 
A very interesting article about iconoclasm and the missing noses from Egyptian statues and reliefs:

Why Do so Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?

Julia Wolkoff
Mar 8, 2019 5:00 pm

The most common question that curator Edward Bleiberg fields from visitors to the Brooklyn Museum’s Egyptian art galleries is a straightforward but salient one: Why are the statues’ noses broken? Bleiberg, who oversees the museum’s extensive holdings of Egyptian, Classical, and ancient Near Eastern art, was surprised the first few times he heard this question. He had taken for granted that the sculptures were damaged; his training in Egyptology encouraged visualizing how a statue would look if it were still intact. It might seem inevitable that after thousands of years, an ancient artifact would show wear and tear. But this simple observation led Bleiberg to uncover a widespread pattern of deliberate destruction, which pointed to a complex set of reasons why most works of Egyptian art came to be defaced in the first place.

[...]

The ancient Egyptians, it’s important to note, ascribed important powers to images of the human form. They believed that the essence of a deity could inhabit an image of that deity, or, in the case of mere mortals, part of that deceased human being’s soul could inhabit a statue inscribed for that particular person. These campaigns of vandalism were therefore intended to “deactivate an image’s strength,” as Bleiberg put it.

[...]

Such a practice seems especially outrageous to modern viewers, considering our appreciation of Egyptian artifacts as masterful works of fine art, but Bleiberg is quick to point out that “ancient Egyptians didn’t have a word for ‘art.’ They would have referred to these objects as ‘equipment.’”

Full article, generously illustrated:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-egyptian-statues-broken-noses
 
Yithian said:
Why Do so Many Egyptian Statues Have Broken Noses?
Click to expand...

Well, we know why the Sphinx has no nose.

uyYvY9O.jpg
 
Significant find and there could be more news to come.

Archaeologists have found more than 20 ancient wooden coffins near the Egyptian city of Luxor, the country's antiquities ministry says.

The coffins, whose brightly-coloured decorations are still visible, were uncovered at the Theban necropolis of Asasif, on the River Nile's west bank. They were in two layers, with the ones on top across those below. The ministry described the discovery as "one of the largest and most important" in recent years.

More details will be released at a news conference on Saturday.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50068575
 
ramonmercado said:
whose brightly-coloured decorations are still visible
Click to expand...

They appear to have dragged them into the sunlight! Is that a good idea?

It does seem a significant find, though Egypt's Antiquities Ministry has been blowing the trumpet a lot, over the years since the country lurched towards instability. Times must be very hard for all those kalesh-drivers and makers of tiny sphinxes. :(
 
Incident recorded on the Rosetta Stone appears to be confirmed.

SAN DIEGO — Excavated remains of a warrior slain around 2,200 years ago provide rare, physical evidence of an uprising that’s described on the Rosetta Stone, scientists say.

“Most likely, the warrior we found was a casualty of the ancient Egyptian revolt,” said archaeologist Robert Littman on November 22 at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research.

A team led by Littman, of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and anthropological archaeologist Jay Silverstein of the University of Tyumen in Russia unearthed the man’s skeleton at the ancient city of Thmouis. That city is now buried beneath a mound of earth and debris called Tell Timai in the Nile Delta.

The Rosetta Stone, carved in 196 B.C., is famous for bearing an official message in three scripts, including one in ancient Greek that enabled scholars to decipher another written in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. That message describes a military victory of Ptolemy V, a pharaoh from a powerful Greek dynasty, against a faction of a native Egyptian revolt known from written sources to have lasted from 206 B.C. to 186 B.C. Thmouis was located in a region where battles in that revolt occurred.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/archaeologists-tie-ancient-bones-egypt-warrior-revolt-rosetta-stone-chronicle
 
I went to the 'TUTANKHAMUN: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh' exhibition at the Saatchi gallery in London a few weeks ago. Granted its not a cheap visit, but if you're unlikely to be going to Egypt anytime soon I highly recommend you see it.
First the low points -
I'd heard the exhibition was a bit 'Hollywood' and my heart sank as I queued to enter the gallery as a chap was trying to get people to pose in front of a greenscreen for a photo - they insert an Egyptian background into the picture and its waiting for you to purchase as you enter the gift shop. (If you're currently in the market for overpriced egypto-trinkets, you'll love the gift shop).

