Egypt Pharaohs

Gods

2009-08-31T17:20:00.000-07:00

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Religion in ancient Egypt was an important part of everyday life. Priests attended daily to the needs of the gods, (who were thought to be manifested in their cult images), made offerings to them, and thus kept the forces of chaos at bay. Distinctions were sometimes made between the important state gods, such as Horus or Isis, and the local and "household" deities, such as Bes and Tawaret. However in practice, the only major difference between these gods and deities seems to be the lack of cult places and temples dedicated to the local and household deities. State religion tended to focus on the concerns of the state and kingship, whereas local and household deities seem to have been popular with individual ordinary Egyptians.

Most Egyptian gods and goddesses began their "lives" simply as local deities, with a specific town or village as being their cult centre.

Throughout the vast and complex history of Egypt, the dominant beliefs of the ancient Egyptians merged and mutated as leaders of different groups in separate areas of the country would gain power. This process continued even after the end of the ancient Egyptian civilisation as we know it today. During the New Kingdom for instance, the separate deities of Re and Amun commonly "merged" (typically referred to as syncretism) to became known as Amun-Re. Even when taking part in such a syncretic relationship, the original god did not necessarily become completely "absorbed" into the combined deity.

Here we've compiled a list of some of the ancient Egyptian primary deities:

	Amun/Amun Re Depicted as a man, and often shown seated on a throne, wearing a plain deep circlet headdress from which rise two tall straight plumes. One of the most important gods in the Egyptian pantheon, his name means "the hidden one". He is first mentioned in the 5th Dynasty pyramid texts and was originally thought to be simply a veneration of the concept of air and wind, one of the four fundamental concepts believed to have composed the primordial universe in the Ogdoad cosmogeny. Gradually as a god of air, he came to be associated with the breath of life which created the ba, and as a creator god was titled "father of the gods". The temple of Amun at Karnak is the best surviving religious complex of the New Kingdom. In the jubilee chapel of Senusret I (1965-1920 BC) in Karnak, Amun is described as "the king of the gods" and by the time of the Ptolemies, he was regarded as the Egyptian equivalent of Zeus.
	Anubis Canine god of the dead, closely associated with embalming and mummification. Originally the god of the dead before Osiris became associated with the position. Anubis then became known as one of the sons of Osiris and the "conductor of souls" of the underworld. In the Old Kingdom pyramid texts of Unas, his role was already very clear - he was associated with the Eye of Horus and he was already thought to be the guide of the dead in the afterlife. Usually represented in the form of a seated black jackal-like dog or man with a black dog's head. It is still not entirely clear whether the dog in question - often identified by the Egyptian word "sab" was indeed a jackal. The deep black colour of Anubis's head (or body when shown in complete animal form) is not reflective of his actual colour but is instead symbolic of his position as a funerary deity. According to myth, the jackal-god was said to have wrapped the body of the deceased Osiris, thus establishing his particular association with the mummification process. The priest in charge of the funeral and embalming rights was known as the "hery seshta" (overseer of the mysteries), who took the part of the jackal god Anubis.
	Aten (sun disc) The 18th dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep IV took the name Akhenaten, built a new capital in Middle Egypt and declared that just a single deity should be worshipped - the sun disk Aten. Having no human form, the Aten was depicted with arm-like rays that ended in hands, bestowing life and peace to all. Akhenaten was a philosopher and a thinker. His father Amenhotep III had recognised the growing power of the priesthood of Amun and had sought to curb it - Akhenaten however took matters a lot further by introducing the new "monothesitic" cult of worship to the sun-disc Aten. This was not a new idea, as a minor aspect of the sun god Ra-Horakty, the Aten had been somewhat venerated in the Old Kingdom. Art took on a new distinctive style and the names of other deities were removed from temple walls in an attempt to reinforce the idea of the Aten as a single supreme deity. After the king's death the cult collapsed, and the capital Akhetaten was abandoned. Religious and political life relocated back to Thebes, and the cult of Amun was re-instated by the rule of Tutankhamun.
	Atum Creator god and solar deity of Heliopolis, where he was gradually combined with the sun god Re to become Re-Atum. In the creation myths, Atum is the primal creator. He arose on a mound out of Nun, the waters of chaos, and created the first gods, Shu and Tefnut from his spittle. The Memphite creation myth puts him as the first creation of Ptah, who simply said his name and he came into being. Atum was revered not only as the father of the gods but also as the father of the pharaohs. The title "Son of Atum" was included in the many titles of pharaoh. As such, he was regarded as a protective deity, particularly associated with the rituals of kingship. Atum lifted the dead king from his pyramid to the heavens in order to transform him into a star-god, and in later times he protected the deceased during their journey through the underworld.
	Bast/Bastet Cat goddess and local deity of the town of Bubastis, whose name means "she of the bast" (ointment jar). In her earliest known form, carved on stone vessels of the 2nd Dynasty ruler Hetepsekhemwy (c.2890 BC) at Saqqara, Bastet was represented as a woman with the head of a lioness or desert cat, frequently holding both the ankh sign and a sceptre. By the 1st Millennium BC she was widely portrayed as a cat-headed woman often carrying a sistrum (rattle) and accompanied by kittens. To those who were in her favour, she could bestow great blessings, but her wrath was legendary and she was sometimes listed as one of Re's avenging deities who punish the sinful and the enemies of Egypt. It was only in the New Kingdom that she was seen to become a more benevolent deity, adopting the head of a "domestic" cat. Closely connected (and often confused) with Sekhmet, although distinctly separate deities, Bast was a goddess from Lower Egypt whilst Sekhmet came from Upper Egypt.
	Bes A dwarf demi-god, Bes evolved to became a protector against evil spirits and misfortune. He was depicted in a sometimes androgyne way, with a full face, a bearded large head, bow legs and sometimes even a bushy tail. He would scare off any harmful or destructive influences by making a lot of noise with various musical instruments such as the sistrum, and armaments such as swords and knives. He was closely associated with Tawaret as a midwife, and as protector of the royal house, he became a very popular household deity.
	Geb Geb was thought to represent the earth, he is often seen reclining beneath the sky goddess Nut. Geb was called "the great cackler" because it was thought his laughter could bring on earthquakes. He was often depicted lying on the ground under the sky goddess Nut, or with a goose over his head. It was in this form that he was said to have laid the egg from which the sun was hatched. A fundamental deity of the divine ennead, Geb was the brother of Nut the sky goddess, and together they produced Osiris, Isis, Nepthys and Seth. The royal throne of Egypt was known as the "throne of Geb" in honour of his great reign.
	Hathor Important goddess generally worshiped in three forms: as a woman with the ears of a cow, or simply as a cow, or as a woman wearing a head-dress with wig, horns and sun disc. Hathor was an old protector of music, dancing and love, and being associated with the cow was considered to be the wife of the sacred bull Buchis of Armant, personifying fertility and motherhood. As such her popularity was unbroken during the whole Egyptian history. She and Horus protected the royal couple and she attended at the arrival of the dead king into the next world. Her associations and cult centres were among the most numerous and diverse of any of the Egyptian deities. The literal meaning of her name was "House of Horus" and since the pharaoh identified with Horus, Hathor was correspondingly regarded as the divine mother of each reigning king, and one of the royal titles was "Son of Hathor".
	Hapy/Hapi Androgynous (asexual) god of the Inundation (yearly flood), usually represented as a pot bellied man with pendulous breasts and a head-dress formed of aquatic plants. He was sometimes coloured blue, black or green to represent the mud from the Nile, and shown offering fruits and flowers and carrying the lotus and the papyrus, the symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt respectively. These attributes were designed to represent fertility and the abundance of produce resulting from the Nile silt left by the receding waters of the river after the Inundation. Common epithets for Hapy include "master of the river bringing vegetation" and "lord of the fishes and birds of the marshes". Although the flood was the source of the country's wealth and prosperity, no temples or sanctuaries were built specifically in honour of Hapy. Note: not to be confused with the baboon Hapy, one of the "four sons of Horus" who protected the deceased's entrails that were stored in canopic jars after mummification.
	Horus Falcon headed god, usually depicted as a man with the head of a falcon. Many falcon gods existed throughout Egypt, though over time a good number of these were assimilated into Horus, the most important. Horus was an early sky and solar god from Upper Egypt, worshipped before the unification, and one of the oldest gods in the Egyptian mythology. As the god of the sky and the embodiment of divine kingship, Horus was the protector of the reigning pharaoh. According to one of the most common myths, Horus was the child of the goddess Isis and the god Osiris. It was Horus who performed the rite of the "opening of the mouth" on his dead father, thus legitimising his succession to the throne as an earthly ruler. In a similar vein, priests (or eldest sons) wearing distinctive panther skins would ritually purify the path of the deceased's coffin.
	Isis She was the daughter of Nut and Geb, the sister and wife to Osiris, and the mother of Horus. Best known mythologically as the devoted wife of Osiris, whose body she sought, after his murder by his brother Seth. She is said to have made the first mummy from the dismembered limbs of Osiris, using her wings to breathe life into him and magically conceiving her son, Horus in the process. Her most famous temple is Philae near Aswan, but she was also widely worshipped universally, with cult centres at Dendera and Byblos in Syria-Palestine. As the major goddess of the Egyptian pantheon, Isis had many of the same attributes of other mother-goddesses, and was revered as the great protector, prayed to for guidance, and beseeched for peace. In addition to her temples that were found throughout Egypt, many houses also had shrines to her devotion, and her worship was even taken up by the Greeks and the Romans.
	Khepri The creator sun-god at dawn is represented by a scarab (dung) beetle pushing the sun disc upwards from the underworld. The Ancient Egyptians would have noticed the dung beetles busily rolling their balls of dirt across the ground. The beetles would lay their eggs in the dung balls, and emerge from inside them, apparently spontaneously, so it was quite logical for the Egyptians to use the beetles to symbolise Khepri "he who is coming into being", self created of his own accord without undergoing the natural cycle of reproduction. Khepri, in the form of a gigantic scarab, would roll the sun like a huge ball across the sky, then roll it down through the underworld to the eastern horizon. Each morning Khepri would renew the sun so that it could give life to all the world. As a deity closely associated with resurrection, Khepri was believed to be swallowed by Nut the sky goddess every evening, where he would pass through her body to be reborn in the morning.
	Khnum The ram headed god, whose strong association with the Nile inundation and the fertile soil contributed to his role as a potter-god. The creative symbolism of moulding pottery, the potency of the ram, and the fact that the Ancient Egyptian word for ram was "ba" meant that Khnum was also one of the principle creator gods. The Egyptians believed that the ram was a very potent animal, and thus Khnum was linked to fertility. He was also thought to help Re travel through the underworld each night on his solar barque. Sometimes Khnum was shown modelling the "ka" on his potter's wheel whilst forming the bodies of humanity. Khnum's principal cult centre was on the island of Elephantine at Aswan, where he was possibly worshipped from the Early Dynastic Period.
	Ma'at Goddess personifying truth, justice and the harmony of the universe. Usually portrayed as a seated woman with an ostrich feather, or sometimes simply as a feather, Ma'at represented the divine order of the universe as originally brought into being at the moment of creation. Ma'at's power was believed to regulate the seasons, movement of the stars and the relations between mankind and the gods. Ma'at was an integral part of the "weighing of the heart" ceremony where the heart of the deceased sits in one of the trays on the balance scales. The heart is weighed against either Ma'at or her feather, and if the scales balance then the deceased may enter the "field of reeds" and enjoy the afterlife.
	Nephthys Goddess of the Heliopolitan "Ennead". Her distinctive head-dress is in fact the heiroglyphs of her name, "neb-hut" meaning "Lady of the Mansion". She was usually said to have been the sister of Isis and Osiris and wife of the "evil" god Seth. Despite being the wife of Seth, she was seen as a loyal sister to Isis and Osiris, helping Isis to gather Osiris' scattered limbs in an attempt to bring him back to life. As such, Nephthys became associated with the dead, becoming a friend of the deceased. She offered guidance to the newly dead, and comfort to the family of the one who died, and in later tradition was regarded as the mother of Anubis from a union with Osiris. She was often depicted as a winged goddess, and sometimes in the form of a bird, making her a solar deity, as well as a deity of the dead. Nephthys was worshipped widely throughout all of Egypt, though unlike her sister Isis, she had no formal temple or cult.
	Nut Sky-goddess, (shown side-on) whose body symbolised the sky and heavens. Nut was the daughter of Shu and Tefnut, and united with her brother Geb, gave birth to Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. Nut's body was thought to be arched over the earth, with her arms and legs the pillars of the sky, and her hands and feet thought to touch the four cardinal points at the horizon. Every evening she swallowed the setting sun, Re, and every morning gave birth to him again. Depictions of this act are often found on the ceilings of temples, as well as in the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, where they are accompanied on the walls by the nightly journey of the sun through the underworld.
	Osiris One of the most important deities of Ancient Egypt, whose principle association is with death, resurrection and fertility. He is usually depicted as a mummy whose hands project through his wrappings to hold the royal insignia of the crook and flail. Osiris was once an earthly ruler who governed well, and so aroused the jealousy of his evil brother Seth. Seth secretly discovered the measurements of his brother's body, had a magnificent casket made to fit Osiris, and organised a banquet to which he invited 72 accomplices as well as Osiris. During the feast he declared that whoever fitted the casket exactly should have it as a gift. Osiris stepped into the coffin and the lid was sealed with molten lead. Cast into the Nile it drifted to Byblos and caught in a cedar tree. Seth stumbled on the casket and angrily dismembered the body of his brother. Isis then searched for the pieces of her husband, and reassembled the body into a mummy, magically conceived Horus, who was said to have avenged his father's death in a series of contests with his uncle. According to the myths, these struggles lasted for eighty years until Osiris was finally declared ruler of the underworld and Horus confirmed as ruler of the living, leaving Seth to rule the deserts as the god of chaos and evil.
	Ptah Creator god of Memphis, usually portrayed as a mummy with a tassle and a distinctive skull cap. His hands emerge from wrappings in front of his body holding a staff that combines the "djed" pillar, the "ankh" sign and "was" sceptre. From the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) onwards, Ptah was represented with a straight beard. It was Ptah who was credited with having devised the "opening of the mouth" ceremony. Although associated predominantly with Memphis, Ptah is a universal deity found on all major sites in Egypt and Nubia.
	Re The old solar-god from Heliopolis and a major deity all over Egypt. He would travel across the sky every day in his solar barque with his life-giving sun disc. He stood for life, rebirth and was usually represented as a hawk-headed human figure wearing a sun-disc headdress. Re exerted such a strong influence on the rest of the Egyptian pantheon that virtually all of the most significant deities were eventually subsumed into the sun-cult by a process of "syncretism", thus Amun became Amun-Re and Horus became Re-Horakhty. It was during the reign of Akhenaten (1352-1336 BC) that the concept of the sun god as a universal deity into whom all other deities could be absorbed took place. The "aten" (disc) is represented as a sun-disc from which arms stretch down, offering life and power to the royal family and is perhaps most famously portrayed upon the art and treasures of Tutankhamun.
	Sekhmet The popular goddess of war, usually depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness and sometimes with the sun disc and/or a cobra on top of her head. She was the sister and wife of Ptah, and was created by the fire of Re's eye as a weapon of vengeance to destroy mankind for their wicked ways and disobedience to him. In order to placate Sekhmet's wrath, her priesthood performed a ritual before a different statue of her on each day of the year. It was said that her priests protected her statues by coating them with anthrax, and so she became associated as a bringer of disease, and placating her was thought to cure such ills. The name "Sekhmet" literally became synonymous with doctors and surgeons during the Middle Kingdom.
	Seshat The goddess of writing and measurement, usually represented as a woman in a long panther skin dress and wearing a head-dress with a distinctive seven pointed star underneath a bow. Reliefs from the Old and Middle Kingdoms show her recording quantities of foreign captives and booty. As the divine measurer and scribe, she was believed to assist pharaoh in both these practices. Seshat recorded, by notching her palm, the time allotted to him by the gods for his stay on earth, and during the New Kingdom, she was involved in pharaoh's jubilee "sed" festival. She also assisted the pharaoh in the "Pedj Shes" ritual (literally "stretching the cord" which was a ceremony performed to work out the correct alignment for building temples), as well as recording the speeches made during crowning.
	Seth/Set Originally a local god of storms from upper Egypt, he evolved into the god of chaos and confusion, generally depicted with a human body and the head of a mysterious unknown animal, probably a mythical beast. Seth was the son of the sky-goddess Nut and the brother of Osiris, Isis and Nephthys (who was also his wife). According to the legend, Seth murdered his brother Osiris and was involved in a long and violent contest with his nephew Horus who sought to avenge the death of his father. Laying outside the "ordered universe" governed by Horus (ruler of the living) and Osiris (ruler of the underworld), Seth served as the necessary complement to divine order. In the New Kingdom he gained prominence when several rulers took his name - Seti.
	Sobek Crocodile god, either portrayed as a crocodile (often on a shrine or altar) or as a man with a crocodile's head, often wearing an elaborate head-dress consisting of the horned sun-disc and upright feathers. Originally a demon, as crocodiles were such feared creatures in a nation so dependent on the Nile, his worship began as an attempt to pacify the crocodile and so reduce the danger it posed. Gradually Sobek came to symbolise the produce of the Nile, and the fertility that it brought to the land, and so his status quickly became more ambiguous. Sometimes the ferocity of a crocodile was seen in a positive light, and such, Sobek was considered a patron of the army, representing strength and power. During the 12th and 13th Dynasties, the cult of Sobek was given particular prominence, as the names of such rulers as Sobekhotep and Sobekneferu indicate.
	Tawaret Household deity in the form of a female hippopotamus who was particularly associated with the protection of women in childbirth. Since childbirth was a particularly dangerous time in the lives of ordinary people, it is not surprising that Tawaret was one of the most popular household deities from the Old Kingdom onwards. She was often shown holding the "sa" hieroglyph of protection or the ankh hieroglyph of life. She was thought to assist women in labour by using magic to scare off demons and evil spirits that might harm the vulnerable mother or child.
	Thoth God of writing and knowledge, depicted in the form of two animals: the baboon and the sacred ibis. By the end of the Old Kingdom he was most frequently portrayed as an ibis-headed man, usually holding a scribal palette and a pen or a notched palm leaf. He was also often shown recording the results of the "weighing of the heart" of the deceased, and sometimes in addition, he is shown as a baboon perched on top of the scales. Thoth was a lunar deity and is often depicted wearing the lunar crescent on his head. Worshipped widely throughout all of Egypt, his cult centre was Hermopolis.

