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Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Egypt Lights Up the Great Pyramid of Giza With 'Stay Home, Stay Safe' Message - OkayAfrica


There's a certain irony here in this photo, but I've read that Egypt has closed all antiquities sites to tourists. Glenn



https://www.okayafrica.com/egypt-lights-up-the-great-pyramid-of-giza-with-coronavirus-message/

(Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

People take pictures of the Great pyramid of Kheops at the Giza plateau outside the Egyptian capital Cairo where a laser projection writes "Stay home, all united" on March 30, 2020, amid the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus.

Egypt Lights Up the Great Pyramid of Giza With 'Stay Home, Stay Safe' Message

One of the world's 'Great Wonders' was used to show a message of solidarity to healthcare workers fighting coronavirus.

As the coronavirus pandemic grows, people and governments across the globe are taking action to spread a message of unity and safety.

Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiques did so in a major way on Monday, by lighting up both sides of the Great Pyramid of Giza with messages showing appreciation for health care workers and reminding people to stay in their homes in order to combat the spread of the virus.

The words "Stay Home, Stay Safe, Thank You to Those Keeping Us Safe," were displayed in both English and Arabic in flashing red and green light across the ancient pyramid.

"The tourism sector is one of the most affected industry but our priority is health," said Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani during a press conference in front of the pyramid.

Since the onset of the virus, Egypt has taken measures to disinfect its ancient sites, and has been commended by WHO for the proactive safety measures it has enacted, according to a report from AFP.

Egypt was one of the first African countries to record cases of the novel coronavirus earlier this mont. According to BBC's coronavirus in Africa tracker, there have been 656 confirmed cases and 41 deaths in the country. On Sunday, the country announced the death of Ahmed el-Lawah, the first doctor to succumb to the disease.

There are now 5,391 cases of coronavirus across Africa. To stay up to date about how the pandemic is affecting the continent, check out our country-by-country roundup.

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ARCE Virtual Annual Meeting 2020


VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING 2020

In lieu of the Annual Meeting in Toronto this April, ARCE will be hosting its first-ever virtual Annual Meeting. The Meeting will take place from April 17-18 and 24-25, and registration is free and open to everyone! Keep an eye on our website for the upcoming session schedule and information on how to login and watch the sessions in real time. 
The virtual Annual Meeting is made possible through the generous support of our Gold Sponsor, Walbridge, and our underwriters, ISD, Brill, AUC Press, and Hands Along the Nile
25% OFF AUC PRESS BOOKS
New books by Aidan Dodson, Nigel Fletcher-Jones, and many others!
The American University in Cairo Press is pleased to offer 25% off book purchases in our ARCE virtual book display. Browse the ARCE 2020 Collection and enter the promo code ARCE2020 at checkout to receive discounts.  Click here, then click on the cover image titled, ARCE 2020, under the heading, "Collections," to see all the books eligible for discount. Orders combine with all titles on the website. Backorders are accepted. Shipping to US and Canada. Offer expires April 30, 2020.
Please direct any questions to: sue.ostfield@aucegypt.edu.

LEARN ARABIC ONLINE
Hands Along the Nile Development Services (HANDS) is offering online courses in Egyptian Arabic. Courses are available in beginners, intermediate, and advanced levels. For more information, click here
ARCE MEMBER TOUR 2020

Following the immense success of ARCE's 2019 Member Tour to Egypt, bookings for the 2020 Tour are now open!

This year's itinerary features different and exciting locations and guest speakers, and an optional extension trip to the coastal city of Alexandria is also available! For more information and to view the itineraries, click here


 
 
 
 
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Contact Info:
American Research Center in Egypt
909 N Washington Street
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United States

Newsletter Osirisnet Mars - March 2020


https://www.osirisnet.net/news/n_03_20.htm?en

La tombe de Thoutmosis II est-elle sur le point d'être découverte ?Is the tomb of Thutmose II about to be discovered?

Photos: Professor Andrzej Niwiński

stone chest

Oui, je sais ce que vous pensez... On nous a déjà fait des annonces du même genre plusieurs fois avec la tombe de Néfertiti, d'Ankhsenamon et d'autres....
Cependant, cette fois, elle est étayée par une découverte spectaculaire faite sur le site du temple de Deir el-Bahari par l'équipe polonaise du Professeur Andrzej Niwiński en mars 2019. Oui, il y a un an, mais elle a été tenue secrète, sans doute pour donner aux archéologues le temps de poursuivre leurs recherches.
Un coffre en pierre a été trouvé près du temple de Deir el-Bahari, dans une zone remplie de débris. Le Pr Niwinski a déclaré : "Le coffre lui-même mesure environ 40 cm de long, avec une hauteur légèrement inférieure. Il était parfaitement camouflé, ressemblant à un bloc de pierre ordinaire. Ce n'est qu'après un examen plus approfondi qu'il s'est avéré être un coffre."
Quelques objets enveloppés de linges ont été trouvés dans le récipient en pierre. Le premier paquet contenait le squelette d'une oie qui avait été sacrifiée, tandis que dans le second se trouvait un œuf d'oie. Le troisième paquet contenait un cercueil en bois dans lequel reposait un œuf d'ibis enveloppé de tissu.
A côté du coffre en pierre se trouvait un autre paquet, contenant une petite boîte en bois dans laquelle reposait une autre boîte en forme de chapelle, en faience (fritte) bleu-vert. Elle porte un cartouche où se lit le nom de Roi de Haute Égypte et de Basse Égypte du pharaon Thoutmosis II, "Aa-kheper-en-Rê".
Cette découverte est à rapprocher d'une autre, qui date de 1987 : une étude française a montré que la momie supposée du roi ne pouvait pas être la sienne.
Ce qui fait dire à Niwinski : "La tombe de Thoutmosis II n'a jamais été découverte et jamais nous n'avons été si près de la trouver".
Addendum:
Qui était Thoutmosis II ? La transition d'Amenhotep I à Thoutmosis I s'était faite en douceur, mais des problèmes dynastiques se sont ensuite posés, car Thoutmosis I n'avait pas de fils survivant avec son épouse principale Ahmose, mais seulement une fille, Hatchepsout. Son fils et héritier, le futur Thoutmosis II, est né d'une épouse secondaire, Moutneferet. Ce garçon a épousé sa demi-sœur, Hatchepsout.
Après la mort de leur père, Thoutmosis II ne régna que quelques années, vers 1482-79 avant J.-C., et mourut aux environs de ses vingt ans. Durant sa courte vie, Thoutmosis II avait eu une fille avec Hatchepsout, mais son fils et héritier, Thoutmosis III, est né d'une seconde épouse, Isis. La mort prématurée de Thoutmosis II, alors que son héritier n'était qu'un petit enfant, a déclenché les événements qui ont conduit Hatchepsout à agir d'abord comme régente pour son neveu, puis à prendre une mesure extraordinaire en devenant son corégent.
La momie de Thoutmosis II a été retrouvée, parmi beaucoup d'autres momies de rois et de hauts personnages, dans la cachette de Deir el-Bahari, TT320 (ou DB 320). C'est du moins ce qu'on pensait jusqu'à ce qu'on découvre, en 1987, une incohérence : la datation osseuse de la momie ne correspond pas à l'âge du roi.

