Press Conference to be Held at Egyptian Museum

Originally published February 15, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass | Two very important events to the Egyptology world will occur on February 17: an 11am conference to announce new discoveries surrounding the family of Tutankhamun and the cause of the young king’s death and the publishing of these findings in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). While you wait for those events, here's a video to keep you in the Tutmania mood:

Strolling on the Avenue of Sphinxes

Originally published February 11, 2010 | Al-Ahram Weekly Online | by Nevine El-Aref | Tourists will soon be able to see two sections of the Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor looking much as they did in the days of the Pharaohs. Nevine El-Aref takes a stroll down the path of priests and princes in her very detailed article regarding this very exciting excavation program.

Opening the Children’s Exhibit at the Cairo Museum

Originally published February 12, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass | The recent opening of the Children's Exhibit at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo has resulted in many great things, according to Zahi Hawass. He is very pleased that children of Egypt and around the world have an ancient Egyptian exhibit they can relate to, one that features famous Egyptian icons in LEGO form. There is also a workshop for children that teaches them about the Egyptian heritage and has graduated a thousand students. Read his blog post for a more detailed look at Dr. Hawass' reactions to this permanent exhibit.

Remaking History’s Shelves: SCA's Plan for New Museums

Accessed February 14, 2010 | Egypt Today | by Michael Kaput | This article is an overview of the SCA's ongoing and future plans to develop and restore museums to create better areas for housing the nation's antiquities, which have been in dire need of an appropriate and safe environment to be showcased. Here is an excerpt:

The building that houses the office in charge of the nation’s museums at the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) downtown is grand but half-finished. With some work, it could be truly magnificent. Whether that work gets done anytime soon is anyone’s guess. The same could be said about the SCA’s colossal undertaking to give the country’s staggering collection of artifacts a new showcase.

Flush with ticket revenue from international exhibitions and local tourist sites, the SCA is in the midst of a project that will see 20 new museums covering every governorate, and long-closed favorites re-opening to the public over the next five years. More than just cash cows feeding on tourist dollars, however, the new museums are also hope to reconnect Egyptians with their own heritage, in their own neighborhoods.

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Part of the SCA’s plan is to air out the museum, transferring more than 20 percent of the objects, including the famed royal mummies, to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in El Fustat, due to open in two years. King Tutankhamun’s treasures will be moved to the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) being built at the Giza Plateau, which the Museum Sector head confirms is on schedule to open in five years.

Zahi Remembers James Romano of the Brooklyn Museum of Art

Originally published February 9, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass | Zahi recalls a tribute he presented at a conference about the life and work of the late James Romano of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. He also mentions his approval of the joint expedition conducting a survey of Malqata, a conservation project that James' widow, Diana Craig Patch, is co-directing.

Laser Scanning the Sphinx

Originally published February 4, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass | Laser scanning technology has captured a detailed record of the face of the Sphinx, the information of which has been used to create the most accurate 3D model of the Sphinx ever, the likes of which will be used to measure the effects of humans and nature on the infamous monument. The entire process and everything that encompasses it will play an important part in its conservation.

More Regarding the Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor

Originally published February 3, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Zahi Hawass | More details about the excavations at Luxor on the Sphinx Alley including the latest developments, the long history of contributors to the Alley and its surroundings, and more. Here's an excerpt:

Hosni said that the Avenue of Sphinxes, built by the 30th Dynasty king Nectanebo I (380-362 BC), is 2,700 meters long and 76 meters wide, and lined with a number of statues in the shape of sphinxes. Hosni added that the avenue is one of the most important archaeological and religious paths in Luxor, as it was the location of important religious ceremonies in ancient times, most notably the Opet festival. Queen Hatshepsut (1502-1482 BC) recorded on her red chapel in Karnak temple that she built six chapels dedicated to the god Amun-Re on the route of this avenue during her reign, emphasizing that it was long a place of religious significance.

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Dr. Hawass explained that the work was carried out in three phases; the first was to build a low wall alongside the avenue in order to preserve it from any further encroachment, the second phase is the excavation and the third is restoration of the area.

