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The Near-Destruction of Giza

- Sobre el proyecto de demolición de las Pirámides de Giza en el siglo XIX -

Few visitors to the Giza plateau are aware that the pyramids, Egypt's Old Kingdom treasures and testaments to early pharaonic history, were almost dismantled about 170 years ago. It is hard to imagine that these ancient structures, the most popular tourist sights in Egypt, were nearly sacrificed as part of the plan to modernize that country. Yet, shocking as the idea now seems, Egypt's absolute ruler at the time seriously envisioned and nearly executed the project. To understand what transpired, and to place this story in historic context, one must return to early 19th-century Egypt. In 1805, an Ottoman commander of Albanian descent seized power and, with his Ottoman mandate, became the viceroy of Egypt with the rank of pasha. Muhammad 'Ali Pasha controlled the country until his death in 1849, and the dynasty he founded held power for more than a century. Muhammad 'Ali's reign was particularly energetic and presaged the development of Egypt into a modern state. The many "wishes" he expressed during his 44 years at the helm were clearly understood as commands, and many pertained to large-scale public projects throughout the country.

Enter the Frenchman

To execute his civil improvements, Muhammad 'Ali depended on Egyptian as well as foreign specialists, particularly French and English engineers. He eventually sought the counsel of French-born Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds, who at the age of 18 first visited Egypt in 1817. Linant had no formal training, but he was placed in charge of public works in Upper Egypt in 1831. Only a few years later, in 1837, he became chief engineer of all such projects in the country. The key to his success was reliable and speedy execution of diverse assignments. During the course of many years of service in Egypt, Linant gained the trust of Muhammad 'Ali and eventually became a member of the viceroy's privileged advisory council. He was appointed Minister of Public Works in 1869, retired shortly after, received the grand title of pasha in 1873 and died in Cairo in 1883. The engineer described the projects and personalities of his professional tenure in a hefty memoir published during 1872-1873. In this summary volume, he described how the viceroy commissioned many kinds of construction projects, including Nile waterways, irrigation canals, port and coastal structures, bridges and roads, railroads, wells and changes to Cairo's city plan. Not the least of Linant's great accomplishments during nearly 40 years of service was his role in building the Suez Canal.

If ever there was a time and place for one engineer to help modernize a nation, it was mid-19th-century Egypt. Linant's position of key responsibility enabled him to compile a particularly valuable account of the major engineering tasks with which he was involved, including the construction of barrages (dams) that regulated the flow of the Nile River for irrigation. Had the friendship between Linant and Muhammad 'Ali not been so close and long-lived, historians might be skeptical of the engineer's account of the viceroy's wish to have the pyramids dismantled. Although Linant does not provide the exact date of the pyramid saga in his Mémoires, he notes that Muhammad 'Ali had already decided to build barrages on the Lower Nile. This time probably corresponds to late 1833, when laborers began working at a barrage site in the delta north of Cairo. The viceroy expressed his desire to speed barrage construction by dismantling the pyramids to provide a large supply of pre-cut blocks. Linant tells us that the autocrat and his advisors considered the three largest structures for demolition, and they discussed various schemes for stone-by-stone removal or destruction by explosives. To highlight the seriousness of the plan and the narrowness of its defeat, Linant described Muhammed 'Ali and his normal way of proceeding with a plan. The headstrong ruler used a "full speed ahead" approach that demanded the complete dedication of his councilors and engineers. Linant wrote: "En Égypte on veut que les choses une fois decidées se fassent comme par enchantement;...et tout doit être sacrifié à cela." In other words, once in motion, all means should be undertaken and no obstacle should interfere with, or delay, a project.

A Subtle Plan

Although he was personally opposed to the demolition plan, Linant knew that if he declined or failed to move expeditiously on this task, the viceroy would select another engineer in his place. Facing what he termed Muhammad 'Ali's "deplorable proposition," Linant recounts that he did not object or directly counter the viceroy. Rather, he wisely used less conspicuous means. First, he requested permission to study the Giza site to assess the demolition task and provide a logistical plan. He also organized a preliminary visit with the Egyptian ministers of foreign affairs, public works and education. Linant compiled a careful report, which compared the cost of using material scavenged from pyramids versus newly cut stone from quarries, surmising that the quarry material would be cheaper. He judged that the majority of available blocks in the largest of the three pyramids, Khufu or Cheops, was of good quality. However, the report pointed out that Khufu contained four times more rock than was needed for the barrage works. Thus, demolition would require the selective removal of many blocks—at considerable cost. Blocks in the other two pyramids (Menkaure and Khafre) were of mixed quality, especially in the smallest, Menkaure, which did not contain enough suitable rock to meet the total needs for barrage construction. Linant also noted that even if the project used blocks from Menkaure, the cost of additional stone from quarries would excessively raise the overall price. Finally, Linant estimated that, regardless of the specific pyramid source, the project would incur further expenses to recut those blocks too large for barrage construction.

The skillfully crafted report provided specific time constraints and cost estimates for the viceroy's consideration. For example, it detailed the best method for disassembling a pyramid, including a series of cranes positioned to displace and lower the blocks. The facile transfer of material from pyramid base to the Nile plain below would require a 1,000-meter-long ramp of sand faced with rock. Of course, engineers would have to modify the canals so that these waterways could transport blocks from below the Giza plateau to the barrage sites. Thus, Linant itemized the costs of terrain preparation, taking into account the movement of large volumes of soil. The proposed work schedule incorporated the need for terracing at pyramid sites and the time allotted for rock removal. Among other details in Linant's proposal was a projected work rate for an early phase of upper pyramid removal: 480 blocks moved per day. The report recognized that the rate of block removal would increase as disassembly advanced, consequently lowering the cost per volume of rock. The total cost was 15,401,280 Egyptian piasters, a sizable amount at the time.

