More finds from Egypt (Where else?)

[Anchorman]

     Not exactly Egypt, but Caanan.
This rather special find indicates Caananite burial customs in the Latre Bronze age. Items bearing the prenomen of Ramesses II - Usermaatre - indicate that the owner(s) of this tomb were vassals of that king. Egypt still controlled that area, and would do so for another sixty years.
https://archaeonewsnet.com/2022/09/intact-burial-cave-from-time-of-rameses-ii-discovered-on-israeli-coast.html?fbclid=IwAR0AK4iXiTMz9rQFTRsAk2LNDjI8PP2z3178KvIzTGKa6XGCC7-W5A8gzLs

[Anchorman]

 It was 200 years ago today......
......when what had been thought as mystical symbology became readable - Champollion finally managed to crack the code and decipher Hieroglyphs, opening the world of thought, philosophy, literature - and the occasional love letter and hissy fit - of the ancient Egyptians to scrutiny.
Of course, being Egyptology, it created a whole new realm of argument....folk who thought Greece was the cradle of philosophy, science and mathematics refused to acknowledge a far more ancient source of learning.
Indeed, many papyri which had been collected on the 'grand tour' were either sold or even destroyed before they could be translated, in case they burst the bubble of Classical scholars.
Of course, a certain pseudo Christian sect founded on a spurious papyrus by one Joseph Smith, quietly 'lost' their document...which, unfortunately turned up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, meaning some rapid change of literature.
I first got into hieroglyphs as a hobby in my last year of primary school - and never looked back.
Now, of course, unless I use very high magnification and colour change gizmos on my computer or hand held electronic magnifier, I have to rely on translated works.
I still keep my hand in by laboriously trawling through images of ostraca or potsherds, just to keep what's left of my brain working.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Champollion

[jeremyp]

It was 200 years ago today......
......when what had been thought as mystical symbology became readable - Champollion finally managed to crack the code and decipher Hieroglyphs, opening the world of thought, philosophy, literature - and the occasional love letter and hissy fit - of the ancient Egyptians to scrutiny.
Of course, being Egyptology, it created a whole new realm of argument....folk who thought Greece was the cradle of philosophy, science and mathematics refused to acknowledge a far more ancient source of learning.
Indeed, many papyri which had been collected on the 'grand tour' were either sold or even destroyed before they could be translated, in case they burst the bubble of Classical scholars.
Of course, a certain pseudo Christian sect founded on a spurious papyrus by one Joseph Smith, quietly 'lost' their document...which, unfortunately turned up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, meaning some rapid change of literature.
I first got into hieroglyphs as a hobby in my last year of primary school - and never looked back.
Now, of course, unless I use very high magnification and colour change gizmos on my computer or hand held electronic magnifier, I have to rely on translated works.
I still keep my hand in by laboriously trawling through images of ostraca or potsherds, just to keep what's left of my brain working.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Champollion

How hard would it be for a relatively intelligent person (I like to think so, at least) to learn how to read Egyptian Hieroglyphs?

[Anchorman]

How hard would it be for a relatively intelligent person (I like to think so, at least) to learn how to read Egyptian Hieroglyphs?

   



It's not as hard as you might think.
Primers are available for the basic symbols, both online and in hard copy. Of course, the headache starts when you realise that, over three millennia, the structure and sense of some words change, and there are no vowels as such.
Then there are the two variants of hieroglyphs, Hieratic and Demotic.
Hieratic was developed as a more cursive form to put on papyrus, whilst demotic grew from that - and forms the basis of Coptic Egyptian script today.
There are a few online courses available, from reputable sources, which I can source for you.
This is one of the best doing the rounds at the moment:
https://www.reed.co.uk/courses/egyptian-hieroglyphs-diploma-course/268126 

[jeremyp]

   



It's not as hard as you might think.
Primers are available for the basic symbols, both online and in hard copy. Of course, the headache starts when you realise that, over three millennia, the structure and sense of some words change, and there are no vowels as such.
Then there are the two variants of hieroglyphs, Hieratic and Demotic.
Hieratic was developed as a more cursive form to put on papyrus, whilst demotic grew from that - and forms the basis of Coptic Egyptian script today.
There are a few online courses available, from reputable sources, which I can source for you.
This is one of the best doing the rounds at the moment:
https://www.reed.co.uk/courses/egyptian-hieroglyphs-diploma-course/268126

Thanks, I'll look into it.

