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Saturday, October 29, 2022

King Tut: The Mysteries Still Surrounding Ancient Egypt's Boy Pharoah

https://www.newsweek.com/king-tut-biggest-mysteries-1754938

King Tut: The Mysteries Still Surrounding Ancient Egypt's Boy Pharoah


The tomb of King Tutankhamun is among the most iconic ancient Egyptian sites. But as the 100-year anniversary of its discovery approaches, several mysteries about the famous pharaoh's life remain.

The ancient leader, commonly referred to simply as King Tut, ruled Egypt from 1,332 – 1,323 B.C., taking the throne at the age of just eight or nine, and passing away when he was around 18 years old.

In November, 1922, the British archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered the almost intact tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt's Valley of the Kings—a find that received worldwide media coverage and sparked a resurgence of interest in the ancient history of the country that he once ruled. (Robbers had broken into the tomb at least twice by the time of its discovery, carrying some small items, meaning it was not completely intact.)

The sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun in Egypt
The head of King Tut's golden sarcophagus in his underground tomb, located in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. Many mysteries remain regarding the life of this ancient Egyptian boy-king. MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images

"Tut's tomb is hands down the richest find in Egyptian archaeology, and arguably all of archaeology," Tom Mueller, an expert on the history of King Tut and author of National Geographic's November cover story, told Newsweek. "His is the only—almost—intact royal tomb."

The cover story goes behind the scenes of the under construction Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, which once inaugurated, will be the largest archaeological museum in the world. The GEM, which is set to open later this year or next year—the inauguration has been beset by delays—will host more than 5,000 artifacts from King Tut's tomb, filling two galleries of the the museum.

But while we know a huge amount about King Tut's life and his views on the afterlife from this abundance of artifacts, there are still several surprising gaps in our knowledge of the boy-king's rule of Egypt, according to Mueller.

One of the main questions surrounding King Tut is how physically healthy and active the young ruler was.

The entrance to King Tutankhamun's tomb
The entrance to King Tut's tomb, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. British archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb in 1922. George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

"Some scholars, observing the wear on his war chariots, bows and arrows and other grave goods in his tomb, have deduced that he was an active young man, hunted hippopotami, even led his troops in combat," Mueller said. "Others, noting the presence of walking sticks and an apparent malformation of his foot, conclude that he was a cripple."

The ancient ruler's physical appearance is still somewhat of a mystery despite the fact that numerous "portrait" sculptures were found in his tomb. Experts have long debated how realistic or stylized these depictions of the pharaoh actually are.

"For example, his famous golden death mask seems to have elements of his actual face, but has been sublimated by a master artist or craftsmen to become simultaneously the portrait of an eternal god, as all pharaohs were considered to be," Mueller said.

How did King Tut die?

The cause of King Tut's death is also still unclear, and has been the subject of considerable debate among experts. Some research has indicated that the young king was physically disabled and suffered from several other notable health issues during his short life. Experts are still debating how big a role a leg injury and subsequent infection, malaria, genetic disease, and other maladies played in his passing.

One theory that the boy-king was murdered has been disproved, however. Apparent signs that King Tut had suffered blunt-force trauma to the head were shown by experts to have been caused by normal decomposition processes.

Other enduring mysteries surrounding the king's life include questions over whether he ever ruled as an independent monarch, given that he passed away around the age of 18, or if he was more of a puppet of the powerful figures in his court, according to Mueller.

Close up of King Tutankhamun's sarcophagus
A close of the king's sarcophagus. It is adorned with gold, enamel and semiprecious stone. Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images

For example, questions persist as to whether it was King Tut who decided to return the Egyptian royal court from Amarna, where it had been moved a generation before, back to Thebes, or a high priest, his mother, or other actors, Mueller said.

The family tree of the pharaoh also contains significant mysteries that have yet to be resolved, Mueller said. DNA research that is currently being conducted by an international team may finally be able to solve the question of his parentage, with results expected by the end of this year.

"Was his father really Akhenaten, the 'heretic pharaoh,' as many assert? We still don't know for sure. This DNA analysis should also help to clarify some outstanding questions about his health and cause of death," Mueller said.

Where is the tomb of Nefertiti?

One of the most "exciting and controversial" recent assertions about King Tut's tomb, according to Mueller, is that Queen Nefertiti, another former ruler of Ancient Egypt, is buried somewhere within—a claim made by Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves in September this year. It is not known where the remains of the queen, who may have been Tut's stepmother, lie.

"Note that Reeves made similar claims a couple years back, based on scans of the site, which were later disproven," Mueller said. "[He] is a serious scholar, and his views, this time based on an analysis of partially destroyed hieroglyphs, deserve serious attention."

The sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun
The sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun. The boy-king died around the age of 18. Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images

"All in all, it's remarkable that [King Tut], the best-known ruler in all of ancient Egypt, at least from the archaeological perspective, remains in many ways a shadowy figure."

But aside from the mysteries surrounding his life, why has King Tut been the subject of fascination for so long?

According to Mueller, there are a number of reasons—the first of which is the widespread media coverage that the tomb's discovery received at the time.

"The rediscovery of Tut's tomb set off a media explosion, and a worldwide wave of Egyptomania, because it was found at a time when mass media was new," he said. "The magnificent, dramatic photographs of Harry Burton could now be shown in print and video around the world, in major venues like the London Times."

"Tut hit home in 1922 because he both provided a welcome distraction from the horrors of the Great War, and at the same time reminded many viewers of the toll of the war—this young man wrapped in linen bandages reminded many of the countless young soldiers who were wounded and killed in battle."

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The story of the tomb's discovery and the alleged curse that haunted the site all served to boost interest in the find.

"This was an adventure story as well as a major scholarly find, better in many ways than Raiders of the Lost Ark—and no doubt a primary inspiration for this film," Mueller said.

"Tut made a huge impression on viewers the world over, then and today, because of the unparalleled richness and virtuoso artistry of so many of his grave goods, which are both treasures of gold and gemstones, and artworks of the highest aesthetic quality."

Egypt has also promoted Tut and his treasures as symbols of the nation's rich history, cementing the king's legend.

"Since the 1970s, when worldwide touring exhibits of Tut's treasures began, Egypt has deftly employed Tut almost as a diplomatic figure, traveling the globe and impressing on countless nations the majesty of Egypt's past," Mueller said.

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NatGeo's New Photos Bring King Tut’s Treasures to Life | PetaPixel

https://petapixel.com/2022/10/28/natgeos-new-photos-bring-king-tuts-treasures-to-life/

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Friday, October 28, 2022

LEGO promo: one of the world's most complex monuments is at a destabilizing price on Amazon - Game News 24

  

Thursday, October 27, 2022

249.pdf

file:///home/glennm/Downloads/249.pdf

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Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Call for Applications: 2022-23 Northern California ARCE Student Grant




Call for Applications

Fifth Annual ARCE Northern California Eugene Cruz-Uribe Memorial
Student Grant


The Board of Directors of the Northern California Chapter of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) is offering one grant of $1,500 to a qualified undergraduate or graduate student during the 2022-23 academic year.

Deadline for applications is Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. The recipient will be recognized at the ARCE Northern California chapter's January meeting, to be held via Zoom.

Applicants must either be enrolled at a Northern California college or university (Monterey to the Oregon border) or come from a hometown within that area. They must be pursuing a degree that incorporates Egyptian anthropology, archaeology, art, history, museum studies or language, or Coptic or Arabic studies in any period. Proof of enrollment may be required.

Past applicants for our chapter's student grants who have not yet received an award are encouraged to re-apply.

The grant honors a beloved chapter member, the late Professor Eugene Cruz-Uribe, an Egyptologist specializing in the Greco-Roman period who died following a bicycle accident in 2018. A recently retired professor of history at Indiana University East at the time of his death, Prof. Cruz-Uribe taught at California State University, Monterey Bay from 2007 to 2013.

To apply, send a CV and a brief (under 400 words) description of how you will use the grant to ARCENorCal@gmail.com.

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Revised: Northern California ARCE Upcoming Lectures on Egypt & Nubia

 



 

American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE)

Northern California Chapter

Upcoming 2022-23 Lectures
 
 


The following are among the lectures to be presented by ARCE’s Northern California Chapter in the coming months. Other lectures are in process. Unless otherwise indicated, lectures are at 3 p.m.
PST, in-person, Room 126 of the Social Sciences Building (formerly Barrows Hall) at UC Berkeley.

Iron in the Sky: Words and Conceptions of Iron and Meteorites in Ancient Egypt
November 6, 2022
(Pacific Standard Time begins Nov. 6)
Dr. Victoria Almansa-Villatoro, Brown University

A Gateway into the Desert: History, Exploration, and Cyclical Rediscovery of Wadi Tumilat
December 11, 2022
Dr. Aleksandra Ksiezak, University of Toronto, CSU San Bernardino

Ancient Egyptian Yellow Coffins from Thebes: A Holistic Approach to Studying Complex Objects
January 15, 2023
Dr. Stefania Mainieri, Museo Egizio di Torino, UCLA
This 3 pm PST lecture is a Zoom lecture, NOT in-person. Zoom registration instructions will be sent out as the date approaches.