Faience box with the cartouche of Thutmose II

Yes, I know what you think... We've had similar announcements several times before, with the tomb of Nefertiti,of Ankhsenamun and others...
This time, however, it is supported by a spectacular discovery made on the site of the temple of Deir el-Bahari by the Polish team headed by Professor Andrzej Niwiński in March 2019. Yes, a year ago, but it was kept secret, probably to give archaeologists time to continue their research.
The archaeologists were exploring a debris-filled gap in the vicinity of the Hatshepsut Temple in Deir el-Bahari, as they stumbled upon a stone chest and a bundle both placed inside a cavity in a rock. Pr Niwinski said : "The chest itself is about 40 cm long, with a slight smaller height. It was perfectly camouflaged, looking like an ordinary stone block. Only after a closer look did it turn out to be a chest."
A couple of linen-wrapped items were found inside the stone receptacle. The first bundle contained the skeleton of a goose, which had been sacrificed, while the second concealed a goose egg. The third bundle held a wooden casket that in turn contained a canvas-wrapped egg, most probably of an ibis.
Next to the stone chest yet another bundle was discovered. This time the package concealed a small wooden box that also contained another bundle. Within it, a shrine-shaped faience box with the name of Pharaoh Thutmose II written in a cartouche : "Aa-kheper-en-Re".
Another important point is that for many years, it was believed that the mummy of Thutmose II was discovered in 1881 by a tomb-robber named Abd el-Rassul in a cache with over 50 other bodies of royals and high priests. The mummies were badly damaged and moved there in ancient times to preserve them.
As Professor Niwiński explained, a 1987 French study of the life of Thutmose II provided univocal proof, that it couldn't be his body. "The tomb of Thutmose II was never discovered and I hope we're a step away from finding it," added the Egyptologist.
Addendum:
Who was Thutmose II? The transition from Amenhotep I to Thutmose I was smooth, but dynastic problems ensued, as Thutmose had no surviving sons with his principal wife Ahmose, but only a daughter, Hatshepsut. His son and heir, Thutmose II, was born to a secondary wife, Mutnofret. This boy married his half-sister, Hatshepsut. After the death of their father, Thutmose II reigned only a few years, c. 1482–79 BCE, and died in his twenties. During his short life Thutmose II had fathered a daughter with Hatshepsut. But his son and heir, Thutmose III, was born to a secondary wife, Isis. The untimely death of Thutmose II when his heir was only a small child set in motion the events that led Hatshepsut first to act as regent for her nephew and then to take the extraordinary step of becoming his co-ruler.
Thutmose II's mummy was said to having been identified among the mummies found in the Deir el-Bahari cachette, TT320 (or DB 320). But a 1987 study shows that there may be an inconsistency with the mummy found. The dating of the bones does not correspond with the age of the Pharaoh.

Le Louvre rouvre la fouille d'Auguste Mariette à SaqqaraThe Louvre reopens the excavations of Auguste Mariette at Saqqara

Photos: Christiane Dispot

Le Sérapéum de Memphis, nécropole des taureaux Apis, n'a pas livré tous ses secrets et Vincent Rondot, conservateur au Musée du Louvre, espère bien en percer quelques uns. Après presque trois ans de discussion avec les autorités égyptiennes, il vient en effet d'obtenir l'autorisation de faire des fouilles dans les petits souterrains du Sérapéum. Il succède donc à Auguste Mariette, qui avait découvert le Serapeum en 1851 et à l'archéologue Mohamed Ibrahim Ali qui y a travaillé dans les années 1980. La fouille de ce dernier débuta par les grands souterrains pour dégager entièrement le monument et retirer la maçonnerie bloquant les portes I et II. Ces portes permettaient l'accès aux galeries, mais Mariette avait ordonné de les murer. De nouvelles stèles se sont ajoutées aux 1300 précédentes ; plusieurs centaines sont au Louvre.

Some pictures of the Serapeum
Entrance to the Serapeum
Long corridor with abandoned sarcophagus
Man adoring Apis
stelae Louvre
Massive anepigraphic sarcophagus
Locations of stelae

The Serapeum of Memphis, the necropolis of the Apis bulls, has not revealed all its secrets and Vincent Rondot, curator at the Louvre Museum, hopes to uncover some of them. After almost three years of discussions with the Egyptian authorities, he has just obtained permission to excavate in the small underground passages of the Serapaeum. He thus succeeds Auguste Mariette, who discovered the Serapeum in 1851, and the archaeologist Mohamed Ibrahim Ali who worked there in the 1980s. The excavation of the latter began with the large underground passages to completely clear the monument and remove the masonry blocking Gates I and II. These gates allowed access to the galleries, but Mariette had ordered them to be walled up. New stelae were added to the previous 1300; several hundred are in the Louvre.

