News from the Valley of the Kings

More About the Nomarchical Burial at Deir el-Barsha

2012-06-02T13:56:00.001+01:00

Thanks to a comment on the blog we now have the main site for the expedition, the Dayr Al Barsha Project:

http://www.dayralbarsha.com/

The press release reads:

During its 2012 spring campaign, the archaeological mission of Leuven University in Dayr al-Barshā, directed by Harco Willems, has discovered an important burial dating back to the beginning of the Middle Kingdom (approx. 2040 B.C.). Although the burial has been robbed at least twice, and has suffered extensive damage, a large amount of objects were still found in their original position, providing unique information on the scenario of the funerary ritual. The tomb must have belonged to a nomarch (i.e. a provincial governor) or to a person belonging to the close family of a nomarch. It is for the first time in over a century that a relatively well preserved burial of this kind has been found.

The Dayr Al Barsha Project page also has a much extended version of the press release as a PDF. Apparently the tomb of Nomarch Ahanakht I discovered in 1891-1892 (Tomb 5) was excavated by George Andrew Reisner in 1915 who got distracted by a nearly intact nomarch burial in a neighbouring tomb and failed to excavate a burial pit in Ahanakht's tomb, believing - correctly it had been robbed.

The robbers however left quite a lot behind and the burial has been identified as Djehutinakht, probably the father of Ahanakht and who was the last nomarch of the Hare Nome of the First Intermediate Period. The badly damaged coffin bears coffin texts, pushing the origin of these back before Ahanakht.

There is more information about earlier (2002 - 2004) by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven work at Deir el-Barsha here and here if you wish to know more about the site.

Nefertiti Bust Identified?

2012-06-02T13:34:00.000+01:00

Raymond Betz reports that Dr. Christian E. Loeben has identified a quartzite bust as Nefertiti. See EEF page which for once has great photos. I am just a bit worried that this might be one of those stories where somebody suggests the head "could be Nefertiti" but which grows in each telling so I would prefer to see original material from Dr Loeben, especially since the EEF links includes no details as to why the head is believed to be Nefertiti. I am not saying it isn't Nefertiti, just expressing some caution that the available material is somewhat scant on details.

Mubarak Sentenced

2012-06-02T09:50:00.001+01:00

Breaking news that the former President has been found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. It should help Egypt move on - we all hope.

New Edition of Egytological

2012-05-31T11:37:00.002+01:00

We have published Edition 4 of the Journal and Edition 6 of the Magazine this morning on Egyptological, with more content in In Brief as well as a new photo album.

I wrote a lengthy editorial to introduce the contents so that is your best place to find out about all the new goodies. There isn't a lot this time which is specifically about Upper Egypt but a couple of weeks ago we did publish a review by Patricia Spencer of the the all-day colloquium “Recent Archaeological Fieldwork in Sudan,” held by the Sudan Archaeology Research Society at the British Museum (London, UK) on May 14th 2012. The day covered updates from the expeditions at Sesebi and Amara West among 13 speakers. If you haven't taken a look at that yet, you might like to.

Arrests in Luxor

2012-05-29T13:48:00.001+01:00

The Egypt Independent reports arrests and seizure of 17 Roman-era antiquities near Luzor. Allegedly a pit 10m deep had been dug to loot an unspecified site. The report lacks both details and photographs.

New FIP Tomb Found in Upper Egypt

2012-05-29T11:12:00.001+01:00

Via Maria Nilson breaking news

http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/CultureAndMedia/Archaeology-Ancient-tomb-unearthed-in-Upper-Egypt_313348482645.html

It's a bit scanty. I will try to track down confirmation and details later. First Intermediate so important to add to the picture of that period. It's located away from Luxor/Thebes near Deir el-Barsha.

Temple of Mut at Karnak

2012-05-25T09:31:00.001+01:00

Jane Akshar reports that the Temple of Mut at Karnak will open this autumn and the Temple of Isis at Shenhur sometime later.

http://luxor-news.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/update-from-mansour-boraik.html?m=1

Egyptologically Speaking: Interview with Salima Ikram

2012-05-23T20:32:00.000+01:00

I am pleased to say that we have just published an interview with Salima Ikram on Egyptological. Not Valley of the Kings but we are very happy with it so I wanted to share.

http://www.egyptological.com/2012/05/egyptologically-speaking-an-interview-with-professor-salima-ikram-8833

Preserve Nubia and the Middle Nile

2012-05-23T11:25:00.000+01:00

With thanks to the SSEA I would like to highlight the Preserve the Middle Nile blog. The most recent item is a report from the recent Sudan Meeting at the British Museum. The BM is interested because one of the sites which will be flooded is Amara West where their team has been working.