The Book of The Dead

2009-08-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

The Book of The Dead
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The principal purpose of ancient Egyptian funerary literature was to help the deceased pass through the dangers of the Underworld and be reborn into new life. The "Book of the Dead" refers to the funerary texts which the Ancient Egyptians called "the spell for coming forth by day". This title refers to the belief that the deceased took a whole night, as did Re with his solar barque, to travel through the realms of the dead. The all-conquering spirit of the deceased would then emerge triumphant with the morning sun.

It was introduced at around the time of the latter part of the Second Intermediate Period, and consisted of about two hundred spells or chapters, usually inscribed on papyrus and sometimes on amulets, linen or vellum. The scrolls would be illustrated with small drawings known as vignettes, that accompany most of the chapters or spells, and serve to illustrate their contents. Originally vignettes were used only in certain cases or for special emphasis, where it was considered necessary to have a symbolic representation in a pictorial form of the content or intent of a spell. However by the late New Kingdom, a majority of the spells were actually illustrated, and on some occasions just the vignettes themselves are used for the spells without any text. In many manuscripts, the vignettes are in rows with text placed beneath them.

The inner coffin of Gua, from Deir el-Bersha, 12th Dynasty, c.1985-1795 BC. Spells from the Coffin Texts were inscribed in the coffin to aid the deceased in reaching the afterlife.

The influence of the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts

The spells from the Book of the Dead were influenced by the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts. The walls of the burial chamber and the ante-chamber of the pyramid would be inscribed with vertical columns of text of individual sayings and spells that ensured the well-being of the pharaoh into the afterlife. The texts appear to vary from one pyramid to another, the oldest edition, that in the Pyramid of Unas, contains only 283 of the known texts, and includes ones not found in later editions.

During the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom, pyramid texts began to be inscribed in the tombs of high officials. Often the spells would be ornately carved inside the coffins of important people. These texts became known as the Coffin Texts. During the Middle Kingdom, funerary practices were made available to everyone. Previously, the right to be embalmed and the prospect of a guaranteed afterlife were restricted to royalty and nobility. Now the opportunity became available to anyone, providing they could afford it!

The earliest texts of the Book of the Dead appear on mummy shrouds of members of the 17th Dynasty royal family (c.1650-1550 BC); they then appear on those of high officials of the early New Kingdom, after about 1550 BC. The appearance of vignettes followed, and then the texts appear on papyrus and leather rolls. Papyrus rapidly became the main medium, and remained so for over a thousand years.

Matters of the heart

To the Ancient Egyptians, the heart was of the utmost importance, considered to be the seat of intelligence and emotion, and so consequently no less than four spells in the Book of the Dead were concerned with preventing the unauthorised removal of this organ, or ensuring its quick return. To find out whether the deceased was worthy to enter the Field of Reeds, the heart would have to be weighed on a balance. If the heart balanced on the scale, then the lucky owner could expect to enjoy the afterlife. Chapter 125 shows one of the best known vignettes in the Book of the Dead (see also "featured scrolls" below):

The deceased stands at the side, often accompanied by their ba and various forms of fate and destiny. Anubis checks the balance, and Thoth, the ibis headed god of scribes stands ready to write down the result of the weighing. Twelve great gods, seated across the top of the scene, act as witnesses to ensure a fair trail. A strange creature, part crocodile, part hippopotamus, part lion or panther lurks nearby, she is called Ammit, meaning "she who gobbles down", the eater of anyone unworthy to enter the Field of Reeds. The heart of the deceased sits in one of the trays on the balance scales. The heart is weighed against either Ma'at, the goddesses of truth, cosmic order, wisdom, and righteousness, or more usually just her symbol, the ostrich feather. Should the deceased be unfortunate enough to have a heart that was considered to be "heavy with sin" and unable to balance against Ma'at's feather, then Ammit would be able to gobble it down. Deprived of their heart, the deceased would then be denied an afterlife.

The Opening of the Mouth - spell number 23

The most important ritual performed for the deceased just before burial was the Opening of the Mouth ceremony. This would restore all the faculties and body functions to the mummy so that the afterlife could be enjoyed to the full. Sometimes the ceremony was performed on the mummy, and often it is shown being performed on the funerary statues. Afterwards, the mummy and the statues were effectively transformed and ready for use by the "ka" of the deceased.

Detail from the scene of the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, from the papyrus of Hunefer. The centrepiece of the upper scene is the mummy of Hunefer, shown supported by the god Anubis. Hunefer's wife and daughter mourn, and three priests perform rituals. Those wearing the white sashes are carrying out the Opening of the Mouth ritual. The white building at the right is a representation of the tomb, complete with portal doorway and small pyramid. At the right of the lower scene is a table bearing the various implements needed for the Opening of the Mouth ritual. At the left is shown a ritual, where the foreleg of a calf is offered. The unfortunate animal would then be sacrificed.

In the scenes for the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, the deceased's mummy is usually shown propped up before a representation of the tomb chapel. The "sem" priest, distinguished by the wearing of a panther or leopard skin, prepares to use the ritual implements set out nearby. Sometimes the "sem" priest takes on the role of the deceased's son, although often the ceremony was performed by the deceased's son and heir as a final act of piety. The "hery heb" (lector priest, usually wearing the Anubis mask) reads out the appropriate instructions from a papyrus. The mummy would be touched with various ritual implements, the most important being the "pesesh kaf", so that the senses were restored, not only to the mouth, but also the eyes, ears, nose and other parts of the body. Elaborate rituals involving purification, censing, anointing and incantations would be performed and offerings (including a foreleg and a bull's heart) made.

Afterwards, the mummy could be placed in its nest of coffins, the canopic chest set in its niche and the grave goods and shabti figures stacked around the tomb. From the early New Kingdom, shabti figures were inscribed with the "Shabti formula of Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead": "O shabti, if the deceased is called upon to do any of the work required there in the necropolis at any time ... you shall say "Here I am, I will do it."

Just before the burial chamber was sealed, final magical and protective aids were put into position. From the 18th Dynasty, a rolled up papyrus of the Book of the Dead would be placed in the coffin.

The focus of any tomb, royal or otherwise, was an offering place and a false door, which acted as the entrance to the Netherworld. In large tombs and pyramid complexes, wall scenes included hunting, fishing and the delivery of offerings for the deceased.

Featured Scrolls:

Book of the Dead of Nakht
Nakht was a royal scribe and overseer of the army (general) at the end of the 18th Dynasty (c.1550-1295 BC). His Book of the Dead is a beautifully illustrated example. This papyrus shows Spell 110, a series of addresses to deities who dwell in the "next world", specifically in the Field of Offering and the Field of Rushes. The deceased was expected to undertake agricultural work in the Field of Rushes.

Spell 110 from the Book of the Dead of Nakht, the royal scribe.

The vignette evolved from a map of the Field in the earlier Coffin Texts. It shows areas of land surrounded by water. Nakht is shown with Thoth at top right, with the balance and feather of Maat, referring to the Judgement Scene. He then paddles his boat across the Lake of Offerings where two mummiform deities stand before a table of offerings. Nakht is also shown worshipping the Heron of Plenty. He is shown pulling flax, reaping, and ploughing below. The boat of Wennefer (a name for the god Osiris), shown with a head of a snake, is moored in a channel of the water at the bottom. Three deities of the ennead (group of nine gods) are shown bottom right.

Book of the Dead of Ani
Ani is depicted in the vignettes with his wife, Tutu. His titles include "Royal Scribe", "Accounting Scribe for Divine Offerings of All the Gods" and "Overseer of the Granaries of the Lords of Tawer". These titles indicate that Ani was a member of the administration associated with Osiris and other gods in the Abydos region. Ani's Book of the Dead was written around the year 1240 BC.

Detail from chapter 17 from the Book of the Dead of the scribe Ani. A long and complicated spell, with an equally long history Chapter 17 is essentially a statement of religious doctrines relating to the sun-god Re.

This scene from the Book of the Dead of Ani reads from left to right. On the left Ani and his wife Tutu are shown playing senet, the board game that can also be used a metaphor for a man travelling into the next world. In front of them both, on top of their white tomb stand their human-headed ba spirits next to one another. The two lions represent those of the horizon over whose backs the sun rises daily, whilst the bird standing to the right of the lions is the benu bird, the phoenix-like bird that represents the soul of the sun-god Re. Under the canopy, Ani's mummy lies on its bier, attended either side by Isis and Nephthys in the form of two birds.

The Book of the Dead of Ani was not actually commissioned especially for him. Ani used a version of the text that was already prepared, and then his name and titles would be simply inserted into the text at the appropriate points. This form of the Book of the Dead was less personalised than the specially commissioned version, and as a result was a lot less expensive. The location of the tomb of Ani at Thebes is not known and his Book of the Dead is the only object that can be securely attributed to him.

The Book of the Dead of Hunefer
Hunefer and his wife Nasha lived during the 19th Dynasty, in around 1310 BC. Like Ani, Hunefer was a royal scribe and "Scribe of Divine Offerings". He was also "Overseer of Royal Cattle", and steward of pharaoh Seti I, the father of Ramesses the Great. These titles indicate that Hunefer held prominent administrative positions, and as such would have been close to the king. The location of his tomb is not known, but he may have been buried at Memphis.

Chapter 125 from the Book of the Dead of the scribe Hunefer. To the left, Anubis brings Hunefer into the judgement area, where he then supervises the judgement scales. Hunefer's heart, represented as a pot, is being weighed against a feather, the symbol of Ma'at. Ammit waits by the scales, but Hunefer is judged as being "true of voice" and is led by Horus into the presence of Osiris. Behind Osiris stand Isis and Nephthys, and in front, on the lotus blossom stand the four sons of Horus. At the very top of the papyrus, Hunefer is shown adoring the row of deities who supervised the judgement.

Hunefer's high status is reflected in the fine quality of his Book of the Dead, which was specially produced for him. This, and a Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure, inside which the papyrus was found, are the only objects which can be ascribed to Hunefer. The papyrus of Hunefer is characterised by its good state of preservation and the large, and clear vignettes that are beautifully drawn and painted. The vignette illustrating the "Opening of the Mouth" (see above) ritual is one of the most famous pieces of Ancient Egyptian papyrus, and gives a great deal of information about this particular part of the Egyptian funeral ritual.

The Book of the Dead of Nebseny
The papyrus of Nebseny is an earlier example, and the accompanying vignettes are not coloured like those of Hunefer and Ani. Nebseny was a temple copyist, whose job was probably to make copies of temple documents for archives, as well as writing out new ones. It is possible that he may have drawn the pictures himself rather than pay a specialist papyrus illustrator.

Page from the Book of the Dead of Nebseny. From a Memphite cemetery, probably Saqqara, 18th Dynasty, around 1400 BC, showing Nebseny and his wife receiving offerings.

The scene of an owner and their spouse receiving offerings is often represented in Books of the Dead. Such offerings are conventionally the duty of the eldest son. Here we see Nebseny and his wife Senseneb seated before the offering table - the horizontal row of hieroglyphs over the young man on the left names him as their son, Ptahmose. The hieroglyphs above give the text of the offering prayer written in a "retrograde text" - normal hieroglyphic text is read from the side from which the birds, animals and humans face, whereas a retrograde text is read starting at the opposite end. In this case, the text begins at the left and continues to the right, and reflects the words coming away from the priest at the left.

Funerary papyrus of Taminiu
Taminiu's funerary papyrus dates from the Third Intermediate Period, around 950 BC, and details "The demons which the deceased must pass on the way to the Afterlife." There were many obstacles on the path to the Afterlife, and they often took the form of demons. The various funerary books were intended as assistance to the deceased, with the spells needed to overcome every potential problem they could possibly encounter.

"The demons which the deceased must pass on the way to the Afterlife", from the funerary papyrus of Taminiu.

Some Underworld demons guarded the gates to the Mansion of Osiris, where the deceased was judged. These were often depicted, as here, in a mummified form, crouching and wielding sharp knives. The demons were pictured with the heads of recognisable animals, such creatures such as rams or hares, that posed no threat in the living world. Others, like the double snake-headed demon, shown on the right of the upper register, were creatures of pure fantasy. Some would be shown with their heads facing behind them, others face-on. Another demon gatekeeper was the upright snake, with human arms and legs, again shown here with a pair of sharp knives. This individual was the last guardian who stood at the doorway of the judgement chamber.

The lower left section of this papyrus shows the deceased woman, Taminiu, receiving cool water from Nut, appearing as a sycamore goddess. Her ba, the small human-headed bird, is at her feet. Behind her is the goddess Ma'at, whose head has been replaced by the feather that is her emblem.

Coffin texts, papyrus scrolls and papyrus descriptions are courtesy of The British Museum

THe Life Of Ramesses The Great

2009-08-29T17:06:00.001-07:00

Compiled by Tony High

Prenomen: Usermaatre-setepenre
Nomen: Ramesses (meryamun)
Who was the figure in history, penned by John Gardener Wilkinson as "Ramesses the Great"? Ramesses was an Egyptian king born circa.1304 BC during the reign of Horemheb and known as Usermaatre, Sa Re, Ramesses Meryamun, which translates as Powerful in truth is Re, Son of Re, Ramesses beloved of Amun.
Ramesses was born to the royal couple Seti I and his queen Tuya. He would go on to inherit the throne from his father to become the 3rd king of the 19th Dynasty of the New Kingdom. The first attested reference to a person known as Rameses outside of Egyptological circles was in Biblical texts, namely Genesis 47:11, Exodus 1:11 and Numbers 33.3.5. Indeed, over the centuries he has been phonetically referred to as Rhampsintus, Remphus, Rapsaces, Rhamsesis and Rhamses. No matter what the pronunciation attributed to him, Ramesses would go on to rule his beloved Egypt for a total of 67 years, making him one of the most enduring and famous pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.
So, what do we know about the life of Ramesses?

Physical characteristics

Ignoring the official statuary image of Ramesses as the ideal model of manhood, what did the man look like?
Examination of the body has revealed that Ramesses had a long, narrow, oval face dominated by a large beaky nose. Slightly bulging almond-shaped eyes and a small squarish chin with somewhat fleshy lips. He was tall for the period; he stood 5ft 8"’ when the average height in dynastic Egypt was no more than 5ft 3"’ which, according to text, made him an extremely strong tall young man whose height gave him an imposing bearing and authority over others. His hair colour was also unusual, as it was a reddish auburn colour, the same as the god Seth's, with a fiery temper to match!
Sir Grafton Elliot Smith also deduced that Ramesses's facial features showed traces of Asiatic characters, which was also seen in Seti I and in Ramesses's son Merenptah. All three appeared less typically Egyptian than their predecessors of the 18th Dynasty, suggesting that inter-racial marriages were common during this period.

James Henry Breasted is quick to draw attention to Ramesses's human failings, writing, "He [Ramesses] was inordinately vain … he loved ease and pleasure and gave himself up without restraint to voluptuous enjoyments [with] an enormous harem … living in magnificence that even surpasses that of Amenhotep III." His lambaste continues describing how the living god became human, "Falling into senile decay … never rousing from lethargy into which he had fallen, to the detriment of his country".

"In person he was tall and handsome, with features of dreamy almost effeminate beauty – in no way suggestive of the manly traits he certainly possessed" James Henry Breasted

Monuments

2009-08-29T16:26:00.001-07:00

Major sites and areas covered in this section include: (opens in a new information window)

Abydos	Alexandria	Amarna	Aswan
Giza Plateau	Memphis	Pi Ramesse	Saqqara
Tanis	Thebes	Valley of the kings

There are simply hundreds of monuments, including temples, tombs, necropoli, etc, scattered throughout the whole of Egypt - use the links throughout the page or on the map to find out more about specific pharaonic monuments or sites.

Temples
Central to the ancient Egyptian religion and way of life was the temple. Considered the "home" of the dedicated god or goddess, and also an important element of the economic structure, the activities of the temple revolved around the worship and celebration of the god or goddess, known as the "cult". A remarkable number of these amazing structures have survived today, and remain some of the most popular sites for tourists to visit.

Tombs
It is ironic that the numerous Ancient Egyptian tombs, once sealed, were not intended to be seen by outsiders. Yet the highly valued and often reproduced tomb decorations have had a profound influence on art and have contributed significantly to our understanding of the Ancient Egyptian culture. The ancient Egyptian civilisation changed and evolved dramatically over the millenia, and many of these changes are reflected in how the tombs of the kings, queens, nobles, and the workers were built and decorated.

Pyramids
Iconic monuments in their own right, the full scale pyramid complex consisted of a true pyramid with mortuary and valley temples, a causeway between the two, and usually a number of smaller subsidiary pyramids. Fully evolved by the beginning of the 4th Dynasty, the origins of the pyramid complex can be seen in the royal tombs and funerary enclosures at Early Dynastic Abydos and the step pyramid at Saqqara.

Coptic monasteries and churches
The sheer scale of the pharaonic antiquities of Egypt can often overwhelm the fact that Egypt was also an intrinsic part of the Holy Land. There are many sites throughout Egypt at which the "holy family" are said to have taken shelter and sought refuge during the three years that they spent in Egypt after fleeing from Judea and King Herod. Many ancient churches have been built upon these sites. Monasteries were established in inaccessible and isolated areas, and many of these still survive today, some still complete with monks, icons, furnishings and the trappings of the simple lifestyle that date back almost to the time of Christ.

abydos

2009-08-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

abydos
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Abydos, the cult city of Osiris, lies on the West Bank of the Nile, about 145 km north of Luxor. Ever since the beginning of the Dynastic Period, kings had built tombs or cenotaphs there.
The kings of the first dynasty, and some of the second dynasty, were buried here, and the temple was renewed and enlarged by them. Great forts were built on the desert behind the town by three kings of the 2nd dynasty. The temple and town continued to be rebuilt at intervals down to the times of the 30th dynasty, and the cemetery was used continuously. In the 12th dynasty a gigantic tomb was cut in the rock by Senusret III. Seti I, in the 19th dynasty, founded a great new temple to the south of the town in honour of the ancestral kings of the early dynasties; this was finished by Ramesses II, who also built a lesser temple of his own. Merneptah added a great Hypogeum of Osiris to the temple of Seti. The latest building was a new temple of Nectanebo I in the 30th dynasty. From Ptolemaic times the place continued to decay and no later works are known.

