- TODO SOBRE EL CAT REALIZADO A LA MOMIA DE TUTANJAMON (TUTANKHAMON) -

- VER ADEMÁS FOTOGRAFÍAS NUEVAS Y ANTIGUAS DE LA MOMIA DE TUTANJAMON -

23/12/04

Hawas to Al-Gomhouria: Tutankhamen mummy won't be moved from Luxor 
Zahi Hawas, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Antiquities said that the mummy of King Tutankhamen won't be moved from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor to the Egyptian museum in Cairo.  In statements to Al-Gomhouria newspaper, Hawas said that restoration and ray treatment would be conducted on the mummy to protect it from any risks. Hawas said that the mummy would not be examined with DNA. 

18/11/04
- A la momia de Tutanjamon sólo se se le realizará una tomografía computerizada (CT Scan) y no un análisis de ADN -
Autopsy for King Tut?
Can archaeologists actually find out how Tutankhamun really died? When British explorer Howard Carter stumbled upon the magnificent treasures in Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, the entire world agreed that it was the most splendiferous discovery ever unearthed. Over time, however, the find produced more than lustrous treasures. Archaeologists were perplexed by questions like: Who was Tutankhamun? Was he the son or the brother of the monotheistic Pharaoh Akhnaten? Why did his tomb contain all these treasures, despite his having died so young? How, in any case, did he actually die? Was he killed at 18 years of age, or did he suffer from some fatal disease? Eighty-two years later, some of these mysteries may be resolved, now that Tutankhamun's mummy will soon be subjected to a CT scan. For the first time since it was discovered, the mummy will be given an intense medical check-up, in the hope that something will be learnt about the secret behind the boy king's early death, said Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Secretary-General Zahi Hawass. The tests will also determine if he had been suffering from disease.
The original plan was to remove the mummy from its burial grounds in Luxor's Valley of the Kings to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Because of the mummy's fragility, however, the medical check-up and studies will now be executed in situ. Carter's attempts to remove the famous golden painted mask from the mummy's face were the main cause of its deterioration. He smashed it with a sharp tool, and then allowed it to burn under the area's hot sun in order to detach it. Eight years ago, a Tut enthusiast hired two retired Scotland Yard detectives to investigate the cause of the boy king's death. After exploring Ancient Egyptian sources, the duo was unable to come to any conclusions. Four years ago, a Japanese mission offered to conduct a DNA analysis on Tutankhamun's mummy in an attempt to learn more about his lineage; the SCA rejected the request on the grounds that it represented a threat to the mummy's fragile condition, and would -- in any case -- prove futile. This week, Hawass again said DNA analysis was out of question because it would not lead to anything.
Next month's probe into Tutankhamun's mummy will be filmed by IMAX, the world- famous wide screen film company. The resulting movie will be screened at the Egyptian Museum as well as at the visitor centre scheduled to be built at the entrance of the Valley of the Kings on Luxor's west bank. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said the project was one of many being planned to study Pharaonic mummies and learn more about their secrets.
Fuente: Al Ahram Weekly

23/11/04
Egipto.- La momia de Tutankamon se quedará donde fue encontrada y no será
trasladada al museo de El Cairo
Redacción - (Noticias) - 23/11/2004
El secretario general del Consejo Supremo Egipcio de Antigüedades (CSAE), Zahi Hawas, ha dado marcha atrás en su decisión de trasladar la momia de Tutankamon al museo egipcio de El Cairo y declaró ayer lunes que ésta será examinada en el lugar de su descubrimiento, en el Alto Egipto. "La momia no será trasladada al Museo de El Cairo", declaró Hawas ante la comisión parlamentaria de Cultura, Medios y Turismo. "Un comité que reúen a 60 arqueólogos egipcios ha sido formado para examinar la momia y restaurarla, llegado el caso, así como otras momias, sin la ayuda de expertos o de restauradores extranjeros", afirmó. Hawas había declarado hace una semana que el CSAE había decidido "la trasferencia de la momia al museo Egipcio, situado en el centro de El Cairo, para su examen" y afirmó, en declaraciones a la prensa egipcia, que "un equipo de expertos estadounidenses participará en el examen de la momia del faraón más famoso" así como expertos egipcios. La tumba de Tutankamon fue descubierta en 1922 en el valle de los Reyes, cerca de Luxor (Alto Egipto) por el arqueólogo británico Howard Carter. La cabeza de la momia fue separada del resto del cuerpo y algunas partes se rompieron cuando Carter intentó arrancar la máscara de oro que cubría el rostro del faraón.
Fuente: Noticias.com
(La noticia ha sido difundida por Europa Press)
  

20/11/04
Egipto cerrará al público la pirámide de Micerinos en 2005 por obras
EL CAIRO.- Las autoridades egipcias tienen previsto suspender el acceso al público a la pirámide de Micerinos a partir del próximo 1 de enero de 2005 debido al inicio de obras de mantenimiento, informó la Embajada de Egipto en España, que no precisó el tiempo durante el que el monumento permanecerá cerrado a los turistas. El Consejo Supremo de Antigüedades de Egipto ha decidido compensar a los visitantes por el cierre de Micerinos ordenando la apertura al público de la pirámide de Kefren hasta que concluyan las labores de mantenimiento, precisó la Embajada en un comunicado.

Por otro lado, el Museo Grecorromano de Alejandría permanecerá cerrado al público a partir del próximo 1 de marzo por la ejecución de obras de remodelación, recomendándose como alternativa la visita del Museo Nacional de Alejandría que acoge una colección de 1.800 piezas únicas de las distinas épocas de la historia de Egipto.
Fuente: El Mundo.
Otras:
http://www.agmnews.com/noticias/main.cfm?notc=37172 
http://servicios.diariosur.es/pg041121/prensa/noticias/Turismo/200411/21/SUR
-TUR-143.html 
  

08/11/04
Mummies' tar provides a link to ancient trade routes
Historians have long known that Egyptians used tar to seal mummies during the embalming process. What wasn't known until now is where the tar came from. Thanks to work bysome Texas geochemists, however, scientists are now answering this millennia-old mystery. The Middle East is, of course, littered with natural oil seeps, in which tar and other black deposits bubble up from oil beneath the surface. Within each oil seep, however, the tar has a particular signature, which scientists canidentify by measuring the various amounts of thousands of different hydrocarbons. The ratio of hydrocarbons is virtually the same for an entire seep. "It's very much like a fingerprint," said Chuck Kennicutt, an oceanographer and geochemist atTexas A&M University. By analyzing the tar from oil seeps near the Suez Canal, Kennicutt and other team members discovered that the tar for some mummies came from nearby while others came from hundreds of miles away. The Texans, whowere assisted by colleagues at the University of Alexandria in Egypt, will publish their findings in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Geoarchaeology. By identifying the tar, Kennicutt said, it is possible to confirm that some modern trade routes were in existence more than 3,000 years ago. And by examining more tar sites and more relics, scientists should gain an even greater understanding of historic trade routes. "It hasn't been clear how active trade routes were in the past," Kennicutt said. "But we're finding that trade was actually quite extensive. A lot of times we may think that, in modern times, we're the first ones to do something. But often our activities have roots far back in history." Ancient people, at least as far back as the Sumerians, used tar for all types of applications. It was mixed with sand and used as mortar for bricks, to caulk ships and to waterproof baskets and mats. Studying tar from these applications might even help historians understand the extent to which Sumerians and Egyptians traded. Closer to home, Kennicutt says native Americans along the Texas Gulf Coast also employed the watersealing properties of tar as far back as 800 or 900 years. The Indians used the substance to coat canoes and boats.
Más Información:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-10/tau-mut102604.php 
http://rev.tamu.edu/stories/04/102604-15.html 
http://news.newkerala.com/technology-news-india/?action=fullnews&id=39290 

07/11/04
- Hawass: el robot de Singapur reptará por la Pirámide de Keops en Octubre de 2005 -
Hawas: Singaporean robot to creep into Cheops Pyramid in October The robot experiment inside Cheops Pyramid in Giza will be repeated next year but this time by a different institution, said Chairman of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawas. he University of Singapore is currently designing a robot to reach beyond the door which blocked the route of the robot used by the US National Geographic in September 2003, said Hawas in statements on Saturday. The new experiment will  be conducted in October 2005, added the SCA head. The Geographic's tiny robot crept through the Great pyramid in a bid to demystify what is inside the Pyramid only to face a new puzzle. The tiny robot -named the pyramid Rover -took two hours to crawl through a  narrow shaft in the Great Pyramid of Cheops, drill through a door at the end and push through its camera only to come face to face with another door.Hawas, at the time, considered the discovery a success per se. The tiny camera showed a small, uncluttered space backed by a vertical, sheer stone surface Hawas said he believed was another door. During the broadcast, Hawas made another find by lifting the lid on a stone sarcophagus found in a tomb built near theGreat Pyramid, revealing the intact skeleton apparently of man dating back to the period of the pyramid's construction 4,500 years ago. The Great Pyramid, built 4,500 years ago by Khufu, an ancient ruler also known as Cheops, has four narrow shafts. It is made of 2.3 million stone blocks.
Fuente: EOL
 
07/11/04
- La estatua colosal de Ramses II del centro de El Cairo se trasladará temporalmente a la meseta de Giza el 1 de febrero de 2005 -
Ramsses II to relocate temporarily to Giza Plateau in February The giant statue of Ramses II will finally say farewell to its current noisy, fumy and bustling location in Cairo's most crowded square to rest in the Giza Plateau's Saqqara area, said Zahi Hawas, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. The transporting operation will be carried out on February 1, 2005, Hawas said in statements on Saturday. The new location will be temporary until the monolithic granite statue is positioned permanently at Ramaya Square in Giza at the entrance to the Grand Museum that will be built in the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, said Hawas. The temporary location will provide protection for the statue that has been overlooking the Cairo Square named after it since 1955. The statue's current location puts it at risk due to increasing levels of pollution, Hawas said. The current location is also a confluence of three major thoroughfares as well as Cairo's major underground and railway stations. Transporting the 12-metre, 90-tonne statue will be fully insured and will start at 6 a.m. The route of the statue's journey has been thoroughly studied to ensure nothing wrong takes place and special iron cages have been designed for the purpose, added Hawas. The red granite statue was found in 1882, broken into six places, at the Great Temple of Ptah at Mit-Rahina. Efforts were made at the time to restore and re-erect the statue in Situe, but all attempts failed.  The statue remained as such until February 1955, decided to move it to Bab Al-Haded (now Ramses Square), where it was restored and reassembled by inserting huge iron bars inside the body. It soon became one of Cairo's most famous landmarks, providing a backdrop for several famous Egyptian movie scenes.
Fuente: EOL

