Three Decades of Discovery - New Insight to Egypt’s Past

Accessed February 14, 2010 | Egypt Today | by May Kaddah | Over the last three decades, technological advancement has allowed archaeologists to answer longstanding questions and refute misconceptions about missing details of Egypt’s history. From the remains of ancient rulers to Napoleon’s flagship, Egypt Today takes you through some of archaeology’s most significant discoveries in the last 30 years, which includes the following topics: tombs of the pyramid builders, the Valley of the Golden Mummies, DNA analysis of Hatshepsut's tooth, the Theban Mapping Project, tomb of Rameses II's sons, underwater archaeology at Alexandria, and more.

New Discovery of Greek Cat Goddess Temple at Alexandria

Originally published January 19, 2010 | Dr. Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass | Naturally, I'm going to direct you to the more authoritative source of this latest discovery - at Dr. Hawass' Blog, of course. Here is an excerpt from his post:

An archaeological mission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) led by Dr. Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, Head of Antiquities of Lower Egypt, discovered the remains of a temple of Queen Berenike, the wife of king Ptolemy III (246-222 BC), along with a cachette of 600 Ptolemaic statues.

An inscribed base of a granite statue from the reign of King Ptolemy IV (205-222 BC) was also unearthed. It bears ancient Greek text written in nine lines stating that the statue belonged to a top official in the Ptolemaic court. Dr. Maqsoud believes the base was made to celebrate Egypt’s victory over the Greeks during the Battle of Raphia in 217 BC.

Yahoo! News has two resources covering the same discovery:

• Ancient Greek Temple Found in Alexandria
• Egypt Announces Find of Ancient Cat Goddess Temple

Alexandria Library Merges Modern Technology with Ancient Relics

Originally published January 13, 2010 | CNN World | by George Webster | Features a brief history of the Library of Alexandria, both ancient and modern, the latter housing books and publications of every kind and on every subject, boasting the largest reading room in the world, and host many interesting exhibits. The current "Librarian of Alexandria" speaks of his endeavor to bring this historic institution into the digital age.

Cleopatra Exhibit Coming to the U.S.

Originally published January, 2010 | Art Museum Journal | by Stan Parchin |

Making its majestic debut at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt (June 5, 2010-January 2, 2011). Touring five North American cities, the exhibition presents more than 250 artifacts that describe archaeologists' recent attempts at locating the elusive tomb of the enigmatic Cleopatra VII (69-30 B.C.), Ptolemaic Egypt's legendary last queen, and Roman general Mark Antony (83-30 B.C.), antiquity's most famous pair of ill-fated and clandestine lovers.

Monument Lifted from Cleopatra's Underwater City

Originally published December 17, 2009 | Yahoo! News and the Associated Press | by Katarina Kratovac

An underwater research team of Greek archaeologists have just lifted from the Mediterranean Sea a huge nine-tonne granite block from a temple of Isis in Alexandria, near a palace supposedly belonging to Cleopatra VII.

Alexander the Great Not the First at Alexandria

Originally published October 24, 2009 | DNA India

Flora and ceramics reveal that Alexander the Great might not have been the first to settle at Alexandria. The margin is by at least several hundred years. However, science isn't the most fascinating thing about this discovery, it's fiction. This is best illustrated in the following excertp:

This idea is also supported in the stories of Homer: In Book 4 of "The Odyssey," there's a mention of a one-day sail from the coast near the Nile to the nearby island of Pharos. This suggests that a port settlement of some sort was already there, according to the researchers. "Fiction is true," in this case, Berhnhardt said.

Museums in Alexandria - Zahi Hawass' Visit and Lecture

Originally published October 7, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

EES 2010 Tour to Egypt

Originally published September 22, 2009 | Egypt Exploration Society

When: Saturday, March 13 - 27, 2010; Key Figures: Professor Alan Lloyd, Faten Saleh, and Ros Phipps; Contact: Emily Feasey (The Traveller) +44 (0)20 7436 9343 or email info@the-traveller.co.uk; Cost: £2635 (per person)/Single room supplement £332. The program guide offers more details and descriptions about this trip; click the link to access it.

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).