La pyramide à degrés de nouveau ouverte au publicEgypt's oldest pyramid reopens to the public

Photos: Egypt Ministry of Antiquities

Before

La pyramide à degrés de Djoser à Saqqara a rouvert au public après plusieurs années de rénovation - et de polémiques. La pyramide est vieille de 4.700 ans et considérée comme la plus ancienne encore visible en Égypte et comme le premier édifice du monde entièrement construit en pierre. Selon la tradition c'est le "génial Imhotep" qui a été l'architecte en charge du chantier.
La construction a commencé par le creusement dans le sol rocheux d'un immense puits central de 28 mètres de profondeur et 7 mètres de côté ainsi qu'un réseau étendu et complexe de galeries, qu'on ne retrouve dans aucune autre pyramide. La pyramide proprement dite est formée par la superposition de six mastabas de taille dégressive. L'ensemble mesure 63 mètres de haut. Le tremblement de terre survenu le 12 octobre 1992 avait considérablement fragilisé les substructures, puisque la voûte du grand puits funéraire et les plafonds de plusieurs galeries souterraines menaçaient de s'effondrer. Des travaux étaient indispensables. Ils ont commencé en 2006, mais ont été interrompus deux ans pendant la période troublée qu'a connu le pays.
En 2014, une polémique avait éclaté lorsque des médias égyptiens avaient fait état d'informations selon lesquelles la pyramide de Djoser avait été détériorée par les travaux de rénovation. Les travaux se sont alors poursuivis selon les normes de l'UNESCO.

Now

After years of restoration work -and polemics -, Egypt has reopened its oldest pyramid to the public. The pyramid is 4,700 years old and is considered the oldest still visible in Egypt and the first building in the world to be built entirely of stone. According to tradition, the "genius Imhotep" was the architect in charge of the construction site.
The building is made up of six mastabas superimposed on top of each other, all of which are 63 metres high. It rests above a central shaft 28 metres deep and 7 metres on each side. The earthquake of October 12, 1992, had considerably weakened the substructures, as the vault of the large burial shaft and the ceilings of several underground galleries were in danger of collapsing. Work was essential. It began in 2006 but was interrupted for two years during the country's troubled period.
In 2014, a controversy erupted when Egyptian media reported that the Djoser pyramid had been damaged by renovation work. Work then continued in accordance with UNESCO standards.

Réouvertures à DenderaReopenings at Dendera temple

Photo: Richard Arkley

Roof inscription and
rare representation of Osiris
lying on a bed

Encore une annonce faite par le Ministre des antiquités et du tourisme Khaled el-Enany (il cumule les deux portefeuilles depuis décembre) concernant des réouvertures après travaux.
Dans le temple de Dendera trois nouvelles cryptes sont ouvertes au public et l'accès au toit est de nouveau permis après quinze ans d'interdiction. Pas d'autres précisions.

Another announcement made by the Minister of Antiquities and Tourism Khaled el-Enany (he has held both portfolios since December) concerning reopenings after works.
In the Dendera temple, three new crypts are open to the public and access to the roof is once again permitted after a fifteen-year ban. No further details.

Il leopardo e i pinoli di AssuanHello kitty! Leopard face reconstructed from ancient Egyptian sarcophagus

Photos: La Statale

La mission EIMAWA (Egypto-Italian Mission in Western Aswan) dirigée par le professeur Patrizia Piacentini fouille à Assouan depuis 2019 dans une vaste nécropole située près du mausolée de l'Aga Khan. Composée de trois cents tombes, en partie creusées dans la colline, en partie souterraines, datant du VIIe siècle av. J.-C., jusqu'au IIIe siècle de notre ère.
Dans une des tombes ont été découverts des fragments de couvercle de sarcophage en accacia sur lesquels est représenté le visage d'un léopard voir ici, symbole de force et de détermination. La tête peinte de l'animal était en correspondance avec le visage du défunt, un emplacement probablement choisi pour lui offrir la force nécessaire pour faire son voyage dans le monde inférieur et se régénérer.
Dans une pièce adjacente, une autre surprise attendait les archéologues : dans un petit bol se trouvaient des pignons de pin, une découverte exceptionnelle pour l'Egypte, puisque la plante était importée. Le bol a sans doute été placé près du corps d'un défunt qui raffolait de ces graines et qui pourrait donc en profiter dans l'au-delà.

The EIMAWA mission (Egyptian-Italian Mission in Western Aswan) led by Professor Patrizia Piacentini has been excavating in Aswan since 2019 in a vast necropolis located near the Aga Khan Mausoleum. It consists of three hundred tombs, partly dug into the hill, partly underground, dating from the 7th century BC to the 3rd century AD.
In one of the tombs, fragments of a sarcophagus lid made of accacia were discovered, on which is represented the face of a leopard see here, symbol of strength and determination. The painted head of the animal was in correspondence with the face of the deceased, a location probably chosen to provide him with the necessary strength to make his journey to the land of the dead and regenerate.
In an adjacent room, another surprise awaited the archaeologists: in a small bowl were pine gables, an exceptional discovery for Egypt, since the plant was imported. The bowl was probably placed next to the body of a deceased person who was fond of these seeds and could therefore enjoy them in the afterlife.

Le culte d'Isis a diffusé jusqu'en AngleterreWorship of the goddess Isis spread from Egypt to England

