Reminder - Northern Cal. Egyptology Lecture Feb. 11: Body Ornaments and Communities of Practice in the Egyptian Predynastic

The American Research Center in Egypt, Northern California chapter, and the UC Berkeley Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures invite you to attend a lecture by Maryan Ragheb, UCLA: Body Ornaments and Communities of Practice in the Egyptian Predynastic Sunday, February 11, 2024, 3 PM Pacific Time Room 20, Social Sciences Building, UC Berkeley This in-person lecture will not be recorded. About the Lecture: Our bodies and body images are manufactured through one's treatment of their body surface: Through clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, makeup, or tattooing, we create and recreate certain images that can be readable to others. These body accessories and modifications are not only to reflect identities, but also to be utilized as tools by the wearers to enact their social roles, which are prescribed and promoted by society. Body ornamentation is thus important for affirming social cohesion and shared ideologies of identities both in life and death. In Predynastic Egypt, body ornamentation of the deceased was practiced to varying degrees. This talk discusses the shared community practices in the making and use of Predynastic body ornaments to adorn the deceased's body. Through a microscopic study of beaded ornaments, their manufacturing processes, and wear marks, I can reconstruct the technical and social processes that were invested in their making, and by extension, the making of the deceased's image at the time of the funeral. About the Speaker: Maryan Ragheb is a PhD candidate in Archaeology at UCLA, with a special focus on ancient Egyptian archaeology. Her dissertation research is concerned with identity expression pre and post state formation in ancient Egypt, through the study of body ornamentation. Her research interests include identity expressions of different minority groups and the cultural entanglement between different ethnicities within Egypt. In addition to archaeological work in Egypt and Ethiopia, she is interested in community outreach and preservation of cultural heritage initiatives. As such, she is currently involved in the Waystation initiative and the voluntary return of cultural objects to China, while building a skillset in cultural heritage laws in the USA, and in provenance research. About ARCE-NC: For more information, please visit https://www.youtube.com/@NorthernCaliforniaARCE, https://facebook.com/NorthernCaliforniaARCE/, http://www.arce-nc.org,  https://twitter.com/ARCENCPostings, and https://khentiamentiu.org. To join the chapter or renew your membership, please go to https://arce.org/join-arce/ and select "Berkeley, CA" as your chapter when you sign up.

Controversial Egypt pyramid renovation likely to be rolled back - ABC News

https://abcnews.go.com/International/controversial-egypt-pyramid-renovation-rolled-back/story?id=106892273

Controversial Egypt pyramid renovation likely to be rolled back

The pyramid was constructed as a monumental tomb around 2510 BC.

By Ayat Al-Tawy

February 2, 2024, 4:13 AM

Catch up on the developing stories from around the globe making headlines.

CAIRO -- A controversial plan to cover one of Egypt's Giza Pyramids with granite cladding will likely not be possible given rock nature and international archaeological restoration law, according to a prominent archaeologist following massive public backlash against the plan

The announcement of the project last week has sparked criticism and ridicule among experts and social media users, with many expressing concerns over the fate of a wonder of the ancient world, dismissing the plan as "tiling the pyramid."

Egypt's antiquities ministry said the restoration aims to reinstall hundreds of granite blocks that used to form the outer casing of the Pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three main pyramids of Giza.

The 4,500-year-old structure was originally covered in 16 courses of granite blocks but only seven remain today.

Mostafa Waziry, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, dubbed it the "project of the century" as he made the announcement, but some archaeologists have taken issue with the plan and say it would be unworkable.

"The blocks around the pyramid are all unpolished and incomplete. They are totally unsuitable to be reconstructed on the surface of the pyramid," Egyptologist and former antiquities minister Zahy Hawas, who chairs an ad hoc assessment committee formed to decide on the fate of the project, told ABC News.

TOPSHOT - The Pyramid of Menkaure (or Menkheres, built in the 26th century BC) is pictured at the Giza Pyramids Necropolis, west of Cairo, on January 29, 2024. In a video posted on Facebook on January 26, Mostafa Waziri, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, showed workers setting blocks of granite on the base of the pyramid, dubbing it "the project of the century." When originally built, the pyramid was encased in granite, but over time lost part of its covering. The renovation aims to restore the structure's original style by reconstructing the granite layer.

Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images

Even if the blocks were fit, Hawas says, under international principles of archaeological restoration, the style of a monument should be kept unchanged.

The pyramid was constructed as a monumental tomb of the fourth dynasty Pharaoh Menkaure around 2510 BC, to an original height of 65.5 meters (215 feet). It now stands at 61 m (200 feet) tall.

