A British archaeologist has claimed that an ancient Egyptian burial
ground contains relics that could outshine even those found in
Tutankhamun's tomb.
John Romer, 72, said he believes cliffs on Luxor's west bank
contain the burial site of three priest kings: Herihor, Piankh and
Menkheperre.
He claims to have evidence that burial treasures stripped from
the nearby Valley of the Kings were also placed here for safekeeping.........................
Egyptian site may contain treasure that rivals Tutankhamun's | Business Standard
Sunday, 30 March 2014
Saturday, 29 March 2014
Restoration of the Ramasseum - Part 2 comments and links
My blog gets published to Facebook and there has been a good number of comments about the previous post regarding the restoration at the Ramasseum, a couple of which you will find interesting as they point to more information.
One is the blog of the restoration team, this is a link to an English post but most of the blog is in French http://www.mafto.fr/2011/05/the-recent-excavation-and-restoration-works-at-the-ramesseum/
The second is a link to a virtual reconstruction of the colossus http://www.insightdigital.org/colossus.htm
Comments have range a lot, 2/3 appear to be against more reconstruction and are concerned about destroying the ambiance of the site, one has raised the issue of protection against the rising water table.
Francois Tonic has also shared this link http://pharaon-magazine.com/actualites/actualit/ramesseum-mission-arch-ologique-2013#.UzZwqdpf5oQ.facebook
One is the blog of the restoration team, this is a link to an English post but most of the blog is in French http://www.mafto.fr/2011/05/the-recent-excavation-and-restoration-works-at-the-ramesseum/
The second is a link to a virtual reconstruction of the colossus http://www.insightdigital.org/colossus.htm
Comments have range a lot, 2/3 appear to be against more reconstruction and are concerned about destroying the ambiance of the site, one has raised the issue of protection against the rising water table.
Francois Tonic has also shared this link http://pharaon-magazine.com/actualites/actualit/ramesseum-mission-arch-ologique-2013#.UzZwqdpf5oQ.facebook
Friday, 28 March 2014
Restoration at the Ramasseum good or bad?
These two photos were taken 3 years apart, as you can see the feet of the statue have been moved from the ground to the pedestal and the area generally tidied up. I am really not sure what I feel about this, it seems to be changing the look of the place and making it new and fresh, a restoration too far?
This was taken 2011, you can just see me at the top of the ramp which gives you an idea of scale. The photo is taken from the top of the first pylon by Colette Mason.
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This photo was taken this week by Linda Verhulst same location.
After asking the question on Facebook I was reassured by Francoise Tonic that Christian le Blanc has no plans to restore the colossus itself, I hope that is true, that would be a step too far for me.
This was taken 2011, you can just see me at the top of the ramp which gives you an idea of scale. The photo is taken from the top of the first pylon by Colette Mason.
.JPG)
This photo was taken this week by Linda Verhulst same location.
After asking the question on Facebook I was reassured by Francoise Tonic that Christian le Blanc has no plans to restore the colossus itself, I hope that is true, that would be a step too far for me.
Gold treasure found in Luxor - probably a hoard
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/97597/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Byzantineera-gold-coins-found-in-Luxor.aspx
A collection of 29 golden coins from the Byzantine era has been found on Wednesday at Draa Abul Naga on Luxor's west bank.............
A collection of 29 golden coins from the Byzantine era has been found on Wednesday at Draa Abul Naga on Luxor's west bank.............
Sunday, 23 March 2014
Press Release from Dr Hourig
It wasn't just the third colossos that got revealed today but also a red granite statue, an alabaster colossus, the northern striding colossus and the third colossus!!!! I have scanned the entire press release as I know my readers will want every bit of information.
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Drinking from the river of life Pashedu v Irynefer
Ibeca Francisco Jose Neves just put some photos of Iryner TT290 on his Facebook page and it struck me that the painter of that tomb had taken the same decision I had and I wonder if it is for the same reason.