Anyway, once you enter the exhibition things inprove. The exhibition itself is quite spacious, covering several rooms and floors. The texts describing the objects are a bit bare-bones but there are several video screens giving additional info.

The objects themselves are absolutely stunning (some snaps below).

Entry is with times tickets, I entered at 4:00pm, went round in about two hours. However the rooms are situated so you have to pass by rooms you've visited earlier. So I went round again and as this was at around 6:00pm and they close at 7:00pm I very nearly had the galleries to myself! Being alone with these treasures was very special, I'll admit, I did get a little emotional.

So if you go I recommend getting a late afternoon ticket and if you're lucky you might get a (nearly) private viewing as well.



thumbnail_IMG_20191111_170657714~2.jpgthumbnail_IMG_20191111_172125873.jpgthumbnail_IMG_20191111_165126585.jpgthumbnail_IMG_20191111_173410202.jpg
 
Acheron101 said:
I went to the 'TUTANKHAMUN: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh' exhibition at the Saatchi gallery in London a few weeks ago. Granted its not a cheap visit, but if you're unlikely to be going to Egypt anytime soon I highly recommend you see it.
First the low points -
I'd heard the exhibition was a bit 'Hollywood' and my heart sank as I queued to enter the gallery as a chap was trying to get people to pose in front of a greenscreen for a photo - they insert an Egyptian background into the picture and its waiting for you to purchase as you enter the gift shop. (If you're currently in the market for overpriced egypto-trinkets, you'll love the gift shop).

Anyway, once you enter the exhibition things inprove. The exhibition itself is quite spacious, covering several rooms and floors. The texts describing the objects are a bit bare-bones but there are several video screens giving additional info.

The objects themselves are absolutely stunning (some snaps below).

Entry is with times tickets, I entered at 4:00pm, went round in about two hours. However the rooms are situated so you have to pass by rooms you've visited earlier. So I went round again and as this was at around 6:00pm and they close at 7:00pm I very nearly had the galleries to myself! Being alone with these treasures was very special, I'll admit, I did get a little emotional.

So if you go I recommend getting a late afternoon ticket and if you're lucky you might get a (nearly) private viewing as well.



View attachment 21352View attachment 21353View attachment 21354View attachment 21355
Click to expand...
So they’re happy for you to take photos when there or were you being sneaky?
 
Ancient Egypt pharaoh Tutankhamun's 'suspicious' burial may point to assassination

Source: Daily Star online
Date: 28 November, 2019

EXCLUSIVE: TV historian Dan Snow claims it is impossible to conclusive rule out "foul play" in the death of the legendary Ancient Egypt king Tutankhamun.

Tutankhamun's "suspicious" burial may point to an assassination, TV historian Dan Snow has claimed.

The broadcaster headed a three-person team to investigate the legend of Tutankhamun, as part of three-part series Tutankhamun with Dan Snow which concludes tonight on Channel 5.

https://www-dailystar-co-uk.cdn.amp...gypt-pharaoh-tutankhamuns-suspicious-20972033


It's now available on the My5 app.
 
Archaeology shock: Scientists uncover Egyptian remains at site of mysterious ancient cult

Source: express.co.uk
Date: 5 December, 2019

A WEALTH of remains has been uncovered in a Cairo temple at the site of an ancient Egyptian cult.

Archaeologists have uncovered several ancient Egyptian relics in Cairo at the Heliopolis temple, the site of an ancient and mysterious sun cult. Among the treasures recovered, the remains of royal statues, a block depicting King Ramesses II, as well as a section of a wall made of mud bricks.

https://www-express-co-uk.cdn.amppr...eology-latest-north-africa-cairo-temples-cult
 
ANCIENT CAVE FILLED WITH 10,000-YEAR-OLD CAVE PAINTINGS ACCIDENTALLY DISCOVERED BY EGYPTOLOGISTS IN SINAI

Source: archaeology-world.com
Date: 28 January, 2020

Art Before the Pharaohs: 10,000 BC Paintings Found in Egypt

A newly discovered cave in Sinai, Egypt, is the first of its kind in the region to be found decorated from floor to ceiling with colorful ancient paintings – and it was all by chance. It is estimated that some of the images could be 12,000 years old. The find is providing insights into the prehistoric past of the region.