Photos: National Geographic

Isis in the
royal tomb of Horemheb
Isis remodeled as
a Greco-Egyptian goddess

[NB : il ne s'agit pas d'une nouvelle à proprement parlé, mais d'une mise au point fort bien faite] Les Égyptiens ont adoré Isis pendant deux millénaires avant que son culte ne s'étende au-delà du Nil au reste de l'Empire romain. Cette déesse s'est révélée suffisamment populaire pour transcender ses centres de culte égyptiens d'origine et s'étendre aux quatre coins du monde connu. Isis était aimée par les anciens Égyptiens pour sa dévotion sans faille à son mari Osiris et son fils Horus. [Isis est LA MÈRE par excellence, tandis qu'Hathor représente L'AMANTE. Il est souvent difficile de distinguer les deux déesses l'une de l'autre, à moins que leur nom ne soit mentionné].
Le culte d'Isis a commencé à se répandre autour de la Méditerranée avec la domination hellénistique en Égypte au quatrième siècle avant J.-C. Puis, après la conquête romaine, le culte d'Isis s'est étendu encore plus loin. La capacité de la déesse à absorber de nouvelles fonctions ou à se fondre dans d'autres divinités s'est avérée précieuse pour la longévité et la propagation de son culte dans le monde antique. Par exemple, certains aspects d'Osiris et d'Apis ont été combinés avec des traits de dieux grecs, dont Zeus et Hadès, pour créer une divinité syncrétique, Sérapis, dont la contrepartie féminine était Isis.
Le centre du culte d'Isis se trouvait à Alexandrie, un important noeud commercial sous les Ptolémées. Pour les marchands alexandrins, Isis et Sérapis, en plus de leur rôle dans l'au-delà, étaient associés à la prospérité, la guérison, la fertilité.
Alors que l'influence ptolémaïque se répandait dans toute la Méditerranée orientale, le culte d'Isis se déplaçait également le long des routes commerciales vers les côtes de la Syrie, d'Israël et de la Turquie actuelles. Des temples à Isis - parfois associée à des divinités locales - ont été érigés dans tout le monde méditerranéen. Parmi eux se trouvait le temple d'Isis de style dorique à Délos, dans la mer Égée. Au premier siècle avant J.-C., grâce aux marchands romains qui opéraient depuis Délos, le culte d'Isis s'est étendu à l'ouest jusqu'en Espagne. L'expansion se fait aussi vers l'Italie, et un des temples d'Isis les mieux préservés se trouve à Pompéi. Construit au premier siècle après J.-C., ses fresques représentent Isis telle que ses adorateurs romains l'imaginaient : sous une forme hellénisée, plutôt qu'égyptienne.
Au premier siècle avant J.-C., le culte d'Isis prend la forme d'une "religion à mystères".
Tout cela ne plaisait guère aux dirigeants romains qui tentèrent à plusieurs reprises de supprimer le culte de la déesse. Ce qui advint après la mort de Cléopâtre en 30 avant J.-C. Plus tard, les empereurs firent démolir ses temples. Mais le culte d'Isis fut rétabli à Rome au premier siècle après J.-C. et atteignit sa plus grande diffusion dans l'Empire romain au cours du deuxième siècle après J.-C., atteignant au nord la Grande-Bretagne et à l'est l'Asie. Il faudra attendre le christianisme pour abattre le culte de cette immense déesse que les Égyptiens avaient vénérée pendant plus de 30 siècles.

Isis nurses
her son Horus

[NB: This is not news in the strictest sense, but a very good clarification] Egyptians adored Isis for more than two millennia before her cult spread beyond the Nile to the rest of the Roman Empire. This goddess proved popular enough to transcend her original Egyptian centers of worship and expand to all corners of the known world. Isis was loved by ancient Egyptians for her fierce devotion to her husband Osiris and her son Horus. [Isis is THE MOTHER par excellence, while Hathor represents THE LOVER. They are often difficult to distinguish one from the other, unless their name is mentionned]. Her cult first began to spread around the Mediterranean following the establishment of Hellenist rule in Egypt in the fourth century B.C. Then as Roman power expanded, worship of Isis went even farther afield; the Goddesse's ability to absorb new traits would prove valuable to the longevity and spread of her worship throughout the ancient world. For instance, aspects of Osiris and Apis were combined with traits of Greek gods, including Zeus and Hades, to create a syncretic deity, Serapis, whose feminine counterpart was Isis.

Temple of Isis-Delos
Isis with Ceres's horn
of plenty-Pompeii frescoe

The center of Isis' worship was in Alexandria, a major commercial center under the Ptolemies. To Alexandrian merchants, Isis and Serapis became associated with prosperity in addition to the afterlife, healing, and fertility.
As Ptolemaic influence spread throughout the eastern Mediterranean, worship of Isis also traveled along the trade routes to the coastlines of modern-day Syria, Israel, and Turkey. She became linked with regional deities. Temples to Isis were erected throughout the Mediterranean world. Among them was the Doric styled Temple of Isis on Delos in the Aegean. Thanks to the Roman merchants operating from Delos, by the first century B.C., her cult reached as far west as Spain.
One of the best preserved temples of Isis can be found in Pompeii. Built in the first century A.D., its frescoes depict Isis as Roman worshippers would have imagined her: in a Hellenized form, rather than Egyptian.
By the first century B.C., Isis worship had become established as a "mystery religion".
Roman rulers were not as fond of Isis as Alexander the Great's generals had been centuries before. Rome tried to suppress the popular cult several times. After Cleopatra's death in 30 B.C., the worship of Isis in Rome was suppressed. Later emperors ordered her temples to be destroyed, but worship of Isis was reinstated in Rome in the first century A.D. The cult of Isis reached its peak in the Roman Empire during the second century A.D. Worship of the goddess spread throughout the Roman world, reaching as far north as Britain and as far east as Asia.

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Sunday, March 29, 2020

W&M professor creates unique opportunity for students to learn Egyptian hieroglyphs | William & Mary


https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2020/wm-professor-creates-unique-opportunity-for-students-to-learn-egyptian-hieroglyphs.php

W&M professor creates unique opportunity for students to learn Egyptian hieroglyphs

  • Egyptological Society of              W&M
    Egyptological Society of W&M  The members of the Egyptological Society of William & Mary meet once a month to discuss Egyptian hieroglyphic texts. The students take turns reading lines, and then they discuss what they read.  by Nathan Warters
  • Egyptological Society of W&M
    Egyptological Society of W&M  Associate Professor Jeremy Pope has passed on his enthusiasm for Egyptian hieroglyphs to a group of William & Mary students. They started a club called the Egyptological Society of William & Mary that met monthly at Swem Library and is continuing to meet via video chat.  by Nathan Warters
  • Egyptological Society of W&M
    Egyptological Society of W&M  Members of the Egyptological Society of William & Mary use reference books to help them translate hieroglyphic texts.  by Nathan Warters


Jeremy Pope and seven eager students sat at tables in Swem Library's Brown Board Room on a Friday afternoon in February and munched on pizza, drank soda and discussed a passage most people couldn't begin to read. 

The passage was made up of hieroglyphic symbols arranged in neat lines. Some of the symbols, called lapwing birds, resembled geese or similar fowl, while others depicted fatigued men on their knees sinking into the ground. Others resembled nothing recognizable to the average, modern eye. 