The tomb of Pashedu has a scene of the deceased drinking which shows a date palm in front.of the deceased.
Now when we decorated the flats we had this huge wall to decorate and needed a picture. As it was above the swimming pool, next to a palm tree I chose a picture from the British Museum - Ancient Egyptian Designs, not wanting the standard pictures on buildings. I thought it was Pashedu and gave the painter a colour picture of that scene from another book. As the painter was doing it he queried the position of the palm tree. One picture showed palm tree in front and the other palm tree behind. We decided it was very boring to cover up the man and although it made the perspective wrong we would put the man in front as he was the most important part of the picture.
It was only after it was finished I realised how wrong it looked but hey ho left it like that.
Now when this picture from Irynefer was put on Facebook I realised they (they being Irynefer/his painter) had chosen palm tree behind, even though the perspective is wrong, they preferred man in front.. I suspect they saw Pashedu's original and rejected it. Which one do you think looks better?
Edited Dr Ken Griffin has told me that "It seems Pashedu should be dated earlier, based on Davies and Kitchen. Kitchen seems to put him in the reign of Seti I" so it is possible that Irynefer saw his version but preferred man in front.....just like me
The tomb of Pashedu has a scene of the deceased drinking which shows a date palm in front.of the deceased.
Now when we decorated the flats we had this huge wall to decorate and needed a picture. As it was above the swimming pool, next to a palm tree I chose a picture from the British Museum - Ancient Egyptian Designs, not wanting the standard pictures on buildings. I thought it was Pashedu and gave the painter a colour picture of that scene from another book. As the painter was doing it he queried the position of the palm tree. One picture showed palm tree in front and the other palm tree behind. We decided it was very boring to cover up the man and although it made the perspective wrong we would put the man in front as he was the most important part of the picture.
It was only after it was finished I realised how wrong it looked but hey ho left it like that.
Now when this picture from Irynefer was put on Facebook I realised they (they being Irynefer/his painter) had chosen palm tree behind, even though the perspective is wrong, they preferred man in front.. I suspect they saw Pashedu's original and rejected it. Which one do you think looks better?
Edited Dr Ken Griffin has told me that "It seems Pashedu should be dated earlier, based on Davies and Kitchen. Kitchen seems to put him in the reign of Seti I" so it is possible that Irynefer saw his version but preferred man in front.....just like me
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
The Gods Road between Karnak and Luxor Temples - Mansour Boraik
I just got sent a complimentary copy of this book from Mansour although it is mainly in Arabic it does have an English abstract. It describes the excavation of the Sphinx Road and the discoveries made there It is copious illustrated with some excellent photos. A great addition to my library.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
History for March 18 - On-This-Day.com
History for March 18 - On-This-Day.com: 1989 - A 4,400-year-old mummy was discovered at the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.
Thursday, 13 March 2014
Weather Extremes : Record March Heat in Germany/Heavy Rain in Egyptian Desert | Weather Underground
Weather Extremes : Record March Heat in Germany/Heavy Rain in Egyptian Desert | Weather Underground: Extremely rare heavy rainfall has soaked portions of the Upper Egypt Nile River region, one of the driest places on earth. Luxor (home of the world-famous Valley of the Kings) picked up an astonishing 30 mm (1.18”) of rain on March 9-10, of which 21 mm (0.83”) fell in just the course of a few hours. The annual average rainfall for Luxor is just .04” (a little over 1 mm).
Climate data for Luxor. Note the paltry average annual rainfall of .04”, just over 1 mm. Only portions of Chile’s Atacama Desert are drier.
Aswan received 15 mm (0.59”) also on March 9-10 (Aswan’s average annual precipitation is 1.4 mm/.06”). It was the first measurable rainfall in Aswan since October 2012. The rainfall in Aswan and Luxor was accompanied by thunder and hail according to news reports. The last major flood disaster in the region occurred in early November 1994 when torrential rains in Luxor caused serious flooding and in Durunka (about 100 miles down river from Luxor) a flood caused a bridge to collapse on two fuel storage tanks which then exploded. The fiery flood that resulted killed over 500 in the city of 20,000.