Linant anticipated that the estimated costs in his report might dissuade Muhammad 'Ali from his straightforward plan to obtain pre-cut stone. With so many projects already under way and a growing shortage of funds, would the viceroy really want to pay for the first-phase removal of 28,800 pyramid blocks—an amount six times greater than that needed for an equivalent volume of rock from quarries? Linant calculated the total volume of rock required to construct the barrages at 1,288,551 cubic meters. The average cost of one cubic meter of rock transported from Giza: 10.20 piasters. The cost of commercially quarried stone was only 8.35 piasters per cubic meter. Financially overextended, Mohammad 'Ali was convinced by the bottom line. The ruler told Linant that the quarry solution would be the better one in any case, because it would enable him to shift more workers to still other projects, rather than waste time on pyramids.

Word of this matter spread, and some officials expressed gentle dismay about the engineer's poor form in countering the viceroy. The French General Consul in Egypt, having caught wind of plans to demolish the pyramids, published in newspapers a diplomatic letter that opposed "vandalism" but refrained from mentioning the ruler. Most people would agree with Linant that at least this potentially terrible state of affairs ended well. If Egypt places any more monuments on the Giza plateau in the future, they might think to add one to Linant de Bellefonds for his work and honorable defense of history.

Bibliography
Linant de Bellefonds, L. M. A. 1872-1873. Mémoires sur les principaux travaux d'utilité publique executés en Égypte. Paris: Arthus Bertrand. 

The ancients come home
- Sobre el Gran Museo Egipcio (GEM) que será construido en la Meseta de
Giza. La pasada semana se lanzó una campaña para conseguir fondos destinados a esta faraónica obra -
A fund-raising campaign to support the planned Grand Egyptian Museum was
launched last week by the Ministry of Culture
  
Ancient capital laid to waste
- Sobre la antigua capital de Tel Basta (Bubastis) -
The planned erection of the colossus of Queen Merit Amun, wife of Ramses II at Tel Basta is unlikely to do much to attract visitors to the site.
Fotografías de Bubastis:
http://www.egiptomania.com/antiguoegipto/lower/bubastis/
  
Dig days:
The Pharaohs in Paris
By Zahi Hawass
- Sobre la Exposición "Faraón" en Paris en el Instituto del Mundo Árabe -
The Arab World Institute in Paris traditionally hosts exhibits on the history and archaeology of Arab countries. They even have a permanent exhibit about textiles in the Arab world. The institute's objective is to explain Arab culture to the French. Nasser El- Ansari, the institute's director- general, visited me the other day, expressing an interest in creating an exhibit that will attract the French public and tell the story of the Pharaohs. We agreed to set up an exhibit called the Glory of the Pharaohs; later it was changed to Pharaon. The title "Pharaoh" first appeared in the New Kingdom (1550 BC). Before the New Kingdom the ruler was called "king". The word "Pharaoh" is from the hieroglyph word "pr-aa" and in Arabic Pharaon. It means "the king who lives in the palace"...
  
Tête-à-tête with the French explorers
- Sobre la exposición del Museo Egipcio de El Cairo en relación con los trabajos de George Legrain y Jean François Champollion -
Nevine El-Aref previews the Egyptian Museum's exhibition highlighting the work of French Egyptologists George Legrain and Jean François Champollion Today at sunset Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Secretary-General Zahi Hawass, French Cultural Attaché  Denis Louche and senior French and Egyptian officials and archaeologists are schudled to attend the opening of the special exhibition "Champollion, Legrain... Treading the Land of Egypt" at the centennial hall of the Egyptian Museum. The exhibition has come to Cairo after six months in the capital of the French Alps, Grenoble, where it marked the centenary of Egyptologist George Legrain's famous discovery of the Karnak Cachet. It also coincides with the ninth International Congress of Egyptologists...
 
How did the boy king die?
- ¿Cómo murió Tutankhamon (Tutanjamon) el rey niño? -
After studying a comprehensive CT-scan of Tutankhamun's mummy, scientists discounted a century-old idea that the boy king died after being hit on the back of the head. Nevine El-Aref reports The 3,300-year-old mummy of Tutankhamun underwent a CT-scan in January; ever since then, Egyptology enthusiasts everywhere have been  eagerly awaiting the results. Would the scan help to uncover the secret behind the boy king's early death?  In a small, dimly lit room in the basement of the Egyptian Museum, a group of Egyptologists, radiologists, anatomists, pathologists and forensic  experts examined the 1,700 CT-scan images of Tutankhamun's mummy that were taken in Luxor. After weeks of thorough discussions, the group unanimously  agreed that the young king, who died at age 19, was not killed after being hit on the back of his head, as was traditionally believed...
  