The students were there voluntarily. Their academic commitment to Egyptian hieroglyphs ended last semester, but they loved reading and translating the texts so much that they urged Pope, their professor, to work with them on establishing a new club. 

"I just couldn't imagine having one more semester at William & Mary and not translating hieroglyphs together," said Molly McCue '20. 

Egyptological Society of William & Mary

After working out the details, one of the students, Madelyn Little '20, came up with the club's name: The Egyptological Society of William & Mary. 

"It was sort of deliciously scholarly," Pope quipped. 

The club members spent the first part of this semester meeting at Swem, but with classes moved online due to COVID-19, they have begun meeting remotely via the videoconferencing platform Zoom. 

Pope, associate professor of history and faculty affiliate in classical studies, has created a unique opportunity for students to learn the Egyptian language at William & Mary. He began teaching an introductory Deciphering Ancient Egypt course in fall 2018. It was the first in a three-course sequence that also includes Deciphering Ancient Egypt: Part 2 and a seminar titled Middle Egyptian Texts. 

The courses have been very popular, and the three-course sequence will be available to W&M students again in fall 2020. 

"Ancient Egypt is the best-preserved of the world's most ancient cultures," Pope said. "Consequently, reading ancient Egyptian texts in their original language is like time travel across thousands of years. So it doesn't surprise me that the subject tends to generate so much excitement." 

The first course in 2018 was open to 50 students, and it filled up so quickly there was a waiting list to get in. When that course was over, the number of persons in Virginia who could read hieroglyphs multiplied more than tenfold. 

"As far as I know, when I began teaching the introductory Deciphering Ancient Egypt course at William & Mary in fall 2018, there were only three people in Virginia who could fully read Egyptian hieroglyphs, and all were professors," Pope said. "At the end of that semester, there were 53 – and 50 of those were undergraduate students at William & Mary." 

Students who are interested in taking the introductory course in fall 2020 will find it cross-listed under anthropology (ANTH 343), classical studies (CLCV 209), history (HIST 278), and religious studies (RELG 278), with 50 seats available. 

Taking the introductory course does not obligate students to enroll in the sequel courses over the next two semesters, but a large number of seats in the introductory course will be held specifically for rising sophomores, rising juniors and incoming freshmen in order to maximize that opportunity for as many students as possible. 

Pope says there are fewer than a dozen universities in the United States where students can learn the Egyptian language, and the others are all Research I universities like the Ivy League schools. 

Of the first 50 students to take the intro course last fall, 30 moved on to the next course and then 10 took the seminar in the third semester. Pope gave those 10 students a hieroglyphic text every few weeks — he calls them "Mystery Texts" — without telling them anything about its content or time period. The students collaborated with each other outside of class to translate the text together and reconstruct its historical context as if they had discovered it themselves during an excavation. 

During class, Pope and the students would translate and discuss each text together. Unlike other languages that require more straightforward translations, Egyptian translations are open for interpretation. 

"The meanings of the words are not always obvious because it's a dead language," Pope said. "It's a language that has hardly been spoken by anyone for thousands of years. And so that always adds an extra layer of complication, but we're also lacking cultural context." 

After that seminar ended, the students approached Pope about continuing the work as a club. 

"We're all hooked on hieroglyphs," said Riley Aiken '20. "It kind of feels like a miracle being able to parse out the thoughts of people from thousands of years ago. 

"I think often people think of Egypt with this gilded separation, like it's a mysterious culture that we'll never really understand beyond mummies and pictures carved on walls. But it's not true. Their language is beautifully grammatically complex, and with it they recorded cultural stories, reflections of life and death, linguistic puns, shopping lists, graffiti, histories and medical texts. With every glyph there's life." 

The students formed strong friendships. They have a group text chat where they share jokes and memes about Egyptology. 

"It's so ridiculously nerdy, but I love that we have our own jokes," McCue said. 

Pope's enthusiasm for Egyptology is now something shared by others on the William & Mary campus. 

"When I first learned to read Egyptian, these texts proved to be infinitely more fascinating than I had ever expected, so sharing this language with students at William & Mary and watching them come to a similar realization gives me real joy," Pope said. 

The rapport the students have is a large part of the fun. Pope's selections of texts make for some entertaining and interesting conversations. 

In one recent meeting, the students translated a text called the "Excommunication Stela," in which a king expels a group of priests who had confessed to conspiring "to kill a man who had committed no crime," and then the king punished the priests by setting them all on fire. 

"This ancient inscription has received very little attention from scholars so far," Pope said. "It raises a number of questions: Whom did the priests conspire to kill and why? Did they actually murder him? We don't even know the identity of the king who punished them, because his name has been carefully erased from the stone. Who erased his name, when and why? There are excellent clues to these mysteries in the metaphors and euphemisms that are used in the text, so it is just waiting for students to perform some careful detective work on it." 

When they met, the students took turns reading the mystery text and gave their insights into the translation and context of each line. Pope gave affirmations as each student made a discovery, and he added his own expertise when the occasion called for it. 

"A lot of it is connecting with the ancient world and not just learning about it but learning what people thought about their own situations and about themselves and about what they're doing, which I think is really interesting from a personal perspective but also from a more academic perspective," said Kendall Kin '20. 

"A couple of semesters ago, we were looking at some graffiti that had been done on the pyramids or on the inside of the pyramids. Humans are silly. Humans haven't really changed at all over the past 2,000 years, which is very interesting." 

Pope is an expert. He is one of three Egyptologists employed at universities in Virginia, but he is the only one who offers courses on the language. 

He has done extensive work in the field. He has excavated at Karnak Temple in Egypt, but also much farther south in Sudan, where he is currently an epigraphic consultant for an archaeological project at the ancient site of Jebel Barkal, the location of several temples and pyramids. 

The Egyptological Society of William & Mary is an intellectually diverse group. Aiken will be doing post-graduate work in dentistry next year, while another is headed to law school and another has landed a job in finance. 

Aiken wrote her term paper last semester on the Ebers Papyrus, a wide-ranging medical treatise that contains one of the earliest discussions of dentistry in world history. 