The original deity of Abydos was the jackal god Kenti-Amentiu, who was absorbed into the cult of Osiris in the Fifth Dynasty. It was here that Osiris regained his power: at Abydos Isis found the last part of his dismembered body - his head, and restored him to life. The earliest royal tomb was found there, as well as the earliest known hieroglyphs. The temple at Abydos dates to about 3150 BCE. It was restored or expanded by various pharaohs, including Ahmose I and Tuthmose III.

Abydos was an important place of pilgrimage for the Ancient Egyptians. They wanted to be buried as close to Osiris as possible, and when they could not be buried at Abydos, they sometimes raised a stela there bearing their name and titles. Amenhotep III, with his taste for antiquities, ordered the royal necropolis of Abydos to be cleared, and his subjects were told to find the tomb of Osiris himself. This they claimed to have found, although in fact it was the tomb of King Djer (c 2800 BC), the third king of the First Dynasty.

The temple of Seti I


The first two pylons of the Abydos Temple have been destroyed. The entrance is now formed of twelve pillars that originally formed the back of the Second Court.	At the rear of the Second Hypostyle Hall are the entrances to seven chapels. They are (left to right): A deified Seti I, Ptah, Ra-Horakhty, Amon, Osiris, Isis and Horus

The temple of Seti I at Abydos was begun early in his reign in the 19th Dynasty. Built on entirely new ground and constructed in limestone about half a mile to the south of the earlier temples, it is probably better known as the "Great Temple of Abydos". An impressive sight, it was still unfinished at Seti's death and his son Ramesses II completed the works, although little of his decoration reaches the supreme standard of that of his father.

The temple, in the shape of an L, once had a landing quay, a ramp, a front terrace, two pylons, though the outer one is mostly lost, with two courts and pillared porticoes, followed by two hypostyle halls and seven chapels (see above), with additional chambers to the south making up the short leg of the L. Storage chambers fill the area from the southern wing to the front of the temple. The main body of the temple was symmetrical back to the seven chapels. While the L shaped floor plan of this temple is unusual, analysis seems to show that the southern wing was no afterthought, but the result of a well thought out alternative to the usual axial temple plan.

A principal purpose of the temple was the adoration of the early kings, whose cemetery, to which it forms a great funerary chapel, lies behind it. On the wall in the "Hall of the Records", Seti I and his young son, the future Ramesses II, are shown worshipping the cartouched names of 76 of their ancestors (unacceptable predecessors, such as Hapshepsut and Akhenaten are conveniently omitted from this list, neither does it record any of the kings from the Second Intermediate Period). At the back were large chambers connected with the Osiris worship. The temple was originally 550ft long, but the forecourts are now scarcely recognisable, and area that remains in part reasonable condition is around 250ft long by 350ft wide, including the L-shaped wing at the side.

The Osireion

Lying undiscovered until an excavation in 1902 by Flinders Petrie, this is the almost unique structure that today we refer to as the Osireion. It has been suggested that the architecture of the Osireion was inspired by the Valley Temple and causeway of Khafre at Giza - by the New Kingdom this was buried underground but was still accessible and known to the Egyptians as a tomb or shrine of Osiris. It is carefully aligned with the main temple of Seti I, and enclosed within a mud brick wall. Most of the actual excavation work was largely carried out by Margaret Murray and Petrie's wife. The whole site was not finally uncovered until 1926 by Henri Frankfort.

The structure was built in an excavation in the sandy clay stratum of the desert, with almost vertical sides. Two parallel limestone walls running over the eastern room of the structure served as retaining walls for the sand bed upon which the temple was built. The foundations are cut many feet below the current level of the water table, and the base of the temple is 30ft below the level of the desert, with the central part being 40ft deep. At this depth it is below the Nile flood plane. This means that the centre part of the temple forms a island with a flooded moat surrounding it. Excavations on the south side passage revealed funerary texts from 'The Book of Gates' and 'The Amduat', depicting the dangers of the Underworld which the deceased has to overcome on his journey to the Hall of Ma'at.

The name 'Osireion' was invented by Petrie for this unique structure, which he interpreted as a symbolic tomb of Osiris. The Osireion, according to myth, was the final tomb of the god Osiris. It dates from the reign of Seti I in the New Kingdom period and is situated to the West of Seti's Temple at Abydos (see plan above). The Osireion is perhaps the most conspicuous example of religious symbolism in Egyptian architecture.

The cult of Osiris was abandoned during the reign of Akhenaten, and the familiar votive figure of a squatting man wrapped in a pilgrim's cloak and the Osiris-shaped bed planted with seeds disappeared temporarily from the inventory of funerary goods.

The Royal tombs

The Royal Tombs of the earliest dynasties were placed about a mile back on the great desert plain, in a place now known as Umm el-Qa'ab. The earliest is about 10ft × 20ft inside, a pit lined with brick walls, and originally roofed with timber and matting. Others also before Menes are 15ft × 25ft. The tomb probably of Menes is of the latter size. After this the tombs increase in size and complexity. The tomb-pit is surrounded by chambers to hold the offerings, the actual sepulchre being a great wooden chamber in the midst of the brick-lined pit. Rows of small tomb-pits for the servants of the king surround the royal chamber, many dozens of such burials being usual.

By the end of the 2nd dynasty, the tomb type changed to a long passage bordered with chambers on either hand, with the royal burial being in the middle of the length. The greatest of these tombs with its dependencies covered a space of over 2500 square metres. The contents of the tombs have been nearly destroyed by successive plunderers; enough remained to show that rich jewellery was placed on the mummies, a profusion of vases of hard and valuable stones from the royal table service stood about the body, the store-rooms were filled with great jars of wine, perfumed ointment and other supplies, and tablets of ivory and of ebony were engraved with a record of the yearly annals of the reigns. The sealings of the various officials, of which over 200 varieties have been found, give an insight into the public arrangements.

The cemetery of private persons begins in the 1st dynasty with some pit-tombs in the town. It was extensive in the 12th and 13th dynasties and contained many rich tombs. A large number of fine tombs were made in the 18th to 20th dynasties, and later ages continued to bury there dead here until Roman times. Many hundreds of funeral stele were removed by Auguste Mariette's workmen when he worked on the site, but without any record of the burials.

King Tutankhamun

2009-08-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

King Tutankhamun

The Boy King

Ironically, our greatest royal treasure from ancient Egypt comes from a short lived boy king. King Tutankhamun was not even in the same category of achievement as the great Egyptian kings such as Khufu (builder of the Great Pyramid), Amenhotep III (prolific builder of temples and statuary throughout Egypt), or Ramesses II (prolific builder and usurper), in terms of the length of his reign or the depth of his accomplishments.

Howard Carter and his backer Lord Carnavon standing by the wall leading to the intact burial chamber of King Tut.

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Indeed, it is his little known status that contributed to the successful hiding of his tomb, which was covered over by a later pharaoh who was clearing away an area in which to cut his own tomb.

On November 26, 1922, Howard Carter made archaeological history by unearthing the first Egyptian pharaonic tomb that still contained most of its treasures. Still, even this tomb had been robbed in antiquity, although the the robbery attempt was apparently thwarted before the thieves could make away with most of the treasure.

This tomb also yielded something else that had never been found in modern history - the pristine mummy of an Egyptian king, laying intact in his original burial furniture.

Tut's coffin before the initial unveiling of his mummy.

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Thus, Tut's tomb gives us a unique opportunity to explore the life of King Tut and allows us to learn more about this essential period in New Kingdom Egyptian history.

Tut's Death Mask

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Eye of Horus
Made of gold and inlaid lapis, this piece was a pectoral amulet, worn around the neck.

Horus
Here's one of the forms of horus as seen on another beautiful inlaid pectoral amulet.

Ptah
This beautiful gold covered statue of the god Ptah has a blue faience cap and a gilded bronze scepter.

This is the scene on the throne of King Tut depicting King Tut with his queen Ankhesenamun.

Utchat AKA Eye of Ra

2009-08-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

Utchat AKA Eye of Ra

The word utchat, sometimes spelled udjat, refers to Egypt's sacred eye symbol. The right eye is called the Eye of Ra, symbolizing the sun. The left is called the Eye of Thoth, symbolizing the moon. Both eyes together are the Two Eyes Of Horus The Elder. The eye is the part of the body able to perceive light, and is therefore the symbol for spiritual ability.
The word Utchat itself means to be strong or safe and in the proper context Utchat also means 'amulet of protection'. It was used to repel the forces of evil, disruption, destruction, disorder, etc. in ones life and the world around in general. Note that it means repel, not stop or destroy! This is the basis of Watchers. We are a clan of peace and wisdom, favoring strongly respect and diplomacy over that of the sword. We foster high tolerance levels and a thoughtful outlook on things that we cannot control. We know that we are not omnipotent and do not try to be. Thus we learn from every mistake and take all things as a path to knowledge

Contact Us

2009-08-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Contact Us

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Saqqara

2009-08-25T16:12:00.000-07:00

saqqara - cemetery of the ancient kings
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The principal necropolis of the ancient city of Memphis, whose most famous monument is probably the step pyramid of Djoser, the oldest of Egypt's 97 pyramids. It was built by the architect and genius Imhotep, who designed it and the surrounding complex to be as grand as it was unique and revolutionary.

The importance of the site of Saqqara is indicated by the crowded nature of the burials, with some having been used many times, and most having been plundered throughout antiquity.

Mastaba tombs were constructed at Saqqara for the Memphite elite during the Old Kingdom. Pyramids were also built there, including the famous 3rd Dynasty Step Pyramid complex of Djoser, the 5th Dynasty pyramid of Unas, the "lost" unfinished pyramid complex of Sekhemkhet which bears a striking resemblance to Djoser's complex, and the 6th Dynasty pyramid complex of Pepi II which was the last major funerary monument of the Old Kingdom at Saqqara. Djoser's complex is remarkable because not only was it the worlds' first ever pyramid, it is also acknowledged as the worlds' first completely stone building.

Aerial view of the step pyramid complex of Djoser. The Heb-sed court on the lower right hand side of the enclosure is clearly visible. See the full picture, click here >>

Satellite imagery courtesy of Google Imagery, DigiGlobe

Beneath the ground, Saqqara is riddled with tombs, galleries and robber shafts, which are not always visible from the surface.

During the New Kingdom, Memphis took second place to Thebes as Egypt's capital. However, although the administration was established at Thebes, the government officials who ruled Upper Egypt lived in Memphis and were buried at Saqqara.

The Pyramid of Djoser

Djoser, whose Horus name was Netjerykhet, was founder of the Third Dynasty, Old Kingdom. He is one of the most famous kings in Egyptian history, his name being preceded by a rubric of red ink in the Turin Canon.

He was responsible for constructing the world's first monumental stone building, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. The pyramid's design evolved throughout its construction and its architectural form changed as the Egyptians adapted to their new building material (stone, as opposed to mud bricks). The architect of the Step Pyramid is thought to have been Djoser's son, Imhotep, who was later deified for his achievements. The fact that Djoser was able to build such a massive and innovative structure suggests that during his reign Egypt was politically stable, with a successful economy.

The Step Pyramid is made of six giant steps. It has a ground plan of 459ft x 387ft (140m x 118m) and a height of 197ft (60m). The entire enclosure measures 1,788ft x 908ft (545m x 277m). It contains many chambers, including a court known as the "Heb-Sed" designed to provide the king with the necessary setting to repeat his jubilee ceremony in the afterlife. There is a relief depicting King Djoser in the Step Pyramid performing this rite, which involved him running a fixed course accompanied by Nekhen, 'the priest of the souls'. It is thought that this ceremony may have derived from a primitive belief that the fertility of the fields was dependent on the physical ability of the king.

As well as being the first stone pyramid in Ancient Egypt, the Step Pyramid also boasts a superstructure unparalleled among other Old Kingdom pyramids. During excavations of the many underground passageways and galleries, 40,000 ceramic and stone vessels - dating back to the reigns of Djoser's predecessors - have been found.

Against the Northern face of the Step Pyramid there is a small room known as the Serdab. The front face of the Serdab is angled at 17 degrees, the same angle as the steps of the pyramid themselves. Inside the serdab would have stood the cult statue of Djoser, a copy stand there today and the original is in the Cairo Museum. Two "peep holes" in the Serdab enabled offerings to be made to the statue inside.


The restored impressive entrance to Djoser's pyramid complex.	The Heb-sed court within the enclosure walls of Djoser's pyramid complex.	Cult statue of Djoser viewed through the peep-holes in the serdab on the northern side of the pyramid.

The Serapeum

This was burial place of the sacred Apis Bulls. Strabo, the Greek author, writing in the 1st century AD, had spoken of a sanded up avenue of sphinxes leading to the famous Serapeum. Napoleon's expedition had searched for the Serapeum in vain, however in 1850 Auguste Mariette and his team uncovered an avenue of over a hundred sphinxes. As excavations continued over the following weeks, Mariette and his team eventually came to a buried temple courtyard. Entry to the catacomb was finally achieved on the 12th November 1851, almost a year after Mariette's inspired search had begun.


Entrance to the Serapeum	Underground galleries of the Serapeum

The subterranean galleries of the Serapeum consisted of a long gallery inset with numerous votive stelae and sealed by a huge sandstone door. Side chambers contained 24 magnificent granite sarcophagi, which had been prepared between year 52 of Psammetichus I of the 26th Dynasty and the end of the Ptolemaic period. The sarcophagi would have contained the mummified remains of the Apis Bulls, which were considered by the Ancient Egyptians to be the earthly incarnations of the city god of Memphis. All the sarcophagi in this gallery had been emptied in antiquity.

In 1852, further galleries, known as the Lesser Vaults, were discovered, with similar rock hewn chambers. These chambers had contained bulls in wooden coffins, dating from year 30 of Ramesses the Great down to the 22nd Dynasty. In one of these chambers, a burial of Apis XIV, made in year 55 of Ramesses the Great, had survived intact.

Mariette's work at the Serapeum continued throughout 1852, and resulted in the discovery of a third series of smaller bull burials, the earliest yet uncovered, ranging in date from Amenophis III of the 18th Dynasty down into the 19th Dynasty. Again, one of these burials, which contained two coffins of Apis VII and Apis IX, was discovered intact. Various shabtis, canopic jars and amulets were also discovered.

Other pyramid complexes at Saqqara


The Step Pyramid of Djoser. The world's first ever pyramid.	Mastaba el-Faraun, the tomb of Shepseskaf, who was the last Pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty and the son of Menkaure.	Pyramid of Userkaf who was considered to be the founder of the 5th Dynasty. His pyramid is little more than a ruined heap of rubble.

There are a considerable number of pyramid complexes at Saqqara, although many are now ruined and appear to be little more than heaps of rubble.

The Lost Pyramid of Sekhemkhet at Saqqara - 3rd Dynasty. This unfinished pyramid complex is the largest of a series of "lost" pyramids. Whilst there was a known successor to Djoser, Sekhemkhet's name was unknown until 1951, when the levelled foundation and vestiges of an unfinished Step Pyramid were discovered at Saqqara by Zakaria Goneim. Only the lowest step of the pyramid had been constructed at the time of his death. The unfinished complex bears a close resemblance to that of Djoser's Step Pyramid, both in layout and design.

The Mastaba el-Faraun at Saqqara - 4th Dynasty. The mastaba is situated in the south of Saqqara in an isolated area. It is the tomb of Shepseskaf, who was the last Pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty and the son of Menkaure. Unlike his immediate predecessors and his successors, Shepseskaf chose the form of a mastaba rather then a pyramid for his tomb. It's quite possible he was responsible for the completion of his father's pyramid at Giza. Shepsekaf ruled for only a very short time, maybe as little as four years.

Pyramid of Userkaf at Saqqara - 5th Dynasty. Userkaf was considered to be the founder of the 5th Dynasty. His pyramid was called "Pure are the (cult) places of Userkaf", but today it is little more than a ruined heap of rubble. Possibly for political reasons as well as the religious ones, he sited his pyramid in the shadows of Djoser's Step Pyramid. Userkaf's pyramid was most likely built in horizontal layers, and rough local limestone was used in the pyramid's core, with a fine, while limestone casing.

	The Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara - Late 5th Dynasty. The last ruler of the 5th Dynasty Unas seems to have been the first to inscribe the pyramid texts on the internal walls of his pyramid. The standard of workmanship in pyramid building declined along with the political and economic structure of the Old Kingdom. Known as "Beautiful are the places of Unas" it is now ruined, and looks more like a small hill than a royal pyramid.
	Pyramid of Teti I at Saqqara - 6th Dynasty. Teti was the founder of the 6th Dynasty. His pyramid was discovered in 1853 by Mariette, but it is mostly a pile of rubble in constant danger of being covered by the sand. The pyramid was known as "Teti's (cult) places are enduring". The valley temple of Teti's pyramid, together with the 300 metre long causeway leading to the mortuary temple have yet to be archaeologically investigated. They are located to the southwest of the pyramid, as opposed to east. Part of the causeway is visible however, as it meets the mortuary temple.
	Pyramid of Pepi II at Saqqara - 6th Dynasty. Pepi II's pyramid in South Saqqara was the last to be built in the best traditions of the Old Kingdom. It was named "Pepi's life is enduring", which indeed it was, for he reigned for many years. Pepi II was the last ruler of Egypt's 6th Dynasty, and in fact the last significant ruler of the Old Kingdom prior to the onset of the First Intermediate Period. His mortuary complex was built and decorated in what is considered to be a much poorer manner than those of his predecessors.

aswan and elephantine

2009-08-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

aswan and elephantine
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Aswan is a border town, 900km (558 miles) south of Cairo, and is situated at the First Cataract, where modern Egypt begins. To the north, the Nile flows downwards towards Cairo and the Delta, to the south it extends behind the High Dam into the vast and into the seemingly infinite Lake Nasser, disappearing deep into the Sudan.
The Nile at Aswan is studded with numerous granite islands. The largest, Elephantine Island has various monuments, and a Nubian settlement. Another well known island close by is Kitchener's Island, home to the green oasis of the botanical gardens, and variously known by locals as "plant island", "flower island" and "botanic island". Lord Kitchener, British Consul of Egypt was deeded the island by the Egyptian government for his campaigns in the Sudan in the 19th century.