- ¿Hay una mafia en la Egiptología?. Zahi Hawass habla sobre la crisis del IFAO - Is there a mafia in Egyptology?
By Zahi Hawass
Egyptian Egyptologists have often complained about the previous director of the French Institute in Cairo (IFAO). Ramadan Abdu frequently told us how his brother suffered under this man's leadership. Our students were forbidden to use the IFAO library. Yet no one can deny the scholarship and contributions of the French, from the days of Auguste Mariette and Gaston Maspero to today's great Egyptologists such as Jean Leclant, Alain Zivie, Jean- Claude Goyon, Jean Yoyotte, and many others.We were all very happy to have a great French ambassador to Egypt -- Jean- Claude Cousseran, who is very sincere and loves the Egyptians. I met him for the first time at the annual review of the French- Egyptian Karnak Expedition. I was impressed by his personality, and glad to know that he wants to bring the relationship between our two countries to its highest peak. The cultural attaché at the embassy, Denis Louch, is also very sincere and personable, and has done his best to help everyone and strengthen both cultural relations and the friendship between our two countries.
The cultural attaché and the ambassador have done a great deal for our countries for the past two years. But there is a third person of whom I wish to speak here, and who is unique. This is Bernard Mathieu, head of the IFAO for the past five years. His scholarship is excellent, and he is unfailingly polite, with a beautiful smile. He has won the hearts of all Egyptian Egyptologists. Although quiet and calm, he has been able to get things done, showing that he is a very strong man who does not need to shout and scream to be effective. He has solved every archaeologicalproblem that has surfaced during his tenure, and in return has helped us with many things, such as lending us his photographer, opening the library to everyone, and publishing things for us in the French Institute Bulletin (BIFAO).
But suddenly we hear that Seth is fighting hard to get rid of Mathieu. Why? I reallydo not know. I read a petition signed by 120 Egyptologists from all over the world asking that he might stay because of his scholarship and the importantexcavations he has been carrying out at Saqqara. Many Egyptologists were very upset that he was going to be forced to leave, and simply because someone who did not like him had power at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I wrotea letter to the French authorities asking that he stay. I read a quote from Jean Yoyotte in Le Monde to the effect that to change the director of the IFAO was a criminal act, sponsored by the mafia. Yoyotte is a great professor of Egyptology, one of the top scholars in France. Like many others, he believes that Mathieu has done a great job as IFAO director.
He believes that what has happened is very sad. He was not afraid to state publicly that he believed Nicolas Grimal was behind this reprehensible action. Perhaps he was jealous of Mathieu, but I cannot believe that anyone would deliberately hurttheir own country. No one can forget Grimal's behaviour at Grenoble, where he publicly supported a project proposal offered by amateurs that would damage the Great Pyramid at Giza, thus going directly against scholarly ethics and the rules of the SCA. Grimal has said he was going to get rid of Mathieu and then get rid of me. He was finally able to get rid of Mathieu, and now the newspapers in France are saying that it is the action of the mafia. I am now waiting for him to get rid of me!
Fuente: Al Ahram Weekly
 
Hawass: Cheops Pyramid still withholds secrets
- Entrevista con Zahi Hawass. La Pirámide de Keops todavía puede contener
secretos -
By : Hassan Saadallah
The 7000 year old Egyptian civilisation has proved a magnate for scholars over the millennia. While foreign researchers were the first to becomeinfatuated with this great civilisation, there have also been a number of renowned Egyptian Egyptologists. Among these is Dr Zahi Hawass, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).Hawass has always proved enthusiastic about anything and everything related to the ancient Egyptians. Since assuming office in 2002 he has carried out many projects to promote the archaeological sector at large. When interviewed by The Egyptian Gazette, Hawass talked about a variety of topics, some of which have sparked much controversy. When speakingabout the secrets of the Cheops Pyramid, he said that the discoveries of the robot sent into the burial chamber a year and a half ago prove that there are still many secrets the pyramid still withholds from us. He remarked that the discovery of a second door in the southern cavity and a third in the northern cavity, both having copper handles identical to the first, was astounding.It is amazing how the pyramid's architect was able to engrave curves within the pyramid, turning left and right over a distance of eight metres yet no wider than 20cm, said Hawass. He explained that this snake-like passage was likely to have served either as a ventilation shaft, or that it vindicates the theory of allowing the soul of the dead king to move freely in and out of the pyramid. Hawass said that the experiment within the pyramid has by no means finished, with a second stage due to be launched in September. For this part of the project, a unique robot is currently being manufactured by a specialised robotics centre in Singapore. Commenting on the recent examination of the Tutankhamen mummy with a CT scan Ð an act which has provoked significant disagreement among archaeologists Ð Dr Hawass said, 'There was a scientificnecessity for the examination because the mummy had only been examined once, by a British team in l986.' The CT scan has produced the first true picture of Tut's face. The initial results indicate that the boy king was not murdered, as had been suggested based on the theory that there is a cut behind his ear. The state-of-the-art scan proved the absence of such a cut. However, Hawass said that the full results of the scan would be officially published next month.Asked about the SCA's current museum building policy, Dr Hawass said that l9 new museums are planned across the country, at a total cost of LEl00 million. He noted that the newSharm El Sheikh museum, which will open in 2006, will serve as a cultural centre, displaying the gilded mask of King Tut. The new Egyptian museum to be built on the Giza Fayyum road, in addition to the national culture museum in Fustat, will prove to be important assets for the archaeological and tourist sectors at large. Hawass added that the SCA has devised an ambitious plan to run and update archaeological sites.
Asked whether submerged items are subject to the Antiquities Protection Law,  Hawass said that a modified version of 1983 Law No. ll7 is being drafted in orderto place sunken antiquities under the protection of the law. He pointed out that several missions are currently excavating maritime sites as part of a project to register sunken treasures. He added that new sites such as Qosseir, Safaga and Ras Mohamed, are to be explored for the first time insearch of submerged antiquities. Dr Hawass noted that in order to preserve any recovered items, an investigation is underway concerning the feasibility of an underwater museum. Commenting on the SCA plan to retrieve stolen antiquities, Hawass said that 2000 pieces have so farbeen recovered. The SCA is keen to follow up information on the internet about any Egyptian item and sites of auctions. The SCA has also released a catalogue of all known stolen Egyptian items and has already distributed it to all world museums. Surprise finds at Al Lithy tomb restoration project Al Lithy Ibn Saad Ibn Abdul Rahman was one of the famous imams of jurisprudence in the Ummayed age. Al Lithy, who died in l75 Hijira, experienced both the Ummayed and Abbasid periods of Islamic rule. The tomb of Al Lithy was first simple in the shape of a mestaba. However, the dome was renovated in 764 Hijira, and under the reign of Sultan AlGhuri, the tomb was modified and a mosque added. While the mosque and tomb have become one of the most important landmarks of Islamic Cairo, due to the deterioration of its engravings and the adverse effect of subterranean water, the mosque had to be restored. Costing LE4 million, a restoration project was initiated in 2003, upon which work is expected to be completed in the middle of this year. According to the project's supervisor, Ezzat Mohamed, several surprising Discoveries took place during restoration. One of these is a stone entrance on top of which are strips of writing, flanked by relief patterns dating from 811 Hijira, the age of Sultan Al Naser Farag Ibn Barqouq. A concealedsabil (public water fountain) to the right of the entrance was also unveiled, in addition to a 51x54 cm limestone sundial, dating to the rule of Khedive Mohamed Tewfik pasha, and a l65x62 cm wooden panel which displayed the date of ll38 Hijira, commemorating a restoration carried out at the time. Ezzat Mohammed said that all of these artefacts are now undergoing restoration. He also said the mosque has been expanded, with encroaching Structures in its near vicinity removed. However, there still remains the restoration of the minaret, dating from the Memluk age, in addition to replacing floors and removing walls that block the thoroughfare to the adjacent Sultan Ghuri and Farag Ibn Barqouq landmarks.
Fuente: Al Gomhuria