Picture - The Temple of Ras el-Souda, Alexandria

Originally published July 14, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Photo Blog | by Garry Shaw

Having been moved 10km from its original location due to the threat of rising groundwater, the Temple of Ras el-Souda is now the centrepiece of the new Mosaic Museum in Alexandria, which is currently under construction. The temple was discovered in 1936 and dates to the Second Century AD. A charioteer named Isidorus helped finance the temple and dedicated a large statue of a foot here after he recovered from a chariot racing injury.

A Day in Alexandria

Originally published July 16, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Zahi Hawass

Last week I went to Alexandria to see the work currently taking place to improve the museums there, and to get an update on the current status of these various projects. When I first became Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities many of the museums in Alexandria were run-down, and so I decided that they needed to be closed for renovation, in order to improve them and to turn them into world class museums. Many people did not want the museums to be closed, but I told them that they needed to be fixed and that action needed to be taken immediately.

We'll Soon Find Cleopatra, Dominican Archaeologist Says

Originally published June 26, 2009 | Dominican Today

Affirmations in the form of convincing evidence such as the quality of mummies and various items found west of Alexandria make a Dominican archaeologist certain she'll locate the final resting place of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony. Despite a few environmental obstacles and brushes with wildlife, she and her team have the enthusiastic support of the SCA.

Mubarak Sends Greeting Message to Egypt's "Sunken Treasures Exhibition" in Japan

Originally published June 24, 2009 | Egypt State Information Service

Egypt State Information Services announces the opening of an exhibit called Egypt's Sunken Treasures, which runs from June 27 through September 23 and will feature nearly 500 Ptolemaic Period artifacts that Egyptian archaeologists salvaged from the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria.

A special event - a tourist week - will run from June 20 through July 5 in conjunction with the exhibit.

Bloomsbury Summer School 2009 - Upcoming Egyptology Programs

Accessed June 22, 2009 | Sussex Egyptology Society

The SES is offering many-a program for Egyptological matters including but not limited to ancient technology, hieroglyphs, pharaonic history, Nubia, and the Amarna Period.

Click on any one that interests you and you will be directed to a more detailed description, followed by who is presenting the course, and enrollment information.

The Anonymous Egyptologist

Originally published June 16, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

Hawass posts a little blurb about an anonymous Egyptologist who had been criticizing the way he has been going about his work in Taposiris Magna.

Read more about this anonymous Egyptologist at Al-Ahram Weekly Online.

He ends his blurb with many resources about his work at Taposiris Magna.

Taking a Shot at Archaeology

Accessed June 12, 2009 | Al-Ahram Weekly Online | by Nevine El-Aref

This article at Al-Ahram Weekly Online gives more information on the new photography exhibit at the Egyptian Museum, as experienced by Nevine El-Aref, the opening of which Zahi Hawass announced on June 4, 2009 (see my blog entry from June 6). It is called Europe-Egypt: A long lasting Archaeological Cooperation and highlights more than a century of archaeological cooperation between Europe (16 countries-worth) and Egypt. It runs through July 30, 2009.

A few pictures accompany the article, which feature exploration at Bir Al-Showish, restoration work at the funerary temple of Thutmosis III, and copper melting experiment in Ain Sokhna.

A poster of this exhibit is also provided.

New Finds Span Time - New Discoveries in Alexandria and the Fayoum

Originally published 21 - 27 May 2009 | Al-Ahram Weekly Online | by Nevine El-Aref

Described forthwith is the most recent discovery at the Shallalat Gardens in Alexandria: a white marble statue of an athletic Alexander the Great, with a detailed account of its features from Kalliopi Limneou-Popakosta, attributing each element to different types of sculptural styles.

Giving credit to the developing importance of this site, El-Aref mentions last year's discovery: a statue of Ptolemy V and statues featuring Bacchus.

In addition, the SCA's discoveries at Al-Karn Al-Zahali Island include prehistoric hunting and medicine tools; needles and jewelry; and 25 rock-hewn tombs nearby, complete with human skeletons. These artifacts reveal the site's long history of use, which spans from prehistoric times to the Islamic era.

Video - The Search for Antony and Cleopatra

Originally published May 18 | Dr. Zahi Hawass' Blog

Dr. Hawass takes you inside a mysterious temple that could have been the tomb of the famed Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony. In a video he describes the latest information about and shares his thoughts on the possibility of at least three likely areas within a large Greco-Roman cemetary just outside the Temple of Taposiris Magna near Alexandria being the location of their resting place.