Egypt pharaoh Ramesses II temple found
The remains of a 3,000-year-old temple dating from the reign of ancient Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II have been unearthed in the excavations in Upper Egypt's Ehnasia archaeological area.
Ramesses II ruled Egypt from 1279-1213 BC and was the son of Seti I, whose secret ''tomb within a tomb'' was uncovered in June in the Valley of the Kings in central Egypt.
"Inside the remains of this temple, excavators uncovered 10 cartouches of Ramesses II and beneath them a relief saying that the ruler had built this temple for himself in Ehnasia," the Adnkronos Culture and Media quoted Sabri Abdel Aziz of Egypt’s Supreme Archaeology as saying.
A collection of terracotta statues depicting Isis, Aphrodite and Horus were found inside along with pots and clay lamps, he said.
The team of archaeologists will continue excavation of the temple during the next archaeological season, Aziz added.
Ramesses II is regarded as one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs and was nicknamed ''the Great Ancestor'' by his successors.
Source : http://www.zeenews.com/news641730.html
Ancient father-son tombs discovered in Egypt
Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered two ancient tombs belonging to a father-son duo, believed to be some 4,300 years old.
The two colourful tombs belong to a father and his son from the 6th Dynasty and were found west of the Step Pyramid in Sakkara district by an Egyptian team that has been excavating here since 1986, Culture Minister Farouk Hosni today said.
"The first tomb, of the father, has a beautiful false door depicting him sitting in front of the table of sacrifices, which means that he was holding important positions during that period," Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawas said.
He was carrying the titles of the Chief Clerk of the King and the supervisor of missions and also held many honorary titles, Hawas said, adding the wood-made coffin of the father was buried in a 20m-deep well that was found under the false door.
The most important thing found in the well was a 30cm-long limestone-made Obelisk, a symbol of the worship of 'Ra', the God of Sun, he said.
The second tomb, having a colourful painting of the son, who also held similar titles as that of his father, was found adjacent to the first one, Hawas said.
Source : http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/ancient-father-son-tombs-discovered-in-egypt-36147
Tunnel in Seti I Tomb
The Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, announced that a tunnel in the tomb of King Seti I (1314-1304 BC) has been discovered by Dr. Zahi Hawass and his team in the Valley of the Kings. They’ve been searching for this tunnel for over twenty years in the West Bank necropolis.
Dr. Hawass believes that the workmen and artists first finished the original tomb of Seti I during his twelve-year reign and then began to construct the tunnel. It appears that Seti I was trying to construct a secret tomb inside a tomb. It is likely that when Seti I died his son, Ramesses II (1304-1237BC), had to stop the work and bury has father. Dr. Hawass believes that Ramesses II continued where his father had left off and constructed his own tunnel within his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. The Egyptian mission is currently working in the tomb of Ramesses II to preserve the wall paintings and to look for a similar tunnel to the one in the tomb of Seti I.
Source : http://drhawass.com/blog/press-release-tunnel-seti-i-tomb
Ancient Egyptian Town Found Using Radar
Radar imaging in Egypt's Nile Delta has unveiled the outlines of a buried city that was the stronghold of foreign occupiers some 3,500 years ago, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities announced Monday.
Discovered by a team of Austrian archaeologists in Tell el-Daba in the northeastern Nile Delta, the ruins belong to the southern suburban quarters of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos kings who formed Egypt's 15th dynasty.
Known as the “rulers of foreign countries” (probably of Asiatic roots), the Hyksos infiltrated Egypt and came to dominate the Nile valley for over a century during the Second Intermediate Period (1664-1569 B.C.).
From their strategic capital, Avaris, these foreign rulers are credited with introducing horse-drawn chariots into Egypt and controlling the lucrative trade routes with the Near East and the Mediterranean world.
Using a combination of geophysical survey and excavation techniques, the Austrian archaeologists led by Irene Forstner-Müller investigated approximately 2.6 square kilometers (1 square mile) of the ancient buried city.
The resulting computer-generated images showed a very detailed layout, complete with houses, streets, cemeteries and palaces.
The team has also identified temples where the Hyksos worshipped the god Seth, a possible harbor area and a series of pits of different sizes whose function has not yet been determined.
“Using special scientific survey to locate such a city is the only way to gain a better understanding of such a large area at one time,” Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in a statement.
Avaris was then captured by King Ahmose I (ruled about 1570-1546 B.C.), who ended the Hyksos rule and founded the glorious 18th dynasty, which included pharaohs such as Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun.
Picture: Color satellite image with radar imaging in monochrome showing the outlines of streets, houses and temples buried under the modern town of Tel al-Dabaa. Courtesy of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).