L'île aux trésors
Assouan. Après des travaux de restauration qui ont duré plusieurs années, quatre temples et un obélisque viennent d'être rouverts au public Sur une petite île au sudd'Assouan, et tout près du Haut-Barrage, le touriste peut désormais visiter l'un des plus beaux temples érigés par le grand conquérant Ramsès II. La tâche qui vient de s'achever n'a guère étéfacile. Il y avait beaucoup de travail à faire pour le remettre sur pied. C' est en 1999 que Farouk Hosni, ministre de la Culture, avait décidé de commencer les travaux de restauration de ces deux sites... 

  
L'obélisque inachevé
Désormais cette pièce au charme incomparable pourra recevoir de nouveau ses visiteurs grâce à un aménagement du site où elle se trouve.L'une des richesses d'Assouan dès l'antiquité fut l'exploitation des carrières de granit, de schiste et d'albâtre, transportées du Nil jusqu'aux villes du Nord...
 

Click to view caption

Two views of General Pkyr(er); Shell and obsidian eye rimmed with blue glass cosmetic line and eyebrow; Romano-Egyptian gold snake bracelet

Changing hands
As prices of Egyptian antiquities auctioned abroad continue to rise, Jill Kamil considers the role smuggling continues to play in the trade.So long as there is a demand for the produce, illegal excavations and the smuggling of antiquities will continue. Unscrupulous connoisseurs are always on the lookout for interesting artefacts to add to their private collections, or to donate to the nation. As a result, high quality relics are freely available on the international market, and interested parties are prepared to pay large sums in order to acquire the objects of their desire. The appetite  for Egyptian antiquities is undiminished, as is clear from a glance at the recent auction catalogues of houses such as Bonhams, Christie's or Sotherby's.
Of course, sales at reputable houses are carefully monitored by responsible professionals who ensure, as best they can, that they are handing only legal fare. Details of the provenance of objects are provided, along with publication details of similar pieces, and a history of the movement ofobjects through the market. But the system is far from foolproof. In 2002 a set of granite reliefs from the Temple of Isis at Beihbet Al-Hegara in the Delta turned up on the auction block at Christie's in New York. They were recognised by French Egyptologist Christine Meeks, who had studied and documented the entire temple for her doctoral thesis, as those that had disappeared from the site eight years previously. The sale was stopped, the objects withdrawn, and they have now been returned to Egypt. In 2004, another piece from the same temple turned up -- a fragment of granite relief featuring the face of a deity facing left. Christie's declined to reveal the source of the piece even under pressure, but agreed to withdraw it from the sale. It was then confiscated by the United States authorities and steps have been taken to return it to Egypt.
  
Foreign expeditions
By Zahi Hawass
Egyptian antiquities suffered a great deal from the amateurs and adventurers whodominated exploration in Egypt for several centuries. Things improved enormously over the course of the 20th century, but until recently some people who were not qualified to excavate in Egypt were still granted concessions and allowed to run projects. Philologists with no archaeological training were allowed to excavate, and even students who were not yet qualified were given concessions in Egypt. Believe it or not, a group ofAmerican women with lots of enthusiasm but absolutely no training was permitted to excavate at Karnak only 19 years ago! Even more recently, French amateurs with no institutional backing were given permission to make holes in the Great Pyramid...

Les Anciens Egyptiens sont de la partie
Jeux. Nombre de jeux de patience pratiqués aujourd’hui remontent aux Anciens Egyptiens. Ces derniers se divertissaient en faisant du sport ou en jouant à des jeux de société. 

L’égyptomania a le vent en poupe
Expositions . Quatorze présentations d’antiquités égyptiennes ont été organisées en 2004 dans différents pays du monde. Un record. 

The lake's progress
In ancient times Lake Mareotis was a pleasure resort and watering spot surrounded by market gardens. Jenny Jobbins considers the fertile past of an area that is now desert.

Tomb may shed light on 10th plague
By Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff | November 23, 2004
LUXOR, Egypt - Out of the blinding light of a fall morning here in the Valley of the Kings, American archeologist Kent Weeks led the way down a narrow, stone passageway and into the entrance of a tomb. Weeks peered his flashlight into the enveloping darkness of ''the hidden tomb,'' as he calls it, and pressed on through the damp, winding passages toward what may be his archeological team's most significant find after years of methodical digging, scraping, and brushing.
At the end of a long hallway a human skull rested, propped up in a wooden box, and framed in the bleak light of a bare bulb powered by a generator that rumbled through the stony silence of the tomb.This skull - Weeks believes, and new scientific evidence suggests - may be that of the oldest son of Rameses II, the pharaoh who most historians agree was the ruler of ancient Egypt more than 3,000 years ago at the time of the biblical story of the Exodus.

Continuar leyendo en (3 páginas): http://tinyurl.com/6zuzu 

(** Nota: Tened en cuenta que todo va dirigido al documental de Discovery
Channel que venimos anunciando sobre el mismo tema, por lo que el
sensacionalismo está más que servido, en especial cuando hablan de Éxodo y
Plagas).
  