Elephantine Island

The largest island at Aswan, Elephantine is situated opposite the modern town, and is one of the most ancient sites in Egypt, dating back to the predynastic period. It was known as Elephant Island (or Abu or Yabu) probably because it was a trading post for ivory. An excellent defensive site for a city, the island commanded the First Cataract that formed a natural boundary to the south, and noblemen bore the title "Guardians of the Southern Gate."

The ram headed god of the cataracts, Khnum, one of the creator gods and part of the triad of the goddesses Satet and Anuket, had his main cult centre on Elephantine Island, and the ruined temple of Khnum on the southern tip of the island dates to the 18th Dynasty. Other the main attractions on the island include an ancient Nilometer, one of only three on the Nile, the Elephantine Museum, the old town, and the colourful Nubian village.

Unfortunately many of the artifacts are now in ruin, although ongoing excavations at the town by the German Archaeological Institute have uncovered many findings, including a mummified ram of Khnum, that are now on display in the museum located on the island. Artifacts dating back to predynastic times have been found on Elephantine. The oldest ruins still standing on the island are a granite step pyramid from the third dynasty and a small shrine, built for the local sixth-dynasty nomarch Hekayib.

Elephantine Island, with its luxury resort hotel, seen from Aswan at night.

A rare calendar, known as the Elephantine Calendar, dating to the reign of Thutmose III, was found in fragments. Also on the island is one of the oldest nilometers in Egypt, last reconstructed in Roman times and still in use as late as the 19th century. The ninety steps that lead down to the river are marked with Hindu-Arabic, Roman, and hieroglyphic numerals, and inscriptions carved deep into the rock during the 17th dynasty can be seen at the water's edge.

Prior to 1822 there were temples of Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep III which were destroyed by the then Turkish (Ottoman) occupying government. Both were relatively intact at that time.

The Elephantine papyri are caches of legal documents and letters written in Aramaic, which document the community of Jewish soldiers stationed here during the Persian occupation of Egypt. They maintained their own temple that functioned alongside that of Khnum. The Jewish community at Elephantine was probably founded as a military installation in about 650 BCE during Manasseh's reign, to assist Pharaoh Psammetichus I in his Nubian campaign. The documents cover the period that the Jewish garrison was stationed on the island, between the years of 495 and 399 BC.

Qubbet el-Hawa was the burial ground of the Old Kingdom noblemen from Elephantine, and their tombs were hewn out of the rock, about halfway up the hill facing the river.

The Aswan Dam, the High Dam and the UNESCO project

The British began construction of the first dam in 1899 and it was completed in 1902. A gravity dam, it was 1900 metres long and 54 metres high. However, the initial design was soon found to be inadequate and the height of the dam was raised in two subsequent phases, from 1907–1912 and then again between 1929–1933. With each successive heightening, the waters built up, and monuments and people were threatened.

The Aswan High Dam, with the power station on the left hand side, and the reservoir, Lake Nasser on the right. The dam is 3600 metres in length, 980 metres wide at the base, 40 metres wide at the crest and 111 metres tall. Lake Nasser is 550 km long and 35 km at its widest point. The dam powers twelve generators each rated at 175 megawatts, which meant that many Egyptian villages had access to a permanent source of electricity for the first time.

When the dam almost overflowed in 1946, it was decided that rather than raise the dam a third time, a second dam would be built six kilometres upriver. Proper planning finally began in 1952, just after the Nasser revolution. Initially both Britain and America were to help finance construction of the second dam, however both nations then cancelled the offer in July 1956 for reasons not entirely known. Soon after, Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal, intending to use its tolls to subsidize the High Dam project. This prompted Britain, France, and Israel to attack Egypt, occupying the Suez Canal and precipitating the Suez Crisis. The United Nations, US, and USSR forced the invaders to withdraw and the canal was left in Egyptian hands. The Egyptian government continued to intend to finance the dam project alone by using the revenues of the Suez Canal to help pay for construction. But as part of the cold war struggle for influence in Africa, the then Soviet Union stepped in in 1958, and possibly a third of the cost of the dam was paid for as a gift. The Soviets also provided technicians and heavy machinery. The enormous rock and clay dam was designed by the Russian Zuk Hydroproject Institute.

NASA satellite image of the Aswan High Dam. The first stage of the dam was finished in 1964, but the dam itself was fully completed on 21st July 1970. The reservoir began filling in 1964 whilst the dam was still under construction and first reached its capacity in 1976.

Satellite image courtesy of Google Imagery, DigitalGlobe, TerraMetrics

In 1960, when work finally began on what was now to be the new Soviet financed High Dam, it meant that the Nubian people were in danger of losing all their land, and that major sites would be lost under the creation of the largest reservoir in the world, Lake Nasser. A UNESCO co-ordinated project was launched, not only to record the threatened Nubian monuments, but to dismantle and reassemble on higher ground, piece by piece, 24 major ancient monuments such as the temples of Philae, Abu Simbel and Kalabsha.

The Nubians from Lower Nubia were resettled in Kom Ombo and Aswan, and those from Upper Nubia were taken to Qasr el-Girba in northern Sudan. Social studies on both groups have shown how well they have adjusted to their new conditions.

The advantages of the dam include no inundation (flooding), twice yearly cropping and more land availability. However advantages are often balanced by disadvantages, in this case the increased salinity of the water has adversely affected crops, in particular in the Delta region, which now requires constant irrigation and drainage.

Environmental issues

Apart from the obvious benefits of the damming the Nile, it must also be noted that the dams have caused a number of environmental issues, including:

	Damming the Nile flooded much of lower Nubia and displaced over 90,000 people. The creation of Lake Nasser flooded many valuable archaeological sites.
	The silt which was deposited in the yearly inundation and made the Nile floodplain fertile, is now held behind the dam. Silt deposited in the reservoir is lowering the water storage capacity of Lake Nasser.
	Poor irrigation practices are water logging soils and bringing salt to the surface.
	Mediterranean fishing declined after the dam was finished because nutrients that used to flow down the Nile into the Mediterranean were trapped behind the dam.
	There is some erosion of farmland down-river. Erosion of coastline barriers, due to lack of new sediments from floods, will eventually cause loss of the brackish water lake fishery that is currently the largest source of fish for Egypt.
	The subsidence of the Nile Delta will lead to the inundation of the northern portion of the delta with seawater, in areas that are currently used for rice crops. The delta itself, no longer renewed by Nile silt, has lost much of its fertility. The red-brick construction industry, which relied heavily on delta mud, is also severely affected.
	The need to use artificial fertilisers supplied by international corporations is controversial too, causing chemical pollution which the traditional river silt did not.
	The dam has been implicated in a rise in cases of schistosomiasis (bilharzia), due to the thick plant life that has grown up in Lake Nasser, which hosts the snails who carry the disease.
	There is a significant erosion of coastlines all along the eastern Mediterranean - this is due to a lack of sand, which was once brought by the Nile.

pi-ramesse

2009-08-25T16:07:00.001-07:00

pi-ramesse
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In the eastern Delta near the modern town of el-Qantir, once stood the ancient harbour city of Pi-Ramesse. Founded by the New Kingdom pharaoh Seti I, it was his son Ramesses II who transformed the town into a royal residence and seat of government. It is thought that he moved the capital from Upper Egypt up into the Delta in an attempt to sever some of the influence and power of the Theben priesthood, and also to be able to better protect Egypt's borders with modern Turkey and Syria.
The location of this city, well known from documentation, was long in question. However, in the 1920s, decorated tiles, including some with the name of Seti I and Ramesses II were discovered in the area. A mud brick palace, dating to the earliest phase of the town was discovered in 1929.

More recently, beginning in the mid 1960s, the site was examined by a German expedition, and the Austrian Archaeological Institute under the direction of Manfred Bietak.

They have been using a magnetometer (gradumeter) to map out the long lost city. This relatively new method of archaeological discovery is mostly non-intrusive, and in many cases where the land is agricultural in nature, is the only suitable method of exploring a site. By late 1999, some 75,000 square metres had been measured in the fields around el-Qantir. Domestic areas, administrative quarters of a vast palace-temple compound, a possible cemetery and a region with poorer houses were defined.

In ancient times, there were many more branches of the Nile river located in the Delta, but only two remain. Pi-Ramesse was located on an extinct branch that dried out beginning in the 20th Dynasty. Faced with this problem, the pharaohs of the 21st Dynasty moved virtually all the monuments, item by item, to the new capital at Tanis.

It is probable that a number of temples were located within this ancient city. These religious centres included a great temple of Re, along with other temples to Amun, Ptah and Sutekh (Set, or Seth). The remains of the temple dedicated to Sutekh have been located in the southern part of the city. There were probably many other smaller temples and chapels, some dedicated to Wadjit and Astarte.

Ancient Avaris

Many centuries before Pi-Ramesse had been established by the pharaohs of the 19th dynasty, the city of Avaris had been founded on the east bank of the Pelusiac branch of the Delta in the same area.

In 1966, work began on excavating the site by Manfred Bietak of the Austrian Institute in Cairo. Evidence of an extensive occupation by a non-Egyptian populace was found, and these discoveries directed Dr Bietak to identify the cultural objects he found as almost identical to Middle Bronze Age artefacts from Syro-Palestine. Consequently it was concluded that the site of Tell el-Dab'a was the lost town of the Asiatic Hyksos. Avaris was the capital of the Hyksos kings of the Second Intermediate Period. Their fortified city was built over a Middle Kingdom town they had captured. They built a Canaanite-style temple and had Palestinian-style burials there, including burials of horses. They also brought with them elements of their Syro-Palestinian culture, such as their superior weapons and their distinctive style of pottery, although they were to a certain extent "Egyptianised".

During the 1990s excavations by the Austrian team concentrated upon an area on the western edge of the site, known as Ezbet Helmi where a large palace-like structure dating to the Hyksos period was discovered. The ancient gardens revealed many fragments of Minoan wall-paintings, similar in style to those found in the palace at Knossos in Crete. It has been suggested that these paintings, with their distinctive red background may pre-date those of Crete and Thera. They may well have influenced some of the Dynasty XVIII tomb paintings which appear to include Minoan themes, such as the "flying gallop" motif of horses and bulls. In the Dynasty XVIII strata of Ezbet Helmi, Dr Bietak discovered many lumps of pumice stone, which may be present as a result of the volcanic explosion on the island of Thera.

Several cemeteries belonging to the Second Intermediate Period have been determined during recent excavations at Tell el-Dab'a. Burials dating from late Dynasty XIII to the end of the Hyksos Period have been uncovered. One of the more remarkable finds is a mudbrick vaulted tomb of a warrior, located to the west of the main temple enclosure.

Burial of a warrior at Avaris

The warrior was placed in his tomb in the typical "flexed knee" position of an Asiatic settler, with his head towards the entrance. On his left hand was an amethyst scarab. He was buried with his weapons and various types of pottery. On a dish next to his head are the remains of a meat offering. He wore a copper belt with an attached dagger with five middle ribs on his left side. In his arms he held a scimitar still in its sheath. The copper sword was well preserved, with a leather sheath and a bone handle. The blade is cast with a riveted socket, with a unique voluted point. It is the oldest specimen of this type yet found in Egypt.

Towards the end of the 17th dynasty, Ahmose I, the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty, captured Avaris just before the Hyksos were finally expelled from Egypt. A palace compound was constructed in the early 18th dynasty. It consisted partly of mudbricks from the Hyksos citadel and seems to have functioned as a royal residence. The palace area was settled up to the reign of Amenhotep III, or possibly up to the reign of Ramesses II.

The Valley of the Kings

2009-08-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Valley of the Kings
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Hidden behind the Theban Hills, on the West Bank of the Nile, lies the Valley of the Kings (Wadi el-Muluk in Arabic), a limestone valley where tombs were built for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom during the 18-21st Dynasties. It was chosen as the burial place for most of Egypt's New Kingdom rulers for several reasons. As the crow flies, the Valley is very close to the cultivated banks of the river. It is small, surrounded by steep cliffs, and easily guarded. The local limestone, cut millions of years ago by torrential rains to form the Valley, is of good quality. And towering above the Valley is a mountain, al-Qurn (the horn in Arabic), whose shape may have reminded the ancient Egyptians of a pyramid, and is dedicated to the goddess Meretseger. The valley is separated into the East and West Valleys, with most of the important tombs in the East Valley, but as yet to date, not all the tombs in the Valley have been fully excavated.

There were 62 numbered royal and private tombs, ranging from a simple pit (KV 54) to a tomb with over 121 chambers and corridors (KV 5). Most were found already plundered. A few, like the tomb of Tutankhamen (KV 62) or that of Yuya and Thuyu (KV 46), and Maiherperi (KV36), contained thousands of precious artifacts. Some tombs have been accessible since antiquity, as Greek and Latin graffiti attest, some were used as dwellings or a church during the Graeco-Roman and Byzantine Periods, and others have been discovered only in the past two hundred years. Some, like KV 5, had been "lost," and their location rediscovered only recently.

The official name for the site was "The Great and Majestic Necropolis of the Millions of Years of the Pharaoh, Life, Strength, Health in The West of Thebes", or more usually, Ta-sekhet-ma'at (the Great Field). The Valley was used for primary burials from approximately 1539 BC to 1075 BC, starting with Thutmose I and ending with Ramesses X or XI. The Valley also had tombs for the favourite nobles and the wives and children of both the nobles and pharaohs. Around the time of Ramesses I (c.1300 BC) work began on the Valley of the Queens, although some wives were still buried with their husbands.

Important tombs

The tombs are numbered in the order of 'discovery' from Ramesses VII (KV1) to the recently discovered KV63, although some of the tombs have been open since antiquity, and KV5 has only recently been rediscovered. A number of the tombs are unoccupied, the owners of others remain unknown, and some are merely pits used for storage.

KV1	Ramesses VII	KV20	Thutmosis I and Hatshepsut
KV2	Ramesses IV	KV22	Amenhotep II
KV3	Son of Ramesses III	KV23	Ay
KV4	Ramesses XI	KV34	Tuthmosis III
KV5	Sons of Ramesses II	KV35	Amenhotep III
KV6	Ramesses IX	KV38	Tuthmosis I
KV7	Ramesses II	KV39	Amenhotep I ??
KV8	Merenptah	KV42	Hatshepsut Meryet-Re
KV9	Ramesses V and Ramesses VI	KV43	Tuthmosis IV
KV10	Amenmeses	KV45	Userhat
KV11	Ramesses III	KV48	Amenemipet
KV15	Seti II	KV54	Tutankhamun cache
KV16	Ramesses I	KV55	Tiye or Akenaten ??
KV17	Seti I	KV57	Horemheb
KV18	Ramesses X	KV62	Tutankhamun

By the end of the New Kingdom, Egypt had entered a long period of political and economic decline. The priests at Thebes grew in power and effectively administered Upper Egypt, whilst kings ruling from Tanis controlled Lower Egypt. The Valley began to be heavily plundered, so in response to this during the 21st Dynasty, the priests of Amun opened most of the tombs and moved the mummies into three tombs in order to better protect them, even removing most of their treasure in order to further protect the bodies from robbers. Later most of these were moved to a single cache near Deir el-Bahri (see below). During the later Third Intermediate Period and later periods, intrusive burials were introduced into many of the open tombs.

Tomb robbers

Almost all of the tombs have been ransacked, including Tutankhamun's, though in his case, it seems that the robbers were interrupted, so very little was removed.

The valley was surrounded by steep cliffs and heavily guarded. In 1090 BC, or the year of the Hyena, there was a collapse in Egypt's economy leading to the emergence of tomb robbers. Because of this, it was also the last year that the valley was used for burial. The valley also seems to have suffered an official plundering during the virtual civil war which started in the reign of Ramesses XI. The tombs were opened, all the valuables removed, and the mummies collected into two large caches. One, the so-called Deir el-Bahri cache, contained no less than forty royal mummies and their coffins; the other, in the tomb of Amenhotep II, contained a further sixteen.

What's happening there now?

There are several archaeological projects currently at work in the Valley of the Kings. Christian Leblanc is excavating the tomb of Rameses II (KV 7) for the CNRS, while across the road, the Theban Mapping Project (TMP) is excavating, recording and conserving KV 5 (the sons of Rameses II). The tomb of Amenmeses (KV 10) is being cleared by the Memphis University mission led by Otto Schaden. Elina Paulin-Grothe is directing a project of the Ägyptologische Seminar der Universität Basel, clearing and documenting in the tombs of Rameses X (KV 18), Siptah (KV 47), and Tiaa (KV32).

Nicholas Reeves and Geoffrey Martin are examining the area between the tombs of Horemheb (KV 57) and Rameses VI (KV 9). Edwin Brock continues his studies of royal sarcophagi with particular emphasis now on the remains in the tombs of Merenptah (KV 8) and Rameses VI (KV 9), where he is reconstructing the inner sarcophagus. Richard Wilkinson of the University of Arizona has been involved in an examination of symbolic alignments in the royal tombs. An expedition from Waseda University, Tokyo, under the direction of Jiro Kondo is clearing, documenting and conserving the area in and around the tomb of Amenhetep III in the West Valley (KV 22).