The inscriptions were found by a person who was exploring some caves in the deserts of South Sinai and who notified the relevant authorities.

https://www.archaeology-world.com/a...entally-discovered-by-egyptologists-in-sinai/
 
Sarcophagus dedicated to sky god among latest ancient Egypt trove

Source: phys.org
Date: 31 January, 2020

Egypt's antiquities ministry on Thursday unveiled the tombs of ancient high priests and a sarcophagus dedicated to the sky god Horus at an archaeological site in Minya governorate.

The mission found 16 tombs containing 20 sarcophagi, some engraved with hieroglyphics, at the Al-Ghoreifa site, about 300 kilometres (186 miles) south of Cairo.

The shared tombs were dedicated to high priests of the god Djehuty and senior officials, from the Late Period around 3,000 years ago, the ministry said.

They were from the 15th nome, an ancient Egyptian territorial division ruled over by a provincial governor.

One of the stone sarcophagi was dedicated to the god Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, and features a depiction of the goddess Nut spreading her wings.

The ministry also unveiled 10,000 blue and green ushabti (funerary figurines), 700 amulets—including some made of pure gold—bearing scarab shapes, and one bearing the figure of a winged cobra.

Painted limestone canopic jars, which the ancient Egyptians used to store the entrails of their mummified dead, were also unearthed.

https://phys-org.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/phys.org/news/2020-01-sarcophagus-dedicated-sky-god-latest.amp?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCKAE=#referrer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$s&ampshare=https://phys.org/news/2020-01-sarcophagus-dedicated-sky-god-latest.html
 
Mysterious Egyptian Artifact From the Bronze Age Found Off Israeli Coast

A veterinarian taking a morning swim found what turned out to be an anchor engraved with hieroglyphs on the seafloor. But who defaced the Egyptian goddess?

Source: haxsrret.com
Date: 2 February, 2020

A veterinarian taking a morning swim along Israel’s northern shores last year spotted something one doesn’t usually see at the bottom of the sea: hieroglyphs.

“I saw it, kept on swimming for a few meters, then realized what I had seen andMysterious Egyptian Artifact From the Bronze Age Found Off Israeli Coast.

A veterinarian taking a morning swim found what turned out to be an anchor engraved with hieroglyphs on the seafloor. But who defaced the Egyptian goddess?

A veterinarian taking a morning swim along Israel’s northern shores last year spotted something one doesn’t usually see at the bottom of the sea: hieroglyphs.

“I saw it, kept on swimming for a few meters, then realized what I had seen and dived down to touch it,” Rafi Bahalul tells. “It was like entering an Egyptian temple at the bottom of the Mediterranean.”

What Bahalul, a 55-year-old animal doctor and artist from the village of Ein Hod, had stumbled upon underwater turned out to be a 3,400-year-old Egyptian stone anchor, and a highly unusual one at that. The anchor bore beautiful decorations, featuring the image of an ancient goddess and hieroglyphic writing as well. It had evidently sunk into the sand, which preserved it for millennia until getting washed off by recent stormy weather.

The vet called in experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority to examine his find, which was made just off Atlit, a town near Haifa.

“This was a known site from which other finds have emerged, but we were not digging there at the time,” says Jacob Sharvit, head of the IAA’s maritime archaeology unit. “Sometimes the sea does our job for us, and fortunately a member of the public saw it and alerted us.” dived down to touch it,” Rafi Bahalul tells. “It was like entering an Egyptian temple at the bottom of the Mediterranean.”

What Bahalul, a 55-year-old animal doctor and artist from the village of Ein Hod, had stumbled upon underwater turned out to be a 3,400-year-old Egyptian stone anchor, and a highly unusual one at that. The anchor bore beautiful decorations, featuring the image of an ancient goddess and hieroglyphic writing as well. It had evidently sunk into the sand, which preserved it for millennia until getting washed off by recent stormy weather.

The vet called in experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority to examine his find, which was made just off Atlit, a town near Haifa.