Excavators unearthed a collection of Roman buildings and workshops of clay pots and statues as well as several reliefs. One of the reliefs bears the cartouche of Queen Cleopatra VII (51-30 BC). Dr. Hawass believes that this queen likely visited this avenue during her Nile trip with Mark Anthony and implemented restoration work that was marked with her cartouche.

Two articles by Ann Wuyts written for the Independent report on the same story: Excavation and Restoration on the Avenue of Sphinxes and Temple Fragment Return to Egypt and Its Place

Lectures - Zahi Hawass in Canada, Germany, and the US

Accessed February 2, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Zahi Hawass | Two upcoming lectures with Zahi Hawass as the speaker will be occurring in Toronto, Canada and Hamburg, Germany. Here is the information concerning both dates:

• Date: March 26, 2010
  Lecture: Dr. Zahi Hawass: My Discoveries
  Time: 7:30pm - 8:30pm
  Location: Am Dammtor, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
  Venue: Congress Centre Hamburg
  Ticket & more info



• Date: March 8, 2010
  Lecture: Mysteries of Tutankhamun Revealed
  Time: 7:30 pm
  Location: 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California
  Venue: War Memorial Auditorium Opera House
  Ticket & more info



• Date: March 6, 2010
  Lecture: Mysteries of Tutankhamun Revealed
  Time: 7:00 pm
  Location: 31 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario
  Venue: Convocation Hall
  Ticket & more info

Egypt Tightens Penalties for Relics Robbers, Smugglers

Originally published February 2, 2010 | Agence France Presse and Google | by Riad Abu Awad | An excerpt:

Parliament amended Egypt's antiquities law on Monday to bring in stiffer punishments for the theft and smuggling of relics while granting patent rights to the country's antiquities council.

The amendment requires Egyptians who have antiquities to report their possessions to the Supreme Council of Antiquities, headed by Zahi Hawass, in six months. The sale of antiquities is still banned.

"Parliament agreed on article eight that forbids trade in antiquities but allows possession of antiquities with some individuals, on condition that they cannot use them to benefit others, or to damage and neglect them," Hawass said.

Egypt to Announce King Tutankhamun's DNA Test Results

Originally published January 31, 2010 | Courant | by Paul Schemm | Finally, after much hinting of this event, Hawass et al will be releasing the DNA results of Tutankhamun on Saturday, February 13. Personally, I feel sorry for Tutankhamun's mummy, having already gone through so much over the years, only to be chipped away at to learn a little more about him, particularly his seemingly mysterious lineage. The article also details some background information on Tutankhamun, similar procedures being performed on other royal and unknown mummies, and past endeavors that have revealed important information to the world of Egyptology.

More Regarding Restoration of Luxor's Sphinx Avenue

Originally published January 29, 2010 | The Star Online | by Alexander Dziadosz | More details concerning the restoration of Luxor's Sphinx Avenue (previously posted January 24: Sphinx Alley Gives Egypt Large Open-Air Museum), including how many have been unearthed thus far, how long the project will take to complete, how long it will take to restore the avenue, and its pre- and post-relation with tourism.

Egypt Relics Chief Pulls in Revenue as He Fights for Nefertiti

Originally published January 26, 2010 | Bloomberg | by Daniel Williams | This article highlights the past and future endeavors of one Dr. Zahi Hawass, none of which have come without controversy. Such endeavors have been the following: the request to return fragments from the Louvre, numerous attempts to regain the Nefertiti bust in the Neues Museum, the discovery that Egyptian workers had built the pyramids and not Hebrew slaves, the collection of billions in revenue from the Tutankhamun traveling exhibit to fund Egyptological projects, and the like.

Festival of Archaeologists at Cairo Opera House

Origianlly published January 28, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass | On a very significant day every year for the past four years, Dr. Hawass and friends get together to celebrate the achievements and progress of Egyptian archaeology, create a place for them to cohort with each other and their foreign colleagues, watch a video representation of all the projects that Egyptian archaeologists are overseeing and training programs that they are implementing, and honor current and long past Egyptian archaeologists of great importance. This blog post chronicles this year's festival.

