Otto Schaden's Dig Diary Feb 13 Update

Originally published February 13, 2010 | Dig Diary KV-63 | by Mudir Schaden | A few bits of news concerning the restoration work on and conservation of several of the items discovered within KV-63 including a funeral mask, coffin fragments and an infant's coffin, pottery and ceramics, and seal impressions. To see these items in there current state, photos are provided. My favorite is the funeral mask. It's so delicate and has a lovingly welcoming expression that makes me smile.

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.

...

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

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.

Met Buckles to Hawass' Demands to Return Fragment of Granite Shrine

Originally published October 29, 2009 | The Daily Star | by Joseph Freeman

The latest element in the saga that is Hawass' endeavor to regain ancient Egyptian artifacts from "foreign" museums he believes had purchases said pieces illegally. But more important than this is the anticipation I'm sure for which the Egyptology world (both amateurs and professionals) is waiting: will Germany give up Nefertiti's bust and England the Rosetta Stone? If the Great Sphinx is still standing even having been constantly exposed to the elements for ages, then both of these artifacts, having been coddled within the climatically controlled confines of museums, are fit for transport back home, particularly the Rosetta Stone, which is in fact a lump of rock.

Tomb Fragments Come Back Home

Published week of 15 - 21 October 2009 | Al-Ahram Weekly Online | by Nevine El-Aref

The controversy over five 3,200-year-old ancient Egyptian tomb fragments removed from Egypt and put on display in the Louvre in Paris has finally come to a close, reports Nevine El-Aref.

Battle of the Louvre

Originally published October 14, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

In his own words, Dr. Hawass gives more details on the process to regain five fragments discovered in the hands of the Louvre illegally. Among the legal stuff, he describes how these fragments fit into Egyptian history (Dynasty 18, to be exact).

Egypt Asks British Museum for the Rosetta Stone After Louvre Victory

Originally published October 10, 2009 | Telegraph | by Samer al-Atrush

If there was a statute of limitation on stolen artifacts, the British Museum's years of ownership of the Rosetta Stone has past it. After all, Egyptology was but a fetus when the Napoleonic expedition discovered it and there were no rules that detailed who got what upon discovering Egyptian artifacts. However, it is a very significant (and iconographic) artifact that plays one of the greatest roles to Egyptology...the re-learning of the ancient literary language of the Egyptians, that is! My goodness! If Hawass can regain this artifact, then the Germans should have no more excuses to withhold the bust of Nefertiti from her native country!

Egypt Takes it Back

Originally published October 10, 2009 | iAfrica News | by Ines Bel Aiba

France does the Right Thing and Gets to Dig at Saqqara Again

Originally published October 14, 2009 | Heritage Key | by Ann Wuyts

The Egyptology world has been abuzz about the latest drama going down at the SCA. It nearly cut ties with France's Louvre Museum in the event that officials didn't return reportedly stolen artifacts in its possession. Thank the gods that everything is just fine and dandy now. Just in case you missed all that swirling news, here is a list with all the details:

• Egypt Cuts Ties With Louvre Over Artifacts - October 7, CBSNEWS
• No Relics, No Ties - October 10, the Straits Times

And then France does the right thing:

• French Commission Agrees to Return Egyptian Art - October 9, Associated Press/Google
• France Ready to Hand Back Egyptian Murals - October 7, Yahoo! News/Reuters
• Louvre Agrees to Return Egyptian Relics - October 11, pressTV
• France to Return Disputed Tomb Fresco to Egypt - October 10, Washington Times (by Angela Charlton)
• Stolen Egyptian Relics On Their Way Home - October 9, Discovery Channel News (by Pascale Mollard-Chenebenoit)

Egypt Suspends Archaeological Cooperation with the Louvre

Originally published October 10, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog

After a German expedition alerted the SCA of stolen fragments during work at Dra Abu'l Naga, the SCA started a procedure to regain them from the Louvre, who claimed they didn't know anything of the sort happened. Read the rest of this article to learn more. There are also other reports of the same caliber, one at BBC News and another from Agence France Presse.

New Discovery Links Ancient Egypt and Jordan Valley Site

Originally published September 2, 2009 | The Jerusalem Post | by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich

Excavations at Tel Bet Yerahcarved (a settlement along the ancient highway that connected Egypt to the rest of the Near East) yield a most unusual find: a stone plaque bearing archaic Egyptian signs, which are rare in Egypt (let alone anywhere else!). The find suggests the people of the Jordan Valley and Egypt (circa Dynasty I) had stronger ties than previously believed. Alas, a shining example of the reason for archaeology: not only to learn more about certain peoples (their habits, worldviews, lifestyles, technology, etc), but also to learn more about the connectivity they had with each other. I'd like to give lip service to Kara Cooney's series on the Discovery Channel, Out of Egypt; through the ancient Egyptian culture(s) she examines others around the world and throughout the ages.

Colorful Art May Date Back to 4,000 Years to Ancient Egypt

Originally published August 12, 2009 | New Kerala

This article features more information regarding the discovery of earlier Egyptian techniques in extracting dye from plants.

Visit my blog post where you will find a link to the original story at MSNBC.

4,000-Year-Old Dye Found on Egyptian Artifact

Originally published August 10, 2009 | MSNBC and the Associated Press | by Randolph Schmid

The following is an article from MSNBC, which illuminates the advanced knowledge the Ancient Egyptians possessed in extracting pigments from plants to create colored dyes for leather, fabric, and other materials. Such fascinating findings help conservators in dating genuine artifacts and debunking fakes, among other things.

Another source reporting on the same story is Scientific American where you will find an article entitled Peering into Ancient Pigments, by Katherine Harmon.

Furor Over Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibition

Originally published July 15, 2009 | The Jewish Daily Forward | by Michael Kaminer

Crowds at the Royal Ontario Museum’s heavily hyped Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition — Dead Sea Scrolls: Words That Changed the World, which runs until January 3, 2010 — have far exceeded the museum’s own expectations. In the show’s first nine days, more than 18,000 people flocked to the museum’s spectacular new Daniel Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal pavilion — about 52% above the exhibitors’ own projections.

Press Release - New Discoveries at Saqqara

Originally published June 24, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

While performing routine conservation work, Egyptian archaeologists stumble upon some artifacts inside a deep hole near the southern side of the Step Pyramid, the likes of which are illustrated in pictures in this press release.

Remains of Isis Temple Found

Originally published May 28, 2009 | ANSA - Italy

Workmen digging a hole inside Florence's courthouse for a new water cistern end up finding a spiral column and multicolored fragments once belonging to a Roman temple built for Isis and date to the 2nd century AD. The fragments are comparable to others found close by, within the last three centuries.