Sailing Into Antiquity: Unearthing Clues About Ancient Egypt’s Sea Trade

Originally published January 11, 2010 | The Boston Globe | by Colin Nickerson | Here's an excerpt:

The archeological digs at Egypt’s Wadi Gawasis have yielded neither mummies nor grand monuments.

But Boston University archeologist Kathryn Bard and her colleagues are uncovering the oldest remnants of seagoing ships and other relics linked to exotic trade with a mysterious Red Sea realm called Punt.

[...]

'She’s found the first fragments of an ancient Egyptian seagoing vessel - a ship that actually sailed in pharaonic times,' Wachsmann said.

This month, Cairo’s Egyptian Museum will open a special exhibition, Mersa/Wadi Gawasis: A Pharaonic Harbor on the Red Sea, featuring, among other things, cargo seals, voyage accounts, and a shipping crate marked in hieroglyphic text: "Wonderful Things of Punt."

Follow the link to the video on PBS NOVA: Building Pharaoh's Ship.

Oriental Institute's New Exhibit - James Henry Breasted

Originally published January 10, 2010 | Chicago Tribune | by William Mullen |

New exhibit -Pioneers of the Past- tells tale of James Henry Breasted, whose 1919-1920 travels through the Middle East established center's famed antiquities collection, which celebrates it's 90th anniversary with the temporary exhibit's opening on January 12.

Founder’s Archaeological Journey to Middle East Featured in Oriental Institute Exhibit

Originally published January 6, 2010 | Oriental Institute | by William Harms |

This article promotes the newest exhibit in the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute Museum called Pioneers of the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919-1920. It also includes background history of the exhibit's inspiration, J. H. Breasted, and the goals of this exhibit.

Attendance is free, with a suggested donation rate for adults ($7) and children ($4) (very minimal, considering admission to most museums).

Here's an excerpt from the article:

A new exhibition at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute Museum chronicles an amazing and sometimes dangerous journey 90 years ago by James Henry Breasted, a famed archaeologist who brought back Egyptian artifacts to Chicago.

Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919–1920, opens Tuesday, Jan. 12 and will feature artifacts as well as photos and letters documenting the journey of Breasted, who was the first American to receive a Ph.D. in Egyptology.

Exhibit - Pioneers to the Past at the OI

Originally published October 8, 2009 | the Oriental Institute Blog | by Charles Ellwood Jones

Visit the Oriental Institute's web site to learn more about this exhibit (includes contact and venue information), which chronicles the incredible adventure story of the James Henry Breasted 1919-20 expedition through photographs, excerpts from letters, original documents from the archives, and objects purchased on the trip. The exhibit starts in January 12 and ends August 30, 2010. Make a New Years resolution to visit it!