01/11/04

Time to turn back tourist tide in Valley of the Kings

- Científicos americanos planean limitar los visitantes y el tráfico en el Valle de los Reyes, así como encauzar las aguas para evitar la destrucción de las antiguas tumbas egipcias -
Scientists draw up plan to limit visitors and traffic and divert floods threatening Egypt's ancient tombs 
American scientists are preparing a makeover for the world's most famous graveyard. A plan to control tourism, limit traffic, deflect flash floods, reduce theft and vandalism and even alter farming on the banks of the Nile could soon begin to hange the face of the Valley of the Kings.  Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities has asked the archaeologists, architects and engineers of the Theban Mapping Project - launched 25 years ago simply to make a detailed map of the 62 tombs and temples of the pharaohs and nobles buried more than 3,000 years ago - to complete a plan for the conservation of the valley by the end of 2005.   Kent Weeks, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, and one of the leading researchers in the region, told a London conference organised by the Bloomsbury Academy on Saturday that visits by 9,000 tourists every day were beginning to destroy the paintings and fabric of tombs that once housed Ramses II, Seti I and Tutankhamun.  "The results are an uncomfortable, claustrophobic experience for tourists, who go away sweating, unhappy, feeling that they have been robbed in a way, which they have, and we find the tomb is suffering badly," he said.  The tombs must be lit by hundreds of 40 watt bulbs, steadily raising the temperature in what were once sacred subterranean corridors dark for 30 centuries. Four hundred or more tourists a day each leave behind an ounce of moisture - about a third of a teacup - from their breath in any one tomb.  "The rapid, dramatic fluctuation in temperature and humidity are the two things that will do the greatest damage in the shortest time," said Professor Weeks. "It's partly because the plaster itself, when it comes in contact with moisture, begins to soften, gradually weakens and can no longer support itself on a vertical wall, and falls of its own weight to the floor, dragging with it the pigments that were applied. Eventually you wind up with bare stone and a puddle of pigments and mud on the floor, and that's it."  Prof Weeks began the Theban mapping project in 1979. A project originally expected to take only a few seasons took 21 years. 
During the research, he made one of the most dramatic discoveries of the last century. He began examining an old, seemingly unimportant tomb, a "hole in the ground" about to be threatened by a tourist coach park, and identified KV5, the tomb of the sons of Ramses II, the pharaoh linked to the biblical story of Moses. Prof Weeks has so far identified 130 corridors and chambers, and expects to eventually find perhaps 200. KV5 is the biggest tomb in the valley, and one of the biggest in the world.  But the Valley of the Kings is now one of the world's greatest tourist sites, and Egypt expects visitor numbers overall to rise in the next decade to 14 million a year. Many of these will visit Thebes and Luxor, on the Nile several hundred miles south of Cairo. Prof Weeks and his Egyptian colleagues plan to test new technology based on "cold" light-emitting diodes to light up the huge tombs, and to introduce "timed" tickets to limit the number of visitors in any tomb.  The Japanese government is to finance a more discreetly designed visitor centre, and engineers could move parking lots, tear up the valley's Tarmac roads and instead spray polymer on the sand, gravel and limestone bedrock, to provide a long-lasting surface that would mimic the look of ancient desert roads. The scientists have also been asked to begin a plan to protect the 40 or so mortuary temples beyond the valley, at the edge of the cultivated region of Thebes.  "Of those 40 odd temples, only four can be said to be in relatively good condition. The other 36 are on the verge of annihilation; extinction from the incursions of buildings, roads, agricultural land, rising groundwater, theft and vandalism and from the fact that in some cases so little of them remains - they have been used as quarries for the last several centuries - that people don't realise they are there," he said.   Ancient Egyptian builders often raised huge monuments on puzzlingly flimsy foundations. Vast statues and temples that for thousands of year survived the annual Nile floods are now being sapped by year-round irrigation of sugar cane fields. Prof Weeks is working with agriculture  officials to look at new crops or new irrigation techniques to lower groundwater levels.  The researchers are also working with hydrological engineers to deflect catastrophic flash floods that happen perhaps just once a century. "You will get several inches of rain dropped in a matter of minutes, the ground cannot absorb the water and so it washes down the hillside, hundreds of thousands of gallons of water bringing with it tons of sand and stone and rubble and debris. By the time it has been swept over the cliff into the valley proper, it is moving at 20mph an hour, perhaps 50cm deep, down the valley floor and of course washing into any low-lying tombs in its path," he said.  "This is the way that, over the past 3,000 years, most of the tombs in the valley have been damaged - by these kinds of floods. We can prevent that. We cannot prevent the rainfall but by the judicious angling and sloping of footpaths we can direct those floods away from the tomb entrances and out of the valley before they do any damage." 
Curse of the tomb invaders
It was supposed to be the ultimate in secure burial plots. Hidden in a lonely valley, the Valley of the Kings was designed by the pharoahs to preserve their mummies and riches for eternity. It is no small irony that more than 3,000 years later the tombs, deep in the heart of the mountains, have become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.  The Valley of the Kings, part of the ancient city of Thebes, was the burial site of almost all the kings of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties, who ruled from 1539-1075 BC. Most of the burial chambers were robbed in antiquity, many by the successors of the owners, as well as the workmen who built the tombs.  Exploration of the valley began in earnest at the start of the last century when more than 30 tombs and pits were cleared. But it really attracted world attention with the discovery in 1922 of the tomb of the boy king, Tutankhamun by British archaeologist Howard Carter.  It also led to the birth of the myth of the curse of the tomb. At the moment of discovery Carter's pet canary was swallowed whole by a cobra. To local guides, the implication was clear. The boy king, whose golden death mask was modelled on the snake, was determined to wreak revenge for the disturbance of his final resting place.  The myth was strengthened five months later with the death of Lord Carnarvon, Carter's patron. As he lay delirious, there are stories that he kept crying: "A bird is scratching my face." At the moment of his death, it was said, all the lights in Cairo mysteriously went out. However, a recent study found that most of the other 25 westerners present when the tomb was opened went on to live to an average age of 70.

28/10/04 

Bill Gates buscará tesoros faraónicos
Bill Gates, máximo responsable de Microsoft, financiará la búsqueda detesoros faraónicos en el Nilo.Zahi Hawas, responsable del Consejo Supremo de Antigüedades Egipcio(CSA), se muestra convencido de que bajo las aguas del río Nilo yacen "obeliscos, estatuas y todo tipo de obras de arte que eran transportadas en embarcaciones que se hundieron a lo largo de siglos de Historia". Hawas ha anunciado que la búsqueda en el Nilo será financiada por el hombre más rico del mundo "Bill Gates". Bill Gates visitó Egipto a principios de año.
 

27/10/04

Les “barbus” du muséum: Des chefs-d’œuvrevieux de 6000 ans

Chefs-d’œuvres. Ces deux statues vieilles de 6000 ans représentent les ancêtres des Pharaons… et comptent probablement aussi parmi les plus grands chefs-d’œuvre que possède Lyon, même s’ils sont encore largement méconnus des Lyonnais.

L’histoire de ces “Hommes barbus” est un vrai roman, même s’il y manque beaucoup de pages. Découverts en 1909 par Louis Lortet, directeur du Muséum de Lyon, dans les sables d’une nécropole en ruine de Gebelein, en Haute-Égypte, ces deux statues, l’une en calcaire noire (31 cm), l’autre en brèche à veines roses (50 cm) sont tout simplement uniques. Extrêmement anciennes puisqu’on les date de l’époque pré-dynastique de la civilisation Nagada I (entre 4500 et 3500 avant notre ère), elles font partie de la petite dizaine de statues de cette époque répertoriées de par le monde. Mais ce sont les plus grandes et les seules en pierre. Bref, des petits chefs-d’œuvre vieux de 6 000 ans qui nous frappent par leur qualité de stylisation et qui nous fixent de leurs orbites vides. Un qui ne s’y est pas trompé, c’est Jacques Chirac qui souhaitait au moins en récupérer une pour son musée des Arts Premiers en cours de construction. La demande faite à Michel Mercier * s’est heurtée à un refus. Il n’empêche, ces sculptures, qui sont inconnues des Lyonnais – faites le test –, sont parmi les plus authentiques trésors de la ville… plus reconnus à l’extérieur qu’ici. Après avoir été exposé à Venise, le Barbu noir dit de Lyon (nom de la ville où il a été si souvent rangé dans les réserves), fait partie actuellement des pièces exceptionnelles présentées à l’exposition “Pharaon” – visible actuellement à l’Institut du monde arabe, à Paris.
Sophie Labbé-Toutée co-organisatrice de l’exposition dont le thème est l’institution pharaonique explique : “La statue de Lyon est le premier objet de notre galerie des rois. C’est le plus ancien car il date d’avant l’invention de l’écriture. C’est une pièce rare, du fait de sa taille et de son état de conservation. C’est une pièce maîtresse de l’exposition qui en compte 200.” Savoir exactement ce que représente le Barbu noir de Lyon est plus incertain. Mais plusieurs égyptologues pensent qu’il s’agit d’un de ces premiers chefs ancêtres directs des pharaons.“Le bonnet qui se termine en petite boule ressemble à ce que sera la couronne de Haute-Égypte, la barbe, symbole du pouvoir est déjà là”.
Ce qu’il y a de plus extraordinaire c’est que le barbu noir qui suscite la convoitise du président de la République et qui attire sur lui les sunlights internationaux n’est pas isolé à Lyon. Il fait partie d’une collection “très cohérente”, d’après l’archéologue Laure Pantalacci, d’œuvres prédynastiques comportant non seulement un autre barbu mais aussi d’autres pièces exceptionnelles comme une barque funéraire en forme de saurien et des poteries tout aussi anciennes mais réparties –- c’est un sport local – entre le Muséum d’histoire naturelle et le musée des Beaux-Arts.

25/10/04

- 619 antigüedades egipcias robadas regresan a casa -
Smuggled Ancient Egyptian Artifacts Return Home
Egypt on Monday showed off some of the 619 ancient artifacts smuggled out of the country in the late 1990s and repatriated from London last week.  Government antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said the artifacts, which were initially smuggled to Switzerland, had been in London since British customs authorities impounded them in 2000.   "Most of the these items date back to the late pharaonic period and the Greco-Roman era. Among them are two sarcophagi covered with plaster bearing hieroglyphic text from the Book of the Dead," a Ministry of Culture statement said.  Ancient Egyptians placed spells and drawings from the Book of the Dead with the deceased to help them in the afterlife.   Hawass unpacked some of the antiquities, including a coffin, at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. They also included a collection of vases, lamps, pots, amulets and beetle-shaped scarabs, on which ancient Egyptians inscribed prayers.   Hawass said Egyptian experts sent to London to examine the artifacts had determined they were authentic. He said evidence found with the artifacts indicated that they had been smuggled from Egypt in 1997.   Egypt has called for the return of ancient treasures housed in collections abroad, such as the bust of Nefertiti displayed in Berlin and the Rosetta stone which draws visitors to the British Museum in London. 
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved. 

Más información:

http://www.sis.gov.eg/online/html11/o261024m.htm
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/714/eg6.htm

14/10/04

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

Se están llevando a cabo planes para desmantelar y reubicar el Templo de Jnum en Esna.

11/10/04

Buscarán tesoros faraónicos en el lecho del Nilo
Las autoridades arqueológicas de El Cairo consideran que bajo las aguas del mítico río yacen "obeliscos, estatuas y otras obras de arte que eran transportadas en embarcaciones que se hundieron a lo largo de siglos"Las autoridades arqueológicas de El Cairo emprenderán por primera vez la búsqueda de tesoros faraónicos en el lecho del río Nilo, cuya corriente fluvial era la principal vía de comunicación en el Antiguo Egipto. La decisión fue anunciada por el responsable del Consejo Supremode Antigüedades (CSA), Zahi Hawas, que se mostró convencido de que bajo las aguas del mítico río yacen "obeliscos, estatuas y otras obras de arte que eran transportadas en embarcaciones que se hundieron a lo largo de siglos de Historia".