Rather intriguingly, and contrary to original expert opinion that the valley had yielded all of its tombs, the valley continues to "throw up" surprises! This latest happens to be the suspected finding of yet another tomb; this in the vicinity of KV62 (Tutankhamun), preliminary called KV64 ...

el-amarna

2009-08-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

el-amarna (akhetaten)
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The site of Amarna (commonly known as el-Amarna) is located on the east bank of the Nile River in the modern Egyptian province of al-Minya, some 58 km (38 miles) south of the city of al-Minya, 312 km (194 miles) south of the Egyptian capital Cairo and 402 km (250 miles) north of Luxor. The site of Amarna includes several modern villages, chief of which are el-Till in the north and el-Hagg Qandil in the south. The area contains an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by Akhenaten. The name for the city employed by the ancient Egyptians is written as Akhetaten which translates literally as "the Horizon of the Aten".
Akhetaten was abruptly abandoned following Akhenaten's death after an occupation of only 25-30 years, and it is for this reason that the ruins of el-Amarna are probably the best preserved example of an Egyptian settlement during the New Kingdom. The city included temples, palaces, and large areas of mud-brick housing, and archaeologists have been able to study these ruins and ground plans to see how an ancient city developed. The plundered and vandalised remains of the royal tombs of Akhenaten and his family were discovered several kilometers outside the city in the late 1880's.

Amarna has been examined by a succession of excavators, including Flinders Petrie, Howard Carter and Leonard Woolley (Royal city of Ur). Current investigations have been in annual operation since the late 1970s, directed by Dr Barry Kemp from the university of Cambridge, under the auspices of the Egypt Exploration Society (EES).

The Amarna Letters

Important cache of documents from el-Amarna, discovered in 1887 by a village woman digging for sebakh (decomposted organic material) for use as a fertiliser. There are 382 known clay cuneiform tablets, most of which derive from "the place of letters of Pharaoh", a building identified as the official "records office" and record selections of diplomatic correspondence from the Pharaoh. The exact chronology of these tablets is still debated, but they span a 15-30 year period beginning around the year of Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC) and continuing through to no later than the first year of Tutankhamun's reign (1336-1327 BC), with the majority dating to the time of Akhenaten.

These tablets shed light on Egyptian relations with Babylonia, Assyria, the Mitanni, the Hittites, Syria, Palestine and Cyprus. They are important for establishing both the history and chronology of the period. Letters from the Babylonian king Kadashman-Enlil I anchor Akhenaten's reign to the mid-14th century BC. Also within the tablet was the first mention of a Near Eastern group known as the Habiru, whose possible connection with the later Hebrews remains debated. Other rulers include Tushratta of the Mittani, one Lib'ayu whom David Rohl has argued should be identified with the Biblical king Saul, and the extensive correspondence of the querulous king Rib-Hadda of Byblos, who constantly pleads for Egyptian military help.

Most of these tablets are written in a dialect of the Akkadian language, (the popular language of the time) although the languages of the Assyrians, Hittites and the Hurrians are also represented.

Amarna Art


A sculptor's study showing Akhenaten and possibly Smenkhare. Cairo Museum	A study piece of a princess eating roast duck. Cairo Museum

Styles of art that flourished during this short period are markedly different from other Egyptian art, bearing a variety of affectations, from elongated heads to protruding stomachs, exaggerated ugliness and the beauty of Nefertiti. Significantly, and for the only time in the history of Egyptian royal art, Akhenaten's family was depicted in a decidedly naturalistic manner, and they are clearly shown displaying affection for each other.

Artistic representations of Akhenaten usually give him a strikingly feminine appearance, with slender limbs, a protruding belly and wide hips. Other leading figures of the Amarna period, both royal and otherwise, are also shown with some of these features, suggesting a possible religious connotation, especially as some sources suggest that private representations of Akhenaten, as opposed to official art, show him as quite normal.

The result is a realism that breaks away from the rigid formality and stylisation of earlier official depictions. It is characterised by a sense of movement and activity in images, with figures having raised heads, many figures overlapping and many scenes are crowded and very busy. Individuals such as the young princesses are shown as almost "alien like" with characteristic elongated skulls and protruding stomachs. The illustration of hands and feet were obviously thought to be important, shown with long and slender fingers, and great pains were gone to be show fingers and finger nails. Flesh was shown as being dark brown, for both males and females (contrasted with the more normal dark brown for males and light brown for females) - this could merely be convention, or depict the ‘life’ blood. As is normal in Egyptian art, commoners are shown with 2 left feet (or 2 right feet). There is a delicacy to it that at times can border on the grotesque.


Detail from a stele showing Akhenaten holding and kissing his baby daughter	Fragmentary statue of Akhenaten	Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their daughter shown adoring the Aten sun disc

Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their daughters were consistently shown making offerings to Aten, whose rays stretched down into hands, often offering the ankh symbol of life to the royal family (see above). The depiction of the Royal Family is often seen as being informal, intimate and with a family closeness, but this hides the conventions of the style. Central to most scenes is the disc of the Aten, shining down on the Royal Family and literally giving life and prosperity to Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Royalty are shown with left and right feet, each with a big toe.

Detail from a wall painting from a private house at Amarna, showing two of Akhenaten and Nefertiti''s daughters.

The discovery of the workshop of the king's sculptor Thutmose in 1912 uncovered one of the most important collection of works encountered anywhere in Egypt. A total of more than 20 prototype plaster casts taken at various stages of production, from clay masters, together with a whole range of incomplete and finished sculptures carved in a variety of hard and soft stones. Most principal members of the court can be recognised, including Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Kiya (another of Akhenaten's queens) and several of the royal princesses. The quality of all of these works is superb, but the unrivalled centrepiece of the collection is one of ancient Egypt's most famous icons: the unfinished limestone painted bust of Nefertiti wearing her characteristic flat-topped crown.

The famous bust of Nefertiti also depicts her with an elongated neck, although she is not subjected to quite the same extremes as others in Amarna art. An unusually prominent figure in official art, she dominates scenes carved on the blocks of the temple to the Aten at Karnak. One such block shows her in the warlike posture of pharaoh grasping captives by the hair and smiting them with a mace. Not what one would usually expect of a "peaceful" queen and mother of six daughters! Nefertiti obviously played a far more prominent role in her husband's rule than was perhaps considered the norm.


Limestone column fragment showing Nefertiti making offerings to Aten. Ashmoleon Museum, Oxford.	Unfinished limestone painted bust of Nefertiti by the sculptor Thutmose. Ägyptisches Museum Berlin.	Relief of Nefertiti in the Cairo Museum, discovered during excavations in the great temple of Aten at Amarna.

thebes

2009-08-25T15:59:00.001-07:00

thebes
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Principle city of Upper Egypt and capital of the fourth Egyptian "Nome" (36 nomes in all, each district had its own capital and governor). Modern Luxor on the East bank of the Nile contains archaeological remains of the city and temples of Thebes, whilst the West bank is the site of the mortuary temples and tombs of the kings and high officials from the Middle Kingdom to the end of the Pharaonic period. The archaeological remains of Thebes offer a striking testimony to Egyptian civilisation at its height.
The Ancient Egyptians knew the town as "Waset", it was in fact the Greeks who called it Thebes, possibly either naming it after their own city of the same name in Boeotia, or deriving from a Greek translation of the Ancient Egyptian phrase meaning "the most select of places" - one of the names of the temple at Karnak.

The rulers of the 12th Dynasty (1985-1795 BC) established Thebes as the capital of Upper Egypt, and from then onwards Amun, the local god of Thebes became increasingly prominent.

In the 11th Dynasty, royal burials were already being made on the West bank, at el-Tarif and Deir el-Bahri, where Mentuhotep II built his funerary complex. By the time of the New Kingdom, the West bank of Thebes was developing into a great necropolis that would eventually rival the Memphis necropolis of Saqqara in importance. The New Kingdom was the most important period in the history of Thebes, and it was during this time that successive rulers began to enlarge and elaborate the temple complex of Karnak, dedicated to the divine triad of Amun, Mut and Khons. In the reign of Amenhotep III, the Luxor temple was founded, just a short distance south of Karnak.

On the West bank, the Valley of the Kings became the burial place of the New Kingdom rulers from at least as early as the reign of Thutmose I (1504-1492 BC). A number of Royal palaces were also built on the West bank, ranging from small buildings attached to mortuary temples, to the sprawling complex of buildings at Malkata (from the reign of Amenhotep III).

During the Ramesside period, when the royal palace and the central administration were transferred to the Delta, Thebes retained a great deal of its religious and political significance, and the bodies of the rulers were still bought to the Valley of the Kings for burial. It was only during the Late Period that the importance of the city finally seems to have dwindled in favour of Memphis, Tanis, Sais and Bubastis.

Major archaeological sites at Thebes - east bank:

The temple of Karnak	A vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. Karnak is probably the second most visited ancient site in Egypt, second only to the Giza Pyramids near Cairo. It consists of four main parts, of which only one is accessible for tourists and the general public - the Precinct of Amon-Re. This is also the "main" temple part and by far the largest part. The three other parts are closed to the public. There are also a few smaller temples and sanctuaries located outside the enclosing walls of the four main parts, as well as several avenues of ram-headed sphinxes connecting the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Amon-Re and Luxor Temple. The key difference between Karnak and most of the other temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Construction work began in the 16th century BC. Approximately 30 pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity and diversity not seen elsewhere. Few of the individual features of Karnak are unique, but the size and number of features is overwhelming.


The temple of Luxor	Luxor temple was dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Khons and during the New Kingdom was the focus of the annual Opet Festival, where a cult statue of Amun was paraded down the Nile from nearby Karnak Temple. Construction work on the temple began during the reign of Amenhotep III in the 14th century BC. Horemheb and Tutankhamun added columns, statues, and friezes, and Akhenaten had earlier obliterated his father's cartouches and installed a shrine to the Aten – but the only major expansion effort took place under Ramesses II some 100 years after the first stones were put in place. Luxor is unique among the main Egyptian temple complexes in having only two pharaohs leave their mark on its architectural structure. The temple fell into disrepair during the Late Period and Alexander the Great claims to have undertaken major reconstruction work "to restore it to the glory of Amenhotep's times" in the 320s BC. During Rome's domination of Egypt it was converted into a centre for the imperial cult. By the time of the Arab conquest, the temple was largely buried underneath accumulated river silt, to the extent that the Mosque of Abu Haggag was built on top of it in the 13th century, where it still remains in-situ today.

Major archaeological sites at Thebes - west bank:

The *valley of the kings*	The official name for the site was "the Great and Majestic Necropolis of the Millions of Years of the Pharaoh, Life, Strength, Health in The West of Thebes", or more usually, the Great Field. It stands on the west bank of the Nile, under the peak of the pyramid-shaped mountain Al-Qurn. It is separated into the East and West Valleys, with most of the important tombs sited in the East Valley. The Valley was used for primary burials from approximately 1539 BC to 1075 BC, and contains some 64 tombs, starting with Thutmose I and ending with Ramesses X or XI. The tombs are numbered in the order of 'discovery' from Ramesses VII (KV1) to the recently discovered KV63, although some of the tombs have been open since antiquity, and KV5 has only recently been rediscovered. A number of the tombs are unoccupied, the owners of others remain unknown, and some are merely pits used for storage. Perhaps the most famous discovery of modern Western archaeology was made here by Howard Carter on 4th November 1922, with clearance and conservation work continuing until 1932. King Tutankhamun's tomb was the first royal tomb to be discovered that was still largely intact (although tomb robbers had entered it), and was, until the discovery and excavation of KV63 in 2006, considered the last major discovery in the valley.


The valley of the queens	In ancient times, it was known as ‘the place of the Children of the Pharaoh’. Located near the better known Valley of the Kings, this was where many of the royal queens of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties together with many princes and princesses were buried along with various members of the nobility. The tombs of these individuals were maintained by mortuary priests whom performed daily rituals and provided offerings and prayers for the deceased nobility. This necropolis is said to hold more than eighty tombs, many of which are stylish and lavishly decorated a fine example of this being the tomb of Ramesses the Great's principle queen, Nefertari. QV66 is the most lavishly decorated tomb in the valley. The tombs were built according to patterns from the Valley of the Kings, but on a smaller scale. Most of the tombs are very simple, as well as uninscribed. The general layout is long corridor with antechambers and the burial chamber at the end.


The temple of *Medinet Habu*	Medinet Habu is the name commonly given to the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III and is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III. The temple, some 150 metres long, is of orthodox design, and resembles closely the nearby mortuary temple of Ramesses II (the Ramesseum). Ramesses III had an usual entrance built for the complex, possibly modelled on citadels he had seen on military campaigns in Syria. The tower is in the form of a "migdol," a kind of Asiatic fortified gate house. The temple is very well preserved and surrounded by a massive mudbrick enclosure, which may also have been fortified. In Coptic times, there was a church inside the temple structure, which has since been removed. Some of the carvings in the main wall of the temple have been altered by coptic carvings. On the north wall of the temple are reliefs depicting the victory of Ramesses with the Sardinians, Cretans, Philistines and the Danu, otherwise known as the "Sea Peoples". This was perhaps the greatest victory in ancient Egypt and these are the only know reliefs of a sea battle in Egypt.


The Ramesseum	The Ramesseum is the mortuary temple of Ramesses II. He ruled for 67 years during the 13th century BC, the apogee of Ancient Egypt's power and glory. This extraordinarily long reign, the wealth available in the state coffers, and, undeniably, the pharaoh's personal vanity meant that Ramesses, of all the ancient rulers, left what is perhaps the most indelible mark on the country. His legacy can be seen most clearly in the archaeological record – in the many buildings that Ramesses modified, usurped, or constructed from the ground up. Most splendid of these would have been his memorial temple – a place of worship dedicated to pharaoh, god on earth, where his memory would have been kept alive after his passing from this world. Surviving records indicate that work on the project began shortly after the start of his reign and continued for 20 years. The main building, dedicated to the funerary cult, comprised of two stone pylons some 60m, one after the other, each leading into a courtyard. Beyond the second courtyard, at the centre of the complex, was a covered 48-column hypostyle hall, surrounding the inner sanctuary. One massive fallen statue at the Ramesseum is now inextricably linked with the poet Percy Byshe Shelley - the cartouche on its shoulder bearing Ramesses's throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re, transliterated into Greek as "Ozymandias".


*Deir el-Medina (the workers' village)*	An ancient Egyptian village that was home to the artisans who built the temples and tombs ordered by the Pharaohs and other dignitaries in the Valley of the Kings during the New Kingdom period. Its ancient name was "The place of Maat (truth) to the west of Thebes" and its inhabitants were responsible for most of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Queens, together with the temples of the Theban necropolis. These included the famous tombs of Tutankhamen and Nefertari, and the memorial temples of Ramesses II, Amenhotep III, and Hatshepsut. Deir el-Medina contained some 70 artisans' homes with another 40 or so based outside the perimeter wall. The village itself was built around one central avenue, with occasional alleyways leading off. Most of the houses were single-storey, mud brick constructions, although stone was used towards the end of the village's existence. The village was abandoned, and then ransacked, during the Third Intermediate Period. Its importance largely lies in the large number of ostraca (pottery shards) found there, which provided revolutionary insights into matters of everyday society and economics in the New Kingdom. The site is also noteworthy for a number of tombs belonging to local artists that have been excavated, the sumptuous decorations of which indicate that the village residents placed no less importance on their own afterlife than on that of their employers.


*Deir el-Bahri*	Deir el-Bahri is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, probably best known for Hatshepsut's mortuary temple. The first monument built at the site was the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II of the 11th dynasty. During the 18th dynasty, Amenhotep I and Hatshepsut also built extensively at the site. Mentuhotep II's temple is called "Splendid are the places of Nebhepetre" and was discovered in the 1860s. The temple was divided into two parts, the front being dedicated to Montu-Re, and the rear serving as the cult centre for the Pharaoh. It is made of limestone and sandstone, and consists of a colonnaded ramp, leading up to a flattened terrace, which originally had a small structure on it, probably a pyramid or mound. This structure was surrounded by a pillared hall. A wrapped image of the pharaoh was discovered by Howard Carter, in some underground unfinished rooms believed to have originally been intended as the king’s tomb. An 11th Dynasty shaft tomb located at the southern end of the complex contained a cache of 40 royal mummies, moved there from the Valley of the Kings. The bodies had been placed there by 21st Dynasty priests most likely to prevent further desecration and looting. Private tombs dating from the Middle Kingdom through the Ptolemaic period can be found at the Deir el-Bahri site.


*The Malqata*	The Palace of Amenhotep III, known as the Malqata, is located in the desert just south of Medinat Habu. There are various structures in the desert, consisting of several residential palaces, a temple of Amen, a festival hall, elite villas, houses for the relatives of the Royal Family, apartments for attendants, and a desert altar termed the Kom al-Samak, all of which were constructed by mud bricks. Originally the palace was known as the Palace of the Dazzling Aten. and was constructed mostly out of mud-brick, the palace was Amenhotep's residence throughout most of the latter part of his reign. Begun around year 11 of his reign and continued until the king moved here permanently around year 29. Once completed it was the largest royal residence in Egypt. To the east of the palace a large ceremonial lake was dug. The palace area was connected to the Nile through a system of canals, which end in a large habour or quay, now called Birket Habu. The palace ruins were "rediscovered" in 1888 by J. Daressy and have been the site of excavations by the Archaeological Mission of Waseda University since 1985.


*Colossi of Memnon*	Originally standing guard to the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III, all that now remains are these twin giant sandstone seated statues of Amenhotep, towering 18 metres high. Two shorter figures are carved into the front throne alongside his legs: these are his wife Tiy and mother Mutemwiya. The side panels depict the Nile god Hapy. The temple was a massive cult centre built during the pharaoh's lifetime, where he was worshipped as a god-on-earth both before and after his departure from this world. In its day, this temple complex was the largest and most opulent in Egypt. Even later rivals such as Ramesses II's Ramesseum or Ramesses III's Medinet Habu were unable to match it in area. With the exception of the Colossi, however, very little remains today of Amenhotep's temple. Standing on the edge of the Nile floodplain, successive annual inundations gnawed away at the foundations and it was not unknown for later rulers to dismantle and reuse portions of their predecessors' monuments. Strabo, writing in the early years of the 1st century, tells of an earthquake in around 27 BC that shattered the northern colossus, collapsing it from the waist up.