[Anchorman]

 This one's pretty exciting.
We don't often find intact burials of officials of the nineteenth dynasty, and this one looks to be pretty significant.
Dyn XIX was a time of warrior pharaohs, and a tightening of administration after the hiatus of the 'Amarna period' at the end of Dyn XVIII
The most famous kings were Seti I and his son, Ra messes II, the latter responsible for more building projects than any other Egyptian ruler.
Not only building on his own account, but nicking building material from earlier structures and using them as fillers for his own, thus preserving them for posterity to discover.
There's hardly a colossal statue in Egypt dedicated to earlier rulers which hasn't got Ra messes' name on it somewhere - and the occupant of this sarcophagus was one of those responsible for gathering the wherewithal to finance the work.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/oct/02/egypt-saqqara-ptah-em-wia-archaeologists-discover-sarcophagus-cairo?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2kYdHfE1SAHf6D6MXYbSOvKzYVMvVZjNUzaHTaKu4a3mdu7iCA5lao0zQ#Echobox=1664698965

[Anchorman]

 I'm flagging this up for three reasons;
1) The 100th anniversary of the discovery of KV62 is next month;
2) Bristol, along with Liverpool uni, has a great reputation for this kind of thing;
and 3) Aidan Dodson has a great grasp of the New Kingdom. He is a prolific author, and his books are scholarly but readable. His latest, Tutankhamun, King of Egypt, Life and afterlife, comes out next month - part of his 'life and afterlife' series of biographies.
I may not entirely accept his conclusions as to the period between Akhenaten and Tutankhamun, but he is still well worth a listen.
https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery/whats-on/archaeology-online-tutankhamun-king-of-egypt/?fbclid=IwAR1e2L09GYV3aX2RHD7Pp8-w82P1e1RAuOtNkI746R3XlvXspeBR4ehyXAI

[Anchorman]

 This is a nice site, from a professional Egyptologist who specialises in photography, mainly in museums.  It's definitely worth a view.
Now concentrating mainly on small artefacts which often go unnoticed, the images produced can sometimes be both breathtaking and instructive.
Incidentally, the username 'Tetisheri' comes from the grandmother of Ahmose I, founder of the eighteenth dynasty, and first of a series of redoubtable women who were administrators, regents, warriors in their own right, and, eventually, a female king.
https://tetisheri.co.uk/scariest-artefacts-photographed/?utm_campaign=my-5-scariest-artefact-photography-sessions-so-far&utm_medium=social_link&utm_source=missinglettr-facebook

[Anchorman]

 A nice blog covering excavations at Abydos, site of the earliest Pharonic settlement and tombs....and a place to have a bender in eternity......
https://abydos.org/blog/2022/3/18/what-happened-to-all-that-beer?fbclid=IwAR21iKzO6k7EMv6MYa324vO37scIVKE5TiqYNNlYdxaikYHRt0x_CTIS9i4

[Anchorman]

 A good article from a very reliable blog.
(Khenty-amentiu, incidentally, was the main Egyptian god of the dead before Osiris made it to top of the pops in the fifth dynasty, absorbing the character of old Khenty....(

Anyway, this shows that true mummification is a lot older than we previously thought. Accidental preservation of remains in the desert sands was well known, as was the treatment of excarnated skeletal remains with ochre, but this example shows true efforts at mummification were well under way in the Old Kingdom, and must have been developing for centuries beforehand.
https://khentiamentiu.blogspot.com/2022/10/mummification-in-egypt-may-be-1000.html?spref=fb&fbclid=IwAR1bNQRQjBPi0WTH_QJtdDLEywIvfYy0k7DXDkmXiVkFYo5eB44k43epzJs

[Anchorman]