Experts believe the unfinished nature of the granite cladding indicates that King Menkaure died before the structure was finished and his son completed the stonework.

The new project will most likely be confined to topographic mapping of the pyramid and documentation of granite blocks found, Hawas said, adding that officials "rushed" into how they presented the plan to the public.

Digging in the site, however, will continue with the aim of unearthing more layers of the bedrock beneath the pyramid, he said. The team is hopeful they could uncover other important findings in the process.

"No one will touch the Pyramid. The Pyramids are sacred," he said, adding that the committee's official results will be announced within days.

Some critics mistakenly thought rows of granite blocks encasing the lower part of Menkaure seen in a recent video showing workers digging up around the base of the pyramid were newly reconstructed, but Egyptologists said they are part of the original structure and have been there for centuries.

The project, led by an Egyptian-Japanese archaeological mission, is slated to last three years, Waziri of the antiquities council said. Studying fallen blocks, including through photogrammetry and laser scanning, will take at least one year.

Heritage conservation in Egypt has become a source of debate following several controversial projects that had resulted in razing historic areas and flawed renovation of hundreds-year-old mosques.

"It's too early now to discuss the reinstallation. Study results will be put forward to the international committee before any next steps are taken," Waziry said.

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/project-launched-rebuild-outside-egypts-180429552.html

Project launched to rebuild the outside of Egypt's smallest Giza pyramid

Ahmed Shawkat

Updated Wed, January 31, 2024 at 7:37 AM PST·3 min read

14

Cairo — Archaeologists have launched a huge project to restore the smallest of Giza's three famous pyramids to what they believe it looked like when it was built more than 4,000 years ago. An Egyptian-Japanese archaeological mission announced the project to put back in place hundreds of granite blocks that used to form the outer casing of the pyramid of King Menkaure, the smallest of the three main pyramids on the iconic Giza Necropolis.

Dr. Mostafa Waziry, Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in a video statement that it would be the "project of the century," calling it "Egypt's gift to the world in the 21st century."

A crane lifting stones is pictured behind camels resting with their trainers by the Pyramid of Menkaure at the Giza Pyramids Necropolis, west of Cairo, Jan. 29, 2024. / Credit: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty

Waziry said there were about 124 pyramids in Egypt, and the only one known to have been built with an outer shell of granite blocks was the one constructed for King Menkaure around 2,150 BC. He said that while only the bottom five to eight rows of blocks remain in place, there were originally 16 to 18 rows of the huge pieces of granite covering the sides of the pyramid.

Cosmic rays help reveal corridor hidden in Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza

It's not known when or how the blocks fell. Some experts believe they toppled about 800 years ago — but they are still there, some of them buried or partially buried, all around the base of the pyramid.

The plan is for archaeologists to carefully dig them up and reinstall them. The team is also hopeful that they could unearth other valuable antiquities in the process, hidden around or beneath the blocks.

Some archeologists, however, including a former head of Egypt's antiquities ministry, aren't on board with the project, and expressed concern as the digging got underway.

Visitors pose for a picture by the base of the Pyramid of Menkaure at the Giza Pyramids Necropolis, west of Cairo, Jan. 29, 2024. / Credit: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty

Dr. Mohamed Abd El-Maqsoud, former Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector and a former senior official in Egypt's antiquities ministry, told CBS News that before the granite blocks are moved, they should first be studied extensively to verify that they were all even part of the structure to begin with.

He said some of them were very likely not part of the pyramid itself, but rather were used in the massive ramp that led up to it during construction more than 4,000 years ago. Some of the blocks, he said, appeared to have never been polished, which he would expect from an external component of the structure.

"I believe that not all the blocks near the pyramid were part of the exterior casing," Abd El-Maqsoud told CBS News. "Some of them belong to the funerary temple, some were never used because the king died, and his son didn't complete the project."

"The project is in its early stage of the studying and documenting and classifying the blocks, then they will share the results with an international committee," Waziry told CBS News. "No action will be taken until the study is completed and no blocks will be reinstalled until the committee determines so."

He said it would likely take about three years to complete the project, which would include studying the granite blocks using modern methods such as photogrammetry and laser scanning, before lifting and securing them back in place.

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Ancient Egyptian woman’s skeleton reveals one of earliest cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis - Ancient Egypt - Antiquities - Ahram Online

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/516926.aspx

Ancient Egyptian woman's skeleton reveals one of earliest cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Nevine El-Aref , Wednesday 31 Jan 2024

A joint Italian-Polish archaeological mission has uncovered during their work at the Sheikh Mohammed site in Aswan the skeletal remains of a young woman who suffered rheumatoid arthritis.