Source : http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/ancient-egyptian-town-found-using-radar.html
Ancient Egypt's Pharaohs Dated Using Plants
Scientists have established for the first time clear dates for the ruling dynasties of ancient Egypt after carbon dating plant remains, according to research published Thursday.
The results will force historians to revise their records for the two millennia when ancient Egypt dominated the Mediterranean world and hopefully end debate once and for all between rival Egyptologists.
Led by Professor Christopher Ramsey of Britain's Oxford University, an international team tested seeds, baskets, textiles, plant stems and fruit obtained from museums in the United States and Europe for the landmark study.
"For the first time, radiocarbon dating has become precise enough to constrain the history of ancient Egypt to very specific dates," said Ramsey. "I think scholars and scientists will be glad to hear that our small team of researchers has independently corroborated a century of scholarship in just three years."
Dates for Egypt's Old, Middle and New Kingdoms had been based on historical documents or archaeological findings, but estimates were notoriously uncertain as each dynasty would reset the clock.
The new data showed the reign of Djoser, the best known pharaoh in the Old Kingdom, was between 2691 and 2625 B.C., some 50 to 100 years earlier than the established wisdom.
The study, published in Friday's issue of the journal Science, also concluded that the New Kingdom started slightly earlier than thought, between 1570 and 1544 B.C.
The research team included experts from the universities of Oxford and Cranfield in Britain, the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, and experts from Austria and Israel.
Radiocarbon dating, also known as carbon-14 dating, is a technique that can accurately determine the age of organic material.
Source : http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/ancient-egypt-radiocarbon-dating.html
King Tut Died of Blood Disorder
Legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun was probably killed by the genetic blood disorder sickle cell disease, German scientists said Wednesday, rejecting earlier research that suggested he died of malaria.
The team at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in the northern city of Hamburg questioned the conclusions of a major Egyptian study released in February on the enigmatic boy-king's early demise.
That examination, involving DNA tests and computerized tomography (CT) scans on Tutankhamun's mummy, said he died of malaria after suffering a fall, putting to rest the theory that he was murdered.
But the German researchers said in a letter published online Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association that closer scrutiny of his foot bones pointed to sickle cell disease, in which red blood cells become dangerously misshaped.
"We question the reliability of the genetic data presented in this (the Egyptian) study and therefore the validity of the authors' conclusions," the letter said.
"(The) radiological signs are compatible with osteopathologic lesions seen in sickle cell disease (SCD), a hematological disorder that occurs at gene carrier rates of nine percent to 22 percent in inhabitants of Egyptian oases."
Tutankhamun's death at about 19, after 10 years of rule between 1333 to 1324 B.C., has long been a source of speculation.
One of the most common genetic disorders, sickle cell disease causes blood cells to take the shape of a crescent instead of being smooth and round, thereby blocking blood flow and leading to chronic pain, infections and tissue death.
The researchers called for further DNA tests on Tutankhamun's mummy for a definitive cause of death.
New Storage Magazines in Egypt
If someone were to ask me what I thought was one of the best things I had done during my term as Secretary General of the SCA, I would say the building of storage magazines all over Egypt. Over the last eight years I’ve supervised the construction of 36 new storage facilities. All of them are equipped with conservation rooms and photography labs, and the objects are stored in a secure and environmentally protected space.
We commissioned the national service of our military that has a large construction company, and we designed the storage magazines. They all have the same design and are located in thirty-six cities in Egypt. We have now begun to move the objects from the old magazines to the new ones. As we relocate them all the objects are being cleaned, restored, photographed and entered into a database. Nearly sixty percent of the objects inside these magazines had never
Source : http://drhawass.com/blog/new-storage-magazines-egypt
Discovery of the tomb of Ptahmes
The Archaeology faculty at Cairo University has discovered a new tomb at Saqqara. The mission uncovered the tomb of Ptah Mes, arm leader and royal scribe, in the 19th dynasty cemetery of top governmental officials, which is located at the southern side of the ramp of king Unas’ pyramid in Saqqara.
Source : http://drhawass.com/blog/press-release-discovery-tomb-ptahmes
Bust of Nefertiti should stay in Germany, according to Berlin
The bust of Nefertiti, kept from decades in a Museum of Berlin and claimed by the Egyptian authorities, is Germany legally, said Saturday the German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
The bust was acquired legally, and German experts felt that his removal to Egypt could damage it, said Mr. Westerwelle. Germany has already argued these arguments of previous requests in the sense of the Egyptian authorities.
Source : http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/actualite/monde/20100523.FAP2120/le-buste-de-nefertiti-doit-rester-en-allemagne-selon-berlin.html
New Discoveries in Lahun
A collection of 45 ancient Egyptian tombs was discovered last week by an Egyptian mission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) at the site of Lahoun, in the Fayoum.