Hawas afirmó que los trabajos serán financiados por uno de los socios del fundador de la corporación informática Microsoft y hombre más rico del mundo, el estadounidense Bill Gates, que visitó este país a principios deaño. El responsable del CSA precisó que en la exploración se usarán barcos equipados con sofisticados radares y sonares, así como cámaras especiales para filmar en las profundidades submarinas. Hawas recordó que ese tipo de tecnología fue la que permitió al arqueólogo francés Frank Goddio desentrañar en la década pasada buena parte de los misterios que escondía la legendaria ciudad mediterránea de Alejandría, en el delta del Nilo.
Uno de los expertos del CSA, el egiptólogo Sabri Abdulaziz, explicó que la búsqueda se centrará en una primera fase en el tramo comprendido entre las ciudades monumentales de Luxor y Asuán, en el extremo meridional de Egipto. Abdulaziz explicó que en Asuán -donde se hallaban importantes canteras depiedra arenisca y granito rojo-, se construían estatuas, colosos y obeliscos que luego eran transportados en barcos de diferentes tamaños por el Nilo hasta Luxor, para su instalación en templos, tumbas y palacios. El experto expresó su confianza en que el rastreo conduzca también al descubrimiento de los vestigios de los puertos fluviales donde se cargaban y descargaban los monumentos y de los que no quedan huellas en las orillas.Mohamed Abdel Al Fatah, asimismo especialista de la CSA, apuntó por su parte que "los restos que esperamos encontrar pertenecerían en su mayor parte al Imperio Nuevo".
Al Fatah argumento que ese periodo, que se extiende del 1554 al 1076 antes de Cristo, se caracterizó por la construcción de templos enormes "para los que se necesitaban gran número de esculturas", muchas de las cuales aún no han sido localizadas. El egiptólogo subrayó en ese sentido que una de las pinturas del templo de la reina Hatshepsut -en la orilla oeste del Nilo, a la altura de Luxor-, muestra escenas de barcos que traían pesadas cargas a través del río desdeel Punt, en la actual Somalia. La nueva iniciativa se enmarca en la campaña desplegada por las autoridades egipcias para recuperar el patrimonio arqueológico que permanece bajo las aguas o sepultado por la arena. Según declaró Hawas hace ya cuatro años, sólo el treinta por ciento de las riquezas faraónicas han sido descubiertas, y el resto todavía espera ver laluz. "Los estudios indican que un 70% del total de las piezas antiguas y monumentos aún se halla oculto en diferentes partes" del país, advirtió entonces la máxima autoridad local en egiptología.

El Universal online

04/10/04

Q and A from an Egyptian Indiana Jones
Exclusive interview with Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and master of ancient Egyptology, reveals ancient grounds with dimensions beyond any Egypt archaeologists’ wildest imagination. During thedemolition of an old building, paving for a new Heliopolis mosque early this year, contactors found something startling at a location below the previous basement. This find not only revealed yet again one of ancient Egypt’s well-kept secrets. It also uncovered an incredible, massive and breathtaking historical site with actual dimensions and features known to none, including at the onset the famed Egyptian Indiana Jones (also known as Dr. Hawass). eTurbo News gotthis rare, exclusive on a special guided tour by the world’s star Egyptologists. 

ETN: What has your latest finding in this very area revealed?
Dr. Zahi Hawass: Tens upon thousands of artifacts were found here at On in Matareya, a suburb in Old Heliopolis City of Cairo. It served as an ancient Egyptian cult center in the pre-dynastic period. One must note that Greeks came and called this place Heliopolis, the city of the sun. In the area, Egyptians thought the world was created through an in-yard where the Sun god created himself here from a mount. After which, the Sun god created two other gods - god Shu orthe god of Air and god Defnut, goddess of vulture - who later got married to bear the god of ged (earth) and Nut (god of the sky). From this place was formed the universe, Egyptians believed. Hence, they built tombs, churches, temples dedicated to the sun god. The prophet Joseph married the daughter of the High Priest here. Where Greek philosophers like Plato studied and enriched themselves, here’s where the world’s first universities were born. We found the burialremains of the Treasurer of the King, Ankh Ken Su who was in charge of protecting the eastern border of Egypt. Inside we saw a big granite sarcophagus and the mummy, surrounded by jars, unique amulets depicting Horus saving his father. Beside this tomb we found his father Hurr’s burial with the intact sarcophagus and inscriptions reading ‘Priest’. Both their tombs are now being reconstructed, but the two sarcophagi remain in an open-air museum at Mekabet el Mohamin, just a few meters away from the original site. In Mekabet we found a third tomb belonging to the 26th dynasty leader Banassi. Unfortunately it was completely damaged by the water table. (Shaaban Abdel Gowad, inspector of the antiquities said it was found three years ago). We managed to reconstruct it by draining the water from the tomb, and cutting and numbering the blocks piece by piece, before mounting it on a high platform built specially to preserve the burial ground. In his tomb are inscriptions on the ceiling and walls with vivid dyes well preserved despite the groundwater that seeped through. The text reveals Banassi being carried on a sun boat while commuting to the after-life.

ETN: What exactly is the size of this incredibly massive ancient site? How important is this to archeology?

Hawass: It covers a radius of about nine kilometers and is an extremely important site dating back to 5000 years ago. Ancient Egyptians worshipped here the SUN god who gave life to all other gods. Here is actually where the concept of creation begun, and where the total number of the days in a year or month was introduced. About 500 years ago, people started building their homes above these temple sites.  ETN: So is this a major problem slowing down the excavationswhile the dwellers sit right on top of your area of interest? How do you manage? Hawass: Recently we created a law stating that people would need to secure the antiquities department’s permission before building a home anywhere in Egypt, from Matareya to Heliopolis. Similarly, we have made the laws on stealing artifacts tougher. We impose imprisonment of 25 years for those found guilty of smuggling antiquities. About nine years ago we found this beautifully-decorated tomb of Banassi on a piece of land owned by lawyers (intending to construct a high-rise). We bought the land from them for EGP15 million. A year ago, we found the tomb of We Jahfur. It was completely sealed and located underneath a 6-storey building. We opened the tomb but found it plundered by tomb-robbers in the Roman period.

ETN: As this project looks borderless and massive, do you have enough budget to launch an open-air museum? Hawass: We always allocate funding for the protection of important tombs.  All salvage archaeology deserves our meticulous attention and thus we earmark millions of cash to continue our work. In this area alone, we dug out stylas, shawabtis (miniature figurines), tombs, tombs, remains of temples of Ramses II, III and IV, a 15-meter high obelisque dating back to the reign of Senu Sert 1 from the 12th dynasty. The obelisque is now sheltered about half a mile from the former site.  ETN: How long will it take for you to complete this project?Hawass: Goodness, it will take thousands of years! How can you do a straightforward quest? You cannot demolish each and every building around the site, can you? For us to be able to excavate, we have to wait until the buildings age and people order a reconstruction. It is going to be a project of a lifetime. There are millions of people in the area and relocating them is not an option.

ETN: So what is there to do? For how many years?
Hawass: We will have to wait for people to repair their homes. Thus, my answer is thousands of years.

ETN: But if people renovate and call on you to assist, what can you do for them? Will you compensate them for turning in their lot? Hawass: We will assign an inspector to watch the foundation. If we find something, we would stop work completely and start with the excavation operation. If we take the land, we will definitely pay the estate value. For instance, the open museum you see is just this size, for now, until we find more people willing to surrender their discoveries in their own backyard.

ETN: Is the excavation being shared with other foreign groups?
Hawass: It is purely an Egyptian effort. We are sufficient with trained staff equipped with advanced excavation skills. We need the world to cooperate with us with the preservation of antiquities we discover. Foreign groups who come should restore treasures they find. In terms of funding, we are sufficient.

ETN: Aside from the what-seems-to-be an infinite tomb city of el Matareya, what else is your department working on? Hawass: In Cairo, we are working on the Grand Museum with 100,000 Pharaonic artifacts; its construction starts in a few months from now and will last 4 years until all of King Tutankhamun’s artifacts will have been ready for display. Infostat in old Cairo or civilization museum will contain artifacts from pre-history until the reign of Mohamed Ali. Royal mummieswill be its biggest attraction. The existing Cairo Museum will be converted to serve as the museum of the history of arts in the Pharaonic period. We will close the Islamic museum to open in May 2005, as well as the Coptic Museum to open next year. We are building a museum in Sharm el Sheikh and Sohag and just recently opened a museum in Luxor with a sea of artifacts from the Army in the Golden Age. We are also building specialized museums such as for mosaic in Alexandria, for portraits in Fayoum, and for coins in the Citadel. Bahariya will be in the works after I re-excavate the Golden Mummies next month. Most importantly, we are doing a site management program for sites to protect them from tourists. For instance we surrounded the site of the pyramids with a 17-km long wall to protect the GIZA Pyramids from many camel- and horse-riders. We are doing the same project at the unfinished obelisque in Aswan, where we found on the granite quarry evidence of cutting stones. We are also recording our monuments and changing our security system from guards with sticks to guards with knowhow. We teach Egyptian adults and children through formal schooling on how to care for our ancient inheritance. Finally, we are busy welcoming the return of more than 500 stolen pieces, one of which is a big styla from the 26th dynasty retrieved from the US just last few weeks. Every artifact that has been stolen will have to come home following the rules of the UNESCO convention of 1972 stipulating all, including museum overseas need comply.
By Hazel Heyer
CAIRO, Egypt)(eTurbo News)
Travelvideo.TV - your news source for the travel and tourism industry.

04/10/04
L.E.15 million for restoration of the Greco-Roman Museum
Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni said his ministry will carry out an integrated project to modernize and renovate the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria with the cost of L.E.15 million. The museum will be closed before visitors next month till the project comes to an end within 12 months. The project includes renovation of showrooms, light system and showcases to prevent stealing of antiques. 
 

03/10/04
Hieroglyphics cracked 1,000 years earlier than thought
Western scholars were not the first to decipher the ancient language of the pharaohs, according to a new book that will be published later this year by a UCL researcher. Dr Okasha El Daly of UCL's Institute of Archaeology will reveal that Arabic scholars not only took a keen interest in ancient Egypt but also correctly interpreted hieroglyphics in the ninth century AD - almost 1,000 yearsearlier than previously thought. It has long been thought that Jean-Francois Champollion was the first person to crack hieroglyphics in 1822 using newly discovered Egyptian antiquities such as the Rosetta stone. But fresh analysis of manuscripts tucked away in long forgotten collections scattered across the globe prove that Arabic scholars got there first. 