Information on major archaeological sites courtesy of Wikpaedi

memphis

2009-08-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

memphis - ancient capital
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Founded by Menes, the 1st Dynasty ruler, Memphis was the capital city of Egypt for most of the Pharaonic period. Situated some 24km south of modern Cairo, it was the capital of the first Lower Egyptian Nome and the administrative capital during the Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom.
Tradition tells us that Menes founded the city by creating dikes to protect the area from Nile floods. Afterwards, this great city of the Old Kingdom became the administrative and religious centre of Egypt. In fact, so dominating is the city during this era that it is referred to as the Memphite period. It became a cosmopolitan community and was probably one of the largest and most important cities in the ancient world. When Herodotus visited the city in the 5th century BC, a period when Persians ruled Egypt, he found many Greeks, Jews, Phoenicians and Libyans amongst the population.

But there is little left of Memphis today, at least that can be seen. Originally, the city had many fine temples, palaces and gardens. But today, other than the scattered ruins, most of the city is gone, or lies beneath cultivated fields, thick deposits of Nile alluvium and much is below the water table. and local villages. The Temple of Ptah is often flooded due to the high water table. What we do know of Memphis comes to us from its necropoli, texts and papyri from other parts of Egypt and of course Herodotus, who visited the city.


Carved in honour of an unknown pharaoh, the Alabaster Sphinx may have stood outside of the Temple of Ptah along with the Colossus of Ramesses II.	The unfinished colossus of Ramesses II is 10 metres long (it has no feet) and was discovered near the south gate of the temple of Ptah. A small museum has been built to house this magnificent piece.

The most obvious monuments at the site belong to the New Kingdom and include the Temple of Ptah who was the local deity, the fallen colossus of Ramesses II and the "Alabaster" sphinx. The remains of the god's temple bordering the village of Mit Rahina was at one time probably one of the grandest temples in Egypt. Today, only a fraction of the temple remains, which was originally excavated by Flinders Petrie between 1908 and 1913. Ramesses II is well represented here, with a colossus of himself near the Alabaster Sphinx along the southern enclosure wall. Very few tombs are actually located at Memphis, the nearby necropolises of Saqqara, Dashur, Giza, Abusir, Abu Roash and Zawiyet el-Aryan serving the purposes for burials.

The Kom Qala area of the site contains the remains of a palace of Merenptah, the successor to Ramesses II, and a smaller Temple of Ptah. Flinders Petrie also discovered the remains of an industrial site nearby dating from the Roman Period, where faience was produced.

Sheshonq I of the 22nd Dynasty built an embalming house for the Apis Bull, and traces of this and the enormous embalming tables are still visible.

What happened to the city to cause its complete demise is somewhat unclear. In later dynasties Thebes became the capital of Egypt, but Memphis continued to retain much of its religious significance, and still prospered during this period. During the Ptolemaic Period, the city lost its importance to Alexandria, although its remains were still clearly visible in the 12th century AD. The founding of the city of Fustat by the Arab conquerors, which developed and expanded to ultimately become Cairo, dealt the final blow to Memphis, and as such there is actually very little for the modern day visitor to see of this once great capital city.

alexandria

2009-08-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

alexandria
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Alexandria was a Greco-Roman city at the western end of the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, founded by Alexander the Great. In ancient times, the city was known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and the Library of Alexandria (the largest library in the ancient world). Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbour of Alexandria (which began in 1994) is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhakotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

A thriving and cosmopolitan city during the Ptolemiac and Roman periods, by 320 BC Alexandria had replaced Memphis as the capital of Egypt. With its gridded street plan, it was essentially a Greek rather than Egyptian city, with a substantial population of Greeks and Jews. The major monuments of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods were the Sarapeum, a temple dedicated to the god Serapis, which may have housed part of the library collection, the Caesarium (founded by Cleopatra in honour of Mark Anthony), and Kom es-Shawqafa, a labyrinth of rock cut tombs dating to the first two centuries AD.
The Pharos of Alexandria

Fort Qait Bey was built on the site of the Pharos in the 15th Century by the Sultan of Egypt, Qait Bey. Some of the fallen stone from the ruin of the Pharos is said to be incorporated into the walls of the fort.

The famous lighthouse (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was constructed early in the Ptolemaic period on the islet of Pharos, approximately 1.5km from the coast. The building was designed by Sostratus of Cnidus in the 3rd century BC, after having been initiated by Satrap Ptolemy I of Egypt, Egypt's first Hellenistic ruler. The building was completed during the reign of his son, Ptolemy II Philadelphos.

Unfortunately virtually nothing of this ancient lighthouse has survived. With a height variously estimated at between 115 and 135 metres it was among the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries, and was identified as one of the Seven Wonders of the World by Antipater of Sidon.

Initially built as a navigational landmark, the Pharos was constructed from large blocks of light-coloured stone, and made up of three stages: a lower square section with a central core, a middle octagonal section, and, at the top, a circular section. In the Roman period, around the first century AD, a mirror was positioned at the apex, which would reflect sunlight during the day and a fire was lit there at night. Extant Roman coins struck by the Alexandrian mint show that a statue of a triton was positioned on each of the building's 4 corners. A statue of Poseidon stood atop the tower during the Roman period.

It ceased operating and was largely destroyed as a result of two earthquakes in the 14th century AD. There is the possibility that the fortress of Qait Bey, on the Pharos penisula, may incorporate a few stray blocks from the lighthouse - some remains were found on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour by divers in 1994. More of the remains have subsequently been revealed by satellite imaging and recent discoveries around the Fort Qait Bey site have unearthed many objects, including what experts believe may be some remains of the Pharos lighthouse.

The Roman Cemetery Of Kom el-Shouqafa

Kom el-Shouqafa is the Arab translation of the ancient Greek name, Lofus Kiramaikos, meaning "mound of shards" or "potsherds." Its actual ancient Egyptian name was Ra-Qedillies, and it lies on the site where the village and fishing port of Rhakotis, the oldest part of Alexandria that predates Alexander the Great, was located.

The underground tunnels of the catacombs lie in the densely populated district of Karmouz to the east of Alexandria. The cemetery dates back to the 1st century AD and was used until the 4th century AD. According to popular belief, on the 28th September 1900, by pure chance, a donkey cart fell into a pit, which led to the discovery of the catacombs. In reality, a local Alexandrian man, Saïd Ali Jibarah was quarrying for stone when he broke open the vault of a subterranean tomb.

The catacombs were most probably used as a private tomb, for a single wealthy family, and later converted to a public cemetery. They are composed of a ground level construction that probably served as a funerary chapel, a deep spiral stairway and three underground levels for the funerary ritual and entombment. The first level consists of a vestibule with a double exedra, a rotunda and a triclinium. The second level, in its original state, was the main tomb, with various surrounding corridors. It was reached by a monumental staircase from the rotunda. The third level is submerged in ground water, which has also caused it to be saturated with sand. The catacombs also contain a large number of grooves cut in the rock known as "loculi". In its final stage, the complex contained over one hundred loculi and numerous rock-cut sarcophagus tombs.

The catacombs are unique both for their plan and for their decoration, which represents an integration of the cultures and traditions of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. It was a place where people seemed to have a talent for combining rather than destroying cultures. Though the funerary motifs are pure ancient Egyptian, the architects and artists were clearly trained in the Greco-Roman style. Here then, we find decorations related to ancient Egyptian themes, but with an amazing twist that makes them quite unlike anything else in the world.

Archaeological treasures


Pompey's pillar	Inside the catacombs of Kom El-Shouqafa

The archaeological exploration of the city has been compounded by the fact that many of the antiquities in Alexandria were gathered together from all over Egypt to adorn new temples, or in preparation for transportation to other parts of the Roman empire. For instance, Cleopatra's Needle, on the Embankment in London, and the Central Park obelisk in New York both once stood in the Caesarium in Alexandria, having originally been brought there from Thutmose III's temple to Ra-Atum in Heliopolis.

Little excavation has taken place in the ancient town, as it lies directly below the modern city centre. Parts of the road leading from the river port to the sea harbour were examined in 1874, and one of the most striking surviving monuments was Pompey's Pillar (see above), a granite column which was erected by the Roman emperor Diocletian in 297 AD, close to the site of the Serapeum, the largest and most magnificent of all temples in the Greek quarter of Alexandria. Besides the image of the god, the temple precinct housed an offshoot collection of the great Library of Alexandria. The Greek geographer Strabo tells that this stood in the west of the city. Nothing now remains above ground.

The Royal Library of Alexandria

The Royal Library of Alexandria was once the largest library in the world. It is generally thought to have been founded at the beginning of the 3rd century BC, during the reign of Ptolemy II after his father had built what would become the first part of the library complex: the temple of the Muses - the "Musaion".

The library's collection was already famous in the ancient world, and became even more so in later years. It is impossible, however, to determine how large the collection was in any era. The collection was made of papyrus scrolls, and later, parchment codices, which were predominant as a writing material after 300 AD, may have been substituted for papyrus. A single piece of writing might occupy several scrolls, and this division into self-contained "books" was a major aspect of editorial work. Mark Antony was supposed to have given Cleopatra over 200,000 scrolls for the Library.

No index of the library survives, and it is not possible to know with certainty how large and how diverse the collection was. It is likely, for example, that even if the library had hundreds of thousands of scrolls (and thus, perhaps, tens of thousands of individual works), that many of these were duplicate copies or alternate versions of the same texts. The library, or at least parts of the collection, were destroyed by fire on a number of occasions, however the details of the destruction (or destructions) remain a lively source of controversy. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina was inaugurated in 2003 near the site of the old library.

Underwater Discoveries


Colossal head from grey granite, identified as Caesarion, son of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.	Sphinx found on Antirhodos Island.	Marble head resembling Antonia Minor (36BC-37AC), daughter of Marc Anthony and Octavia.

Very little of the ancient city has survived into the present day. Much of the royal and civic quarters sank beneath the harbour due to earthquake subsidence, and much of the rest has been rebuilt upon in modern times. The underwater section contains much of the most interesting sections of the Hellenistic city, including the palace quarter. Despite archaeological interest above ground, the potential for an ancient underwater site was largely ignored. It wasn't until 1961 that the first underwater "excavation" took place - Kamal Abu el-Saadat persuaded the Egyptian Navy to haul out a colossal statue of Isis from the murky depths of the harbour. The French archaeologist Jean-Yves Empereur and a team of thirty divers from the National Centre of Scientific Research began a comprehensive and detailed exploration of the underwater site. An additional project led by another Frenchman Franck Goddio, of the European Institute of Underwater Archaeology soon followed suit.

The legendary sunken parts of the ancient city of Alexandria, lost for over 1600 years, were discovered through the archaeological work of underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team in 1992. After extensive research, detailed topographical surveys with the use of sophisticated electronic equipment, and careful excavations in Alexandria’s Eastern Harbour, Franck Goddio presented the unique discoveries for the first time to the public in 1996.


Jean-Yves Empereur Empereur's survey of the Qait Bey site has revealed more than 300 enormous blocks, which he believes (others are more sceptical) could represent the remains of the legendary Pharos lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The survey also revealed architectural elements such as columns and obelisks and statuary, along with the remains of forty well preserved Greek and Roman shipwrecks.		Franck Goddio Goddio's work has focused on the remains of a submerged palace with marble floors, situated within the eastern harbour of Alexandria. In 3500 dives, his team has mapped a wide range of piers and fallen columns and fabulous statues - one of Isis, and a sphinx. The placement of the columns and piers echoed the descriptions of Strabo, the Greek geographer who visited the Library in 25 BC.

Underwater images courtesy of Frank Goddio Society

tanis

2009-08-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

tanis
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Tanis is the Greek name of ancient Djanet, modern San el-Hagar - an important archaeological site in the north-eastern Delta, and the capital of the 19th Lower Egyptian nome in the Late Period. It lays on the Tanitic branch of the Nile in the delta, which is now silted up and is a bleak and desolate place. Throughout virtually the last two millenia, the open plain surrounding the sprawling mound of remains has been populated only by roaming herds of wild boar and the occasional transient Bedouin encampment.
It was the home city of Smendes, founder of the 21st Dynasty. During the 22nd dynasty (also known as the Libyan or Bubastite dynasty) Tanis remained as Egypt's political capital (though there were sometimes rival dynasties located elsewhere in Upper Egypt). It was an important commercial and strategic city until it was threatened with inundation by Lake Manzala in the 6th century AD, when it was finally abandoned.

The principle excavations at Tanis were carried out in 1860-1880 by Auguste Mariette, then in 1883-1886 by Flinders Petrie, and in 1921-1951 by Pierre Montet. The site is still currently being studied by archaeologists.

The earliest recorded building at Tanis dates to the reign of Psusennes I (1039-991 BC) from the 21st Dynasty, who constructed a huge mud brick enclosure wall which surrounds the Temple of Amun.

Later rulers of the 21st and early 22nd Dynasty added to the temple complex. On the south-western side of the site beyond the temple enclosure, is a smaller temple dedicated to Mut and Khons, where the Asiatic goddess Astarte was also worshipped.

In 1939, with Europe on the brink of war, and during his 11th year of excavations at Tanis, French Egyptologist Pierre Montet literally struck gold. On 27th February, he found the tomb of a king, identified by inscriptions as Osorkon II. There were several rooms, but they had all had been plundered. Despite this, there still remained a fabulous quartzite sarcophagus for Osorkon's son, Takelot II, together with shabtis, abaster jars and other objects.

When the tomb was cleared, Montet discovered another, undisturbed adjoining tomb. The wall inscriptions mentioned Psusennes I, and lying on the floor was a hawk-headed solid silver coffin. When the coffin was opened it revealed a solid gold face mask and exquisite gold jewellery. This was clearly the burial of a pharaoh, but the inscriptions showed that it was not Psusennes I as the tomb had indicated, but instead a previously unknown king called Sheshonq II. With silver coffins and jewellery that rivalled that of Tutankhamun's, these formerly little known northern kings were perhaps not the weak rulers of the Third Intermediate Period, as had been previously thought.

Pierre Montet discovered six royal tombs altogether - the occupants of two of the tombs are unknown, but the remaining ones belonged to Amenemope, Osorkon II and Sheshonq III. Not only had the tomb of Psusennes I also contained the hawk headed silver coffin of Sheshonq II, it had also contained the coffin and sarcophagus of Amenemope. In addition, the tomb of Osorkon II also held the sarcophagus of Takelot II. Montet had stumbled inadvertently, but perhaps not unexpectedly, upon a veritable necropolis of Third Intermediate Period kings, surrounded by heaps of burial equipment.

Treasures from Tanis

The artifacts from the Tanis necropolis are the most important source of knowledge covering royal funerary goods of the Third Intermediate Period. The treasures are displayed in their own room in the Cairo museum. Just a small selection of these wonders are profiled below:


Golden bracelet inlaid with a scarab	Hinged bracelet featuring the wadjet eye, one a pair of seven that were placed on the mummy of Shoshenq II. Gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, white faience.	Pectoral scarab jewel discovered on the mummy of Shoshenq II. Gold, lapis lazuli, green and red faience.

Gold pectoral with solar barque motif. Gold, lapis lazuli and glass paste.	Golden sandals for the mummy of Shoshenq II	Gold pectoral with inlays of glass paste and multicoloured stones was found around the neck of the mummy of Sheshonq II.

The amazing sold gold funerary mask of Psusennes I	The golden funerary mask of Shoshenq II	The golden funeral mask of General Wendebauendjed

Known tombs from the Tanis necropolis

Tomb ID:	Main occupant:	Dynasty:	Other occupants:

NRT 1	Osorkon II: Possibly usurped from Smendes. Osorkon was buried in a granite sarcophagus with a lid carved from a Ramesside period statue. Only some debris of a hawk-headed coffin and canopic jars remained in the robbed tomb to identify the king.	22nd	Harnakht, Osorkon's young son.
			Takelot I was buried in a Middle Kingdom sarcophagus in a redecorated chamber of the tomb with of burial equipment inscribed for Osorkon I.
			Another chamber contained the remains of a reburial of Shoshenq III.
			There is the possibility that Shoshenq V was also subsequently buried in NRT I, identified by his canopic equipment.

NRT II	Pami/Pimay: Roughly constructed tomb, set alongside Osorkon II's tomb. Identified by his canopic equipment.	22nd	None

NRT III	Psusennes I: Probably the most exciting tomb. Five chambers containing reburied mummies, and concealed behind a decorated wall was the burial chamber of Psusennes I, completely undisturbed. Within a granite sarcophagus that had once belonged to Merenptah, was a granite coffin that held a solid silver coffin, a gold mummy-board and a solid gold mask that covered the face of Psusennes. Around the sarcophagus were canopic jars, shabtis, and other burial goods.	21st	Amenemope encased in a coffin of gilded wood and placed in a sarcophagus prepared for Queen Mutnodjmet, mother of Psusennes II.
			Siamun
			Psusennes II
			Shoshenq II in a silver falcon headed coffin.
			General Wendebauendjed, a military man, along with jewellery, burial equipment and a fine gold mask.

NRT IV	Amenemope: Although it was built for Amenemope this tomb contained nothing but a beautiful sarcophagus with an inscription recording the king's name (his body and funerary cache were placed in NRT III).	21st	None

NRT V	Shoshenq III. Buried in a sarcophagus that was originally a 13th Dynasty lintel.	22nd	Shoshenq IV: his sarcophagus was found alongside that of Shoshenq III.
NRT VI	Unidentified	21st/22nd
NRT VII	Unidentified	22nd

The discovery of the burials at Tanis was one of great importance and significance, throwing much light onto a previously unknown period and its rulers. Their tombs were furnished with a considerable Amunt of equipment in the form of vessels and precious metals, shabtis and canopic jars and exquisite pieces of jewellery. The quality of the burial goods demonstrated craftsmen and metalworkers of equal technical capability as those seen in the tomb of Tutankhamun. Prior to their discovery, it would probably not have been considered plausible for rulers of the Third Intermediate Period to have been capable of amassing such riches.