Ramses II and the Hittite Empire: War & Peace in the Late Bronze Age
February 12, 2023
Dr. Peter Brand, University of Memphis

Roman Egyptian Mummy Portraits and the Artistic Circle of the St. Louis Painter
March 12, 2023
Dr. Branko van Oppen, Tampa Museum of Art

New Perspectives on the African Empire of Kush: Excavations at Gebel Barkal
May 7, 2023
Dr. Geoff Emberling, Kelsey Museum, Univ. of Michigan



Parking is available in UC lots all day on weekends, for a fee. Ticket dispensing machines accept debit or credit cards. Parking is available in lots around the Social Sciences Building, and in lots along Bancroft. A map of the campus is available online at http://www.berkeley.edu/map/

For more information, please visit https://facebook.com/NorthernCaliforniaARCE/, https://arce-nc.org/lectures.htm, https://twitter.com/ARCENCPostings, or https://khentiamentiu.org. To join the chapter or renew your membership, please go to https://www.arce.org/general-membership and select "Berkeley, CA" as your chapter when you sign u
p.

Four arrested after 59 artefacts stolen from Egyptian university museum

https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/2022/10/24/four-arrested-after-59-artefacts-stolen-from-egyptian-university-museum/

Four arrested after 59 artefacts stolen from Egyptian university museum

Police say three students confessed to stealing the pieces from Sohag University's archaeological museum, with the intention of selling them

Four people have been arrested              in the Egyptian province of Sohag over the theft of 59              artefacts from the archaeological museum at Sohag              University. Photo: Egypt's Ministry of Interior.
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Egyptian security forces arrested four people in the province of Sohag on Sunday after 59 ancient artefacts were stolen from the archaeological museum in the city's university.

The country's interior ministry said they were a woman and two men who were students at the university, and one of their parents. Upon their arrest all four confessed, a statement said.

Police received a report from Sohag University on Saturday that 59 items from the university's archaeological museum had been stolen. After going through security footage, they determined the identity of the thieves who were tracked down and arrested in possession of the stolen relics.

Police said that during their confessions, they said that they had planned to sell the items and get rich quickly.

They allegedly used a crowbar to pry open the museum doors and while one of them blocked the view of the security camera, the other entered the showroom and filled a rucksack with the items, including ancient combs and jade-coloured jugs.

Police said the female student met them outside the university building in her car which the pair loaded with the stolen haul.

The pieces were then hidden at the home of one of the boys' fathers, police said, who was also arrested for allegedly aiding the three students in the theft, and they planned to store them at the father's home until the pieces could be sold.

The ministry said it has the four suspects in custody and that legal proceedings will begin in the coming days.

Illegal artefact sales are a rampant problem in many Egyptian provinces, especially those, like Sohag, in Upper Egypt, where people often attempt to dig for relics without the government's knowledge.

The practice is expressly prohibited under Egyptian law, which considers all archaeological finds on Egyptian land to be the state's property.

Updated: October 24, 2022, 3:40 AM
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Egyptomania in Ancient Rome and Gilded Age America | The Art Institute of Chicago

https://www.artic.edu/articles/990/egyptomania-in-ancient-rome-and-gilded-age-america

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Monday, October 24, 2022

Mummification in Egypt May Be 1,000 Years Older than Previously Thought

https://greekreporter.com/2022/10/24/mummification-1000-years-older/

Mummification in Egypt May Be 1,000 Years Older than Previously Thought

Mummification
The tomb of Khuwy, shows resplendent murals. The Egyptian mummy now shows that the science of mummification is at least 1,000 years older than previously thought. Credit: Archaeology wiki

The science behind mummification in Egypt is around 1,000 years older than previously thought according to new evidence.

The advanced embalming processes used in the preservation of the body of Egyptian nobleman Khuwy now clearly show that these ancient people had developed this science much earlier than had been believed, rewriting the history books.

The body of the high-ranking aristocrat, which was first discovered in 2019, is now one of the oldest Egyptian mummies ever discovered, according to research. The mummy dates back to the Old Kingdom period of Egyptian history, which lasted from 2,700– 2,200 BC, or 4,700 years ago.

Mummification process involved the use of the finest resins, linens

The exquisitely-woven linen draping and the fine resins used in the process were not believed to have been even developed until at least 1,000 years after the time of Khuwy's embalming.

Professor Salima Ikram, the head of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, who is one of the foremost experts on the history of mummification, told the Observer "If this is indeed an Old Kingdom mummy, all books about mummification and the history of the Old Kingdom will need to be revised.

"This would completely turn our understanding of the evolution of mummification on its head. The materials used, their origins, and the trade routes associated with them will dramatically impact our understanding of Old Kingdom Egypt," she pointed out.

Related: Pharaoh mummies moved in state to new museum

"Until now, we had thought that Old Kingdom mummification was relatively simple, with basic desiccation – not always successful – no removal of the brain, and only occasional removal of the internal organs. Indeed, more attention was paid to the exterior appearance of the deceased than the interior," she explained.