Dr Okasha El Daly, of UCL's Institute of Archaeology, explains: "For two and a half centuries the study of Egyptology has been dominated by a Euro-centric view, which has virtually ignored over a thousand years of Arabic scholarship and enquiry encouraged by Islam. "Prior to Napoleonic times little was known in the West about the ancient civilisation of Egypt except what had been recorded in the Bible. It was assumed that the world of the pharaohs had long since been forgotten by Egyptians, who were thought to have been incorporated into the expanding Islamic world by the seventh century. "But this overhasty conclusion ignores the vast contribution of medieval Arabic scholars and others between the seventh and 16th centuries. In reality a huge corpus of medieval writing by both scholars and ordinary people exists that dates from long before the earliest European Renaissance. Analysis reveals that not only did Moslems have a deep interest in the study of Ancient Egypt, they could also correctly decipher hieroglyphic script."
Following the Roman invasion of Egypt in 30 BC the use of hieroglyphics began to die out with the last known writing in the fifth century AD. While Western medieval commentators believed that hieroglyphics were symbols each representing a single concept Dr El Daly has shown that Arab scholars grasped the fundamental principle that hieroglyphics could represent sounds as well as ideas. Using his unique expertise in both Egyptology and medieval Arabic writers, Dr El Daly began a seven year investigation of Arabic writing on ancient Egypt. "The manuscripts were scattered worldwide in private as well as public collections and were mostly not catalogued. Even when they were, they were often wrongly classified so I had to go through each one individually - it is not like researching in modern books with an index which you can check for relevant information," says Dr El Daly. "A specialist in only Arabic or Islamic studies reading these manuscripts would fail to grasp their significance to Egyptology. Conversely Egyptologists think that Arabs and Moslems had nothing useful to say about ancient Egypt, so there wasn't any need to look at manuscripts that were mainly the domain of scholars within the disciplines of Arabic/Oriental studies."
The breakthrough in Dr El Daly's research came from analysis of the work of Abu Bakr Ahmad Ibn Wahshiyah, a ninth century alchemist. Ibn Wahshiyah's work on ancient writing systems showed that he was able to correctly decipher many hieroglyphic signs. Being an alchemist not a linguist, his primary interest was to identify the phonetic value and meaning of hieroglyphic signs with the aim of accessing the ancient Egyptian scientific knowledge inscribed in hieroglyphs. "By comparing Ibn Wahshiyah's conclusions with those in current books on Egyptian Language, I was able to assess his accuracy in understanding hieroglyphic signs," says Dr El Daly. "In particular I looked at the Egyptian Grammar of Sir Alan Gardiner which has a sign list at the end, it revealed that Ibn Wahshiyah understood perfectly well the nature of Egyptian hieroglyphs." Dr El Daly added: "Western culture misinterprets Islam because we think teaching before the Quran is shunned, which isn't the case. They valued history and assumed that Egypt was a land of science and wisdom and as such they wanted to learn their language to have access to such vast knowledge. "Critically they did not, unlike the West, write history to fit with the religious ideas of the time, which makes their accounts more reliable. They were also keen on the universality of human history based on the unity of the origin of human beings and the diversity of their appearance and languages. Furthermore, there are likely to be many hidden manuscripts dotted round the world that could make a significant contribution to our understanding of the ancient world. Dr Okasha El Daly is based in UCL's Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, one of the world's largest collections of artefacts covering thousands of years of ancient Egyptian prehistory and history. On Wednesday 6 October UCLlaunches the biggest university fundraising campaign, Advancing London's Global University - the Campaign for UCL, which will seek to raise £300 million over the coming decade, including £25 million to build a purpose built museum, the Panopticon, that will house UCL's collections of Egyptology, art and rare books in an environment that preserves them for all to see.
The Panopticon, which means 'all-visible' in Greek, will be unlike any other museum in the UK because the entire collection will be on display and publicly accessible. Other highlights will include works by Durer, Rembrandt, Turner and Constable; anunrivalled collection of John Flaxman's drawings and sculpture; the first edition of Milton's Paradise Lost and the George Orwell archives.

For further information, please contact:
Judith H Moore
Media Relations Manager
University College London
Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 7678
Mobile: +44 (0)77333 07596
Email: Judith.moore@ucl.ac.uk
 

23/09/04
Ramesses II Suffered From Arthritis

- Ramses II sufrió de Artritis -
ept. 15, 2004 —One of ancient Egypt's most illustrious pharaohs, the warrior king Ramesses II the Great, was afflicted by a form of degenerative arthritis, according to a team of Canadian and French radiologists.
The study, to be published next month in the Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal, reaches a diagnoses of diffuse skeletal idiopathic hyperostosis (DISH).
Thought to be the second most common form of arthritis after osteoarthritis, the disease is mainly characterized by excessive bone growth along the sides of the spine's vertebrae.

The finding challenges a previous diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (A.S), a condition by which some or all of the joints and bones of the spine fuse together. That would have meant that the pharaoh spent most of his life in pain, feeling feverish and experiencing night sweats. "The diagnosis simply did not fit with Ramesses historical biography. A.S. normally occurs in the late 20s or early 30s and symptoms are quite severe," Rethy Chhem, professor of radiology and physical anthropology at University of Western Ontario, told Discovery News.  The third king of Egypt's 19th dynasty, Ramesses ruled for 67 years (1279-1212 B.C.). During his long reign, Ramesses build more temples and monuments, took more wives — his favorite was the beautiful Nefertari — and produced more children — as many as 162, according some accounts — than any other pharaoh.   Known as a courageous warrior, he created an empire that stretched from present-day Lybia to Iraq in the east, to Turkey in the north and to Sudan in the south.   "Ankylosing spondylitis would have certainly prevented Ramesses II from being that great warrior on a chariot," Chhem said.   To reach their diagnosis, Chhem and colleagues read and interpreted both the published and unpublished radiographs of the mummy. Changes that were detected in the mummy's spine and pelvis were not consistent with the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis suggested about 30 years ago, said the researchers.   "DISH occurs at the age of 50 and beyond with very mild symptoms and sometimes no symptoms at all. This would fit more to Ramesses II lifestyle. Also, radiological evidence shows a spinal disease of an old man," Chhem said.   Indeed, epigraphic data tell us that Ramesses II died very old. In a period when life expectancy was about 40, he is thought to have died at the venerable age of 92.   "The new diagnosis would need to be validated by a CT scan of the mummy," said Chhem.   "The research shows once again that the diseases of the past are the same of today. It could be interesting to use the new, non-invasive technologies on the mummy. As itemerged at the recent mummy congress, state-of-the-art medical scanning and computer technology can really open up new perspectives in the study of the ancient civilizations," Emma Rabino Massa, director of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the University of Turin and president of the 5th world mummy congress, told Discovery 

20/09/04

Egyptians mummified animals with great care
The Dallas Morning News
(KRT) - In ancient Egypt, animals got as much TLC for the afterlife as people did. National Museums LiverpoolChemical analysis of animal mummies from the Liverpool Museum in England, such as this one of a cat, indicate that the Egyptians used great care in mummifying animals. Animal mummies were treated with the same exotic ingredients and care as human mummies, a new study shows. Millions of animal mummies decorate Egyptian tombs, some as beloved pets but most as sacrifices to the gods. Scientists had thought that the animals would have been hastily mummified, perhaps dunked in resin and wrapped in rough bandages. A University of Bristol research team, led by biogeochemist Richard Evershed, has now shown otherwise.Chemical analysis of cat, hawk and ibis mummies from the Liverpool Museum uncovered hints of fats, oils, beeswax and other costly ingredients. The mix resembles that used to treat humans from the same time period (818 B.C. to 343 B.C.), the scientists wrote last week in Nature.

15/09/04
Egyptian Animals Were Mummified Same Way as Humans

- Los animales egipcios eran momificados como los humanos - 

The ancient Egyptians mummified more than just human corpses. Animals were viewed not only as pets, but as incarnations of gods. As such, the Egyptians buried millions of mummified cats, birds, and other creatures at temples honoring their deities. Because of the sheer scale of animal mummy production, many archaeologists thought the vast majority were churned out in relatively slipshod fashion. But a new study suggests the mummification techniques ancient Egyptians used on animals were often as elaborate as those they employed on the best-preserved human corpses. Researchers at the University of Bristol, England, conducted thestudy, which is described in tomorrow's issue of the science journal Nature. The team examined samples from four animal mummies—two hawks, a cat, and an ibis—dating from 818 B.C. to 343 B.C. The mummies are housed in the collection of the Liverpool Museum in Liverpool, England.  The researchers analyzed samples of tissue and wrappings using a combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry—methods so sensitive they can enable scientists to detect and identify different chemicals in fragments weighing as little as a tenth of a milligram (three and a half millionths of an ounce).  Chemicals detected in tissue samples from the animal mummies revealed the presence of various natural products found in human embalming materials used by the ancient Egyptians. These included animal fats, oils, beeswax, sugar gum, bitumen, and pine tree resins. The researchers found these products had also been applied to the bandages used to wrap up the mummies.  "Millions of animal mummies are known to exist, and there is some debate whether they were treated with the same sort of reverence and sophistication as human mummies," said Richard Evershed, the study's coauthor. "We found pretty much exactly the same materials were used on both."  Evershed concedes that many more animal mummies will need to undergo chemical analysis before any firm conclusions can be drawn. But he noted: "If you started to find the same range of different embalming agents on these mummies as you did on humans, then you'd say it looks like [the ancient Egyptians] were taking some care over this." 

Preventing Decay 
Organic material decays rapidly, especially in hot climes like that of Egypt, Evershed said. Therefore, it was important for embalmers to remove water along with a corpse's internal organs before mummification. (Water is essential for bacteria, which can quickly rot a corpse.)  To dry out a body, the ancient Egyptians rubbed salt into the corpse. Substances such as oils, beeswax, and pine tree resins—which repel water and microbes—were then applied.  "To preserve something for hundreds or thousands of years, the most important thing is to halt rehydration and microbial decay," Evershed said.  John Taylor is an Egyptian-antiquities expert at the British Museum in London. He says animal mummies represent a largely untapped resource for scientists and historians.  "Lots of [animal mummies] are still sitting wrapped up in collections and haven't even been x-rayed," he said.  Taylor said in many cases animal mummies appear to have been smeared or dunked in some kind of resin and oil before being wrapped—a process far less complicated than that observed in human mummies.  He said the vast majority of these animals were mummified because of their link with ancient Egyptian gods. For example, cats were seen as the incarnation of Bastet, goddess of music and joy and protector of women. The Apis bull, a sacred animal to the Egyptians, came to be known as the incarnation of Osiris, god of embalming and cemeteries. Likewise, ancient Egyptians associated hawks with Horus (the god of light), ibises with Thoth (the god of wisdom and learning), and so on.  "If a sacred animal was mummified and formally presented to a god, that was a sign of devotion on the part of someone making a pilgrimage to a temple," Taylor explained. "You could come along and pay to have an animal dedicated in your name, and then the priests would bury them in a large cemetery."  Many of these animals were killed deliberately, with x-rays revealing, for instance, that huge numbers of cats found in temple cemeteries had their necks broken while still relatively young. 
Animal Cemeteries 
Taylor said some animal cemeteries contain literally millions of examples of one particular species. "You can't image that all of them were given the most elaborate treatment," he added.  However, Taylor agrees there is no doubt that some animals were preserved to an extremely high standard.  "In the case of the Apis bull, for example, we know that mummification was a very ritualized process that was taken extremely seriously. It was certainly no less elaborate than the mummification of an important human," he said. "But to what extent does that elaborate care for animals extend further down the scale?"  "Specimens from museum collections have often been selected because they are the finest specimens," Taylor added. "They don't necessarily represent a cross section of what was actually found."  Lizard, fish, and even beetle mummies from ancient Egypt have been unearthed. Pets were also mummified and buried in tombs with their owners. Such pets weren't limited to dogs and cats but included baboons, monkeys, and gazelles.  As with other animals, the exact embalming procedures involved in pet mummification remains largely unknown.  Evershed, the study coauthor, said, "The mummification process just isn't documented by the ancient Egyptians, which is why we are doing the chemical analysis. It was a secretive process."  He said further mummy studies should help unravel other mysteries about ancient Egyptian society. For instance, knowledge of the precise embalming agents used should shed new light on the extent of trade between Egypt and its neighbors.  "Coniferous [tree] resin was widely found around the Mediterranean, and Romans traded it very widely," Evershed said.  Just like those famously bandaged Pharaohs, it seems the vast menagerie of animal mummies left behind by the ancient Egyptians have many more secrets wrapped within.