Place à la discipline
Missions archéologiques . Les équipes étrangères opérant en Egypte sont désormais surveillées de très près, et les concessions accordées avec prudence. Objectif : améliorer la gestion du patrimoine. Il y a deux ans, 312 missions étrangères opéraient en Egypte. Aujourd'hui, elles ne sont que 190. Des suspensions temporaires et d'autres définitives sont la cause de cette réduction. Les clauses de la loi qui régissent le travail des missions étrangères commencent à être appliquées de manière plus rigoureuse. Et depuis, les suspensions ne s'arrêtent pas.

Une mission américaine, dépendant de l'Université de Trinity College, opérant à Tell Al-Borg dans le Nord-Sinaï, vient d'être suspendue pour un an. Et pour cause. Le directeur de la mission a permis la visite de son site archéologique sans avoir obtenu une autorisation préalable du Conseil Suprême des Antiquités (CSA). Une mission, toujours américaine, mais de l' Université de Minnesota a aussi été suspendue cette fois-ci parce que ses membres ont été qualifiés « d'amateurs » par le CSA.

Une mission anglaise, elle, a suscité la sensation pour avoir annoncé la découverte d'un squelette appartenant à la reine Néfertiti. Publiée dans plusieurs magazines internationaux, Juan Flacher, directrice de la mission, a été accusée de médiatiser une découverte sans preuve scientifique et a été radiée. Ces décisions du CSA viennent donc confirmer une gestion plus rigoureuse vis-à-vis des missions étrangères opérant sur le territoire égyptien.
Seguir leyendo en:
http://hebdo.ahram.org.eg/arab/ahram/2004/11/16/patri1.htm 
 

Under Tut's spell
For the next six months, Germans will be under the spell of the young
Pharaoh Tutankhamun as his new exhibition opened last week
 

Keynote Speech
Ninth International Congress of Egyptologists
Zahi Hawass

A pharaoh to remember

Sobre Kent Weeks y la KV5

Dig-days
A secret chamber?
Sobre el IX Congreso Internacional de Egiptólogos en Grenoble

By Zahi Hawass

Both pagan and Christian
Plans are afoot to dismantle and relocate the Temple of Khnum at Esna

The supposed interrelations between Ancient Egyptian and Hebrew texts

A proverbial heritage
For 50 years, scholarship has tended to play down the interrelations between Ancient Egyptian culture and the religion of the biblical Hebrews.

From the Nile to the Isère
The International Congress of Egyptologists (ICE), which is held every four years in a different country, returned to Grenoble, the capital of the French Alps, early this September for the second time since the second congress was held there in 1979.
 

Dig days: Mixing with mummies
By Zahi Hawass
I was 30 years old when the first International Conference of Egyptologists was held in Cairo. I presented a paper about my excavations at Kom Abu Billo, discussing the discovery of the Cemetery of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty. At that time, I was planning to excavate at Merimde Beni Salama in the Delta, one of the most important pre-historic sites in Egypt. Merimde is the oldest known Ancient Egyptiancommunity (dating back to some 5,000 years ago) and it is the first settlement in the country to have practised agricultural food production...
 

History in geological time
The official opening of the Egyptian Geological Museum 100 years ago was not just a big day for Egypt, but a major international event. The museum was the first of its kind not only in the Middle East, but on the whole continent of Africa. Its inauguration came barely eight years after the establishment of the Egyptian Geological Survey (EGS) by the Khedive Ismail in 1896. The aim from the outset was to display unique and monumental rocks and fossils brought back by the different expeditions that were then being sent out into the remotest parts of the country's deserts...
 

L'Egypte orchestre le Proche-Orient. Archives diplomatiques . Les Pharaons, notamment ceux du Nouvel Empire, avaient des intérêts qui semblent très proches de ceux de l'Egypte d'aujourd 'hui.