Climate data for Luxor. Note the paltry average annual rainfall of .04”, just over 1 mm. Only portions of Chile’s Atacama Desert are drier.
Aswan received 15 mm (0.59”) also on March 9-10 (Aswan’s average annual precipitation is 1.4 mm/.06”). It was the first measurable rainfall in Aswan since October 2012. The rainfall in Aswan and Luxor was accompanied by thunder and hail according to news reports. The last major flood disaster in the region occurred in early November 1994 when torrential rains in Luxor caused serious flooding and in Durunka (about 100 miles down river from Luxor) a flood caused a bridge to collapse on two fuel storage tanks which then exploded. The fiery flood that resulted killed over 500 in the city of 20,000.
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Monday, 10 March 2014
A lecture on Medamud at Bolton
A few years ago I arranged a trip to Medamud for a gentlemen who was doing research, Ibrahim Soliman kindly gave us permission. Today I got an email from him, BTW how exciting to have helped in his research. He is now in a position to present his findings
Dear Jane
We visited Medamud together, you picked me up at the Sheraton. After all this time my research on the site is nearing conclusion, I am presenting some of my findings in a lecture to Bolton Archaeology & Egyptology Society next Tuesday 18th March. I am pleased to tell you that I have uncovered secrets from the 1st Intermediate period and early Middle Kingdom that will shed new light on architecture and geometry at that time. I am only giving one lecture because I am still a long way from publishing anything but I feel that my discoveries should be shared so that if I am hit with the proverbial bus they will not be lost. After all it has taken 4,000 years for them to be uncovered. (I'm talking provable facts not mere theory or conjecture). If you have any friends in the Manchester area that could be interested please let them know - I assure you they will not be disappointed.7.30pm Tuesday 18th March 2014 (coffee/tea at 7.15)Revelations of Secrets Forgotten for 4000 years The Friends Meeting House, Silverwell Street Bolton BL1 1PPNon-members £5.00 Members £1.00
Sunday, 9 March 2014
Rain in Luxor
This morning in Luxor everything is vibrant, shiny and
green. The last two days have seen thunderstorms, hail and rain. More rain is
forecast today. Coming from the UK where rain is part of daily life to see the
reactions of the Luxorians to rain is so funny. They get all excited, don’t
take in stuff out of it and the electrics go as many are outside. However those
in the know would have been out on the hillside search to see what had been
washed down or revealed.
One hopes that all the monuments are safe but even more
that nobody has been hurt or even died.
History for March 9 - On-This-Day.com
History for March 9 - On-This-Day.com: 1905 - In Egypt, U.S. archeologist Davies discovered the royal tombs of Tua and Yua.
Friday, 7 March 2014
Egypt Now! - Live Streams - see Karnak live!!!
They had been talking about this for a while and finally it is live. Three streams from Sharm and one from Karnak temple Luxor. The camera is on the top of the first pylon looking into the first court and the second pylon. It is really fantastic to see. A real fix for everyone that misses Luxor and Egypt.
Egypt Now! - Live Streams
Egypt Now! - Live Streams
Thursday, 6 March 2014
The third colosus
Got sent this picture of the third colossus at the temple of Amenhotep III, fantastic.
Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Another XVIII dynasty tomb found in Luxor
This press report is in Arabic but it does have pictures.
اليوم السابع | بالصور.. اكتشاف مقبرة أثرية ترجع للأسرة الثامنة عشر بالأقصر
"Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of Antiquities announced today a
new discovery in Luxor. The discovery is a tomb of an high official
called "Maai" from the 18th Dynasty, it was discovered by the
Spanish-Italian mission working in Sheikh Abd Qurna on the
West Bank. The team found a funerary cone made of pottery shows
the titles of the deceased including, The Secret Keeper of the God,
the Supervisor of the cattle, Overseer of the fields, Overseer of the
King's horses, the Mayor, Distinguished of Osiris and the Prince.