13/09/04

El Museo de Egiptología se acerca a la cifra de 30.000 visitantes desde su apertura
El verano y los festejos tradicionales no han sido óbice para que el museo de la Fundación Gaselec haya seguido recibiendo el saludo de melillenses y visitantes en su sede de la plaza de don Rafael Fernández de Castro. Dentro de pocos días y desde su inauguración, la 'Casa de Egipto en Melilla' alcanzará la cifra de 30.000 visitas interesadas en las cuatro ofertas planteadas desde su inauguración: réplicas de la cultura egipcia, el monográfico sobre Tutankhamón, la España de los Reyes Católicos, en colaboración con la Comandancia General y la temática sobre la cultura egipcia que actualmente puebla los expositores de la fundación que preside Gustavo Cabanillas. En la actualidad y hasta el 9 de enero del próximo año, Gaselec ofrece en las tres plantas de su museo tres conceptos de la cultura egipcia: la muestra fotográfica sobre el país del Nilo con especial fijación en el arte y la naturaleza, una ampliación de la muestra sobre el faraón niño, Tutankhamón, que incluye pinturas del británico David Roberts, y el redescubrimiento de los jeroglíficos, con detalle de la importancia del descubrimiento de la piedra Roseta para conocer puntualmente los avatares de las 18 dinastías de la mítica civilización.

Fuente: Sur Digital

11/09/04

Mysteries of the Kingdom of Kush 
Perhaps the mystery surrounding the ancient kingdom of Kush in present-day Sudan will be resolved the day its language - written both in hieroglyphs and cursive letters - can be understood. For the moment, we can only marvel at the glimpses that its sculpture or its objects, many of them uncovered in recent excavations, allow us into a history as old as that of Egypt. "Sudan: Ancient Treasures," on view at the British Museum until Jan. 9, may be hopelessly pedestrian in its display, but if only for some of the stunning works on loan from the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum, this is one of the season's revelations. In the early phases, one looks in vain for a continuous thread. Information relating to objects is so scanty and vague as to be meaningless. Two remarkable earthenware vessels pieced together from fragments dug up at Jabarona in the Wadi Howar area, west of the Nile, are thus given dates some time between the fourth and second millennium B.C. We know nothing about the people who had that feeling for delicately burnished red surfaces and subtly translated into the potters' idiom patterns evidently derived from basketwork. Stupendously beautiful pottery was molded at Kerma. A small beaker with a burnished red lower part, irregular stripes of ashen gray half way up and a beautiful black sheen at the top ranks among the world masterpieces of ceramic art. A slightly earlier piece, a red and black shallow bowl, calls for comparison with early Dynastic pottery from Egypt for its color scheme but remains entirely original. That the Egyptian role was important during the Old Kingdom (2686 to 2181 B.C.) is perfectly clear. Dominique Valbelle writes in the exhibition book that the Nubian princes were brought to Memphis to receive an Egyptian education. From that time on, the Egyptian connection would never be severed, even when the pendulum of political power abruptly swung. During the years 1650-1550 B.C., the rulers of the Kerma area, now the Kingdom of Kush, dominated southern Egypt. A 16th-century B.C. stela recounts the interception by the Egyptians of a message sent by the  King of the Hyksos, an invading group from the East Mediterranean world that had occupied Lower Egypt. The Hyksos ruler invited the Kushite ruler to strike an alliance against the Egyptian kingdom of Thebes. But the Egyptians won. The founder of the 18th dynasty, Ahmose (1550-1525 B.C.), took back Lower Egypt, drove out the Hyksos and conquered the kingdom of Kush. The imprint of Egypt on Kush became indelible. Egyptian temples were erected and a school of Egyptian-style carving thrived. But Kushite individuality was not subsumed into Egyptian culture. The sculptors of Kush displayed a striking propensity for catching individual expressions and feelings underneath the stylized masks. The admirable "block statue" of the scribe Amenemhat with his knees drawn up before him looks Egyptian at first glance. Then, viewers become aware of the asymmetrical eyes, and the vicious glee that the smiling face conveys. William  Davies, keeper of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum, points out that Amenemhat, despite his Egyptian name, is known to have been a Nubian, a "member of an elite indigenous family from Teh-Khet (the modern region of Debeira and Serra), traceable over several generations, who were thoroughly 'Egyptianized' and governed their regions on behalf of the imperial administration." Terra cotta masks molded to be placed in graves likewise portrayed their models with profoundly human expressions. The poignant mask of a woman from a cemetery at Sai exudes barely contained distress.  The Egyptians retreated from Kush in the 1060s B.C., and, from the middle of the eighth century B.C., the Kushites in turn gradually occupied Egypt - in the name of Egyptian values, King Kashta invoking the god Amun. Yet the powerful aesthetic personality of Kushite artists continued to come through. The bronze statue of a standing king,  once covered in gold leaf, found in a temple at Tabo on Argo Island, wears Egyptian regalia. But the astigmatic eyes and the sadness have no equivalent in the art of Egypt. The most Egyptian-looking mythical creatures were transformed at the hands of Kushite artists. The human face of the sphinx of King Senkamanisken, which was discovered in the Temple of Amun at Djabal Barkal, is a masterpiece of psychological portraiture. Grim despair emanates from the staring eyes. Even the images of gods conceived by Kushite sculptors are profoundly human. The larger-than-life size sandstone head of a man believed to represent the god Sebiumeker was recovered from a pit in a temple at Meroe, the Kushite capital  north or Khartoum. With its dilated eyes under raised eyebrows, it expresses irrepressible terror. A smiling ruthlessness emanates from the sandstone head of a man from the second or third century A.D. found at Sedeinga - one of the last masterpieces of Kushite art. Were the sadness, the fear, the ferocity, related to the darker side of Nubian culture? Archaeology reveals that human sacrifices were part of its rituals as early as Neolithic times. According to Charles Bonnet, sacrifices associated with the great royal tumuli were in the hundreds during the last phase of the Kerma period. The tradition seems to have retained a powerful hold over the Nubian psyche. When the last Kushite empire broke up in the fourth century A.D., human sacrifice became prominent once again, as Derek Welsby notes in the general introduction to the book edited by him and Julie Anderson. We might understand the reasons if we had a clue to the beliefs of the Kushite kingdom. These, alas, will elude us as long as we fail to understand the Meroitic language, transcribed in the hieroglyphic and cursive alphabets devised in the second century B.C. They were still in use by the fourth century A.D., as shown by a bronze bowl. We will remain equally unable to grasp precisely how this remote culture received and assimilated external influences from the Middle East. A vessel dubbed an aquamanile by Anderson and Welsby imitates the animal-shaped wine ewers from Iran (which they call Persia). Its handling, and the attempt at producing a green glaze, would suggest the ninth or 10th century. By then Christianity was well established. An eighth-century wall painting both shows its aesthetic dependency on Christian Egypt and an unusual iconography. Islam was spreading, Egypt being likewise the source of proselytizing. A funerary stela carved in mid-Sha'aban 405 (early February A.D. 1015) carries the Koranic sura that proclaims the unicity of God. It is written in a Kufic script that offers a cruder version of Egyptian calligraphy. The northern parts of the land that we call Sudan - meaning, in Arabic, "the Blacks" - were now looking firmly toward Egypt. They would continue to do so throughout history.

Fuente: International Herald Tribune.

10/09/04

Sudán: pedido arqueológico
Arqueólogos internacionales lanzaron un llamado para que se aumenten los esfuerzos por excavar y documentar un área del río Nilo donde se ha descubierto evidencias de una civilización prehistórica. Sudán planea construir unapresa en la cuarta catarata del Nilo. El área, situada en el norte de Sudán, pronto será inundada por un lago artificial. Las pocas exploraciones que se han realizado hasta el momento en la zona han revelado riquezas  arqueológicas totalmente inesperadas. Los expertos señalan que es una carrera contra el tiempo para poder rescribir la comprensión de la historia de esa región. En el norte sudanés se ha estado aplicando un programa internacional de rescate arqueológico durante un año. Los arqueólogos indican ahora que lo que han descubierto es tan asombroso que se necesita mayor apoyo internacional para poder salvar el material de la futura inundación.   Un enorme lago

Los planes de Sudán de construir una presa en la cuarta catarata del Nilo creará un lago de 170 kilómetros de extensión. 
Este lago artificial ahogará una pequeña extensión del valle, hasta ahora desconocida y escasamente poblada. El corresponsal de la BBC, Lawrence Pollard, indicó que el Nilo se convierte en una gran curva en este punto y el área ha sido ignorada por la historia reciente. Pero ahora los arqueólogos han encontrado extraordinaria evidencia de asentamientos humanos desde la prehistoria hasta hace unos mil años. Por eso es tan dramático, aquí no estamos completando detalles sino escribiendo las cosas desde la nada Derek Welsby, Museo Británico de Londres Gran parte de los hallazgos están bien preservados en la zona, que es árida y no padece de termitas. Entre los hallazgos figuran fortalezas, una pirámide, cementerios y la evidencia del uso más antiguo de la pigmentación en el mundo. "Uno va a un área donde todo es desconocido, y en pocas semanas ya uno ha hecho una gran cantidad de descubrimientos", expresó el arqueólogo Derek Welsby, del Museo Británico de Londres. Agregó que varias veces rescribió la historia de la zona. "Por esto es tan dramático; aquí no estamos completando detalles sino escribiendolas cosas desde la nada", añadió. Un arqueólogo sudanés describió el trabajo como rescribiendo la historia del país, ya que aporta mayor evidencia del encuentro de las culturas nordafricana y subsahariana en el corredor del Nilo. Sudán trabaja con equipos de arqueólogos polacos, franceses, italianos, estadounidenses y británicos. Pero los expertos insisten en que aún falta mucho trabajo por hacer para terminar antes de la inundación que deberá llegar en 2008. 

Fuente: BBC Mundo.com
     

01/09/04
MDCT 'unwraps' Egyptian mummy, clearly revealing face of 3,000 year old man

- MDCT "desenvuelve" una momia egipcia revelando el rostro de un hombre de 3.000 años de antigüedad -
Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) was used for the first time to produce a detailed 3D model of the face of an Egyptian man who lived nearly 3,000 years ago--without having to unwrap his mummified corpse, say amultidisciplinary group of Italian researchers that included physicians, anthropologists and forensic scientists.

MDCT was used to image the completely wrapped mummy of an artisan named Harwa, which had been on display at the Egyptian Museum in Torino, Italy. MDCT created 3D images, which were then reconstructed to create all the featuresof the mummy's face. A physical plasticine and nylon model was sculpted based on the 3D image. The facial reconstruction revealed Harwa to be 45 years old at the time of his death and was detailed enough to reveal a mole on his left temple. "The only other way to have gotten the information we got from MDCT would have been to unwrap, destroy and otherwise alter the conservation of the bandages and the mummy," said Federico Cesarani, MD, ofthe Struttura Operativa Complessa di Radiodiagnostica in Asti, Italy, and lead author of the study.
CT is a noninvasive method that can provide data such as skull dimensions and dehydrated soft tissue arrangement for 3D reconstructions of the skull and body while preserving the mummy. "MDCT provides thin slices--up to 0.6mm--in a single-shot acquisition and in a very short time, which permits high-resolution 3D reconstructions," said Dr. Cesarani. According to the author, the technique of facial reconstruction is important for forensics, anthropology and medicine."Police use it for identifying bodies, anthropologists to learn more about individuals in ancient societies and medicine can learn about the diseases that afflicted ancient peoples," said Dr. Cesarani. For the lifelike Harwa facial reconstruction, the researchers avoidingguessing at the hair, beard and the color tones of the skin. They were also unable to determine just how fatty Harwa's face was when he was alive, since fat does not leave signs in the skull, as do muscle and skin.

Fuente: EurekAlert! 