« Moi roi de X, ton frère, je me porte bien. Puisse-t-il en être pareil pour toi, tes parents, tes serviteurs, tes enfants, tes épouses, tes chevaux, tes chars et tout ton peuple ». C'est ainsi qu'étaient libellées certaines des lettres de la correspondance diplomatique « échangées entre les rois du Proche-Orient et Pharaon ». Celui-ci répondait d'une manière à peu près identique ; « Moi, Nimmouria, le grand roi, le roi d'Egypte, ton frère, il se porte bien. Puisse-t-il en être de même, pour toi, ta maison, tes femmes, tes enfants, tes vassaux, tes chevaux, tes chars et toute la terre ». Nimmouria est la forme babylonienne d'Aménophis III, utilisée dans la correspondance diplomatique, telle que nous les révèlent les tablettes d' argile découvertes à Amarna qui représentent les archives diplomatiques d' Aménophis III et surtout d'Akhenaton. La langue de ces lettres est lebabylonien, qui était alors la langue internationale des chancelleries. Ces archives diplomatiques seraient les plus anciennes du monde et nous révèlent d'importantes relations établies par l'Egypte avec ses voisins. L'Egypte était-elle une puissance impériale régionale ? Défendait-elle simplement ses frontières ? Tout compte fait selon la plupart des historiens, c'était l'un et l'autre. Il paraît que rien n'a changé dans la politique égyptienne à l'égard des pays voisins depuis le Nouvel Empire jusqu'à nos jours. Pacifier les frontières orientales était le principal. D' ailleurs, c'est même dès l'Ancien Empire qu'on a des ébauches de cette politique. Ainsi, le roi Khéops a construit une des plus grandes barques dans le but d'assurer le commerce avec les pays voisins. Une tactique encore plus intelligente était adoptée par les rois égyptiens, celle d'envoyer des Egyptiens aux pays voisins pour s'assurer la loyauté de leurs populations. Ces Egyptiens se mariaient avec des habitantes, répandaient la culture, les traditions et la langue égyptiennes et encore plus construisaient des temples et des statues des dieux égyptiens. De plus, l'Egypte formait chez elle, les enfants des princes et des gouverneurs voisins, et les dirigeants des mini-Etats, de quoi avoir dans ces sortes de protectorats, des personnes imbues de sa culture. Une  politique que pratiquent aujourd'hui les grandes puissances. « On trouve au Liban des temples de Hathor, des statues du roi Snefrou et d'autres. Les rois égyptiens ont fait de sorte à répandre la religion égyptienne aussi dans les autres pays », explique Gaballah Ali Gaballah, égyptologue et ancien secrétaire général du Conseil Suprême des Antiquité (CSA). C'était une façon de diffuser la culture égyptienne. Mais, c'est sous le Nouvel Empire que les Pharaons ont mené une véritable politique soit de conquête, soit d'expansion ou de création de zones d' influence. Le Moyen-Orient était formé de principautés ou mini-Etats avec chacun son gouverneur. « C'est pour cette raison que l'Egypte ne pouvait pas envahir et recourir à une occupation permanente dans un de ces pays de l' st », remarque l'égyptologue Ahmad Saleh. Chaque Etat possédait ses troupes militaires qui le protégeaient lors d'une invasion et très souvent ces gouverneurs s'alliaient entre eux, ce qui formait parfois une vraie armée. Mouwattali, roi des Hittites, avait formé contre l'Egypte la plus formidable coalition jamais constituée. « La bataille de Qadech par exemple avait opposé 330 princes sous la direction des Hittites et qui se sont alliés contre Ramsès II », reprend Ahmad Saleh.  En fait, ce puissant pharaon concentrait toute la politique extérieure à maintenir l'Empire égyptien contre les Hittites. La carte géostratégique comprenait le Mitani, sur le Haut Tigre, au sud des montagnes du Caucase, les Assyriens étaient installés  sur le cours du Haut Tigre, au nord de la Mésopotamie. Quant aux Hittites, ce peuple était maître de l'Anatolie, plateau central de l'actuelle Turquie, c'étaient à peu près les principaux rivaux de l'Egypte. Heureusement qu'il y avait à cette époque une  manière commode de résoudre les différends : les mariages. Ainsi, le conflit entre Ramsès II et les Hittites se termina par un traité de paix, sans doute le premier de l' histoire, cimenté par un mariage avec une princesse hittite ; un acte célébré sur une stèle à Abou-Simbel. Pour certains, ce traité ressemble un peu au traité de paix égypto-israélien après la guerre d'Octobre 1973, à l' exception du mariage évidemment. De toute façon, au Nouvel Empire, l'Egypte parvint à l'apogée de sa puissance, elle constituait une superpuissance au Moyen-Orient, elle avait le rôle que d'aucuns rapprochent de celui des Etats-Unis. « De la XVIIIe à la XXe dynasties, aucun pays ne pouvait faire la guerre à l'Egypte. On peut dire qu'elle était un Etat un peu hégémonique  et guerrier. A cette époque, la Nubie est une riche colonie gouvernée par un vice-roi, Canaan, la Phénicie et la Syrie sont des protectorats dont les princes se trouvent sous la surveillance de hauts fonctionnaires égyptiens. L'Egypte orchestre le concert des nations du Proche-Orient, les rois asiatiques cherchent l' alliance et l'amitié du pharaon. Et que dire finalement d'Israël ? Si toute une littérature très  abondante subsiste dans la tradition biblique évoquant l'Egypte, en hébreu Misraïm, le nom d'Israël n'est mentionné qu'une fois dans une stèle dite Stèle d'Israël. Or en fait, on aurait dû l'appeler stèle des Libyens, puisqu'elle célèbre en 25 lignes sur 28 la  victoire triomphale que Merenptah remporta sur les Libyens en l'an 5 de son règne. Cette stèle fut découverte par F. Petrie en 1896 dans la première cour du temple que  Merenptah, treizième fils et successeur de Ramsès II, avait construit pour son culte funéraire. Ce n'est qu'à l'avant-dernière ligne qu'apparaît le nom d'Israël dans une évocation des peuples soumis de la Palestine : « Israël est dévasté, sa semence n' existe plus ! » .
Fuente: Al Ahram Hebdo
 

