Movie Trailer - Agora

Accessed August 31, 2009 | Mania | by Jarrod Sarafin

My twin (well, really my triplet, I'm already a twin) has a new moving coming out in theaters (hopefully very soon because I've been waiting for this for almost a year!) called Agora.

The following is the plot for the movie:

4th century A.D. Egypt under the Roman Empire... Violent religious upheavel in the streets of Alexandria spills over into the city's famous Library. Trapped inside its walls, the brilliant astronomer Hypatia and her disciples fight to save the wisdom of the Ancient World... Among them, the two men competing for her heart: The witty, priviliged Orestes and Davus, Hypatia's young slave, who is torn between his secret love for her and the freedom he knows can be his if he chooses to join the unstoppable surge of the Christians.

Rachel is such an amazingly intelligent actress (and person) and seemingly every nice (she'll get down on her knees to talk to someone who is not mobile enough to get up out of their chair...and in heels!)...and the movie looks spectacular to boot! I wait in thorough anticipation for this to come to a theater near me, particularly to the Chicago Film Festival, where I'm hoping this will be the featured movie opening night (because that would bring her back to Chicago, where I could see her again).

Interactive Dig: Beads and Bead Making at Hierakonpolis

Accessed August 27, 2009 | Archaeology's Interactive Dig | by Hitoshi Endo, Izumi Takamiya, and Renée Friedman

Bringing the excavations to you, Archaeology's Interactive Dig team reveals more about the very dawn of Egyptian civilization and investigates early beer making. These field notes showcase an array of beautiful photographs of ancient beads, stones used for bead making, and tomb paintings depicting bead making.

New Publication - The West Delta Regional Survey

Accessed August 27, 2009 | David Brown Book Company

The following is a produce description of a new publication, penned by Penelope Wilson and Dimitris Grigoropoulos:

The West Delta Regional Survey is the result of five years of survey work carried out in Beheira and Kafr el-Sheikh Provinces as part of the Sais and its Hinterland Project and the Delta Survey of the Egypt
Exploration Society and Durham University, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The report by Penelope Wilson contains details of the current state of 70 archaeological sites (some of which are mapped here for the first time), their previous history and a photographic record. Dimitris Grigoropoulos discusses and dates the catalogue of pottery sherds, collected from most of the sites. The volume includes a CD with over 1,000 images of the sites catalogued by the Survey.

Download the Egypt Exploration Society's Newsletter

Accessed August 27, 2009 | Egypt Exploration Society

Click the above link to download the PDF newsletter from the EES (Egypt Exploration Society), which features upcoming projects, events, courses, lectures and seminars, tours, and symposiums.

Mummy's the Word

Originally published August 27, 2009 | Arkansas Times Blog | by Max Brantley

The following is a tiny blurb about the opening of an exhibit at the Arkansas Arts Center called World of the Pharaohs, which begins September 25. This particular source features a mummy dating to the Old Kingdom (you can't see me right now, but I'm bouncing up and down; never have I seen an Old Kingdom mummy or though such had stood the test of time!)

Alternatives to the World's Worst Tourist Traps

Originally published August 29 (UK time), 2009 | Times Online

It mostly speaks of the Meroe pyramids in the Sudan; it's less an article that bashes the pyramids (as the title seems to suggest), more one that gives detailed information about the Meroe pyramids in the Sudan and the Meroe civilization.

The following is a preview of the contents of the article; click the above link to read it in its entirtey:

Some ideas are too good to be forgotten. When Egypt’s pyramid boom burnt out in 2500BC, the country’s signature tomb design found its way up the Nile to northern Sudan, where it was embraced more than 2,000 years later by the Kushite Kingdom.

Evidence of this architectural revival can be found at the great royal cemeteries of Bagrawiya, better known as the pyramids of Meroe, where dozens of steep-sided pyramids litter the desert. This may be Sudan’s most iconic sight, but visitors are likely to have the tombs all to themselves, with only the sound of the desert wind in their ears.

Hawass' Plans For a "Replica Valley"

Originally published August 27 - September 2, 2009 | Al-Ahram Weekly Online | by Nevine El-Aref

The following is an excerpt from Al-Ahram Weekly Online where Zahi Hawass reveals his and the SCA's plans to create a "Replica Valley" of the most famous of the KV/Q tombs such as Tutankhamun's, Seti I's and Nefertari's (the most beautiful if I don't say so myself); click the above link to read the full story:

As for the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I and Nefertari, Hawass said a plan to protect them was now being implemented in collaboration with the British organisation Adam Lowe of Factun Arte. The plan is to create identical replicas of these tombs by making detailed high-resolution copies of the burial chambers, paintings and sarcophagi using laser scanners. After the replicas have been constructed they will be installed on the cliff side of the Valley of the Kings, which will be called "The Replica Valley" where visitors can experience their beauty with the knowledge that the ancient paintings are being preserved. Hawass pointed out that missing fragments from these tombs now held in foreign museum, would also be scanned and added to the overall reconstruction to give a complete picture of the tombs.

Luxor Monuments and Archaeological Sites Undergo Major Developments

Originally published August 25 - September 2, 2009 | Al-Ahram Weekly Online | by Nevine El-Aref

Below is an excerpt from Al-Ahram Weekly Online; click the above link to read the full story:

Last Week Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), and Samir Farag, head of Luxor City Supreme Council (LCSC) celebrated the completion of several development projects at archaeological sites on both the east and west banks of the Nile. They also visited other ongoing projects for which the total budget was LE127 million. These projects include the restoration of Howard Carter's rest-house with a view to developing it as a museum, the first phase of the installation of a new lighting system in the Valley of the Kings, a new visitor centre at Deir Al-Bahari, and the reopening of the Youssef Abul-Haggag mosque after restoration.