Más Información y fotografías:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5880009/
  
28/08/04
Egypt restores Pharaonic Mural from New York's Christie's

- Egipto recupera un mural faraónico de la casa de subastas Christie´s de Nueva York -
Egypt has retrieved a Pharaonic Mural from New York's Christie's auction house after winning an l8-month court battle in the United States. The priceless ancient artefact had been smuggled a few years ago from its original place in Bahababt Temple in the Nile Delta governorate of Gharbia, to later show up on sale at the famed auction house."The government decided to halt the selling of the piece, and won a court ruling on its right to get it back," said Egypt's Consul in New York Mahmoud Allam. The piece was taken to the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo. Allam said more than 20 pieces smuggled abroad during past years have been sent back to Egypt. 
 

26/08/04
Gathering the pieces

- Antigüedades egipcias robadas continuan siendo repatriadas -
Egypt's stolen antiquities continue to be repatriated.

24/08/04
El secreto de los faraones
Los misterios de las pirámides de Giza tienen sus días contados. Las autoridades egipcias han anunciado que van a poner en marcha un proyecto para examinar los monumentos mediante un robot y un radar. Ambos aparatosserán los principales protagonistas del plan global que el Consejo Supremo de Antigüedades (CSA) emprenderá en el 2005 para descubrir lo mucho que aun pueda ocultar esa altiplanicie, la más visitada del mundo, en las afueras de El Cairo. La labor del robot, que está siendo diseñado y fabricado en una universidad de Singapur, será precisar el sitio exacto de la cámara funeraria del faraón Keops en los oscuros laberintos de su colosal tumba, la Gran Pirámide que lleva su nombre. En 1992 y 2002, otros dos androides introducidos en la Gran Pirámide de Keops fracasaron en descifrar el enigma que ha confundido a los más prestigiosos egiptólogos, al no poder localizar las coordenadas de la estancia. El radar, por su parte, se usará para rastrear el patrimonio arqueológico que aún permanece sepultado en Giza, en una batida que, por el sur, se extenderá hasta Maidum, a un centenar de kilómetros de la capital egipcia, en tanto que por el norte lo hará hasta Abu Rawash, a una treintena de kilómetros de El Cairo. "El 2005 será el año dedicado a la meseta de las pirámides de Giza, y confiamos en anunciar numerosos y sorprendentes hallazgos arqueológicos gracias al uso del radar", vaticinó con optimismo el secretario general del CSA, Zahi Hawas, cerebro del proyecto. Hawas reveló que los hallazgos continúan de manera ininterrumpida en la zona, donde recientemente se ha descubierto la tumba de un noble que data del Periodo Saita, entre 664 y 525 antes de Cristo. "Hemos excavado diez metros de profundidad y aún tenemos que hacerlo otros diez más para desenterrar el mausoleo, en el que ya hemos hallado 408 estatuillas obatchi, que se colocaban alrededor de las momias para su protección en la otra vida", precisó. Uno de los más prestigiosos arqueólogos del área de las pirámides de Giza,  Mansour Furaig, también subrayó la importancia del plan de rastreo, que puede conducir a la excavación de innumerables vestigios aún ocultos por la arena. Furaig recordó que Giza fue un lugar de enterramiento privilegiado hace casi cinco mil años, cuando el rey Cineforo -fundador de la IV dinastía faraónica y el primer constructor de las pirámides en su forma  arquitectónica conocida- mandó hacer en el área un cementerio monumental.

LAS EXPECTATIVAS de desvelar la última morada de los personaje ilustres de la historia del antiguo Egipto se han visto además alimentadas por el hallazgo en la última década de los enterramientos de los albañiles que construyeron las famosas pirámides, de magistral forma geométrica, y los templos funerarios que plagan la zona y muchos de los cuales pueden permanecer ocultos aún. El reputado arqueólogo estadounidense Mark Liner descubrió en 1992 en un sector  próximo las bases y los cimientos de la ciudad , donde esos miles de trabajadores y esclavos descansaban, comían y dormían durante toda su vida después de una agotadora jornada laboral.

Fuente: La Voz de Asturias.

17/08/04
Sudanese security recover priceless artifacts stolen last year from museum

- La Seguridad sudanesa recupera objetos valiosos robados el último año del museo -
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- Sudanese security officials have recovered 54 historical artifacts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and detained four people in an elaborate investigation following the theft of the pieces last year from the National Museum, Sudanese media reported Tuesday.The stolen artifacts included 19 small statues from the ancient Nubian kingdoms, which ruled Sudan from 300 to 1600 A.D.; a funerary statue from the Meroe dynasty (second and third centuries B.C.); an ossified skull of a prehistoric human; plus many necklaces, small sculptures and razors, according to the official Sudan Media Center. Many of the pieces, which were recovered last week, were insured at over US$10,000, museum director Hassan Hussein told the SMC. "This is a victory for the Sudanese people, not only for the economic security organ that captured them," Hussein said. Haydar Hamid Muhtar, the director of the museum'srestoration department, told Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper that the pieces were almost all intact. SMC said the items were stolen from the museum last November but the theft was kept silent to allow for stealth investigations, including quicklycontacting airports, ports and neighboring countries to prevent the artifacts being smuggled out of Sudan. "After giving up hope of sneaking them outside Sudan, the thieves tried to sell them inside the country," a security official at the Economic Security Branch told Akhbar Al-Youm. "And through the collaboration of some citizenswho posed as buyers, we were able to locate the whereabouts of the stolen pieces. A huge security operation was involved to lay our hand on the stolen pieces." Four people were detained pending the completion of the investigation. "These are priceless archaeological pieces and their restoration is a victory and their recapture is a real victory and a boost to our national security's economic branch, " the daily quoted the minister for tourism and archaeology, Abdel Galeel Al-Basha, as saying.
Fuente: Sudan.Net
   
16/08/04
Luxor: New phase of integrated development

- Luxor: Nueva fase del desarrollo integrado -
The Ministry of Tourism will pay the compensations for the housing units on the avenue of ram-headed sphinxes in Luxor, which have increased to 150 houses, for the main purpose of making the required archaeological excavations, so that the avenue would extend between Karnak temple and Luxor Temple. The Ministry would also pay the costs for establishing 1,000 houses at Al-Taref Village, as a primary step for moving 4,000 families living on archaeological tombs on the western bank in Luxor. Other 1,000 houses would be built by the Ministry of Culture and 2,000 houses by the Ministry of Housing. According to Luxor Supreme Council Chairman Samir Farag, the new plan in Luxor aims mainly at finding resolutions for all the problems in Luxor on three bases: the Luxor citizen, tourism in Luxor and the monuments of Luxor. He said he would review the original integrated plan of developing Luxor that was laid by the United Nations Development Fund. Farag added that the project of planning the Karnak region would be submitted for international tender. In the meantime, Farag said that the implementation of Opera Aida project in Luxor, starting next year and for five years to come is expected to promote tourism in the city. Farag noted that he would pay great concern to the issue of setting new anchors.
  

30/07/04

Cultura dobla los recursos para la arqueología
Madrid- El Ministerio de Cultura destinará el próximo año 480.000 euros para proyectos arqueológicos, lo que supone doblar el presupuesto del 2004, anunció la titular del departamento, Carmen Calvo. Durante un encuentro organizado en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional, en el que el director del yacimiento sirio de Tell Halula, Miquel Molist, informó sobre los últimos resultados obtenidos en esta excavación, Calmen Calvo anunció que el Ministerio de Cultura tiene la intención de «destinar más recursos y dar más apoyos a un mayor número de proyectos». Destacó la ministra la «importancia de destinar dinero público a la investigación arqueológica» y recordó que durante 2004 se presentaron 28 proyectos, de los que se decidió apoyar 13, «por lo que el próximo año, al doblarse el presupuesto se doblarán los proyectos», permitiendo con ello «potenciar la presencia española en el exterior a través de la arqueología». Carmen Clvo consideró que este apoyo es importante «para el propio prestigio de nuestro país» y manifestó su intención de reequilibrar nuestra presencia en el mundo iberoamericano, donde este año sólo se está presente en un proyecto. Miquel Molist informó sobre los hallazgos de la última campaña en el yacimiento de Tell Halula (Siria), «que nos abren una perspectiva de debate y de análisis muy importante», y que se refieren al descubrimiento de frescos pintados en el suelo que reproducen motivos geométricos y figuraciones humanas, así como al hallazgo regular de sepulturas ubicadas en fosas circulares excavadas en el suelo del interior de las casas. «Lo importante ha sido el descubrimiento de cobre entre los conjuntos funerarios». Según Molist sólo en el área de Anatolia e Irán se han encontrado ajuares como éstos, hechos en bronce.

Fuente: La Razón Digital.

30/07/04

Hoy se inaugura la tercera muestra sobre Egipto de la Fundación Gaselec.
En un pase privado para la Prensa, Gustavo Cabanillas, presidente de la Fundación Gaselec, explicó ayer las características de la nueva exposición sobre Egipto, que se inaugura hoy para las autoridades en la sede de la Plaza Rafael Fernández de Castro. La nueva muestra que permanecerá expuesta hasta el día 9 del próximo enero, podrá ser visitada de forma gratuita por todos los interesados, de igual manera que ocurrió con las dos exposiciones egipcias ofrecidas con anterioridad por la Fundación Gaselec. Gustavo Cabanillas explicó que, en esta ocasión, se ha seguido la línea temática de la muestra imediatamente anterior, que trataba sobre el descubrimiensto de la tumba del faraón Tut-Ank-Amón...

No obstante, para Cabanillas la diferencia entre la actual exposición y la anterior estriba en que abarca una temática más amplia, ya que recoge distintos aspectos del mundo egipcio, aunque sin dejar de lado la figura de Tut-Ank-Amon.

Podrá ser visitada de forma gratuita hasta el día 9 del próximo enero de 2005.

Fuente: Melilla Hoy.

27/07/04

Mrs Mubarak opens civilization centre headquarters

- Comenzará la construcción del nuevo Museo Egipcio a primeros de Diciembre de 2004 -
Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak is to open within days the headquarters of the Civilization Coordination Centre built by Ministry of Culture in the Citadel(Qalaa) area. 
Mrs. Mubarak will follow up the executive steps of the project that will be carried out over the next period. 
Meanwhile, Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni will brief Mrs. Mubarak on the beginning of constructing the new Egyptian museum in early December on an area of 117 feddans and at a total cost of 350 million dollars.

20/07/04 

Egyptian god brought down by smoggy cars

Un dios egipcio bajo la niebla de los coches
Cairo - Ramses II, son of the Sun god, the greatest warrior king and the most prolific builder of ancient Egypt, has been defeated by the rumble and fumes of modern traffic.His monumental pink granite statue outside Cairo central rail station has all but vanished within a sarcophagus of scaffolding erected to enable experts to prepare it for removal next year to a less polluted site outside the city.
Discovered in 1883 near Memphis, the ancient pharaonic capital, the statue was moved to Cairo in 1954 and has been a landmark ever since.But the station square, reputedly the most polluted place in Egypt, is fouled by the exhaust fumes of an estimated 900 000 vehicles which jostle and blare their way through it every day, and as long as a decade ago thefirst of many plans was made to move the god-king. Director of works Khaled Nasr says Ramses will be unbolted from his concretepedestal by the end of the year and will begin his journey in February to the site of the Great Egyptian Museum which is to be built near the pyramids of Giza. The statue is more than 11 metres tall and weighs 80 tons, and before it canbe moved it must be checked for signs of damage which might cause it to break in transit. 