"Also, the use of resins is far more limited in the Old Kingdom mummies thus far recorded. This mummy is awash with resins and textiles and gives a completely different impression of mummification. In fact, it is more like mummies found 1,000 years later."

Khuwy's tomb was uncovered in 2019 in Saqqara, next to the pyramid complex built for Pharaoh Djedkare Isesi, who reigned from 2381 to 2353 BC. The nobleman's titles included "overseer of the khentiu-she of the Great House," "Great one of the ten of Upper Egypt" — and perhaps most intriguing of all — "Sole friend" of the pharaoh.

"Lost Treasures of Egypt" new National Geographic series

The mummy and the extremely advanced technology used in its preservation will be featured in National Geographic's television series "Lost Treasures of Egypt," which will be broadcast in November.

In the documentary, cameras follow the team of international archaeologists as they make one excavation after another in Egypt. The new discovery will be a part of the fourth episode, called "The Rise of the Mummies."

Archaeologist Mohamed Megahed states in the episode "If it's really Khuwy, this is a breakthrough in ancient Egyptian history."

The original discovery of Khuwy's mummified body in the necropolis at Saqqara was featured in an earlier season of the National Geographic series; the painstaking investigation into the dating and scientific analysis of his mummification process is shown in the new show.

The nearly-pristine hieroglyphs on the wall of his tomb indicated that the body was indeed that of Khuwy, a nobleman who was related to the pharaonic family.

Tom Cook of Windfall Films, who produced the series for National Geographic, explains "They knew the pottery in the tomb was Old Kingdom but (Ikram) didn't think that the mummy was from (that period) because it was preserved too well. They didn't think the mummification process (at that time) was that advanced. So her initial reaction was 'this is definitely not Old Kingdom.' But over the course of the investigation she started to come round."

Egyptian mummification experts would completely cover bodies in expensive resins from trees, which effectively preserved the flesh even before before they wrapped the corpse. The researchers discovered that Khuwy's body was impregnated with high-quality resins and swathed in the finest linens that were produced at the time, according to a report from the Guardian.

Ikram declared of the new research "It's extraordinary. The only time I've (seen) so much of this kind of good quality linen has been in the 21st dynasty." This period of Egyptian history took place more than 1,000 years after the life and death of the nobleman.

The new National Geographic series is eye candy for all history and archaeology buffs as archaeologists are followed during an entire excavation season, showing viewers exactly what they find, when they find it, and how they uncover ancient historical mysteries.

Carolyn Payne, an editor at National Geographic's commissioning editor, says the discoveries made this past season included "some amazing finds."

As the series states, "With every new body archaeologists unearth, the story of the mummies of Egypt becomes clearer."

See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!

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Sunday, October 23, 2022

Northern California ARCE Upcoming Egyptology Lectures

American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE)

Northern California Chapter

Upcoming 2022-23 Lectures



The following are among the lectures to be presented by ARCE's Northern California Chapter in the coming months. Other lectures are in process. Unless otherwise indicated, all lectures are at 3 p.m. PST, in-person, Room 126 of the Social Sciences Building (formerly Barrows Hall) at UC Berkeley.


Iron in the Sky: Words and Conceptions of Iron and Meteorites in Ancient Egypt
November 6, 2022 (Pacific Standard Time begins Nov. 6)

Dr. Victoria Almansa-Villatoro, Brown University

A Gateway into the Desert: History, Exploration, and Cyclical Rediscovery of Wadi Tumilat
December 11, 2022
Dr. Aleksandra Ksiezak, University of Toronto, CSU San Bernardino


Ramses II and the Hittite Empire: War & Peace in the Late Bronze Age
February 12, 2023
Dr. Peter Brand, University of Memphis


Roman Egyptian Mummy Portraits and the Artistic Circle of the St. Louis Painter
March 12, 2023
Dr. Branko van Oppen, Tampa Museum of Art

New Perspectives on the African Empire of Kush: Excavations at Gebel Barkal
May 7, 2023
Dr. Geoff Emberling, Kelsey Museum, Univ. of Michigan




Parking is available in UC lots all day on weekends, for a fee. Ticket dispensing machines accept debit or credit cards. Parking is available in lots around the Social Sciences Building, and in lots along Bancroft. A map of the campus is available online at http://www.berkeley.edu/map/

For more information, please visit https://facebook.com/NorthernCaliforniaARCE/, https://arce-nc.org/lectures.htm, https://twitter.com/ARCENCPostings, or https://khentiamentiu.org. To join the chapter or renew your membership, please go to https://www.arce.org/general-membership and select "Berkeley, CA" as your chapter when you sign up.