“This was a known site from which other finds have emerged, but we were not digging there at the time,” says Jacob Sharvit, head of the IAA’s maritime archaeology unit. “Sometimes the sea does our job for us, and fortunately a member of the public saw it and alerted us.”

https://www.haaretz.com/amp/archaeo...an-artifact-found-off-israeli-coast-1.8477804
 
Lots of new coffins discovered.

Archaeologists have unearthed dozens of ancient coffins in a vast necropolis south of Cairo, Egypt’s tourism and antiquities minister said.

At least 59 sealed sarcophagi, with mummies inside most of them, were found that had been buried in three wells more than 2,600 years ago, Khalid el-Anany said.

“I consider this is the beginning of a big discovery,” Mr el-Anany said, adding that there are an unknown number of coffins that have yet to be unearthed in the same area.

He spoke at a news conference at the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara where the coffins were found. ...

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40059059.html
 
Egypt Has Unearthed 160 Ancient Coffins Since September. Some Were Sealed With a 'Curse'

Source: sciencealert.com
Date: 29 November, 2020

Thousands of years ago, ancient Egyptians were laid to rest in Saqqara, an ancient city of the dead. Priests placed them inside wooden boxes adorned with hieroglyphics, and the sarcophagi were sealed and buried in tombs scattered above and below the sand.

Archaeologists have discovered 160 human coffins at the site over the last three months, which they plan to disperse to museums around Egypt. They even opened a few to examine the mummies inside.

According to experts, some of the Saqqara tombs have colourful curses inscribed on the walls to warn away intruders.

Salima Ikram, an Egyptologist at the American University in Cairo, analysed some animal mummies discovered at Saqqara last year.

She told Business Insider in an email that the inscribed warnings in human tombs mostly serve to deter trespassers intent on desecrating the mummies' resting places.

"They generally state that if the tomb is entered by an impure person (probably in body and/or intention), then may the council of the gods punish the trespasser, and wring his or her neck like that of a goose," she wrote.

The specific Saqqara curse Ikram quoted was found in the tomb of the vizier Ankhmahor, a pharaoh's official who lived more than 4,000 years ago, during Egypt's 6th dynasty. He was buried in a mastaba: an above-ground tomb shaped like a rectangular box. Similar mastabas were built all over Egypt, including near the Giza pyramids.

The curse meant to protect Ankhmahor, roughly translated, warns that anything a trespasser "might do against this, my tomb, the same shall be done to your property." It also warns of the vizier's knowledge of secret spells and magic, and threatens to fill "impure" intruders with a "fear of seeing ghosts."

[...]

https://www.sciencealert.com/archae...arcophagi-from-an-ancient-egyptian-necropolis
 
`Mummies found in Egypt, -Archaeologists astounded.`

(I am in a snide mood today)
 
More findings at Saqqara.

Details of an ancient funerary temple in a vast necropolis south of Cairo have been revealed by Egypt’s former antiquities minister and noted archaeologist Zahi Hawass.

Speaking at the Saqqara necropolis, Mr Hawass said archaeologists had unearthed the temple of Queen Neit, wife of King Teti, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty that ruled Egypt between 2323 BC and 2150 BC.

Archaeologists had also found a four metre-long (13ft) papyrus including texts of the Book of the Dead, a collection of spells aimed at directing the dead through the underworld in ancient Egypt, he said.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40208654.html
 
Rubyait said:
Pharaonic tomb find stuns Egypt
Click to expand...
This appeared on Channel 5 show around the time of this first post with that hotty of archeology Dr. Kathleen Martinez. Also Channel 5 went back in 2020 with an update episode Kathleen Martinez and Podzorski.
 
Ancient city unlost.

The discovery of a 3,000-year-old city that was lost to the sands of Egypt has been hailed as one of the most important archaeological finds since Tutankhamun's tomb.

Famed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass announced the discovery of the "lost golden city" near Luxor on Thursday. He said the find was the largest ancient city, known as Aten, ever uncovered in Egypt. It was unearthed within weeks of the excavation starting in September 2020.

The city dates to the reign of Amenhotep III, one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, who ruled from 1391 to 1353 BC. The city continued to be used by pharaohs Ay and Tutankhamun, whose nearly intact tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56686448
 
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