Conservation of Amarna Coffins

2012-05-20T21:09:00.001+01:00

I am sooo far behind with news. I look at the backlog and it deters me so I think the best it just to skip it and resume normal service (although there are one or two pieces of news I may go back to.)

So with thanks to Andie Byrnes here is a piece of news from the Amarna Project that they are conserving a group of six coffins. They are important because they are the only decorated, non-royal coffins ever found at Amarna so presumably they represent the noble elite. They have insciptions and publication is something which very much should be welcomed.

Petrie Programme

2012-05-20T11:09:00.001+01:00

The Petrie programme is back on iPlayer for a week or so and might be shown next month on BBC HD.

Egyptological Magazine Edition 5 Out Now

2012-04-03T12:39:00.001+01:00

Edition 5 of Egyptological Magazine is published. See my comprehensive editorial for full details. Enjoy. The next edition - Edition 6 - is tentatively planned for 31st May because we are aiming for every two to three months, although this one was less than six weeks. If you have any material for that or Edition 7 (mid-August?) then please do get in touch.

Anyway, back to Edition 5 which is available now. For fans of Ancient Egypt there is a lot in it. We don't want to just write about tombs and temples so the content is very diverse. For the subject area of this blog, there is another set of photos of the Valley of the Kings from Heidi Kontkanen, a review of a guide book for the West Bank tombs and temples, and a review of two books of Harry Burton photos. Sometime I really ought to write a biography of the man - although hopefully Gary Beuk will beat me to it. This time he has offered the second half of his piece on Arthur Weigall.

Oh and Akhenaten crops up in a surprising place in this edition. He isn't in the title of any article but he is in there somewhere if you look ...

PS I have promised to review Memphis and the Ptolemies for Edition 6 and write an article about one of the less well known pyramids. So for me that is great - a lot of Memphis and stretching across the Dynastic period.

DNA reveals that cows were almost impossible to domesticate

2012-04-03T03:54:00.000+01:00

http://m.io9.com/5897169/dna-reveals-that-cows-were-almost-impossible-to-domesticate

Not Egypt as such but very interesting, as is the date of domestication, and unless cattle were shipped by sea, domesticated herds must have reached Egypt via Sinai and the Delta.

Bonus Edition of Egyptological on 3rd April

2012-03-31T16:50:00.002+01:00

We were planning an edition of Egyptological at the end of April but we are pleased that Dr Joyce Tyldesley has given one of our writers an interview about the new Manchester online diploma. Since that is very interesting to anybody considering signing up to the course, we wanted to publish it as soon as possible.

It has been a scramble but we are planning to publish an edition on 3rd April. As always it will be free. There is much more in it than the interview so make sure you look out for it.

Hermopolis Parva

2012-03-28T00:14:00.004+01:00

Now I know why I prefer to write about Upper Egypt. I have several commitments for the next Edition of Egyptological (which is why I have been quiet here) including a brief article for publication on 1st April. I ought to have know that was not propitious.

I thought to write an article about the city of Hermopolis Parva in the Delta. Only where is it? Wikipedia identifies it confidently as the capital of both the 7th and 15th nomes. Margaret Bunson in her Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egypt places it on three "tells", without recognising that one of these is tens of miles from the others. Worse, writers since Greek times have been confusing Hermopolis Magna with Hermopolis Parva, often confusingly referring only to "Hermopolis".

Having spent an evening, I also don't know the age of the city. Some texts insist it was Ptolemaic only. Others have it founded by Ramses II in the New Kingdom. Others reasonably suggest that as one of the two chief cult centres of Thoth it as an important site in the Middle Kingdom and one text seemed to push it back into the Old Kingdom.

There is a huge need for a definitive article: I may write it but it wasn't the quick article I was hoping for with a 1st April deadline. I may look to write something on the Nubian Pharaohs instead.

Statue of Hatshepsut Discovered?

2012-03-15T11:46:00.002Z

A Canadian team led by Professor Mary-Ann Pouls Wegner has unearthed (July 2011 but reported now) a rare wooden statue of a Pharaoh, suspected to be King (Queen) Hatshepsut, unusually portrayed in a feminine fashion with narrow waist and delicate jawline. My thanks to Ric Schuller for the news.

