The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus Online

Accessed March 23, 2010 | US National Library of Medicine | For those passionate about papyrology and the ancient Egyptian writing system, here's an amazing find on the web: the Edwin Smith Papyrus, a digitized image and interactive experience that lets you unroll this medical papyrus and read it (if you are so inclined). There is also additional information about this historic document. Talk about preserving the past. Now we can enjoy this artifact repeatedly without having to worry about contributing to its deterioration.

CSI Cairo: How Science Will Solve the Mystery of Tutankhamun

Originally published February 14, 2010 | The Independent | by Andrew Johnson | New technology is helping answer the riddles in the life and death of the boy king; it has cracked other historical cases too including laser scans on the Great Sphinx and other technological efforts put on non-Egyptian, yet ancient things. This article isn't divulging Tutankhamun's test results; it's just a teaser announcing that the results will be revealed this coming Wednesday. The anticipation is killing me! Here's another article reporting on the same news from Monsters and Critics.

Three Decades of Discovery - New Insight to Egypt’s Past

Accessed February 14, 2010 | Egypt Today | by May Kaddah | Over the last three decades, technological advancement has allowed archaeologists to answer longstanding questions and refute misconceptions about missing details of Egypt’s history. From the remains of ancient rulers to Napoleon’s flagship, Egypt Today takes you through some of archaeology’s most significant discoveries in the last 30 years, which includes the following topics: tombs of the pyramid builders, the Valley of the Golden Mummies, DNA analysis of Hatshepsut's tooth, the Theban Mapping Project, tomb of Rameses II's sons, underwater archaeology at Alexandria, and more.

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
  

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.

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.

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.

On TV - Discover Channel Unlocks Egypt's Mystery Chamber

Originally published January 15, 2010 | Bangkok Post | Voilà un extrait:

Though the tomb KV63 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings was discovered in 2006, it has remained shut to the outside world. The meaning and significance of the tomb's contents - which include unopened relics, blemished inscriptions and delicate artefacts [sic] - were left shrouded in mystery.

The one-hour special, Egypt's Mystery Chamber premieres Sun, Jan 17 at 8pm and repeats the same night at 11pm, Jan 18 at 7am and 1pm, Jan 21 at 6pm, and Jan 24 at 3am and 7am on Discovery['s Science] Channel.

I'll be watching this...will you?

The Egyptian Pharoah Who Helped Win a Nobel Prize

Originally published October 15, 2009 | Heritage Key | by Owen Jarus

This article is beyond fascinating indeed. Do you think the ancient Egyptians intentionally do such intensely scholastic things or is it just coincidence? Read the article to learn more.

International Colloquium - Science and New Technologies Applied to Archaeology

Originally published October 9, 2009 | Challenging the Past | Marisa Bealby

Submit your papers (in English, German, or French) related to the theme at the 2010 international colloquium entitled The Temples of Millions of Years and Royal Power at Thebes in the New Kingdom: Science and New Technologies applied to Archaeology. Deadline is November 15, 2009.

The Oriental Institute Rendered 3D in Google Earth

Originally published October 5, 2009 | OI Blog

It's almost like being there...well, almost.

Perserving Giza's Archaeological Heritage

Originally published September 27, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

I recommend hopping over to the Giza Archives web site; it is truly amazing! I've been working on a novel of the historical fiction kind for a few years now and it will prove very useful to me indeed. By the way, my novel is set at the end of (roughly around October/November) 1926 and takes place at the Giza Necropolis, specifically at camp Emile Baraize and the Great Sphinx. I can't believe the diary pages in this archival database describe a very jovial Baraize, ever-willing to point out the details of the Great Sphinx ;) And what he points out to the diary writer is exactly what he points out to the main characters in my book! That is just too weird. I know I'll be using this as a resource for the remainder of my writing, particularly since Baraize is a hard man to peg in terms of finding his publications, which are mainly unpublished. Good thing that web site has this media too.

Oh yeah, and Dr. Hawass has some great ideas and things to say about the preservation of the Giza Necropolis and the dissemination of information and images on it.

Laser Scanning the Sphinx

Originally published August 24, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Zahi Hawass

The following is an excerpt from Zahi Hawass' Blog; click the above link to read the post in its entirety:

This work is very accurate and very fast; it took us one month to scan the Pyramids of Giza, and now we are scanning their interior chambers and shafts too. The team is also scanning the monuments on the East and West Banks of Luxor. As well as making scans from ground level, the team also conducted aerial scans by flying over the archaeological sites.

As per usual, there are accompanying pictures and an interactive map that shows the exact location of the project.

High-Tech Scanner Reveals Mummy's 2,500-Year-Old Past

Originally published August 21, 2009 | San Francisco Chronicle | by David Perlman

Tutankhamun and Meresamun were a few of the first mummies to be CT scanned. Add to the list a Late Period priest named Iret-net Hor-irw. His technological undergoing is a direct result of a new exhibit that will be opening in October at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco called Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine, which will examine ancient medical care and death in Egypt.

The next few paragraphs of this article discuss the CT scanning process, reactions of those involved, and the results.

The following are links chronicling the same story, each a different rendering, but revealing the same facts:

• Newsday.com - Stanford Scientists Scan 2,500-Year-Old Mummy, by Brooke Donald (Associated Press)
• Fox News - High-Tech Scanner Could Reveal Mummy's 2,500-Year-Old Past
• The Associated Press/Google - Stanford Scientists Scan 2,500-Year-Old Mummy

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.

The Tomb of Haremhab Reopens

Originally published August 5, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

Tricked out with new state-of-the-art technology to prevent further damage, Horemhab's tomb is once more open for public viewing (and has the priviledge of being the only tomb in the Valley of the Kings with this technology; the only down side is that it will play guinea pig for the other KV tombs).

New Audio Tours of the Oriental Institute Museum Galleries Available

Originally published July 21, 2009 | Oriental Institute

Audio tours of the Oriental Institute Museum galleries are now available for free download so that you can use your own iPod or other MP3 player to take any or all of our special tours. Current tours are 'Highlights of the Collection of the Oriental Institute,' a tour of 'The Ancient Near East in the Time of Tutankhamun,' and a special 'Ancient Egypt for Kids' tour.

The following is a direct link to the self guided audio tours

High-Tech Imaging of Ancient Papyrus May Shed Light Into Writing of Early Societies

Originally published July 13, 2009 | Taragana

A team of researchers and scholars are using high-tech imaging to clear the layers of text hidden beneath words and letters written on levels of ancient papyrus, which may reveal fascinating insights into the writing and everyday life of early Egyptian, Greek and Roman societies.

Conference - Experiment and Experience: Ancient Egypt in the Present

Accessed July 7, 2009 | University of Wales Swansea

Experimental archaeology has the potential to be a powerful research tool while being interdisciplinary. Along with experiential approaches, it is a perfect medium for education and widening participation.

This conference aims to bring together all those interested in the practice of ancient Egyptian technology. Through a series of lectures, workshops and practical demonstrations we will explore the value of a hands-on approach to understanding the past., including experimental as well as experiential approaches.

The above links provides more information on this event including contact information for those who are interested in attending the May 10, 2010 conference.