Le créateur du modèle impérial. Thoutmosis III était non seulement le plus grand conquérant pharaonique, mais il a aussi instauré des règles que suivirent après lui Alexandre et Bonaparte.
(1505 à 1450 av. J.-C.) est sans doute l'un des plus grands conquérants de l 'histoire de l'Egypte ancienne, voire de toute l'histoire égyptienne. Sous son règne, les  frontières de l'Egypte s'étendaient à leurs plus grandes enve rgures. Un pharaon était considéré d'origine divine, donc représentant dieu sur terre. On peut alors s'imaginer lepuissant effet que pouvait avoir cet être divin lors d'une bataille sous sa direction. En tant que chef et commandant de l'armée il devait posséder de grandes capacités d'adresse et de prévoyance dans ses manouvres. Thoutmosis était monté sur le trône en bas âge, mais fut éloigné du pouvoir par la reine Hatchepsout, sa future belle-mère, qui avait manigancé son mariage avec sa fille Néfroura. Par ce mariage avec une princesse royale, il avait acquis la légitimité au trône d'Egypte. Hatchepsout régna en tant que cogérante avec lui pour une courte durée. Ensuite, elle s'arrangea pour l' éloigner et saisit le pouvoir, régnant ainsi pendant 22 ans en toute indépendance. Pendant les années d'éloignement de son pouvoir, Thoutmosis devint un jeune homme fort, viril, énergique mais plein de haine pour Hatchepsout, qui avait pris sa place sur le trône. Ceci était probablement la conséquence directe qui le mena à s'engager dans une série de 17 batailles qui se terminèrent toutes par des victoires. Pendant sa période d' éloignement, Thoutmosis était entouré de savants et de personnes de grande connaissance dont il a su se munir de leurs sages. Il est connu d'avoir innové dans la tactique de ses batailles, mais aussi dans la politique qu'il entame pour assurer le calme et la stabilité aux peuples et aux pays qu'il occupait. Ayant pris possession d'un pays, il laissa les gouverneurs locaux des régions à leur poste et envoya leurs fils en Egypte où on leur donna une parfaite éducation militaire et les qualités de bons patriotes égyptiens.  Plus tard, ils devaient remplacer leurs pères dans leurs postes, devenant de parfaits éléments, et le calme régnerait. Cette philosophie prévoyante de Thoutmosis devait créer une harmonie entre les Egyptiens et les citoyens des pays occupés. Cette conception fut par la suite adoptée par Alexandre le Grand qui épousa une princesse persane après sa victoire sur les Perses, conseillant à ses soldats de trouver des épouses parmi le peuple des pays occupés, un effort qui devait mener au même but : l'entente. Avant son départ pour une campagne militaire, Thoutmosis III avait soin d'emmener des personnes dotées de vastes connaissances dans des domaines variés : ainsi des historiens pour enregistrer ses faits historiques, d'autres pour donner des informations sur les peuples, leurs traditions et leur comportement. Ils ramenèrent des informations sur la faune et la flore de ces contrées lointaines. En fait, la politique de Thoutmosis fut plus tard adoptée par les plus grands dirigeants de guerre. Lorsque Bonaparte vint avec l' Expédition d'Egypte, il adopta ce même procédé en amenant des personnes aux  vastes connaissances qui entreprirent d'ailleurs des recherches et des travaux admirables, dont la création de l'égyptologie. Finalement, une innovation militaire qui consiste à déraciner des arbres tirés par des chevaux sur le sable du désert, la poussière s'élevant dans l'air donnait à l'adversaire l'impression qu'une armée nombreuse suivait encore. Ceci était accompagné d'un cri collectif qui remplissait de frayeur l'adversaire. Lorsque le général Rommel fit usage de cette ruse, les Allemands l'ont appelé « Blitz Krieg ». Enfin, à la guerre du 6 Octobre, c'est encore ce cri collectif « Dieu est grand » qui contribua à la victoire de l'Egypte.

Fuente: Al Ahram Hebdo 

Riddle of the sands - Sudan
Can the British Museum's new show of Sudanese sand sculptures, paintings and chain-mail armour tell us anything about the country's bloody present?

A rare medium - Una estatua de alabastro de origen desconocido -
The exact provenance of this fine alabaster statue is unknown, nor do we know the name of the person for whom it was made. It seems likely, however, that it was produced in a royal workshop at the end of the Old Kingdom, probably the end of the Fourth or early in the Fifth dynasty, and that the woman was a relative of the king or the wife of a high official. Alabaster was not commonly used for private sculptures, and the quality of the modelling of this lady's fine features, and the suggestion of hair below her wig, is far superior to most Old Kingdom private work...

The world's oldest dam
The earliest recorded dam in history was built some 4000 years ago -- and was washed out before it was ever used. 

Un hongo estuvo a punto de acabar con su momia
Trasladada a París en 1976, fue curada mediante un tratamiento por irradiación.
  

A man with a mission: Auguste Mariette
When Auguste Mariette, the celebrated founder of modern archaeological excavations and preserver of Egypt's monuments, made his remarkablediscovery of the rock- hewn tombs of the sacred Apis bulls at Saqqara in 1851, his activities were watched over by Egyptian government officials.
  

Récits de vie sur papyrus
Tebtynis. Cette localité du Fayoum est connue pour ses papyrus qui témoignent de la vie officielle et intime des habitants, notamment au cours de l'époque gréco-romaine.

Le site de Taphnis 
Taphnis, encore appelé Daphnae ou Tel Defenneh, se trouve à 13 kilomètres 500 à l'ouest du Canal de Suez non loin de la ville d'El-Qantara. Taphnis était une ancienne cité pharaonique et une place forte. En fait, le site de l'ancienne place forte de Taphnis s'étend sur plusieurs Tels: Tel Défenneh, Tel El-Afran, Tel El-Fadda et Tel El-Septieh. Tous ces tels sont situés dans un domaine où les bédouins règnent en maîtres et qui se dénomme "Guéziret Oum Atlah et Haramah".
Taphnis eut son importance comme place forte quand les pharaons abandonnèrent la cité de Thèbes, leur capitale du sud, pour construire la Thèbes du nord à Tanis

At last: the inside story
CT and laser-scanning techniques have combined to examine the mummy of a priest buried in Thebes 2,800 years ago, and to recreate his life and death.

Mummy X-rays wow the UK
Britons have been glued to their TV screens to watch an innovative series which has helped fuel the ongoing fixation on Ancient Egypt.
 
Dig Days : A Pharaoh in Qatar
By Zahi Hawass
 
Karnak fascine toujours
Le Centre Franco-Egyptien d'Etude des Temples de Karnak (CFEETK), qui opère sur l'un des sites les plus prestigieux du monde, a présenté le bilan de la dernière saison de fouilles.
 
Creatness eclipsed by magnitude
The media used only a few brief lines to report the re-opening after restoration of the mortuary temple of Seti I at Qurna.
 
Death on the Nile
Abydos, the last resting place of the first kings of the first dynasty, is where ancient Egypt's cult of the dead was born. All this and tomb raiders, too.
 
Digging In
From new museums and lazy curators to breathtaking discoveries and new technologies, the local antiquities scene is back in the international spotlight
 
Creatness eclipsed by magnitude
The media used only a few brief lines to report the re-opening after restoration of the mortuary temple of Seti I at Qurna.
  
