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Voluntary Slavery in Ancient Egypt

Kate Phizackerley — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 21:15:00 +0000

This is something new to me. For about two generations between 190BC and 130BC some people volunteered to become temple slaves, says Dr Kim Ryholt -see Sci News. Apparently it was preferable to conscription as forced hard labour by the king. Apparently most of those who volunteered as temple slaves were unable to name their fathers.

Five New West Bank Tombs from TiP

Kate Phizackerley — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:41:00 +0000

Italian archaeologists have had an unexpected find while working at the Temple of Amenhotep II. By the Serapeum they have discovered five tombs from the Third Intermediate Period. The highlight seems to be the find of canopic jars - picture on Ahram with a few more details.

(Sorry I have been quiet. As I mentioned before Christmas, Egyptological was targeted by mistake during the tit-for-tat hacks of Egyptian and Israeli government sites. I took Christmas off then had to completely wipe my laptop to be certain no esoteric malware was lurking unseen by my anti-virus programmes. My laptop is back in commission now but I still have things to reload. We are also in the process of restoring Egyptological and security hardening it. We hadn't expected an Eyptology site to be a political target for hacktivists but the experience has show how easy it is to get caught up in the crossfire.)

Tutankhamun's Tomb to Close Permanently

Kate Phizackerley — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:55:00 +0000

As predicted, KV62 is to remain closed to tourist access in a move many will see as sensible. The replica tomb is presently on display in Cairo but will be erected in Luxor in due course to take over as the destination for tourists.

Sad in so many ways but inevitable and sensible too.

Luxor Times: 5th Dynasty Princess’ tomb discovered in Abu Sir

Kate Phizackerley — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 11:43:00 +0000

http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/5th-dynasty-princess-tomb-discovered-in.html?m=1

Nice.

Tomb TT39 Puimre

Kate Phizackerley — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:57:00 +0000

Jane Akshar and a guest have just visited this Theban noble's tomb to photograph the outside. See for photos and explanatory text:

http://luxor-news.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/tt39-puimre-or-puyemra.html

Tomb of Nebamun

Kate Phizackerley — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 23:33:00 +0000

There is a paper in German:
http://www.dainst.org/sites/default/files/media/abteilungen/kairo/projekte/rundbrief_2011.pdf?ft=all

On Andrea Byrnes' Facebook page, Kento Zenihiro comments:

They found about 100 examples of a cone, which had been registered as # 66 by Norman de G. Davies and M. F. Laming Macadam, in the heaps of the collapsed facade of the recently-found Saff tomb K10.1 which is located on Dra Abul Naga (They have not shown the map so I do not know the exact location but it must be near TT 232 and the pyramid of Nebkheperre-Antef).

Note that M. Betro and P. D. Vesco working at nearby tomb (TT 14) had already identified this cone to be of that Nebamun (Cf. Betro and Vesco (2010). Un cono funerario dall'area di M.I.D.A.N.05 a Dra Abu el-Naga e il problem della tomba perduta di Nebamon. Egitto e vicino Oriente, 33, 5-16).

Lost Tomb of Nebamun Found?

Kate Phizackerley — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Kento Zenihiro (of cones fame) has reported rumours on Facebook that the lost Tomb of Nebamun has been rediscovered. The tomb (if found) has already been stripped of its reliefs: many are in the British Museum already. Nonetheless, re-finding the tomb would be welcome and might give better context to the BM reliefs.

I am just off out but will try to investigate later.

Temple of Debod at Night

Kate Phizackerley — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:04:00 +0000

The latest album on Egyptological is a quartet of four photographs of the Temple of Debod at night taken by reader, Alexander Scharnweber and copyright to him. My thanks to Alexander. Do check out the other three images on Egyptological!

Inscriptions of Temple of Debod Fully Recorded

Kate Phizackerley — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 23:58:00 +0000

I had hoped to get to Madrid earlier in the year but didn't because my travelling companion was unwell. I was looking forward to seeing the Temple of Debod. The Temple was one of those inundated by the completion of the Aswan Dam and was gifted to Spain by the Egyptian Government as a thankyou for her efforts in rescuing the Nubian Temples. (Of course, had the Egyptian Government not approved the dam no rescue would have been required.) The temple now stands in a park in the centre of Madrid, although it is clear from the pictures that only the most significant stonework was rescued. Although it has been documented before, apparently the publication was incomplete in some regards and is now difficult to obtain. The 20th Century was also far from kind to the temple. Anyway, Dr. Francisco J. Valentin Martín has re-recorded the temple and published new translations and transliterations of the inscriptions. Image: Dalbera via Creative Commons and Flickr

Cambridge Mummy Restored with Lego

Kate Phizackerley — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 22:14:00 +0000

This is a nice story about a cartonnage mummy case in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England being put back on display after 80 years in storage. The mummy itself is missing, presumed robbed. There are some nice images but they are all copyright so I cannot reproduce them here. My thanks to Mark Hubbard for spotting the story.

Theban Mapping Project Update

Kate Phizackerley — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 21:50:00 +0000

There is an update on the Theban Mapping Project site. It is worth reading in its entirety but there are two big news items: Firstly, the project has completed a photographic catalogue of all decorated walls in all Valley of the Kings tombs which will be made available online. That is certainly important both for scholarship and has a record of the Valley of the Kings. Very, very welcome. Secondly, there have cleared a few more rooms in KV5. It's somewhat unclear but the impression is that the extent of the tomb is now probably known. It's also interesting that ushabti from the reigns of Ramses VI or VII have been found. My thanks to Dennis and Bill Sommer.