Khaled Abdel Hadi, director of restoration at Egypt's Higher Council for Antiquities, said the statue was in danger of collapsing due to traffic vibrations, while humidity and exhaust fumes had begun to deface the cartouches which enabledarchaeologists to identify it in the first place. Experts have carried out a surface examination and, when it is finished, the statue will be X-rayed to see whether it has any internal cracks. The short journey from central Cairo to the museum site on the southernoutskirts of the city is expected to last three days and nights and to cost an estimated six million Egyptian pounds (about R6-million). The massive statue will be lowered into a metal casing, itself weighing no less than 25 tons, and carried by military tank-transporters, recalling its removal to the city half a century ago.In 1954, a group of young army officers led by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser had overthrown King Farouk and abolished a monarchy which had become too closely associated with foreign powers. Nasser wanted to use Ramses to symbolise the authentically Egyptian roots of the new republic. The statue was greeted by a large and enthusiastic crowd and the square inwhich it was erected was immediately renamed in honour of the pharaoh, instead of Farouk's mother, Queen Nazli. In its early days, the statue and the fountain at its feet were visible from afar, but they were gradually hemmed in by a mass of overpasses and pedestrian bridges that were meant to ease the flow of people and motortraffic around and across the square but in fact aggravated it. Ramses II reigned over Egypt for 68 years, from 1304 to 1236 BC, and is believed to have lived to the age of 90. He covered the country with monuments to his exploits and his mummy, on display in the National Museum in Cairo, is one of the country's biggest tourist attractions.

Fuente: IOL

Más sobre la misma noticia:
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/698/eg7.htm 

- Resumen en castellano -

Ramses II, el hijo del dios Sol, el más grande rey guerrero y el constructor más prolífico del Egipto antiguo, ha sido derrotado por el ruido y los humos del tráfico moderno. Su estatua monumental de granito rosa situada en la estación central a las afueras de EL Cairo, ha sido cubierta con un andamio que permitirá a expertos ir preparando su traslado a un lugar menos contaminado de la ciudad.ç

22/07/04
Mummy of a child and other items stolen from ancient tomb
LUXOR, Egypt - A mummy more than 3,000 years old and other items have been stolen from a Pharaonic tomb near this southern Egyptian city, a senior antiquity official said Tuesday.The missing objects were taken from the tomb of a nobleman who lived in the time of Pharaoh Akhenaton, who ruled in 1379-1362 B.C., said Sabri Abdel Aziz of Egypt's antiquity department. The theft was reported on Sunday when an archaeological team from the University of Pennsylvaniareturned to the tomb after six months. "I expect the goods to be retrieved soon," Abdel Aziz said. He argued that as the theft was recent, the items were probably still in Egypt, which would make them easier to trace. The Penn archeologists have worked at the site since 1996.Police said they reported that the mummy of a child and four small artifacts had been stolen. Abdel Aziz said the Supreme Council of Antiquities was taking the "necessary steps to inform Interpol about the theft and post pictures of the stolen pieces on the Internet." He said the items appeared to have been removed from the tomb through a backtunnel leading to a house in the town of Gourna. Some 420 tombs lie under the town, which is home to thousands of people. The inhabitants are believed to have plundered the tombs for decades. They successfully resisted a government attempt to move the town in the 1940s. Their livelihoods depend on tourists visiting the nearby Pharaonic temples and the Valley of the Kings. "So long as there are houses on top of the tombs in western Luxor, the danger (of theft) remains," Abdel Aziz said. He added that the town's sewage water is an even greater threat to the tombs.
Fuente: TimesLeader.com
 
15/07/04
Ancient Egyptian civilization traced in Toshka
Some of the earliest example of ancient Egyptian civilization were experienced at Toshka.It still contains many artifacts that have yet to be excavated. Because of this, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) decidedto catalogue and survey the areas, in preparation for including these areas under the authority of the SCA. Dr. Atiya Radwan, managing director of archaeological digs at the SCA, says Toshka is full of archaeological treasures, especially those that dateback to the late Stone Age, from 9000 to 5500 BC. Nabta valley is one of the most important locations in Toshka. An American expedition worked there periodically Roman for 15 years, between 1976 to 2004.uncovering Stone Agerelics dating back to the first Pharonic dynasties. The most important artifact found there was the compass, or piece of meteorological equipment', that determined when water fell.Also found was the cattle slaughterhouse next to the compass, which was the location for offerings to the gods for rain. Complementary graves, known as Megalist, were also found, filled with sandstone-covered inscriptions. This block of inscribed rock is some of the oldest in Egypt, and has been takento the Nuba Museum. Dr. Radwan added that the Gabal al-Ramla area is one of the important archaeological site in Toshka.Thirteen skeletons were found there-nine women, two men and two youths as well as funeral furniture consisting of bone bracelets and jewels.Also found were clay vases, and a group of needles as well as a high quality plate with a rock handle. Mohammad Abdel Fatah, managing director of Upper Egypt Antiquities, cautions that Toshka needs to be protected from the investment projects taking place there.Contacts have been made with the Ministries of Agriculture and Irrigation to exclude these areas from the investment projects. A delegation of specialists in the Stone Age will be sent to the area to survey it and cooperate with other delegations. They will decide if the 1982 law 117 that protects archaeological sites encompasses these locations
 
13/07/04
Las pirámides son protegidas ante la avalancha urbana
Las autoridades egipcias toman medidas par proteger a las pirámides de la invasión urbana, el turismo y la contaminación. Pese a la posibilidad de atentados, Egipto sigue siendo uno de los destinos predilectos para losturistas. Las pirámides de la explanada de Giza conviven con fastfoods, tiendas de souvenirs, conductores de camellos, caballos... Una invasión que comienza apreocupar a las autoridades egipcias. La ciudad poco a poco se come la explanada, cada vez están más cerca las casas y los miles de coches contaminantes que circulan por el Cairo.Las autoridades de Egipto quieren parar esta avalancha que a la larga perjudicará a las pirámides y, por este motivo, se levanta una valla metálica y se instalan varias cámaras de vigilancia que controlarán el acceso.Otra de las medidas de protección es salvaguardar las excavaciones de tumbas menores que hay junto a las pirámides y de las que no cesan de salir tesoros.Los encargados de todo esto confían en que estos esfuerzos protejan lo que durante siglos escondieron las tierras del desierto para que los antiguos faraones no tengan que echarse las manos a la cabeza. Ya que, a pesar delmiedo a los posibles atentados terroristas, Egipto sigue siendo un caramelo para los turistas que persiguen la evocación de una civilización sin igual. Se espera que en lo que queda de verano unos cuatro millones de personas visiten las pirámides.
Fuente: Informativos Telecinco.
 
12/07/04
Egyptian-Japanese project for developing Valley of Kings
An agreement was reached between Egypt and Japan for developing the Valley of the Kings area in Luxor at a total cost of L.E. 15 million as a Japanese grant, according to the Higher Council of Antiquities Secretary-General ZahiHawwas. He said that the project will be implemented as of December 1, 2004.

- Egipto y Japón han alcanzado un alcanzado para desarrollar el área del Valle de los Reyes, en Luxor occidental. El Proyecto tendrá un coste total de 15 millones de libras egipcias y tendrá la forma de una beca japonesa, tal y como indicó Secretario General del Consejo Supremo de Antigüedades Egipcias, Zahi Hawass. Hawass también explicó que el proyecto comenzará el 1 de diciembre de 2004 -.

10/07/04
New Security To Protect Archeological Sites
The Egyptian ministries of Culture and Interior started implementing the project to close the traditional security patrols in the archeological sites and replace them with qualified security personnel for protection andstopping the repeated robberies Farouq Husni, Minister of Culture, said in parliament that the civil guards will be supplied with rapid communication devices and appropriate weapons in addition to lighting up the site areas at night.So far, the current security system depends on uneducated guards most of whom arrive from the countryside and carry obsolete English-made rifles and have no modern means of communications.Archeology theft in Egypt is considered as one of the key crimes and the severest due to the gigantic historical locations. In replying to questions of 43 MPs, Husni said that for the first time in 50 years, Egyptian artifacts have been listed in an inventory, and pledged to continue the efforts to recover smuggled relics.
Fuente: Daralhayat
 
08/07/04
A perfectly sacred place
Ancient Egyptians considered it the most perfect of all temples. Report on recent discoveries as Karnak reveals more of its secrets.

08/07/04
Saqqara site to become museum
The Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) starts next month upgrading Abu Sir site in Saqqara to turn it into an open museum. The project which will last for a year is to be implemented over two stages.The first involves preparing the roads leading to the pyramid complex of King Saho Ra of the fifth dynasty (2560-2420 DC) and restoring the funerary temple of Saho Ra and reinstalling some of the scattered blocks of stone. The second stage includes architectural restoration within and without the Pyramid itself.
The site when completed will be the second important complex in the Saqqara necropolis next to that of Zoser the owner of the step pyramid and founder of the third dynasty.Abu Sir, three kilometers from Zoser complex, was part of an important religious and political centre of Egypt in the last few years BC. It was the centre of attraction of the fifth dynasty in particular where thefirst of its kings, Osar Kaf (father of Saho Ra), built a temple dedicated to the sun god. His son, Saho Ra, chose the site for his complex, his pyramid being the first built in Abu Sir. Saho Ra ruled for 14 years.
The pyramid of Saho Ra as Sabri Abdul Aziz head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector says, lies in the farthest northern side of the area. The ascending road to the pyramid is 200 meters long at the end of whichlies Al Wadi Temple which is different from similar temples in that it has two entrances. Inscriptions on the temples of Saho Ra reveal much about the king especially his military expeditions and how he defeated Libyan tribes that came withtheir women and animals wishing to settle in the Nile Valley. He also sent a fleet to Phoenicia and inscriptions show how he received the returning men.He also dispatched a campaign to Nubia and his name is found inscribed on a rock near the bank of the Nile in Nubia.
 
02/04/07
LE 55 m to get rid of underground water in Luxor, Karnak Temples
The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Secretary-General Zahi Hawwas said project will be raised to the international speicialised companies fordecreasing the underground water level inside Luxor and Karnak Temples. He added that the project costs will reach around LE 55 millions and will be implemented within 8 months. He stressed that the underground water level rise in the two temples is anormal phenomenon during the summer season owing to the rise of the Nile water level and the water of Lake Nasser. He, moreover, added that the sanitation water and the drain water contributed also to the rise of the underground water.
  

17/06/04
Seven monasteries at Naqada
-Siete Monasterios en Naqada -
Naqada which falls halfway between Qena and Luxor on the west bank of the Nile is one of the most important archaeological sites in Upper Egypt since it witnessed three pre-historic civilizations. In the past, it was known as Nai Qaa and Ni Kati that stands for intelligence or understanding. The Arabs had adjusted the name to become Naqada. Anthropologists said that Naqada was one of three Egyptian cities, i.e.Fayoum and Edfu where the early Egyptians lived. As Dr. Abdalla Kamel, head of the Coptic and Islamic Sector explains, "Naqada not just has traces of ancient Islamic civilization but it also embraces Coptic landmarks." The desert of Naqada has seven monasteries whose establishment datebetween the fourth to the seventh centuries. Five of these are already registered as antiquities while two namely The Cross and Abu Al-Lif monasteries are underway. 