"I translated the whole section on dental care from scratch because my reference books came in so late," Aiken said. "I finally got the reference books, but it turns out I had translated it fine." 

Of the 10 students who continued taking Egyptian language across all three semesters, one of them has already been admitted to several Ph.D. programs in Egyptology, while another traveled to Egypt this past summer for a Monroe Summer Research Project, and still another is planning to pursue a career in Phoenician archaeology. 

"I know that every time I go to a museum with an Egyptology exhibit that I'll spend inordinate amounts of time in front of those displays trying to read some of the hieroglyphs," Aiken said. "Professor Pope gave me the skills to be able to use the reference books and figure out the grammar. 

"I don't think I will be studying Egyptology in any more official courses, but theoretically, though I'm no expert, I can continue translating to my heart's content."

--   Sent from my Linux system.

Harvard Semitic Museum 3D scans Ancient Egyptian sarcophagi - 3D Printing Media Network


https://www.3dprintingmedia.network/harvard-semitic-museum-3d-scans-ancient-egyptian-sarcophagi/

Harvard Semitic Museum 3D scans Ancient Egyptian sarcophagi

A team from the Harvard Semitic Museum has 3D scanned a series of three sarcophagi from Ancient Egypt, which are now viewable through 3D modeling platform SketchFab. The effort is part of a broader project that aims to digitize artifacts from Ancient Egyptian civilizations to be shared online for "study and enjoyment."

The recent 3D scanning undertaking was carried out by a team this past January. Over the course of about a week, three sarcophagi were digitized using 3D scanning technologies. The ancient coffins belonged to three members of the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak: Padimut, a man who was a priest and metal engraver; Ankh-khonsu, a doorkeeper at the temple; and Mut-iy-iy, a woman who sang at the temple. All three sarcophagi date back to the the "Third Intermediate Period" between 945 and 712 BC.

The Ancient Egyptian caskets were originally excavated in 1901 by Theodore Davis and Percy Newberry, and were subsequently donated to the Harvard Semitic Museum. The museum, for its part, has been open since 1889 and today houses over 40,000 artifacts from the Near East region. Though the three sarcophagi have been in the museum's collection for a long time, the chance to 3D scan them offered a new perspective to see and learn about the ancient coffins.

Harvard Semitic Museum sarcophagi

For the 3D scanning process, the team used an Artec Leo scanner as well as a Sony RX100 VI camera to capture high-resolution photos for photogrammetry. Excitingly, the team was given the opportunity to scan not only the outside but also the insides of the coffins (no mummies). Most of the coffins had not been opened in decades, so being able to see and capture the interior was something special for the researchers.

In addition to 3D scanning and photogrammetry, the team also conducted more traditional processes, such as photography, measurements, pigment and residue analysis and wood sampling. Throughout, the biggest challenge to the team was handling the nearly 3,000-year-old sarcophagi.

As Peter Der Manuelian, the director of Harvard Semitic Museum, said: "The greatest challenge for us was the careful handling of these fragile and heavy coffins, for we needed to lift and turn them in order to document tops, sides, undersides, and bottoms. Day by day, a team of twelve specialists compiled their documentation and took their samples, in a complex arrangement of choreography: coffins rolling in from the gallery (which had become a temporary photo studio), lids turning over, bottoms being scanned and photographed, etc. All went smoothly, and the professional team members never got in each other's way, despite the time pressure, the differing needs of everyone's equipment, and the fragility of the materials."

Click on this link to interactively view the coffin of Pa-di-mut: https://skfb.ly/6R8WF

Once the 3D scans and photogrammetry images were taken, a colleague from Indiana University, Bloomington, processed the data using Agisoft Metashape, Zbrush, xNormal and 3DS Max to create 3D models of each coffin. The 3D models, now accessible on SketchFab, are also animated, enabling viewers to move the lids to see the inside of the ancient cases.

The Harvard Museum is also planning to use the 3D models of the sarcophagi to create an interactive exhibit, comprising a wall monitor in the gallery space showing the 3D models and an accompanying app or website with more in depth information, such as translations of the hieroglyphic inscriptions, or identifications of the scenes on the coffins. 

"Beyond this, exciting augmented reality applications await," added Der Manuelian. "Users could virtually take the coffin out of its display case, lift up the lid and enjoy a walk-through or flyover of the interior."

Tess Boissonneault

Tess Boissonneault moved from her home of Montreal, Canada to the Netherlands in 2014 to pursue a master's degree in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam. It was during her time in Amsterdam that she became acquainted with 3D printing technology and began writing for a local additive manufacturing news platform. Now based in France, Tess has over two and a half years experience writing, editing and publishing additive manufacturing content with a particular interest in women working within the industry. She is an avid follower of the ever-evolving AM industry.
--   Sent from my Linux system.

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Street View Treks: Giza – About – Google Maps



https://www.google.com/maps/about/behind-the-scenes/streetview/treks/pyramids-of-giza/

Yes, yes, I know you've been there, multiple times. So have I. This is still worth a look.

Glenn

--   Sent from my Linux system.

New Books in Egyptology (January-March 2020) - Nile Scribes


https://nilescribes.org/2020/03/28/new-books-in-egyptology-january-march-2020/

New Books in Egyptology (January-March 2020)

Every few months the Nile Scribes update our readers on the most recent Egyptological publications. From popular reads to peer-reviewed scholarship, we hope to illustrate the wide variety of topics discussed in Egyptology, and perhaps introduce you to your next read! Below are 11 books that were released early in 2020 (January to March). Hopefully one of these will be a welcome distraction during these bewildering times.

Did you read our last post on books from 2019?

La chapelle de barque en calcite aux noms d'Amenhotep Ier et de Thoutmosis Ier

Jean-François Carlotti et al.

