In Celebration of Coptic Art

Published during week of December 9-15, 2010 | Al-Ahram Weekly Online | by Nevine El-Aref | Excerpt:

Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said Coptic Art Revealed was the first locally- curated exhibition on Coptic art. It focuses on the splendours of the Coptic era and highlights the Copts' outstanding contribution to Egypt's diverse and rich heritage. The exhibition includes several painted icons by renowned artists as well as beautiful textiles; illuminated manuscripts; an excerpt from the famous Nagaa Hammadi scrolls; stone and wooden friezes with intricate Coptic designs and splendid objects for daily use.

Hieroglyphs Study Day in Oxford

Published June 23, 2010 | Challenging the Past Blog | by Marsia Sfakianou Bealby | Takes place on June 26 from 10:30 to 3:30, Oxford time. Egyptologist-led study day at the Griffith Institute Archive and the Ashmolean Museum, limited to 10 people. Marsia's post also includes an itinerary, which includes taking a look at archival records at the Griffith and examining artifacts at the Ashmolean. Don't forget about the coffee!

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.

Lecture & Symposium - Radiocarbon Dating & Egyptian Chronology

Accessed February 16, 2010 | University of Oxford | On March 17 and 18, the Research Laboratory for Archaeology & the History of Art, Oxford University will host a conference about radiocarbon dating and the Egyptian chronology. Accompanying this conference is a free public lecture and reception at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and a symposium (admission fee) that will discuss the results of the Egyptian Chronology Project (a program with the aim to investigate the consistency of the historical chronology with dates obtained via the radiocarbon method) at the Ashmolean Museum. For more detailed information, please visit the above web site. There is also a conference schedule available.

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.

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.

...

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.

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).

Upcoming Lectures & Workshops at the Petrie Museum

Accessed February 5, 2010 | Petrie Museum | Will you be in the London area? You may want to check out these upcoming events (lectures, workshops, and more), hosted by the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology:

• Date: February 9
  Lecture: Beyond Isis & Osiris: Alternative Sexualities in Egypt
  Time: 6 - 8pm
  Venue: Malet Place at the Petrie Museum
  Location: London, UK
  



• Date: February 19
  Lecture: Ancient Egypt in National Museums Liverpool
  Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm
  Venue: Lecture Theatre, G6 Institute of Archaeology
  Location: 31-34 Gordon Square WC1E; London, UK



• Date: June 26
  Workshop: Egypt on TV
  Time: 9:30am - 5:00pm
  Venue: The Wish FM Lounge, DW Football Stadium
  Location: Loire Drive, Robin Park, WN5 0UH; Wigan, UK
  

Volunteer Opportunities at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Accessed February 4, 2010 | Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum | Calling all lovers of ancient cultures - the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum has volunteering opportunities available for you! Visit the REM web site for more information. There is also an internship opening, which is a two-month gig. Here is the application form if you're interested in either opportunity. REM also requests you to forward a resume and cover letter to the following email address: supervisor@egyptianmuseum.org.

Project Manager Selected for Grand Egyptian Museum

Originally published February 2, 2010 | Yahoo! Finance | An announcement about the selection of a project manager for the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which promises to result in successful development of the future pharaonic museum of iconic proportions. The following is an excerpt:

The Grand Egyptian Museum, which has a total estimated project cost of approximately $550 million, will be the largest and most important Pharaonic museum in the world, the largest museum in Egypt and one of the leading scientific, historical and archaeological study centers on the globe. The museum’s twenty-first century galleries will be located in an iconic and distinctive building located where Cairo meets the desert, abutting the Giza Pyramids world heritage site. The museum, designed by Heneghan Peng Architects, Ove Arup, Buro Happold and others, will cover 3,500 years of ancient Egyptian history and house more than 100,000 artifacts.

"With the selection of a project manager, we have achieved yet another milestone in the development of the Grand Egyptian Museum," said Farouk Hosny, Egypt’s Minister of Culture. "In Hill/EHAF, we have the expertise of a world-class project management team to ensure that this project will be completed successfully," he added.

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 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 Exhibit Opens in Vegas Natural History Museum

Originally published January 30, 2010 | KTNV ABC | The following is an excerpt announcing a new permanent exhibit at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, which opened yesterday (January 30):

The Las Vegas Natural History Museum in downtown Las Vegas is celebrating a milestone thousands years in the making. This Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, the Museum opens a new permanent exhibit called The Treasures of Egypt, which features nearly 500 reproduced artifacts including the tomb of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

The exhibit, located in the museum's new 4,000-square-foot Egyptian Pavilion expansion, provides a glimpse into the ancient past of Egyptian civilization. It features replicas generously donated by MGM MIRAGE that were formerly on display in the King Tut Museum & Tomb inside the Luxor Las Vegas, including the world-famous guardian statues, King Tut's sarcophagus and an array of statues, vases, baskets and pottery. The Museum was able to recreate the tomb of King Tut as discovered by Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt in 1922. This unique replica of the actual tomb is the only known exhibit of its kind outside of Egypt.

Notorious Forgeries Take London's Limelight

Originally published January 25, 2010 | The Daily Star | A new exhibit, called the Metropolitan Police Service’s Investigation of Fakes and Forgeries at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London opened last Saturday that features ancient Egyptian fakes, including those from a man who had been in the trade for more than a dozen years and many with signed "certificates of authenticity" alongside them. The most famous of the forgeries, the Amarna Princess, is also on display. The exhibit runs until February 7.

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.

Sphinx Alley Gives Egypt Large Open-Air Museum

Originally published January 24, 2010 | Yahoo! News and Associated Press | An announcement about the completion of the restoration on the 2-mile alley of crio- and andro-sphinxes that connect the Luxor and Karnak Temple Compexes, which is boasted to be the largest open-air museum. Completion is set for March.

Ancient Men Had Strokes

Originally published January 25, 2010 | Zee News | An excerpt:

Ancient Egyptian mummies, some as old as 3,500 years, showed hardening of arteries, suggesting that heart attacks and stroke afflicted the ancients too.

"Atherosclerosis, despite differences in ancient and modern lifestyles, was rather common in ancient Egyptians of high socio-economic status living," says Gregory Thomas, clinical professor of cardiology at the University of California-Irvine (UCI).

"The findings suggest that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease," said Thomas, principal study co-investigator.

Researchers Run Tests on Mummy to Shed light on Ancient Egypt

Originally published January 14, 2010 | Asbury Park Press | by John Christoffersen | An excerpt - click the above link to read in full:

The mummy, known as Pa-Ib and believed to be about 4,000 years old, has been in the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport since the 1890s and was a prized exhibit of the flamboyant showman P.T. Barnum. It will be transported Thursday in a coffin complete with a police escort from the museum to the university's campus in North Haven.

A CT scanner will take images that are eight times the resolution of tests done on the mummy in 2006, and a tiny camera will be inserted inside the mummy.

Researchers are trying to determine if bundles in the abdomen and pelvis cavities
contain a bird mummy or are organs. The earlier tests led to speculation that the
bundles might contain a bird mummy.

My money is on the bundles being her internal organs, but I would like to be proved wrong because I like the idea that we still have yet to reveal all of the secrets of Ancient Egypt.