However, in the classic twists and turns of Egyptology, the burials probably raise more questions than they answer. They are extremely confusing, and have proved a daunting task to interpret. We do not know precisely when the tombs were re-opened in order to rearrange the burial places of the kings, and we are left with a bewildering mass of diverse objects and incomplete caches of burial goods. There seems to have been a hurried relocation of royal bodies, possibly for security purposes, in very much the same way as the priests had done at Deir el-Bahri, Thebes.

the giza plateau

2009-08-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

the giza plateau
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The Giza necropolis, situated in the immediate vicinity of the southwestern suburbs of modern Cairo is probably one of the most famous ancient sites in the world.
The group of pyramid complexes of the 4th Dynasty pharaohs of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure form the three most famous pyramids in Egypt together with the Great Sphinx, and are the only remaining "wonders" from the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The earliest monument at Giza is mastaba V which probably dates to the reign of the 1st Dynasty ruler Djet (c.2980 BC).
The pyramid complex at Giza

There is a tendency to view the pyramids and Sphinx as individual objects, whereas in fact each lies within a group of related architectural components, including subsidiary pyramids, solar-boat pits, a palace, a harbour, workshops, and a funerary temple connected by a causeway to a valley temple. Together these constituted the physical elements of the cult of the pharaoh, in which the king was worshipped after his death.

The classic view of the pyramids of Giza, grouped together, belying their close proximity to the suburbs of Cairo. The pyramids of queens stand in front of the pyramid of Menkaure, the pyramid of Khafre with the remains of its distinctive limestone casing stands in the centre, and the Great pyramid of Khufu is set back to the far right.

Fascinating satellite view of the Giza Plateau, with the three pyramids clearly visable. Bottom left: pyramid of Menkaure, centre: pyramid of Khafre with its remaining limestone top. The causeway that ran from Khafre's mortuary temple down to the valley temple is clearly visable. Finally, top right: pyramid of Khufu, the great pyramid. You can appreciate how close the suburbs of Cairo lie in relation to the Giza Plateau from this aerial view.

Satellite imagery courtesy of Google Imagery - DigiGlobe, TerraMetrics.

Pyramid of Khufu - The Great Pyramid

Khufu (2589-2566 BC) was the builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza. In ancient times, this pyramid was known as "Khufu is the one belonging to the horizon". His father Sneferu, had in fact built the first ever true pyramid, the "north" or Red Pyramid at Dahshur, near Saqqara.

While pyramid construction had been solely for the reigning pharaoh prior to Khufu, his reign saw the construction of several minor pyramid structures that are believed to have been intended for other members of his royal household, Amunting to a royal cemetery. Three small pyramids to the east of Khufu's pyramid are tentatively thought to belong to two of his wives, and the third has been ascribed to Khufu's mother Hetepheres I, whose funerary equipment was found relatively intact in a shaft tomb nearby. A series of mastabas were created adjacent to the small pyramids, and tombs have been found in this cemetery. There is a ruined temple on the east side, and the causeway leading out to the valley temple has been lost beneath the modern settlement of Nazlet el-Simman. Several boat pits surround the pyramid, and boats have been found in two of these.

One of these was rediscovered in 1954 by Kamal el-Mallakh, undisturbed since it was sealed into a pit carved out of the Giza bedrock thousands of years previously. It was built largely of cedar planking in the "shell-first" construction technique and has been reconstructed from more than 1200 pieces which had been laid in a logical, disassembled order in the pit beside the pyramid. The history and function of the ship are not precisely known, although it is of the type known as a "solar barque", a ritual vessel to carry the resurrected king with the sun god Re across the heavens. However, it bears some signs of having been used in water, and it is possible that the ship was either a funerary "barge" used to carry the king's embalmed body from Memphis to Giza, or even that Khufu himself used it as a "pilgrimage ship" to visit holy places and that it was then buried for him to use in the afterlife.

Khufu's pyramid is unusual because the burial chambers are built within the structure, as opposed to the more usually underground chambers found in most pyramids. Originally the pyramid would have been covered by a layer of smooth white limestone and possibly crowned by gold sheet at the apex. This covering was stripped away in medieval times, but some still remains on the apex of the neighbouring pyramid of Khafre.


The great pyramid of KHUFU	The pyramid of KHAFRE with the great sphinx in the foreground	The pyramid of MENKAURE, the smallest of the three

Pyramid of Khafre

Khafre (2558-2532 BC) was the builder of the next great pyramid at Giza. The site of this pyramid is on a slight eminence and retains some of its limestone casing at the apex, and it therefore actually appears larger than that of Khufu, and is often mistaken as the Great Pyramid. In ancient times this pyramid was known as "Great is Khafre", and is more typical of Old Kingdom pyramid design in having an underground burial chamber.

Though Khafre's pyramid is shorter than his father Khufu's nearby Great Pyramid, Khafre made up for it by building at a higher elevation and surrounding his pyramid with a more elaborate complex. Within the burial chamber, a small pit was discovered cut in the floor - possibly designed to hold the first canopic chest in a pyramid. Outside the pyramid all the typical elements of a pharaonic mortuary temple are seen in one place for the first time: entrance hall, colonnaded courtyard, niches for royal statuary, storage chambers, and interior sanctuary. Later pyramids would be significantly smaller, with much greater emphasis placed on these mortuary temples.

Khafre's necropolis also boasted an unprecedented profusion of statues, among them the Great Sphinx. The Sphinx is carved from an outcrop of rock in a quarry beside the causeway to Khafre's pyramid, and this famous sculpture is usually assigned to Khafre's reign. The Sphinx depicts the pharaoh as a human-headed lion, wearing the nemes headdress of the pharaohs. The great statue is considered to be the embodiment of Khafre as the god Horus.

Pyramid of Menkaure

Menkaure (2532-2503 BC) has the smallest of the three pyramid complexes at Giza. His valley temple was not of granite but finished of mud brick instead. Menkaure's pyramid had its burial chambers below ground, just like that of Khafre, but unlike the others the interior walls were carved. In ancient times this pyramid was known as "Menkaure is Divine". Menkaure's pyramid, with its original height of some 65-66 metres, represents only about a tenth of the total mass that we find in Khufu's pyramid. This may well be the result of an evolving theology which dictated more emphasis on the temples and less on the pyramid, a process evident to us already in the reign of Khafre, and which continued throughout the Old Kingdom.

Standing in a row along the south facing wall of Menkaure's pyramid are three much smaller subsidiary pyramids. Referred to as the "pyramids of queens" they are attributed to Menkaure's royal consorts. Of these, only one of them is classed as a true pyramid, the other two having a four step core. All three of these pyramids were surrounded by a common perimeter wall.

Tombs of the pyramid builders

Recent excavations by Mark Lehner's team near the valley temple have again begun to uncover this vast city of workers who built and maintained the pyramids for generations afterwards. Since 1988, excavations have been concentrated around the area about 300 metres south of the Sphinx and a gigantic structure known as the 'Wall of the Crow', near to a recently discovered worker's cemetery. So far they have uncovered bakeries, a copper workshop, and worker's houses which were found to have belonged to a vast royal complex comprising of huge galleries or corridors, separated by a paved street. This may have lead to a Royal Palace.

Zahi Hawass, Director of the Pyramids in Giza, describes some of the discoveries:

	We've uncovered titles of the craftsmen, draftsmen, tomb-makers, the overseer of the east side of the Pyramid, the overseer of the west side of the Pyramid, and so on. We found that the average age at death of the workmen was very early, 30 to 35 years, whilst officials died at 50 to 60. We've also studied the bones in these tombs, which have provided us with much information. All the skeletons of men and women show signs of stress in their backs, because people were involved in moving heavy stuff. We determined through x-rays that someone had syphilis, and we found evidence of brain surgery on a workman, who lived for two years afterwards. The ancients even had emergency treatment for workers on site, because we discovered that they were fixing broken bones and even amputating legs that had been crushed by a falling stone. We have unearthed another 65 tombs, the best being that of the priest Kai, which is dated to the reign of Khufu. It is a beautiful painted tomb with a unique artistic style. One relief shows Kai's daughter affectionately putting her arm around his shoulder. At the entrance to the tomb it says that it is the tomb-makers and craftsmen who made his tomb. He says, "I paid them beer and bread. I made them to make an oath that they were satisfied."
	Interview courtesy of Nova Online

Dr Hawass is also in charge of the pyramids at Dashur, Abusir, Saqqara, and the Bahariya Oasis.

Mastaba Tombs

The pyramid complexes are surrounded by groups of mastaba tombs in which members of the royal family and high officials were buried. Extensive mastaba cemeteries are arranged in regular "streets" to the west, south and east of the Great Pyramid of Khufu. Each tomb is a similar size. The earliest private tombs at Giza are cut into the quarry faces surrounding the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure.

map of the giza pyramid complex
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Cleopatra

2009-08-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

Cleopatra A Sourcebook

About Book...

Who was Cleopatra? Who is Cleopatra? Viewed as both goddess and monster even in her own lifetime, she has become through the ages saint and sinner, heroine and victim, femme fatale and star-crossed lover, black and white. A protean figure, Cleopatra defies categorization.

Cleopatra's life story, gleaned from contemporary sources, is powerfully intriguing: Married four times, she seduced two of the most powerful men in Rome (Julius Caesar and Marc Antony), became the sole ruler of Egypt, gained legendary status for her lavish banquets, and chose to die rather than endure disgrace as the prisoner of Octavian, Caesar's heir.

This fascinating sourcebook documents what we know of the historical figure and also shows how she has evolved through the lens of interpretation. Arranged both chronologically and thematically, the volume consists of a series of readings about Cleopatra--historical, literary, and documentary--extending from ancient times to the twentieth century, from the European Romantics to the Afro centrists, and from Middle English to modern Arabic.

In her introductions to the readings, Prudence J. Jones provides helpful information about the sources, placing them in historical and cultural context. She includes passages both familiar and unfamiliar, some not easily found in translation. Suitable for classroom use, Cleopatra: A Sourcebook reveals a multitude of Cleopatras, raising as many questions as it answers about one of history's most
captivating figures.

345 pages
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The Pyramids

2009-08-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

Topics in this section: old kingdom pyramids | middle kingdom pyramids | nubian and late pyramids
The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt

The primal archetype of the Egyptian obelisk and pyramid was the sacred Ben-Ben stone in the temple of Heliopolis, the oldest centre of the sun cult. The original stone at Heliopolis, symbolising the primeval mound, was believed to have been the point at which the rays of the rising sun first fell. The gilded capstone of the pyramid, which would sit at the apex, or the tip of an obelisk was known as a ben-benet.

Whilst most people tend to relate pyramids with the great Old Kingdom complexes of Giza and Saqqara, there are in fact over a hundred pyramids in Egypt, which span a period of a thousand years, and many of these are relatively unknown to most people. All but a very few are grouped around and near Cairo, just south of the Nile Delta. Only one royal Egyptian pyramid is known further south, built by Ahmose, founder of the 18th dynasty and the New Kingdom, at Abydos, however over 180 further pyramids were also built in Nubia over the course of another millennium.

Old Kingdom Pyramid complexes

	The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara - 3rd Dynasty. The first pyramid funerary complex designed and built by Imhotep. Developed initially from the earlier rectangular mastaba tombs, the step pyramid was gradually extended and elaborated until it became a superstructure. Made of 6 giant steps, it contains many chambers, including a heb-sed court.
	The Lost Pyramid of Sekhemkhet at Saqqara - 3rd Dynasty. This unfinished pyramid complex is the largest of a series of "lost" pyramids. Discovered in 1952, the underground portions of this pyramid complex have yet to be fully cleared. Over 700 stone vessels have been found, together with a 3rd dynasty treasure cache that included 21 gold bracelets. The complex bears a close resemblance to that of Djoser's Step Pyramid, both in layout and design.
	The Pyramid of Meidum - (late 3rd) 4th Dynasty. Originally thought to be built by Huni, the last king of the 3rd Dynasty, but now considered to be the work of his son-in-law Snefru. Intended to be geometrically true - loose stones were added to the steps before the pyramid was encased in limestone which eventually collapsed, revealing the original stepped core of the superstructure.
	The Pyramids of Snefru - 4th Dynasty. [1] The Bent Pyramid of Dahshur. Probably the first pyramid to be conceived as a "true" pyramid from the onset. This pyramid owes its characteristic bend due to the marked change of angle part way up the profile, from 54^o 27' in the lower part, to 43^o 22' in the upper part. The explanation for the shape of this pyramid has been much argued.
	[2] The Red Pyramid of Dahshur. The first successful "true" pyramid of Snefru was constructed with a constant angle of 43o 22' throughout. The Red pyramid (or northern pyramid) was known as "Snefru appears in glory". It was probably in this northern pyramid that Snefru was buried. With such resources available to him, Snefru was able to leave a strong inheritance to his son Khufu.
	Pyramids of Giza - 4th Dynasty. Snefru's son Khufu took his father's achievements to the very apogee of pyramid building by the construction of the Great Pyramid complex at Giza, the largest surviving pyramid. It stands alongside the smaller pyramids of Khafre and Menkaura, and the three pyramids of Khufu's queens.
	The Mastaba el-Faraun, Saqqara - 4th Dynasty. The mastaba is situated in the south of Saqqara in an isolated area. It is the tomb of Shepseskaf, who was the last Pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty and the son of Menkaure. Unlike his immediate predecessors and his successors, Shepseskaf chose the form of a mastaba rather then a pyramid for his tomb. It's quite possible he was responsible for the completion of his father's pyramid at Giza. Shepsekaf ruled for only a very short time, maybe as little as four years.
	Pyramid of Userkaf, Saqqara - 5th Dynasty. Userkaf was considered to be the founder of the 5th Dynasty. His pyramid was called "Pure are the (cult) places of Userkaf", but today it is little more than a ruined heap of rubble. Possibly for political reasons as well as the religious ones, he sited his pyramid in the shadows of Djoser's Step Pyramid. Userkaf's pyramid was most likely built in horizontal layers, and rough local limestone was used in the pyramid's core, with a fine, while limestone casing.
	The Pyramids of Abusir - 5th Dynasty. Abusir, a short distance north from Saqqara is a necropolis consisting of several 5th Dynasty pyramids as well as a sun temple and a number of mastaba tombs. Userkaf, founder of the 5th Dynasty and at least four of his successors built monuments here. Originally fourteen pyramids on the site, now only four remain standing.
	The Pyramid of Sahure at Abusir - 5th Dynasty. Sahure was the second pharaoh of the 5th dynasty. His pyramid complex was the first built at the new royal burial ground at Abusir, and marks the decline of pyramid building, both in the size and quality, though many of the reliefs are very well done. it was excavated in the early 1900s, and a great amount of fine reliefs were found to an extent and quality superior to those from the dynasty before.
	The Pyramid of Neferirkare at Abusir - 5th Dynasty. The brother of Sahure, much of his complex was later incorporated into that of Nyuserre. Unfinished and in poor condition, this pyramid complex is best known for the large amount of papyri found in the mortuary temple, which provided valuable evidence regarding the organisation of royal funerary cults in the Old Kingdom. He built a sun temple, but no trace of this has yet been discovered.
	The Pyramid of Niuserre at Abusir - 5th Dynasty. Probably the last pyramid to be built at Abusir, Nyuserre's burial place is located between the pyramids of Sahure and Neferirkare, built against the north wall of Neferirkare's mortuary temple. Known as "The places of Niuserre are enduring", some experts believe that Niuserre may have also usurped Neferirkare's valley temple, as it is built on the foundations of Neferirkare's temple.
	The unfinished pyramid of Raneferef at Abusir - 5th Dynasty. The first examination of the unfinished pyramid was made by Ludwig Borchardt in the early 1900's. Probably because he died young, Raneferef's pyramid had not progressed beyond the lower levels, and rising only 4 metres, it was converted into a mastaba type tomb. Recent excavations have unearthed interesting finds and a hoard of papyri which are still being studied.
	The Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara - Late 5th Dynasty. The last ruler of the 5th Dynasty Unas seems to have been the first to inscribe the pyramid texts on the internal walls of his pyramid. The standard of workmanship in pyramid building declined along with the political and economic structure of the Old Kingdom.
	Pyramid of Teti I at Saqqara - 6th Dynasty. Teti was the founder of the 6th Dynasty. His pyramid was discovered in 1853 by Mariette, but it is mostly a pile of rubble in constant danger of being covered by the sand. Rather ironically it is called "Teti's (cult) places are enduring". The valley temple of Teti's pyramid, together with the 300 metre long causeway leading to the mortuary temple have yet to be archaeologically investigated.
	Pyramid of Pepi II at Saqqara - 6th Dynasty. Pepi II's pyramid in South Saqqara was the last to be built in the best traditions of the Old Kingdom. It was named "Pepi's life is enduring", which indeed it was, for he reigned for many years. Pepi II was the last ruler of Egypt's 6th Dynasty, and in fact the last significant ruler of the Old Kingdom prior to the onset of the First Intermediate Period. His mortuary complex was built and decorated in what is considered to be a much poorer manner than those of his predecessors.

The Pyramid Complex

In purely architectural terms, pyramids can be divided into two broad types: the step pyramid and the true pyramid. The first step pyramids appear to have evolved and developed from the royal and private mastaba tombs of the early Dynastic Period, but by the early 4th Dynasty the first true smooth sided pyramid had been built by Snefru at Dahshur.

The full scale pyramid complex consisted of a true pyramid with mortuary and valley temples, a causeway between the two, and usually a number of smaller subsidiary pyramids. Fully evolved by the beginning of the 4th Dynasty, the origins of the pyramid complex can be seen in the royal tombs and funerary enclosures at Early Dynastic Abydos and the step pyramid at Saqqara.

The Pyramids of Abusir, which date to the 5th Dynasty, are regarded as the peak of development of the standard pyramid complex even though their architectural quality and size are far less impressive than the Pyramids of Giza. As the economic and political structure of the Old Kingdom declined, so did the standard of workmanship of the pyramid complex, and by the First Intermediate Period, the pyramid complex had all but disappeared.