Ancient Egyptian woman's skeleton unearthed in Aswan. Photos courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

The mission is part of the Aswan-Kom Ombo Archaeological Project (AKAP).

A study on the skeleton published in the International Journal of Paleopathology showed the woman whose skeleton has been discovered suffered one of the earliest cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis in ancient Egypt.

Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, underscored the importance of the discovery, which, he said, indicated the only instance of diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis in ancient Egypt on record and one of the oldest cases globally.

Waziri noted that further scientific studies will be conducted on the discovered skeleton, which provides incontrovertible scientific proof that Ancient Egyptians were aware of the existence of cases of rheumatoid arthritis.

"Although a clinical definition of the disease emerged only in the seventeenth century, the recent archaeological evidence suggests that cases of rheumatoid arthritis antedate the seventeenth century," he pointed out.

Abdel-Monem Said, General Director of Aswan Antiquities, reported that studies on the discovered skeleton have shown that rheumatoid arthritis had affected joints on both sides of the body, from hands and feet to shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles. Said added that though the mission has scrutinized written and visual evidence for a clear indication of similar cases, it could not find any record of rheumatoid arthritis in ancient Egypt.

In their published study, the co-directors of the mission, Maria Carmela Gatto of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Antonio Corsi of the University of Bologna, said only 50-60 percent of the skeleton of the woman described in the study was recovered, adding that the examination of the fragmented skeleton showed that multiple joints were affected on both sides of the body, beginning with the hands and feet and moving on to the shoulders, elbow, wrists, and ankles.

The two scientists explained that erosive lesions with smooth edges were found outside the joint surface. These lesions, they explained, would have led to "aches, stiffness, and swelling, all of which would have affected the joints' ability to carry out daily activities."

Furthermore, the co-directors of the mission explained in their study that with time, the person's suffering would have intensified, raising the likelihood of developing other conditions such as heart disease, thus compromising the individual's life expectancy and quality of life.

On the other hand, paleopathologists Madeleine Mant of the University of Toronto in Ontario and Mindy Pitre of St. Lawrence University in New York, who contributed to the study, said rheumatoid arthritis, which is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis occurring in 0.5–1 percent of the global adult population, typically emerges between the ages of 30 and 50. 

They explained that this chronic inflammatory autoimmune condition affects the lining of joints and various body parts, including the skin, eyes, mouth, heart, and lungs.

Given its autoimmune nature, the body's immune system targets its tissues, resulting in inflammation of the joints as well as pain, disability, and eventual early death, Mant and Pitre noted, adding that while the exact cause of the condition is unknown, factors such as biological sex, smoking, family history, genetics, and exposure to certain bacteria and viruses increase one's risk of developing the condition.

In addition, the two scientists pointed out that although there are multiple treatment options today, few, if any, would have been available during the Second Intermediate Period in Egypt (c.1800–1500 BCE),  

"A clear consensus has yet to be reached on the origin and antiquity of rheumatoid arthritis," they said in a statement, highlighting that some researchers believe there is enough archaeological and historical evidence to suggest its existence in Afro-Eurasia before the 17th century while others have argued that such evidence remains controversial, suggesting instead that the condition originated in the Americas. 

"This new case from Aswan provides strong evidence in support of the former hypothesis," Mant and Pitre asserted, adding that even though skeletal remains from ancient Egypt had indicated in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries the presence of some of the earliest cases of rheumatoid arthritis, the cases were dismissed on the grounds of imprecise diagnostic criteria.

Since then, examples of possible cases have been described from prehistorical and historical contexts in North America, Europe, and Asia, several of which remain contentious, according to both scientists.

Similarly, Mant and Pitre asserted that scholars have also examined written and pictorial evidence for signs of the condition. They noted that although a lack of textual mention of rheumatoid arthritis in ancient Egypt suggested that the condition in its present form did not exist at the time in Egypt, the recent discovery from Aswan provides clear evidence for the presence of the condition in ancient Egypt.

The AKAP project, which began in 2005, aims to study the health conditions of ancient Egyptians, especially those belonging to the lower strata of society and residing on the outskirts of the ancient Egyptian state, such as in the far south.

The project focuses on archaeological surveys and documentation of prehistoric areas; it is affiliated with the University of Bologna in collaboration with the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures - Polish Academy of Sciences.

In 2016, the mission discovered the earliest case of vitamin C deficiency in the skeleton of a young child found in a village dated to the Predynastic period (3800–3500 BCE). A study of this case was also published in the International Journal of Paleopathology.

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