New Blog - El Blog del Nilo

Accessed May 20, 2010 | El Blog del Nilo | contributions by Marina Escolano Poveda and El Museo Arqueológico de Alicante | This latest addition to the Egyptological blog world is connected to the exhibits "El Enigma de la Momia" and "Objetos Egipcios en Alicante." Both are the newest temporary exhibits to be installed at the Archaeological Museum of Alicante. The following link describes the El enigma de la momia exhibit and features a video that showcases some artifacts and other images relating to it: http://www.elblogdelnilo.com/acerca-de/. Do check it out (and the exhibit, if you're in the area) and leave a comment while you're there.

To Bury a Pharaoh - an Interview with Met Curator Dorothea Arnold

Published May 8, 2010 | Archaeology Magazine Online | by Eti Bonn-Muller | An interview with Met curator Dorothea Arnold who takes a fresh look at the leftover materials from Tutankhamun's mummification, which are the subject of an exhibit entitled Tutankhamun's Funeral at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Features photos and a very detailed conversation.

Tutankhamun's Funeral Exhibition at the Met will Explore Materials and Rituals

Originally published February 24, 2010 | Art Daily | An excerpt - click on the above link to read more:

In 1908, while excavating in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, American archaeologist Theodore Davis discovered about a dozen large storage jars. Their contents included broken pottery, bags of natron (a mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium sulphate, and sodium chloride that occurs naturally in Egypt), bags of sawdust, floral collars, and pieces of linen with markings from years 6 and 8 during the reign of a then little-known pharaoh named Tutankhamun. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was given six of the vessels and a good part of their contents in 1909.

In time, Herbert Winlock, curator and field director of the Metropolitan's Egyptian excavations and in the 1930s Director of the Museum, came to realize that the natron and linen were the embalming refuse from the mummification of Tutankhamun. He also suggested that the animal bones, pottery, and collars might have come from a funeral meal. Winlock's analysis was an important clue that led to Howard Carter's 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb some 110 meters away.

Opening March 16 at the Metropolitan Museum, the exhibition Tutankhamun's Funeral will explore the materials and rituals associated with the burial of the pharaoh. The presentation will include some 60 objects, primarily from the Metropolitan's own collection.

Discovering Pyramids - The Tomb of Queen Sesheshet

Originally published February 3, 2010 | Smithsonian Magazine | by Stephan Glain | An excerpt:

When you make your living unearthing the royal riches of ancient Egypt, the beginning is a very distant place indeed – more than four millennia away, during the time of the 6th dynasty. We are standing on the rim of the necropolis of King Teti at Saqqara, where Karar and his team of archaeologists are excavating the tomb of Queen Sesheshet, Teti's mother. The tomb, and the once five-story-high pyramid that accommodates it, was until recently a dump for the sand and detritus of surrounding digs. But the intuitive power of Karar and his inimitable boss, Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, rescued it from oblivion last November. It was a once-in-a-lifetime strike – how often does one "discover" a pyramid? – and it may shed light on a particularly notorious episode in a pharaonic tradition of court intrigue and murder most foul.

[...]

Hawass, who began working at the Saqqara necropolis in 1988, says Sesheshet's pyramid "might be the most complete subsidiary pyramid ever found" in the area. It is certainly one of the largest. The remains of its 72-square-foot base suggests a pitch of 51 degrees, a common feature of 5th and 6th century pyramidal design, and a height of 46 feet. Large, smoothly carved blocks of limestone around the southern end of its foundation is all that's left of the casing that gave Egyptian pyramids of the time their clean, elegant lines. The entire structure would have been built with bronze tools.

Karar and his team waited several weeks before opening the tomb's burial chamber so as not to disrupt the remains while the surface excavation was going on. In January, when they finally entered the chamber, they found a mummy inside wrapped in linen and conclusive evidence to suggest it is Sesheshet, Hawas told the Cairo-based Al Ahram Weekly.

Upcoming Exhibit - Seramón, el Enigma de la Momia

Accessed February 6, 2010 | Museo Arqueológico de Alicante

A special thanks goes to Marina Escolano Poveda for passing along some information about a new exhibit coming to the Archaeological Museum in Alicante (I've read it will run from March to October, 2010. I'm sure Marina will correct me if I'm wrong), which will showcase artifacts from the Louvre and Besançon museums, including two mummies (Seramon and Ankhpakhered), their coffins, and funerary equipment. In addition, a part of the exhibit is dedicated to Egyptian objects found at Phoenician, Roman, and other archaeological sites in the Alicante province. Be sure to check out this latter part of the exhibit, as Marina is part of its preparation, writing some of the descriptions of the artifacts for the catalog and advising about other Egyptological aspects of the general exhibit.

The web site is currently only in Spanish, but follow this link to read it in English (translated by Google Translate).

Photos - The Secrets of Tomb 10A at MFA

Originally published October 22, 2009 | The Phoenix | by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston

The following is a pictographic slideshow of sorts, illustrating different scenes from tomb 10A, a preview of an upcoming exhibit focusing mainly around a noble named Djehutynakht and his wife. Some of the artifacts include wooden model scenes, a coffin, statuettes, the mummy head of Djehutynakht (with one less tooth, I'd imagine), and vintage photographs from the tomb of Djehutynakht from 1915.

Highlights from the OI Collection: Egypt

Originally published October 6, 2009 | the Oriental Institute

The 'Highlights From The Collection' web page for Ancient Egypt has been updated, showcasing and detailing thirteen objects from the Oriental Institute’s collection, accompanied by photographs. These objects include funerary objects and masks, papyri, statues and figures, reliefs and stelae, coffins, and magic bricks, just to name a few. You can sort these objects by subject and region.

Exhibit - The Secrets of Tomb 10A: Egypt 2000 B.C.

Originally published October 11, 2009 | the Providence Journal | by Bill Van Siclen

On Sunday, Oct. 18, the Museum of Fine Arts opens “The Secrets of Tomb 10A: Egypt 2000 B.C.,” an exhibit that explores the world of the Djehutynakhts (pronounced “jeh-hooty-knockeds”) and the period, known as the Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.), in which they lived. It also tells the parallel story of how the remains of their burial chamber — and in the case of one of the Djehutynakhts, their physical remains as well — managed to find their way into the MFA’s permanent collection.

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.