Unfortunately at present every Canadian web link I try is down, so I can only find the link to (what is possibly) a secondary report.

The statue was found in an elite (non-royal) offering chapel but associated with a larger structure, possibly royal, and dating to the 19th Dynasty. Having seen a picture of the statue on the link, unless there is more in the primary sources, the designation of Hatshepsut seems as though it is based primarily on a process of elimination - it cannot be anybody else. Possibly, but while it could be Hatshepsut, it seems a somewhat tentative identification at best.

Inscription to Pharoah Senakht-en-Re at Karnak

2012-03-04T20:43:00.002Z

An inscription of an (almost) unknown king of the 17th Dynasty has been found in the Temple of Karnak by a team working in the Temple of Ptah. His name is Senakht-en-Re and this is the first mention of him found in Egypt, although there were some Greek mentions of him apparently. This has implications for the chronology. For a king to be unknown also suggests his tomb remains to be discovered.

My thanks to Andrea Byrnes for a better link that Luxor Times.

Nehemes Bastet Mummy 1.55m tall

2012-03-01T19:56:00.000Z

We now know the height of the new mummy found in the Valley of the Kings from a news report (my thanks to Andre Byrnes) was 1.55m including wrappings. She was buried in an oversize coffin of 2m.

The only other new details is that the tomb was found by accident ("stumbled upon" to use a phrase I was criticised for using when the tomb was first announced) when the University of Basel was building a low wall to protect KV40 from flash floods. The announcement also repeats that Nehemes Bastet is the first woman without an obvious connection to the royal family found in the Valley of the Kings.

KV64 Rumours

2012-02-28T00:21:00.002Z

The mummy of Nehmes Bastet is in good condition and protected by a thin layer of resin.

Unfortunately she has stuck to the bottom of the coffin and it will take some time to gently extract her so it might be next year before she is scanned.

There are also unconfirmed rumours that canopic jar(s) belonging to the 18th Dynasty burial have been found in the rubble at the bottom of the tomb. No details or a name yet but it does suggest that there are definitive New Kingdom remains waiting for careful excavation.

(From Priest of Hekat and Lutz in EgyptianDreams)

The Amarnan Tomb of Ay

2012-02-27T19:38:00.000Z

There is a great French site dedicated to the tomb of Ay at Amarna. It doesn't matter if you don't speak French because it doesn't have a great deal of text - just lots, and lots of photographs.

http://ancienegypte.fr/cadre_ay.htm

New Edition of Egyptological Out - Lots for Horemheb Fans

2012-02-27T13:20:00.001Z

The latest edition of Egyptological is out and as always it is free to read online. It's a real bumper edition as well. The editorial will give you the full listing but we have articles in the Journal, Magazine as well as shorter In Brief pieces.

Horemheb fans are particularly well-served as Andrea Byrnes and I both have articles about the King. I have written about the contents of tomb KV57 in the Valley of the Kings. Finishing that was why I have been quiet here for the past ten days. Andrea has written about a lecture given by Professor Geoffrey Martin on his re-excavation of KV57.

Not in Egyptological but continuing the treats for those interested in Horemheb, there is a video of a symposium on the king. My thanks to Nick Reeves for forwarding this which I held back mentioning until our Horemheb material was published.

Nehmes-Bastest is not overlooked in the new Egyptological edition. Andrea has written an article setting the context of the 22nd Dynasty. It is a masterwork. She has done great work in condensing down such a complex period into something coherent and eminently readable.

Those interested in religion are also well-served by the new edition. Brian Alm has continued his excellent article about the religion of Ancient Egypt as well as adding a companion piece on the gods of the underworld. Howard Middleton-Jones takes a different angle and looks at how Egyptian temple design may have influenced the design and layout of Coptic churches.

Garry Beuk ties in with the Horemheb theme with his contribution. He presents the first of a two part mini-series on the famous Egyptologist Arthur Weigall who was one of the first people into tomb KV57 when it was discovered in 1908 and whose writings were invaluable for my own article. I am sure that Gary;s work on the old Egyptologists will be ever-more popular.

Maintaining our international theme,Porin Šćukanec Rezniček has written about the mummies in the Zagreb musem. I really appreciate articles about museums I have never visited - a reminder that we really do welcome contributions to Egyptological. In fact we need them if Egyptological is to continue so if you think you might have something to contribute please take a look at how to participate.