IFAO (ISBN: 9782724707588) – Cost: EU€ 43

Publisher's summary:

"First volume of the series dedicated to the Monuments of Amenhotep I at Karnak, the publication of the calcite chapel in the names of Amenhotep I and of Thutmose I materialises the achievement of a long scientific process initiated by the discovery in 1914 of the first blocks in the foundations of the southern tower of the IIIrd pylon. Followed in 1947 the reconstruction of the monument in the open air museum. Successive phases of drawings and photographic documentation were then implemented and finally the publication of the present edition comprising fac-similes, translations and comments. The calcite chapel is a bark repository for the god's portable bark during Amun's procession festivals. Its original location is still debated: either inside the festival courtyard of Thutmose II, or the place where the "inthronisation seat of Amun" was later erected (the latter has our preference). Its decoration was later duplicated in most of Karnak's calcite bark shrines. The specific rituals addressed to the bark of Amun are partly those recorded in the "Ritual of Amenhotep I" known throughout the p.BM 10689 (Chester-Beatty IX) and the p.Cairo CGC 58030, p. XI + p.Turin, Inv. Suppl. 10125 and which, quite a-propos, bear the name of "offering service for the festival of Amun-Ra."

Eléments de la terminologie du temps en égyptien ancien: Une étude de sémantique lexicale en diachronie

Gaëlle Chantrain

Widmaier Verlag (ISBN: 978-3-943955-21-7) – Cost: EU€ 59

Publisher's summary:

"This book has a double scope: first, bringing a contribution to the knowledge and understanding of the time conceptions in Ancient Egypt through a lexical study and, second, contributing to the definition of a methodological frame for lexical semantics in Ancient Egyptian. In the introduction, the reader will first find a state of the art from the point of view of time-related studies in Egyptology, lexical semantics studies, and classifiers studies. The next introductory sections deal with the links between time, space and motion, with the complexity of time conceptions in Ancient Egypt, and with the impact of this plural vision on the lexicon. The first part of the core study aims at establishing a proposition of canvas for the semasiology of nouns. It also presents the semasiological analysis of eight lexemes belonging to the unbounded time domain: 3.t (moment), wnw.t (hour), nw (moment), tr (time), H3w (epoch), rk (epoch), aHaw (lifetime) and Hnty (period). The second part is dedicated to the onomasiology of the unbounded time domain, as well as some of its connections with some contiguous domains like space."

Text-Bild-Objekte im archäologischen Kontext: Festschrift für Susanne Bickel

Edited by Kathrin Gabler et al.

Widmaier Verlag (ISBN: 9783943955224) – Cost: EU€ 49

Publisher's summary:

"Ancient Egypt has bequeathed us a rich archaeological heritage of texts and images. Their meaning often becomes apparent only when their spatial dimension is taken into account. Informed by Susanne Bickel's epigraphic and archaeological research, the present volume focuses on the interplay of textual and visual perspectives in the analysis of Egyptian monuments and their spatial location. «Text-Bild-Objekte im archäologischen Kontext» unfolds this research perspective in 17 contributions, that combine text, image and spatial context, intended to describe both the contents and the methodology. The thematic spectrum of the contributions ranges from the Old Kingdom to the 19th century and from Nubia to Switzerland."

Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology

Edited by Amy Gansell and Ann Shafer

Oxford University Press (ISBN: 9780190673161) – Cost: US$ 99

Publisher's summary:

"Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology invites readers to reconsider the contents and agendas of the art historical and world-culture canons by looking at one of their most historically enduring components: the art and archaeology of the ancient Near East. Ann Shafer, Amy Rebecca Gansell, and other top researchers in the field examine and critique the formation and historical transformation of the ancient Near Eastern canon of art, architecture, and material culture. Contributors flesh out the current boundaries of regional and typological sub-canons, analyze the technologies of canon production (such as museum practices and classroom pedagogies), and voice first-hand heritage perspectives. Each chapter, thereby, critically engages with the historiography behind our approach to the Near East and proposes alternative constructs. Collectively, the essays confront and critique the ancient Near Eastern canon's present configuration and re-imagine its future role in the canon of world art as a whole."

The People of the Cobra Province in Egypt: A Local History, 4500 to 1500 BC

Wolfram Grajetzki

Oxbow Books (ISBN: 9781789254211) – Cost: GB£ 44

Publisher's summary:

"The book delivers a history from below for the first half of Egyptian history covering the earliest settlements, state formation and the pyramid age. The focus is on the Wadjet province, about 350 km south of modern Cairo in Upper Egypt. Here archaeological records provide an especially rich dataset for the material culture of farmers. Histories of Ancient Egypt have focussed heavily on the kings, monuments and inscriptions, while the working population is hardly mentioned. The book investigates the life of people far from the centres of power. One main aim of the book is the interaction between farmers and the ruling classes at the centres of power and locally. How did decisions at the royal centre affect the life of ordinary people? The Introduction offers a critical survey of Egyptologists and their attitudes towards the working class. The social and cultural background of these researchers is analysed to assess how heavily they are influenced by time and their political and cultural background. The First chapter then describes the location and gives a history of previous research and excavations. The archaeological sites and the recorded ancient place names of the province are presented to provide a geographical framework for the book. The following chapters are arranged in chronological order, mainly according to the archaeological phases visible in the province. It appears that in phases of a weak central government, people in the provinces were much better off, while in phases of a strong central government burials of poorer people are almost absent. The reasons for this are discussed. A substantial part of the book comprises descriptions of single burials and the material culture in the province. The archaeology of the poorer people is the main focus. Burial customs and questions of production are discussed. For a fuller picture, evidence from other parts of Egypt is also taken into account. Thus settlement sites in other regions are presented to provide contemporary evidence for living conditions in particular periods. As the book will focus on the lower classes, the Tributary Mode of Production will be used as the main theoretical framework. The Tributary Mode of Production (previously known as the Asiatic Mode of Production) is a term that goes back to Karl Marx, but was mainly used in the 20th century to describe ancient societies whose economies were not based on slaves. A constant question will be the status of the working population. Were they slaves, serfs or free citizens? It will be argued that they were most often in a dependent position comparable to that of serfs, while there is little evidence for slavery. The numerous burials presented in the volume are important for highlighting the diversity of burials in the different periods. Many will be placed in special subchapters. Readers can skip these chapters when they prefer to concentrate on the main text."