More on Dr. Hawass' Lecture and Interview in Indianapolis

Originally published August 27, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

This post at Dr. Hawass' blog tells of his lecture in Indianapolis a few weeks ago. For the full interview (at least), follow the link that I've provided on my August 14 blog post. Keith Payne, you were so lucky to have spoken with Dr. Hawass. He must have been so enjoyable to talk to.

In addition to his thoughts, there is an accompanying picture from the event, a link to more of the same topic, and a map of the exact location where he gave his lecture and interview.

Symposium - Egypt in its African Context

Originally published August 28, 2009 | Egypt at the Manchester

The following event is especially for those who have a passion for Ancient Egypt, African Studies, Black History, museums, and the Sudan. A program guide for this symposium is available; click the provided link to access it. I've also included a direct link to the University of Manchester web site, where you will find outline, key speaker, fee and registration, and contact information.

Is King Tut's Necklace from Outer Space?

Originally published August 26, 2009 | Heritage Key | by Sean Williams

It had occurred to me that something was odd about this scarab. I had seen it many times while reading. The color of the scarab seemed unusual. I suppose feldspar was not immediately available to the craftsmen who created this masterpiece, so they settle on using this meteoric glass. I wouldn't put it past Tutankhamun to want something unusual incorporated into his jewelry, coming from a family who had ignored the rules of tradition of any medium. As much as Tutankhamun tried to disassociate himself from the ways of his father, I suspect he enjoyed a bit of artistic freedom himself. After all, the presence of the Aten and the portly belly-skinny limb rendering of his own likeness were evident in his artifacts.

This brings to mind the age of the Sphinx, but that's another, very long-winded, discussion.

Explore Ancient Egypt with Fairmont & National Geographic

Originally published August 26, 2009 | Yahoo! News

If you're willing to spend $960 and would like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the secrets of Egypt through lectures, tours, and a felucca ride in the company of Zahi Hawass, then this offer is certainly for you. This Global Explorer Series from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and the National Geographic Society runs from November 27 - 30, 2009 and has many fabulous incentives (as if Dr. Hawass wasn't enough, my goodness!). Click on the above link to read more on this offer.

The following is a direct link to the Fairmont Towers web site, where you can book the tour.

Lost Egypt Coming to Museum Center

Originally published August 25, 2009 | The Cincinnati Enquirer | by Lauren Bishop

The following is an excerpt from an article at the Cincinnati Enquirer, which details the coming of a traveling exhibit called Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science:

"Lost Egypt gives people an in-depth look at the fascinating discoveries being made by archeologists working in Egypt today," Robert Genheimer, Rieveschl curator of archaeology for the Museum Center, said in an announcement about the exhibit.

Lost Egypt will be located in the Museum Center’s traveling exhibit hall across from the Duke Energy Children’s Museum. The Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibit, which closes Sept. 7, currently occupies the space.

Even Egypt's Pharaohs Suffer from Backpacker Fatigue

Originally published August 25, 2009 | Telegraph | by Rowan Pelling

The following is an excerpt from the Telegraph, which speaks of the speculated fate of the Valley of the Kings and Queens:

Outside of Bangkok, two of the planet's least lonely places are Egypt's Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, where bus-loads of tourists tramp all over the pharaohs' tombs. Sadly, the horde's humid breath raises the moisture level in the closely confined chambers, accelerating their decay. This means that visitor numbers will soon be severely limited – experts and dignitaries only, I imagine – while replica tombs will be built for the gawping masses.

I hate to say "I told you so," but...I told you so! I wouldn't go as far as to say that these replicas will be "no more alluring than Las Vegas" because they will be far more precise and true to Egyptian craftsmanship (one would hope, anyway). Like I said before, just close off the Valleys (I don't care if it takes years...just not too many) until technologically sound protection to all contents within each Valley tomb is implemented (I certainly would not mind looking through Plexiglas). Of course, that's easy for me to say. If worst comes to worst, I'll just load up my credentials with so many degrees in Egyptological subjects that Zahi Hawass will have no choice but to let me into one of those chambers.

Mummies, Hieroglyphs and Myths at the Nicholson

Originally published August 25, 2009 | The University of Sydney

Opening tomorrow (Wednesday, August 26) at the University of Sydney is an exhibit entitled Egyptians, Gods & Mummies: Travels with Herodotus, which will feature mummies of all kinds with 3D CT scans of one in particular, a column from the Temple of Bastet, and a column headstone of Bastet, just to name a few things, all of which will have descriptions as penned by Herodotus. Following the opening of the exhibit is a lecture given by forensic Egyptologist Janet Davey (ticket and booking information is provided). Featured through the exhibit's duration are several free Egyptian-themed Sunday lectures.

As envious as I am (once again, dear Reader!), I'm sort of leery about them providing information to the public using Herodotus' words. I'm hoping they will be descriptions only in terms of proportions and such and not an examination of meaning, symbolism, and dating (we've come a long way since Herodotus); though, I think I'd get a kick out of correcting errors I find (as I normally would do), whispering them softly into my sister's ear (but only if she asks, of course; she hates my little...ahem long...tangents).