The Middle Kingdom Pyramids

2009-08-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

Topics in this section: old kingdom pyramids | middle kingdom pyramids | nubian and late pyramids

The Middle Kingdom Pyramids

During the First Intermediate Period when unified rule gave way to rival principalities, pyramid building had practically ceased. However, the form of the pyramid complex was revived once more during the Middle Kingdom by the 12th Dynasty pharaoh Amenemhet I (1991-1962 BC). Amenemhet I also established a new tradition with pyramid building. Previously, the name of the pyramid complex In the Old Kingdom had included all the associated structures and temples (such as the mortuary temple, the valley temple etc) but from Amenemhet's time onwards, each of the major components of the complex were given their own individual name.

Pyramids tended to be built with a stone core and a framework of rough blocks. This framework would then be filled with a combination or mixture of mudbrick, debris and sand. Finally, the outer surface would be faced with fine tufa limestone, creating a finished effect not unlike the great stone pyramids of the Old Kingdom. However the use of mudbrick construction is always a problem with regard to the preservation of a structure, and once the outer casing of limestone had been removed, the pyramid was in effect "unprotected" and would deteriorate badly. This is why most of the Middle Kingdom pyramids today resemble little more than heaps of rubble.

Middle Kingdom pyramid complexes

	Pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht - 12th Dynasty. The first ruler of the 12th Dynasty, Amenemhet's pyramid today stands mostly in ruins that only rise about 20m above ground level. The pyramid had a limestone core with a loose fill of sand, debris and mudbrick and an outer casing of fine tufa limestone. Relief blocks from Old Kingdom monuments were used to line the passageways of the pyramid, and like many of these Middle Kingdom pyramids, the underground burial chamber is flooded and remains unexplored.
	Pyramid of Senusret I at Lisht - 12th Dynasty. Located on a prominent hill near the Fayoum oasis, Senusret's pyramid complex is on the scale larger then many Old Kingdom pyramids. Local limestone was used in the core, and a block framework was then filled with fragments of limestone, sand and waste material. Backing stones rest on the steps, and a casing of fine white limestone was used to finish the pyramid. The burial chamber is flooded and has never been excavated.
	Pyramid of Amenemhet II at Dahshur - 12th Dynasty. Located east of the Red Pyramid at Dahshur, Amenemhet's "white pyramid" was built much like that of Senusret I's pyramid, with a core that had corners radiating out. A framework was made with horizontal lines of blocks to form a grid, or framework between the corners. Here, though it was filled with sand and today the remains bear more resemblance to a cluster of small hills than a major pyramid complex.
	Pyramid of Senusret II at Lahun - 12th Dynasty. Senusret II's pyrmiad known as "Senusret shines", is located near Fayoum, rather than at Dahshur where his father's pyramid is. It was first investigated by the Lepsius expedition in the 1840s, but was only later examined in detail by Petrie. Like so many Middle Kingdom pyramids, only the deteriorated inner core now remains. Dozens of papyri were discovered at the nearby pyramid town which gave fascinating insights into the social and economic life of the time.
	Pyramid of Amenemhet III [1] at Dahshur - 12th Dynasty. The "black pyramid" of Amenemhat III is now nothing more than a pile of rubble. Originally called "Amenemhat is mighty", it was constructed with a core of mudbricks and encased in limestone, but the usual internal stone structures were not used, and this may be the reason for its eventual collapse. In 1990, a fine grey granite pyramidion (cap stone) was discovered in the rubble, which is now on display at the Egyptian museum, Cairo.
	Pyramid of Amenemhet III [2] at Hawara - 12th Dynasty. Amenemhet III was the last powerful ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and the pyramid he built at Hawara is believed to have been his final resting place. At Hawara there was also the intact (pyramid) tomb of his daughter, Neferu-Ptah. This pyramid and the large mortuary temple here attracted the attention of several classical writers including Herodotus in the mid 5th century. Unfortunately the classical descriptions of this ancient marvel no longer match the modern day remains.
	Pyramid of Senusret III at Dahshur - 12th Dynasty. Senusret's pyramid far surpasses the pyramids of his predecessors in the 12th Dynasty in size and represents another developmental milestone in pyramid design. Whilst little was discovered in the burial chamber - it had been robbed in antiquity, tombs located to the north revealed significant finds of jewellery, and there are at least three queen's pyramids located to the south. Six wooded funerary boats were also discovered on the site.

Middle Kingdom pyramid builders

	Amenemhet I's pyramid, built at el-Lisht was similar to the Old Kingdom pyramids but smaller. The inner core was built with small limestone blocks (many taken from ruined Old Kingdom monuments at Giza and Abusir) and the exterior was faced with white tura limestone, long since stolen. The mortuary temple has also been largely destroyed. Access to the pyramid is unfortunately denied by ground water seepage.
	Senusret I. Amenemhet I's son Senusret I also built his pyramid at el-Lisht, about a mile south of his fathers. His burial chamber is also inaccessible because of ground water. Nine small pyramids belonging to royal ladies were also built within the complex.
	Amenemhet II. Senusret I was succeeded by his son Amenemhet II who built his pyramid at Dahshur, to the east of the earlier 4th Dynasty pyramids of Snefru. All that now remains of his pyramid is a great mass of eroded mudbrick which was originally the core of a pyramid some 263 ft/80m square.
	Senusret II built his pyramid close to the Fayoum Oasis at Lahun (see above). Flinders Petrie excavated four shaft tombs on the south side of the pyramid that belonged to Senusret II's family and in one of these, discovered the "Lahun Treasure" that included a fine, gold inlaid uraeus that may have come from the king's mummy.
	Senusret III the great military campaigner built his pyramid in the Middle Kingdom cemetery at Dahshur. At 350 ft/107m square it is the largest of the Middle Kingdom Pyramids, but as is the case with most of these pyramids, the outer casing has been removed, and the inner core has deteriorated badly. Excavated in 1894-95 by Jacques de Morgan, finds included some fine jewellery from the tombs of Senusret's queen and his sister.
	Amenemhet III was the last great ruler of the Middle Kingdom, and little is known about his successors, Amenemhet IV and Queen Sobeknefru. There is a possibility that two pyramids located at Mazghuna, 3 miles south of Dahshur may belong to them, although this cannot currently be confirmed for definite.

The Nubian Pyramids

2009-08-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

Topics in this section: old kingdom pyramids | middle kingdom pyramids | nubian and late pyramids

The Nubian Pyramids

The kingdom of Kush, as Nubia was known to the Ancient Egyptians, grew from a trading post established on Egypt's periphery around the time of the Middle Kingdom. During the early New Kingdom, Nubia became a province of Egypt, but Egyptian control was later lost when the state declined into rival principalities. During the time of the Third Intermediate Period, a Kushite dynasty emerged from Thebes, led by a ruler called Kashta, from Napata in Nubia.


Nubian pyramids at Meroë	Nubian pyramids at Nuri

Kashta's successor Piye (Piankhi) led a campaign and claimed kingship of Upper and Lower Egypt. Kings of the rival simultaneous dynasties apparently then submitted to his leadership.

The pyramids at el-Kurru

The first Nubian pyramids were built at the site of el-Kurru, 13km downstream from the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal. The site at el-Kurru contains the tombs of Kashta and his son Piye (Piankhi), five earlier generations, together with Piye's successors Shabaka, Shabatko and Tanutamun, and 14 pyramids of the queens. Taharqa (c.690-664 BC) built his pyramid on the new site at Nuri, but his successor Tanutamun (c.664-656 BC) returned to the site of el-Kurru.

Between 1918 and 1919, American Egyptologist George Reisner conducted excavations at el-Kurru, where at that time only one pyramid remained standing. Reisner discovered low mounds of rubble, under which were the tombs of Piye and his successors of the 25th Dynasty, Shebaka, Shebitku and Tantamani. Their tombs had once been covered by pyramids, but by the early 20th century, they had been entirely removed. Reisner also discovered the tombs of 24 horses and 2 dogs nearby.

At Piye's tomb, steps led down into a small part-subterranean rock-cut burial chamber where his body had been placed on a bed atop of a stone bench in the middle of the chamber. Fragments of canopic jars were discovered, along with some shabti figures, suggesting that the body had been embalmed in a typical ancient Egyptian style. There had been a chapel built above the stairway to the burial chamber, but like the pyramid, it too had been completely destroyed. Piye's tomb marked the first of over two hundred pyramids that would be built at three sites in Nubia.

The pyramids at Nuri

Located on the opposite bank of the river from Jebel Barkal, the cemetery at Nuri contained the tombs of 21 kings, together with 52 queens and princes. Taharqa, the penultimate king of the 25th Dynasty was the first king to build his tomb at Nuri, and it is the biggest pyramid ever built at the site. Nuri pyramids were much larger than the earlier pyramids at el-Kurra, reaching heights of 20-30m, and were built using blocks of local red sandstone. The last king to be buried at Nuri died around 308 BC.

The Nubian pyramid field at Nuri continued to receive the bodies of the royalty until about 308 BC. Afterwards, the site of Meroë, further south between the fifth and sixth cataracts rose to prominence as a royal cemetery.

The pyramids at Meroë

With the exception of three or four generations of pyramids near Jebel Barkal, Meroë remained the Royal Cemetery for around 600 years. Pyramids were built from stepped courses of masonry blocks of local red sandstone, and have survived the test of time rather well. The first known major king to build his tomb at Meroë was Arkamaniqo (sometimes referred to as Arikakaman, and known to Diodorus as Ergamenes). He ruled at about the same time as Ptolemy II in Egypt.

All the tombs at Meroë have been plundered, most infamously by Italian explorer Giuseppe Ferlini who smashed the tops off 40 pyramids in a quest for treasure in the 1820s. Despite the destruction he caused, Ferlini found only one cache of gold, the contents of which are now housed at the museums in Munich and Berlin.

The re-emergence of the pyramid after such a significant interval is an interesting case of the transfer of an architectural idea from one region and culture to another. The Nubian pyramids are much smaller, far more numerous and considerably more standardised than those of Egypt's classic pyramid age. Their angle of inclination is severely sharper than that of the true pyramid at 52^o51'. In fact the Nubian pyramids distinctly resemble the private "mini" pyramid tombs of the New Kingdom at Deir el-Medina and Abydos.

The rulers of the 25th Kushite Dynasty

· RULER ·	· THRONE NAME ·	· BURIAL ·
Piye (Piankhi) c.747-716 BC	Men-kheper-re "The manifestation of Re abides"	Pyramid at el-Kurru
Shabaka (Piye's brother) c.716-702 BC	Nefer-ka-re "Beautiful is the soul of Re"	Pyramid at el-Kurru
Shebitku c.702-690 BC	Djed-ka-re "Enduring is the soul of Re"	Napata
Taharqa (Shebitku's brother) c.690-664 BC	Nefertem-khu-re "Nefertem is his protector"	Pyramid at Nuri
Tanutamun (Taharqa's cousin) c.664-656 BC	Ba-ka-re "Glorious is the soul of Re"	Pyramid at Nuri

Hieroglyphs

2009-08-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

Making art out of writing

The invention of script in the late fourth millennium BC marked a huge step in the cultural development of mankind. In ancient Egypt, the scribe was revered and honoured, and a seated scribe holding a papyrus roll was one of the most popular subjects in early ancient Egyptian art. Writing was considered to be the foundation for ordered life and government. Ideas, discoveries, wisdom and experience now need no longer die with the individual, but could be passed on to endless generations, indeed onto us, as we can read the literature, religious and scientific texts of these fascinating people.

The 26 letter Roman alphabet is a distant but direct descendant of the complex ornate script of ancient Egypt. Scholars believe that this script inspired the development of the world's first alphabetic scripts, Phoenician and Aramaic, from which the Greek and Roman alphabets derive.

Earlier still, it is thought that the idea of writing spread from Egypt to the Aegean, in particular influencing the mysterious and currently still undeciphered "Linear A" script of Minoan Crete, which has marked similarities to Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The ancient Egyptian script, like other early scripts, was pictographic, where pictures were used to represent words like house, man, etc. Writing was associated with Thoth, the ibis headed god of learning and writing, and was referred to as "words of God". Later, the Greeks, retaining this original meaning, named the signs hieroglyphs, from the words "hieros" (meaning sacred) and "glyphen" (meaning to carve).

Hieroglyphs make art out of writing and lend an extraordinary grace and beauty to inscribed text. Egyptian writing is a mixed script combining signs denoting ideas (ideograms) with phonetic signs.

Hieroglyphic writing was in use from around 3200 BC until the late 4th century AD. It was used extensively with relatively little change in form for some 3,000 years, not only in Egypt but also throughout the Near Eastern territories under Egyptian influence or control. The script persisted well into the Christian era, with the last known datable hieroglyphic inscription carved on 24th August 394 AD on the gate of Hadrian at Philae.

Hieroglyphs were usually written from left to right, but were also written from right to left, or in vertical columns. The direction of the human or animal forms indicate in which way the script should be read. Vowel sounds were consistently omitted, in very much the same way as Arabic or Hebrew.

The development of cursive scripts

As time developed, so did the hieroglyphic script, from the formal classical style used on monuments, to a much simpler, cursive style. One style is known as "hieratic" (from the Greek hieratikos meaning "priestly") and the other is known as "demotic" (from the Greek demotikos meaning "popular"). The hieroglyphic system was used for funerary and religious texts, whilst the cursive Hieratic script was used primarily for administrative and literary texts. By the 26th Dynasty, the Demotic script had replaced Hieratic. These cursive scripts should not be confused with "cursive hieroglyphs", which were used for most of the Pharaonic period in religious writings, such as the "coffin texts" and the "Book of the Dead".

The Egyptians used hieroglyphs for nearly 3,500 years, beginning in about 3300 BC until the end of the fourth century AD. Monumental use of hieroglyphs ceased after the closing of all non-Christian temples in AD 391 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I and the last known inscription is from a temple far to the south not long after 391.

At the beginning of the third century AD, the Egyptians began to write their languages in a script composed of the Greek alphabet, to which were added seven characters derived ultimately from hieroglyphs. In this form the language came to be known as Coptic, a corruption of the Greek word for Egypt, "Aiguptios". Knowledge of how to read and write the hieroglyphic script was probably lost soon after it had been superseded and no key to its meaning was found until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone.

Classical speculation

Hieroglyphs fascinated many classical visitors to Egypt. The Greek historians, Herodotus (c.484-425 BC), and Diodorus, who lived at the time of Julius Caesar and travelled to Egypt between 60-57 BC, and the Roman historian Tacitus, (c.55-120 AD) were amongst those who mentioned these mysterious writings.

Whilst these classical scholars rightly assumed that these hieroglyphs were concerned with historical events, it would be many more centuries before the secrets of the script would finally be revealed.

The decipherment of hieroglyphs was the single greatest event in the development of Egyptology.

Hieroglyphs can be logograms, phonograms or determinatives, the symbols representing both ideograms and phonetic values.

Translating hieroglyphs therefore is not as straightforward as a=the symbol for an eagle.

Logograms:
These were individual signs whose meaning was roughly equivalent to their appearance, for instance, a shorthand diagram of the sky actually meant "sky". The symbol of the mouth actually meant the word "mouth".

Phonograms:
These are "sound signs" where the hieroglyph is used to try and picture the sound combination, for instance a bit like the word "belief" being depicted as a picture of a bee followed by a picture of a leaf. Phonograms consist of three types:
	1. 26 signs which each represent a single consonant, for instance the quail chick = w.
	2. Approximately 100 signs called bi-consonants which represent pairs of consonants, for instance the diagram of a house-plan = pr.
	3. About 40-50 signs called tri-consonants which represent trios of consonants, for instance the adjective "good" which was pronounced "nfr".
	Having one hieroglyph that replaced common pairs or trios of consonants would help simplify writing by eliminating large numbers of characters.

Determinatives:
These were pictures of types of things which were placed at the end of words made up of phonograms. Determinatives would essentially "determine" or indicate what type of words they were, attempting to give a general idea of the meaning of the word.

Pronunciation problems

One of the most difficult aspects of pronouncing a section of hieroglyphic text is that there were no vowels in the written form of the Ancient Egyptian language, only consonants. The study of the Coptic language, a direct descendant of Ancient Egyptian, as well as surviving translations of Egyptian words in the languages of Assyrian, Babylonian and Greek has enabled the vocalisation of many Ancient Egyptian words to be partially reconstructed.

The easiest conventional method of making Ancient Egyptian words pronounceable is to read the signs and insert a letter "e" wherever necessary. For instance, the word "s" becomes "se", the word "pr" becomes "per" and the word "nfr" becomes "nefer".

Translation of 1-Consonant signs

Transliterations of words are generally arranged basically according to the following values which are assigned to the Egyptian letters or phonetic symbols:

Letter:	A (eagle)	N (nile/water)	G (stand for jar)
Hieroglyph:

*Letter:*	I (reed)	R (mouth)	T (loaf)
*Hieroglyph:*

*Letter:*	Y (double reed)	H (twisted flax)	TH (rope)
*Hieroglyph:*

*Letter:*	B (foot)	KH (placenta)	W (quail chick)
*Hieroglyph:*

*Letter:*	P (mat)	S (folded cloth)	D (t) (hand)
*Hieroglyph:*

*Letter:*	F (horned viper)	Q (hill)	TCH/DJ (snake)
*Hieroglyph:*

*Letter:*	M (owl)	K (basket)	L (lion)
*Hieroglyph:*

Although a total of over 6000 hieroglyphic signs have been identified, the majority of these were introduced during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Prior to this, during the main Pharaonic era of Egyptian history, fewer than a thousand symbols are actually attested, with an even smaller number being in regular use. With a nucleus of frequent basic signs, others were simply invented as they became necessary.

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Handbook of Egyptian Mythology

2009-08-24T04:56:00.001-07:00

Handbook of Egyptian Mythology

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What distinguishes Egyptian deities like Isis and Thoth from their Greek, Roman, or Nordic counterparts? Ancient Egyptian heroes were usually magicians, not warriors. A succinct survey of the complete world of Egyptian myth, this book covers principal themes and concepts, as well as the most important deities, demons, and other characters.
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