Memphis in der Dritten Zwischenzeit: Eine Studie zur (Selbst-)Repräsentation von Eliten in der 21. und 22. Dynastie

Claus Jurman

Widmaier Verlag (ISBN: 9783943955613) – Cost: EU€ 225

Publisher's summary:

"This book is concerned with the monumental display of different aspects of identity and personhood by members of the local elite in the ancient Egyptian metropolis of Memphis during the 21st and the first half of the 22nd Dynasty (corresponding to c. 1070–775 BCE). Whilst based on a corpus of 114 individual artefacts, the study aims at providing for the first time a holistic and fully contextualised perspective on the history of Memphis and its inhabitants during the Third Intermediate Period and the periods that immediately precede and follow it. Accordingly, the book's methodological scope and toolkit are multifaceted, giving due attention to traditional historical and archaeological enquiries, but also following avenues informed by art historical, philological, prosopographical, sociological and anthropological approaches. At the book's heart lies a detailed study of the primary sources (among them the burials of the 'high priests' of the 22nd Dynasty), which are meticulously contextualised in order to facilitate the integration of micro- and macro-perspectives. The analyses are complemented by prosopographical dossiers, an extensive plate section and genealogical charts."

Im Fahrwasser des Sonnengottes. Eine Studie zum Darreichen der Morgen- und Abendbarke in den ägyptischen Tempeln griechisch-römischer Zeit

Jessica Kertmann

Harrassowitz (ISBN: 9783447113229) – Cost: EU€ 118

Publisher's summary (1):

"The journeys of the sun god in his barges along the sky and through the underworld make up one of the most central elements of the ancient Egyptian world view. Over the course of Egyptian religious history, the ideas associated with the course of the sun were described and presented in more or less detail text genres. A type of ritual scene which shows the king in an act of offering with the morning and evening bark of the sun god, is attested 45 times in Graeco-Roman temples. Jessica Kertmann makes these scenes the focus of her study. In the first part of the investigation, the attestations are presented with a translation and commentary, in which the position in the temple, the structure of the scene, and the iconography of the barges are also addressed. Subsequently, an analysis of the scenes and their texts from several view points follows in the second part. The conception of the individual protagonists and their iconography are examined as well as their counter parts, the motifs of the course of the sun, and the formal design of the scene texts. The investigation is supplemented by an overarching chapter on the conception of the course and the barges of the sun as well as on the question of the new arrangement of the barks within the day phases in Graeco-Roman times."

Trauma und Therapie. Die Schöpfung der schönen Literatur als eine kulturpoetische Bewältigung des Königsmordes an Amenemhet I.?

Ludwig D. Morenz

ebv Berlin (ISBN: 978-3-86893-326-0) – Cost: EU€ 19

Publisher's summary (1):

"In this essay, history is mirrored in literature and at the same time the question of the historical conditions of beautiful literature (md.w nfr.w) in the early second millennium B.C. is analysed. In this process, the royal murder of Amenemhat I is carved out as a central event not only of a social or royal-ideological, but also of an apparent revolutionary cultural-poetic importance. In particular, the question is asked of the regicide being a trigger for beautiful literature, is examined from multiple perspectives, and is answered, at least seemingly, in a positive manner."

Athribis V. Archäologie im Repit-Tempel zu Athribis 2012-2016

Marcus Müller, Mohamed el-Bialy, and Mansour Boraik

IFAO (ISBN: 9782724707403) – Cost: EU€ 75

Publisher's summary:

"The volume Athribis V presents the 2012-16 excavations of the Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen in the Repit Temple, built by Ptolemy XII, which is located in Athribis in Sohag Province. The first account portrays the challenging working conditions due to hundreds of heavy, fallen temple blocks, then the formalities of excavation techniques and documentation. Since all large stone temples in Egypt were cleared by the early 20th century without paying attention to the archaeological deposits, the excavation in Athribis provided a unique opportunity to investigate the late Roman and early Medieval re-use of a temple. The most important results of each room are presented in chronological order in the next chapter. Several rooms with their respective archaeological features, finds, secondary installations, and architectural issues are then discussed. The volume ends with a review of the 1981-97 excavations of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization."

Towards a History of Egyptology. Proceedings of the Egyptological Section of the 8th ESHS Conference in London, 2018

Edited by Hana Navratilova et al.

Zaphon (ISBN: 9783963270802) – Cost: EU€ 79

Publisher's summary:

"Ancient Egypt has for centuries occupied a prominent place in popular imaginations and scholarly research agendas. While our knowledge of the long-dead civilization of the pharaohs has vastly increased and improved over the past two hundred years, our understanding of what actually constitutes what we call 'Egyptology' remains elusive. Based upon research presented in 2018 at the 8th Conference of the European Society for the History of Science in London, this volume comprises a wide range of reflections by an international, interdisciplinary panel of scholars on matters central to the history of Egyptology. Their papers explore various approaches to the study of Egyptology's history; national, particularly including Egyptian perspectives on Egyptology; and the interdependencies of scholarship and politics. This unique book represents an important step in the evolution of a newly developing dialogue: one that sees the study of ancient Egypt brought more closely in line with modern debates on the construction of knowledge, disciplinary formation, and the importance of ancient history to modern societies – and also within them, as a means of validating aspects of the present."

Abydos: the Sacred Land at the Western Horizon

Edited by Ilona Regulski

Peeters (ISBN: 9789042937987) – Cost: EU€ 120

Publisher's summary:

"The volume is the first of two complementary volumes that explore Abydos through the lenses of the latest archaeological, archival and collections research, building upon a colloquium and workshop held at the British Museum in 2015. Volume 2 presents a focussed view on Abydos in the post-pharaonic period. Chosen as the burial ground for the first kings of Egypt, Abydos became a site of great antiquity, and its ancient sanctity may have conferred legitimacy on the individuals buried there. The site soon became the cult centre for Egypt's most popular god, Osiris, who ruled the netherworld and guaranteed every Egyptian eternal life after death. As a result of continued ritual performance, endowments and pilgrimage, a vast landscape of chapels and tombs, temples and towns, developed. For millennia, Abydos was one of the most consecrated sites of Egypt. The contributions in this volume will address the social and cultural dynamics of an ever-changing landscape serving this unique ritual narrative."


Notes

  1. Translated from the German by the Nile Scribes.

--   Sent from my Linux system.