The tomb was discovered during the mission's work in tomb TT109
where they made a hole in one of the walls which led to get to the
newly discovered tomb. The team is still working on removing the
debris from the tomb. The inscriptions and scenes found so far are
important in terms of showing the details of the daily life of the
deceased beside his relation with his family. It also shows the
luxury were available to high officials at that time. Abd El Hakim
Karar, director of Upper Egypt Antiquities said " The scenes in
the tomb include one of "Maai" and his wife who called "Nefert"
as well as scenes of banquets, hunting and making offerings.
Dr. Mila Alvarez Sosa, the head of the mission said " I am happy
with this discovery especially it is her first season of the concession
in this site." She added that there were different expertise cooperated
in the excavation between the Egyptian and Foreign archaeologists
of different specialties."
اليوم السابع | بالصور.. اكتشاف مقبرة أثرية ترجع للأسرة الثامنة عشر بالأقصر
"Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of Antiquities announced today a
new discovery in Luxor. The discovery is a tomb of an high official
called "Maai" from the 18th Dynasty, it was discovered by the
Spanish-Italian mission working in Sheikh Abd Qurna on the
West Bank. The team found a funerary cone made of pottery shows
the titles of the deceased including, The Secret Keeper of the God,
the Supervisor of the cattle, Overseer of the fields, Overseer of the
King's horses, the Mayor, Distinguished of Osiris and the Prince.
The tomb was discovered during the mission's work in tomb TT109
where they made a hole in one of the walls which led to get to the
newly discovered tomb. The team is still working on removing the
debris from the tomb. The inscriptions and scenes found so far are
important in terms of showing the details of the daily life of the
deceased beside his relation with his family. It also shows the
luxury were available to high officials at that time. Abd El Hakim
Karar, director of Upper Egypt Antiquities said " The scenes in
the tomb include one of "Maai" and his wife who called "Nefert"
as well as scenes of banquets, hunting and making offerings.
Dr. Mila Alvarez Sosa, the head of the mission said " I am happy
with this discovery especially it is her first season of the concession
in this site." She added that there were different expertise cooperated
in the excavation between the Egyptian and Foreign archaeologists
of different specialties."
Saturday, 1 March 2014
Recently Opened Tombs - TT41 Amenemopet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
TT41 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: The Theban Tomb TT41 is located in Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It is the burial place of the Ancient Egyptian Amenemopet called Ipy, whose title was Chief Steward of Amun in the Southern City. He dates to the time of Ramesses I, Sethi I and Ramesses II from the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt[1]
New tombs to visit - Amenemope ; Amenemopet ; TT 148 ; TT148 ; Thebes, Luxor ; Dra abu el-Naga ; tomb Egypt (1 of 6)
I have some previous lecture notes http://luxor-news.blogspot.com/2010/09/old-mummification-museum-lecture-tt148.html
Amenemope ; Amenemopet ; TT 148 ; TT148 ; Thebes, Luxor ; Dra abu el-Naga ; tomb Egypt (1 of 6): The publication (in English) of tomb TT148, of Amenemope, under the direction of the Prof. Boyo G. OCKINGA, was created under auspices of the Australian Centre for Egyptology, by the Macquarie university and is published by Aris and Phillips Ltd. It represents N°27 (Volume 1) of a set of publications.
The publication includes 149 pages, to which are added 109 plates of drawings and photos, of which 55 are in colour.
This presentation is based on this work, with the authorisation of Prof. Ockinga, whom we thank even more in that he also provided most of the photographs which illustrate these pages.
People who would wish in to know more about this monument can order the complete publication from several specialist bookstores, such as Antinoë, Cybèle or Archeobooks (note: readers of OsirisNet benefit on this site to a discount of 10% on all works; see website for details .............).
You will thus help the Australian egyptological research.