The academic side has not been overlooked. Etienne Vande Walle continues to demonstrate his expertise in the area of Egyptian law and judicial practice but this time he focuses on a tomb - that of Mereruka at Saqqara. Regular contributor Barbara O'Neill laments the lack of distance learning options and has compiled a detailed table of the Egyptology course presently available in the UK. It is a must read for anybody wanting to formally study the period.

All of that is combined with further book reviews and briefer articles - don't forget to look for them in In Brief. And of course there are new photo albums too which are always a delight.

I could say so much more about this edition but this would become an article in itself, so please head over to Egyptological and enjoy the feast. And if you can write something for us, or have photograps to contribute, we would be very grateful.

Couple Released at Luxor Airport

2012-02-27T12:09:00.000Z

To the embarassment of all concerned a couple arrested at Luxor airport have been released after it was realised that the items in their baggage were not antiquities but tourist trinkets. Luxor Times is demanding that the tourists concerned are offered a full apology by the authorities.

One would think that with all the out of work archaeologists in Egypt one would be employed at Luxor airport so that these mix ups didn't happen.

Discoveries at Qubbet el-Hawa (Aswan)

2012-02-25T20:19:00.004Z

A fine wooden sarcophagus belonging to a presently unidentified individual has been found at Qubbet el-Hawa, Tombs of the Nobles, on the banks of the Nile near Aswan. The best (possibly only) English article is from the Daily Mail which does have a great photo of the coffin being uncovered. Andrea Byrnes has located the dig diary of the University of Jaen. It's in Spanish but Google Translate does a fine job if you let it (if it works at all, it seems somewhat cantankerous these days).

If I am reading it correctly the sarcophagus has been dated on stylistic grounds to the early 18th Dynasty but the dig diary also talks of a 12th Dynasty find. Likewise tomb nunbering loses something in the translation. The main project has been to explore a tomb numbered QH33. This season they have reached the bottom after four years of efforts - but have now found a well chamber which they have started to excavate and which might yet contain a burial.

I think the sarcophagus pictured in the Daily Mail is from a tomb numbered QH33a or QH33b - the tombs are close packed. The sarcophagus might be their most impressive find this season, but it certainly isn't their only find. They have found other bodies, although not in such fine condition, and almost 300 piecs of Late Period faience as well as fragments of papyrus.

For those who wish to know more about this site, there is a video of excavations last year, although the commentary is not in English. It doesn't include the most recent discovery of course.

Abu Simbel Celebrations on Tomorrow

2012-02-21T23:26:00.001Z

Every year on 22nd February, and again in October, the sun reaches through the interior of the Temple of Abu Simbel to illuminate the rear wall. There was some doubt whether the temple was going to be open for the special event this year but it has been confirmed that it will be, as well as a special sound and light show.

The video is not Abu Simbel. (No prizes for spotting that.) It's the Horsetail Falls in Yosemite. For a brief period in February, if the conditions are right, the sun turns the falls to golden yellow or fiery red earning them the name Firefalls. In these days of mundane science it shows what marvels the sun can still create. Imagine how special the sun must have been to the ancient Egyptians. Videos like this might help us, just for a fleeting moment, to recapture the sense of wonder and magic they must have felt at Abu Simbel when it was first constructed.

KV54 - The Tomb of Touatankhamanou - References to Ay

2012-02-16T01:43:00.000Z

I have been reading the Theodore Davis report / catalogue on the tombs we now know as KV57 and KV54, Horemheb and the Tutankhamun embalming cache. Davis thought the latter was actually the tomb of Toutankhamun.

I'm puzzled. The catalogue lists I think three or four pieces of gold leaf found in the tomb with reference to King Ay. In most he is King and his name is in a cartouche, suggesting I guess that he was an official mourner. Item 4 though has a reference to "The Divine Father Ay". This is not in a cartouche but is associated with a high official stood before Tutankhamun and carrying a fan.

So whose father was he and what made him divine before he took the throne? Maybe the glyphs were mistranslated? Sorry, I don't have answers but am asking questions here. Am I missing something because to be a divine father wouldn't he need to be the father of a Pharaoh?

Reference: The Tombs of Harmhabi and Touatânkhamanou, Theodore M Davis, 1912 - reprinted, Duckworth p128