-Sobre el sentido del humor de los antiguos egipcios -
Ancient Egyptians Were Jokesters
Discovery News
A recent series of lectures on ancient Egyptian humor given by a leading historian reveals that people thousands of years ago enjoyed bawdy jokes, political satire,parodies and cartoon-like art. Related evidence found in texts, sketches, paintings, and even in temples and tombs, suggests that humor provided a social outlet and comic relief for the ancient Egyptians, particularly commoners who labored in the working classes.
The evidence was presented by Carol Andrews, a lecturer in Egyptology at Birbeck College, University of London, and former assistant keeper and senior research assistant in the Department of Egyptian Antiquities at theBritish Museum. 

Andrews was unavailable for comment. Scott Noegel, who helped to arrange one of the lectures and is president of the American Research Center in Egypt's(ARCE) Northwest Chapter and is an associate professor in the Department of New Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Washington, told Discovery News that ancient Egyptian humor consisted of at least five basic categories.
They included political satire, scatological and vomiting humor, jokes concerning sex, slapstick, and animal-based parodies. For satire, Noegel explained that commoners would make fun of leaders by showing pharaohs in an unflattering manner. For example, some leaders were depicted unshaven or "especially effeminate."
Drawings of defecating hyenas and drunken, vomiting party guests are among the existing examples of scatological humor, while the sex-based jokes consisted of "innuendoes and outright erotica," he said. Slapstick comedy included drawings t at showed people suffering unfortunateaccidents, such as hammers falling on heads, or passengers tipping out of boats.
The ancient Egyptians had a special fondness for animal humor, given the many examples of sketches on papyrus, paintings, and other drawings, according to Noegel. He said, "(The images show) ducks pecking at someone's buttocks, baboons and cats out of control, animals riding on top of other unlikely animals, baboons playing instruments, and animals drinking and dining." One papyrus shows a mouse pharaoh, gallantly posed in his chariot pulled by two dogs, speeding towards a group of feline warriors. Yet another papyrus depicts a lion and an antelope playing a board game. The lion lifts a game  piece as though in victory, while the antelope falls back in his chair. "From everything that I've seen and heard, I believe that their sense of humor was  very similar to our own," said Vincent Jones, who organized one of Andrews' lectures this week, and is president of the ARCE Georgia Chapter.  Jones told Discovery News that he attended another recent lecture by Guillemette Andreu, curator  of the Louvre's Egyptian collection. He said Andreu presented a list of Egyptian excuses as to why people did not come into work. The top three were illness, getting married, and sorry, but I am building a house now. "It was funny to learn that people have been creative at getting out of work for thousands of years," Jones said.
Humor was not limited to the mundane. A drawing on the wall of the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri shows an obese "queen of Punt" in front of a tiny donkey. The inscription for the sketch reads, "The donkey that had to carry the queen." The drawing gained popularity and was copied,  cartoon-style, many times from the original. The land of Punt, which historians believe might have been the area that is now Libya or Ethiopia, held near-mythical status for Egyptians in the ancient world. Animal skins and other exotic goods came from Punt via trade routes. Historians also think that Bes, the ancient Egyptian god of humor, infants, home life, song, and dance, originated in Punt. While the Egyptians built no temples to honor Bes, shrines for the chubby, bearded dwarf with uncombed hair were placed in many homes. The ancient Egyptians believed that anytime a baby smiled or laughed for no reason, Bes was in the room making faces.

Le tombeau de Tigrane
De nos jours, l'espace supérieur qui entoure la lanterne de la catacombe de Kom El-Chogafa à Alexandrie a été aménagé avec un beau jardin. Le tombeau de Tigrane, qui se trouvait rue Port-Saïd dans le quartier de Cléopâtra, fut  transféré dans ce jardin. Les peintures de ce tombeau sont encore très fraîches et merveilleuses. Avec la colonne de Pompée et les ruines du Serapeum qui l'entourent, la catacombe de Kom El-Chogafa est un des importants souvenirs de l'Alexandrie ancienne, où se trouve un remarquable spécimen de l'art égyptien uni au style romain.

En 1858, lors de fouilles dans la région de Kom El-Chogafa extra-muros d'Alexandrie, des catacombes chrétiennes, aujourd'hui disparues, avaient été découvertes. Quant à la nécropole macédonienne, qui se trouvait dans cette même région, elle était engrande partie détruite vers le milieu du XIXème  siècle. Cette nécropole, au-delà de Serapeum et de la colonne de Pompée, avait subi le sort des sépultures chrétiennes, juives et païennes qui existaient en ces lieux.
Le Kom El-Chogafa, la montagne des décombres, était au XIXème siècle couronné par une vieille forteresse en ruines qui servait de carrière. Ce Kom est situé rue Bab El-Molouk dans le quartier de Karmouz. Au cours de l'extraction des pierres de l'ancienne forteresse, une charrette  tomba dans une excavation profonde, sorte de trou d'éclairage. Deux archéologues alexandrins, à l'affût de toutes les antiquités qui pouvaient surgir du sol de la ville, furent informés de cet incident en ce lieu jadis  recouvert de nécropoles. Les deux archéologues, les docteurs Schiess bey et Botti, se rendirent à Kom
El-Chogafa et ils comprirent que le sous-sol devait contenir une catacombe. Sur le champ, ils entreprirent des fouilles. C'était au mois d'octobre 1892. Ils commencèrent par découvrir l'ancienne entrée de la catacombe. Pour enrendre l'accès possible, les deux archéologues firent placer des passerelles de bois et ils déblayèrent l'intérieur de la catacombe encombrée de sable et de terre tombés de l'orifice supérieur qui était en fait la lanterne d'éclairage et d'aération au-dessus de la rotonde centrale de la catacombe. Ces premiers travaux achevés, les deux archéologues firent installerl'électricité avant d'ouvrir la catacombe aux visiteurs. En 1903, le prix du billet d'entrée était de 5 piastres. Il est inutile de décrire l'intérieur de cet hypogée que maintenant tout le monde connaît.

Fuente: Le Progress Egyptien