Fuente: EOL
 
17/06/04
Desaparecen 38 joyas del Museo Egipcio que ha prestado la muestra «Faraones»
Treinta y seis brazaletes y dos anillos de oro de la época grecorromana han desaparecido del Museo Egipcio, el mismo que ha prestado las piezas que se exhiben en l'Almodí de Valencia, dentro de la muestra Faraones. Una exposiciónque ya ha sido visitada por 9.867 personas, según afirmó el secretario autonómico de Cultura, David Serra. La desaparición o robo de estas piezas egipcias ha desatado la polémica sobre la seguridad de los tesoros que se conservan en el Museo Egipcio, elprimero del mundo en cultura faraónica. La desaparición fue denunciada por el secretario del Consejo Superior de Antigüedades (CSA), Zahy Hawas, quien señaló que el caso está en manos de la fiscalía para su esclarecimiento, en lo que podría suponer sólo «la punta del iceberg» de los extravíos y expolios de la inmensa riqueza arqueológica del país. La pérdida de las 38 piezas, que fueron descubiertas en 1905 en la zona de Kom Apolo, al noroeste de El Cairo, fue revelada en un informe de una comisión del CSA, que entre enero y mayo realizó un inventario de lo  expuesto en el Museo Egipcio. Precisamente, fecha en la que una gran parte de las piezas que allí se exhiben se trasladaron a la Comunidad Valenciana para ser expuestas en Alicante y posteriormente en Valencia. El caso llegó al Parlamento, donde el ministro de Cultura, Farouk Hosni, tuvo que afrontar una interpelación de los diputados Mohamed Abu Eleinen y Adel Eid. «¿Existe un inventario de todas nuestras piezas históricas? ¿En que se fundamentan los informes que denuncian las desapariciones?», preguntó Abu Eleinen, mientras que Eid manifestó su estupor por el hecho de que la pérdida se haya producido en un lugar que cuenta con un sofisticado sistema de vigilancia. En su turno de respuesta, Hosni subrayó la imposibilidad de robos en el museo debido al dispositivo de seguridad y dijo que «quizá» las joyas permanezcan en el sótano del mismo, donde más de 80.000 antigüedades se han almacenado en los últimos cien años, en algunas ocasiones sin ser registradas. 

Varias décadas de «pérdidas»
La detección de robos y extravíos de antigüedades del Museo Egipcio se remonta a la década de los cuarenta, cuando el entonces rey Faruk sacó algunas de ellas para decorar sus palacios. Veinte años después, un bastón del faraón Tutankamon desapareció para siempre, tras haber sido olvidado por los miembros de una comisión querealizó un inventario en el museo. Desde entonces se han producido varios casos más. Sobre la exposición valenciana, el secretario autonómico de Cultura aseguró que desde la conselleria tienen la intención de seguir trabajando en esta línea porque, dijo, «estamos convencidos de que los ciudadanos quieren tener acceso al legado cultural de los países más remotos». Además, explicó que «junto a la promoción de los artistas valencianos, y a la decidida apuesta por los creadores jóvenes, el montaje de grandes exposiciones internacionales centrará una parte muy importante de nuestra actuación». Fuente: Levante. El Mercantil Valenciano.

 
- Misma noticias, en francés, aparecida en el Al Ahram Hebdo con fecha
16/06/04
Mystère au Musée du Caire
Constatée en novembre 2003, la disparition du Musée du Caire de 38 pièces, dont 36 bracelets et 2 bagues de l'époque romaine découvertes dans la région du Delta en 1905, a pris une nouvelle tournure après que le ministre de la Culture, Farouk Hosni eut décidé de saisir le Parquet général. L'affaire a éclaté avec l'inventaire mené par le directeur du musée, à l'époque Mamdouh Al-Damati, à la suite d'une demande de mutation de l'une de ses conservatrices. Achevé à 95 %, il a révélé la disparition de 23 pièces. Sur quoi le secrétaire général du Conseil Suprême des Antiquités (CSA), Zahi Hawas, a en mars dernier chargé une autre commission, présidée par l'archéologue Ibrahim Al-Nawawi, d'achever l'inventaire. Il se révéla alors que le nombre de pièces disparues s'élevait en réalité à 38. Le tollé fut général et une enquête plus poussée fut demandée. Laquelle fit remonter la disparition à avant 1994, puisque le Conseil des ministres avait, cette même année, photographié toutes les pièces du musée et constaté que les bijoux en question étaient absents. La dernière fois qu'ils ont été vus remonte en fait à 1984, lors d'une exposition organisée au Japon. La disparition a donc eu lieu entre 1984 et 1994. Aujourd'hui, les responsables du CSA se rejettent mutuellement la responsabilité de cette disparition. Mais ce qui est sûr, c'est que la disparition ou le vol de ces pièces vient confirmer que la gestion du Musée du Caire n'est pas entre de bonnes mains. « Il faut organiser l'entrepôt du musée. Ca ne peut pas continuer comme ça », reconnaît Hawas. Pour lui, toutes les pièces du musée devraient être répertoriées, enregistrées et cataloguées. « On cherche à créer un entrepôt à l'exemple de celui du British Museum de Londres », poursuit-il. Une tâche qui s'annonce difficile. C'est pourquoi les responsables égyptiens envisagent de lancer une adjudication internationale afin de confier ce travail à une société étrangère. En attendant, un nouveau comité vient d'être désigné pour effectuer un inventaire général des entrepôts.

16/04/04

Scientists unraveling mysteries of mummy

Experts discover heart and brain, sex still unknown Mimi Leveque cleaned soot from Then-Hotep's coffin last week. Then-Hotep's skull lay in a box as Kate Wight cleaned a shroud last week. The mummy is believed to be at least 2,500 years old. A barrage of medical tests found a heart andbrain in an Egyptian mummy belonging to the Louisville Science Center - but its sex remains a mystery. The staff of Baptist Hospital East took about 3,000 CT scans from nearly every angle imaginable of Then-Hotep, believed to be at least 2,500 years old, said Pam Colburn, the hospital's director of radiology. Dr. Ted Steinbock, a radiologist who supervised the CT work, is about 85 percent certain that Then-Hotep isfemale because of the shape of the pelvis, the hospital and science center said after the tests. But the gender won't be known for certain until the images are examined in detail because the mummy's hands are crossed over the area, said Arricka Dunsford, a Louisville Science Center spokeswoman. The science center staff had thought the mummy's heart and brain had beenremoved, as was often done before mummification. But a small camera, inserted into the torso and skull, revealed they were present.The endoscopic exam "was the most exciting thing," science center spokesman Danielle Waller said. "You could see the heart was there. The doctors and everyone were literally oohing and aahing ... there was excitement in the room."Colburn and Waller said preliminary images showed that the mummy had some broken bones, but they probably were sustained after death, perhaps in moving the body or when its coffin toppled over during Louisville's 1937 flood. The science center is preparing the mummy, which has been displayed at Louisville museums since the 1920s, for an exhibit called "The World AroundUs." It will open next year. Baptist East volunteered to help in the research, which is being led by two consultants from Massachusetts: Mimi Leveque, an expert in ancient restorations, and Joyce Haynes, an Egyptologist. They will meet with the science center and hospital staffs later this week to begin reviewing test results. The experts believe the person died between the ages of 30 and 40. Waller said the officials hope the tests will help determine the cause of death and a host of physical and health-related facts. The mummy was at the hospital for nearly 12 hours starting Monday evening. It was returned to the science center, at 727 W. Main St., yesterday morning.
Fuente: The Courier-Journal
 

14/06/04
Los restos de Alejandro Magno, ¿en la tumba de San Marcos?
LONDRES.- La venerada tumba de San Marcos en Venecia podría contener no los restos del evangelista, sino nada menos que el cuerpo de Alejandro Magno,según el historiador británico Andrew Chugg, experto en el legendario rey de Macedonia. Chugg, según pública hoy el diario británico "The Independent On Sunday",cree haber localizado el paradero de los huesos del famoso conquistador, todo un misterio que ningún arqueólogo ha logrado descifrar.El erudito considera que se deben exhumar las supuestas reliquias santas y los restos momificados del evangelista sepultados bajo el altar de la basílica de San Marcos para someterlos a una prueba de ADN, algo que escandalizaría, sin duda, a los católicos más devotos.Hijo de Filipo II y Olimpia y discípulo de Aristóteles, Alejandro (356-323 antes de J.C.) ha maravillado durante siglos a partidarios y detractores, con su aura de semidiós y su formidable poder militar para conquistar unimperio que abarcó desde Grecia a la India. Tal es la fascinación que despierta el personaje, que Hollywood contará su vida en una película épica dirigida por Oliver Stone y protagonizada por Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie y Anthony Hopkins, que se estrenará este año.

El rey macedónico murió en Babilonia a la temprana edad de 32 ó 33 años y en circunstancias muy extrañas, dejando una serie de proyectos de expansión,siendo el más importante el control de la península Arábiga, fundamental para el comercio de especias.El filósofo griego Arriano apuntó a un posible envenenamiento promovido por su anterior maestro, Aristóteles, mientras Friedrich Engels consideró que murió de malaria y eleminente historiador Fritz Schachermeyr plantea la leucemia como la causa de la muerte. El cadáver desaparecióSea como fuere, el cadáver de Alejandro Magno fue enterrado en una tumba construida en la ciudad egipcia de Alejandría, donde yació durante 700 añosy después desapareció, según algunos entendidos. Pero Andrew Chugg sostiene que la confusión histórica sobre la suerte del cuerpo del mítico guerrero se explica porque el cadáver fue disfrazado deSan Marcos para evitar su destrucción durante una insurrección cristiana. "Ambos cuerpos se dice que fueron momificados con lino y uno desapareció al mismo tiempo que apareció el otro, en casi exactamente el mismo lugar, cerca de uncruce de carreteras de Alejandría", afirma el historiador británico. "Existe -continúa- una gran posibilidad de que alguien de la jerarquía de la Iglesia, quizá el propio Patriarca, decidiera que podría ser un buen plan hacer que los restos de Alejandro pasasen por los de San Marcos".
En opinión del experto, "si eso es verdad, entonces fueron los restos de Alejandro, no los de San Marcos, los que fueron robados por mercaderesvenecianos unos cuatro siglos más tarde para devolverlos a su ciudad natal". La teoría de este historiador, contenida en su próximo libro, "La tumba perdida de Alejandro Magno", ha dividido a la comunidad académica. Robin Lane Fox -experto sobre el conquistador, profesor en la Universidad deOxford y asesor de Oliver Stone en su próximo filme- dijo que la hipótesis "es muy bonita, pero resulta ligeramente trasnochada". Por contra, Paul Cartledge, profesor de Historia Griega en la Universidad deCambridge y autor del libro "Alejandro Magno: La búsqueda de un nuevo pasado", señaló que la teoría de Chugg "podría ser verdad, pues hay una laguna histórica que necesita aclararse". "Todos -agregó Cartledge- queremos saber por qué se pierde la pista a finales del siglo IV. En ese momento, triunfa el cristianismo y nadie tiene voz para decir dónde está enterrado este héroe pre-cristiano".
Fuente: El Mundo.

12/06/04
World offers to fund largest antiquities museum in Fayoum
- El mundo ofrece fundar el más grande museo de antigüedades en El Fayum -
Minister of Culture Dr. Farouk Hosni asserted that the world financing institutions offered to contribute to funding the biggest antiquities museum in Fayoum desert-road with costs hitting some $ 350 million.In his statements to Al-Gomhuria daily newspaper, he noted that foremost of the above-mentioned institutions are the World Bank, Arab Development Fund and the Japanese government.The Minister said that by December, the first phase of the museum would open for the restoration works of about 100 pieces of antiquities. The Minister further said that the present Egyptian Museum located in Tahrir Square will be updated according to the most advanced means to be confinedto the antiquities and monuments that describe the ancient Egyptian daily life, noting that there will not be any duplication of displaying the antiquities in both the old and new museums.The establishment of the new museum will be completed in a five-year period, added Hosni, noting that it is expected that the new museum will bring about its total cost within 12 years of inauguration.
Fuente: EOL
 
  

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