False Door from Vizier's Tomb Discovered

Originally published March 29, 2010 | Yahoo! News and AP | An announcement about the very recent uncovering of a false door near the Temple of Karnak at Luxor of a royal 15th century B.C.E vizier. As with many ancient Egyptian artifacts, particularly those that are brick-like, it was reused for another building project during the Graeco-Roman Era. Although there is a picture of the find, I'd like to see a bigger one that showcases the inscriptions. It would be great practice for those, like me, who are currently studying ancient Egyptian. Should I find a great photograph of the false door, I shall post it here for the benefit of scholars and enthusiasts alike. For now, here is a decent picture where you can kind of make out the hieroglyphic signs, which is the typical offering formula you find on many funerary scenes:

Video - Beautiful Mummy Found at Saqqara

Originally published September 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Artifacts from Brooklyn Museum Explores the Afterlife

Originally published September 27, 2009 | Art Daily

Exhibit: The Art of Death in Ancient Egypt

Originally published September 25, 2009 | Bakersfield | by Robert Yohe

Never before seen artifacts (collected by George Reisner for Mrs. Hearst) will be showcased at the Todd Madigan Gallery at Cal State Bakersfield in an exhibit called The Art and Death in Ancient Egypt, on loan from the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at U.C. Berkeley. The article further discusses the importance of death to the ancients and the author's and his students' archaeological endeavors at Tell El-Hibeh.

High-Tech Scanner Reveals Mummy's 2,500-Year-Old Past

Originally published August 21, 2009 | San Francisco Chronicle | by David Perlman

Tutankhamun and Meresamun were a few of the first mummies to be CT scanned. Add to the list a Late Period priest named Iret-net Hor-irw. His technological undergoing is a direct result of a new exhibit that will be opening in October at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco called Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine, which will examine ancient medical care and death in Egypt.

The next few paragraphs of this article discuss the CT scanning process, reactions of those involved, and the results.

The following are links chronicling the same story, each a different rendering, but revealing the same facts:

• Newsday.com - Stanford Scientists Scan 2,500-Year-Old Mummy, by Brooke Donald (Associated Press)
• Fox News - High-Tech Scanner Could Reveal Mummy's 2,500-Year-Old Past
• The Associated Press/Google - Stanford Scientists Scan 2,500-Year-Old Mummy

Self-Preservation

Originally published July 12, 2009 | Inquirer | by John C. Maxwell

John Maxwell gives a run-down of the purpose of building pyramids and how abouts they executed the feat. He then continues with the irony of the self-preserving leader, how the "me-first" mentality may just have weakened their authoritative role in society, thereby deteriorating their mighty dynasties. He concludes with the root causes of the self-preserving leader.

Be Inspired by King Tut Exhibit in San Francisco

Originally published July 4, 2009 | Santa Cruz Sentinel

Steven Martin, Michael Smith, and the Bangles are shining examples of the steadfast interest in ancient Egypt. The author of this article explores various areas that captivate us: Tutankhamun, unsolved mysteries, mummies and the Afterlife, and pyramids and papyri.

New Papers - UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology (UEE)

Originally published June 3 & 4, 2009 | UEE

Recent papers added to the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology are:

• Democratization of the Afterlife by Mark Smith (view the abstract)


• Votive Practices by Geraldine Pinch & Elizabeth Waraksa (view the abstract)

Reconstructing the Afterlife in a Vanished Religion

Originally published May 23, 2009 | The New York Times | by Souren Melikian

Paris plays host to "the Doors of Heaven," supplemented by an accompanying book, that purports to explain the world view in Ancient Egypt, which remained relatively steadfast for 3,000 years. Statues, reliefs, carvings, and allegory from the Book of the Dead, particularly of Osiris and items from the Amarna period, play a prominent role in leading us through the secrets of the Ancient Egyptian perception of life and the Afterlife, as contradictory, eluding, and enigmatic, as they turn out to be.