Antiquities Protection Draft Law Continues to Ignite Debates at PA

Originally published January 20, 2010 | Zawya | by Safaa Abdoun | Here's an excerpt of one of my favorite topics - illicit trade and private owning of antiquities:

Protection of Egypt's antiquities was the subject of heated debate at the People's Assembly as steel mogul and senior National Democratic Party MP Ahmed Ezz and Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni argued over private ownership of antiquities.

The point of contention was Article 8, which bans the trade, or any other form of disposal, of antiquities unless there is a written consent from the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA). It also states that the council has the right to take the antiquity from the owner and offer a reasonable compensation.

[...]

Minster of State for Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Councils, Mofid Shehab, proposed to add a clause to the articles which states that anyone in possession of an antiquity has to notify the council within a year of the law coming into force.

Parliament Speaker Ahmed Fathi Sorour said that the crime of owning an antiquity is only punishable if the owner knows that it is an antiquity and doesn't report it, and he postponed the discussion of this article until the entire law is discussed.

More Regarding Pyramid Builders' Tombs

Originally published January 13, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass | Not to be outdone by the mass of media disseminating the recent news about new tombs of the Giza Pyramid builders, the finding of which prove that Jewish slaves did not build the pyramids (this is nothing new to the Egyptology world, but it definitely shows that Ancient Egypt - more specifically pyramid building - still intrigues the world, even if "most people" believe aliens helped the Egyptians execute this feat that we moderns have not yet executed), Dr. Hawass' speaks of his press conference on Monday about this subject, which spans much details.

Video: Tombs of the Pyramid Builders

Originally published January 14, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass | The following video showcases an extra scene from the upcoming Nova special - Riddles of the Sphinx - and talks about Hawass' discovery of the pyramid builders' tombs near the Giza necropolis. (Just imagine, if it hadn't've been for a horse's misstep, we would be less knowledgeable on this subject!) Take a peek:

Egypt Tombs Suggest Pyramids Not Built by Slaves

Originally published January 10, 2010 | Yahoo! News |

Hardly a surprise is what this article chronicles (along with many other sources): a new set of tombs built for the pyramid builders of the Giza Pyramids proves that they were Egyptian citizens rather than slaves.

Here are some another great sources concerning this recent piece of archaeological news, which includes a little more information and pictures: Press Release - New Tombs Found at Giza - Zahi Hawass' Blog and Tomb Discovery Helps Solve Ancient Slavery Riddle of the Pyramids - Daily Mail

Somewhere in the world, 57 academics just punched the air.

New Tombs Found at Saqqara

Originally published January 5, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass |

Saqqara yields two rediscovered tombs, dating back 2,500 years, the oldest found in the area, replete with human and falcon remains and pottery. Despite it having been looted and explored throughout the millennia, it proves that Saqqara has many more secrets.

Three sources announce different facts about the discoveries in addition to Dr. Hawass' account, which is far more descriptive: The Sydney Morning Herald, which discloses mostly topographical information; IOL, which contains a few dates and measurements; and possibly the most interesting source from the Discovery New, which includes great photographs of the discovery.

Plans to Make a Formal Request for Nefertiti's Bust are Underway

Originally published December 30, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass | Recent documentation from January 1913 illustrating deception in the acquisition of the bust of Nefertiti gives Dr. Hawass all the ammunition he needs to make a formal request to the Berlin Museum for the return of this artifact. More news is to come concerning this topic.

Nefertiti and the Legacy of Artifacts

Originally published November 6, 2009 | Student Life (Washington University) | by Kemi Aladesuyi

An excerpt from this article--click the above link to read it in full:

Artwork and artifacts from all four corners of the earth fill galleries and star in exhibits in museums across the world. In the world’s most prestigious museums and galleries, taking a stroll through the corridors has become synonymous with meandering through the history of cultures and civilizations that represent every continent on this planet. However, as we move forward into a new age of global awareness and understanding—and past the mantra of rampant imperialism that dominated the last five centuries—it is becoming clear that some of the artifacts that millions of global citizens marvel at today were originally taken from their place of origin illegally.