 To mark the 100th anniversary of Carter's discovering Tutankhamun's tomb, here's a seven -hour marathon podcast from History of Egypt.
https://shows.acast.com/egyptianhistorypodcast/episodes/anniversary-the-tomb-of-tutankhamun-hardcore-edition?fbclid=IwAR27OiN2K8-2YZ2sFggDeXzjotvkbKXWUS5Ov0PReKrcOK4Qo8SzZ2slHek

[Anchorman]

Yet another 'new' temple.
This one's significance lies in the location; Buto was a major city in the Delta in the Saite period, Dyn XXVI. However, historically, it goes a lot further back - to pre dynastic times, in fact. Because of shifting branches of the Nile and consequent poor preservation, to find a major temple site is exceptional, and early reports suggest further sites in the area may well yield more evidence of earlier settlement.
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/11/ancient-temple-remains-uncovered-on-hill-of-the-pharaohs/145242?fbclid=IwAR1PnbTECQDmceW07WwYF4OB2snuQHS54v6VczMsGQ5Lb2v4ePzthWquO7E

[Anchorman]

 OK, this one's personal.
A while back, I posted that I keep my hand in by translating ostraca as a bit of a hobby.
Ostraca are bits of slate or flakes of stone on which folk have written lists, law rulings, prayers, complaints, you name it.
Anyway, a friend who is digging at Gebel el-Sisila sends me photos of ostraca and potsherds to decipher.
This one came up, and I thought it was reasonably exciting.
The real experts at the British Museum agree.
It must have been inscribed by some bored artisan, around the time of king Ay - who succeeded Tutankhamun, around 1331 BC.
It hints at some kind of rebellion:
Here's the text:

....."always turmoil at Ipetsut; we don't hear what is needed. Why is Wadjikheperru so useless?....."
'Ipetsut' is Karnak, and 'Wadjikheperru' was the name by which Ay was known on official documents.
Whatever the trouble, to put a critique of the king in stone was dicey, unless the king hadn't much control; this is possible, because Ay was elderly and his rule ended two years later.
The ostraca is so new that it hasn't yet been given a reference number.
It's about three inches by five.
Sometimes the small things make a big difference.

[Anchorman]

 Pyramids, even if they were made of mud brick and eroded, should be easy to find, right?
Think again....this one's still lost - again.
It was never fully investigated, so we don't know who built it, or when.
If I had to guess, I'd go for one of the obscure kings of the eighth dynasty, a time when Egypt was divided, and two power bases ruled the land in what is known as the 'First Intermediate Period'.
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/12/the-lost-pyramid-of-athribis/145545?fbclid=IwAR0JNZhYdwV84vt2VZFEETVrwfTl29mEZhukVBtWfFyL1UJsoLKwfxU9apA

[Anchorman]

The re-unification of the 'Two lands' to form the Middle Kingdom marked a change in religious thought from the cult of Re toward more local deities.
These two remarkable finds show the rise of Sobek, the deity personified in the crocodile, who was linked to both war and fertility.
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/12/crocodile-heads-found-in-tombs-of-ancient-egyptian-nobles/145615?amp&fbclid=IwAR0hG89b75E0RrJn-2XTZ-prD4NN7ImcMJViscFN_nCYcyv3WW1WVJSf68c

[Anchorman]

Do I file this  in the 'climate change' thread or leave it here?
Oh, here it is anyway [- and it shows just how diverse the field of Egyptology has become.
https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-022-02101-x?fbclid=IwAR3J4yULWtSwcphb0FXf2HnuoimZfrFbZyiTXuKOuJ97jQlZ5VODv7PU_tY

[Anchorman]

      If you're trying to understand Egyptian religion, you need both paracetamol and a decent malt whisky.
There are at least eight creation stories, some involving deities entirely absent in others, depending on the area in which the story originated.
Khnum, a ram-headed deity, was popular in the Middle Kingdom and Ptolemaic periods....yes, deities rose and fell like Christmas number ones - and here's a report from the latest excavations at Esna, one of the cult centres of Khnum.
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/12/new-findings-at-temple-of-khnum-in-egypt/145650?fbclid=IwAR3h1lQXiKKO7N-6MRzq3Icj4cgCB8vXhPoZs2yimLqd8pkqeewYmpiMVSA

[Anchorman]

Interesting article from the 'Groniad' of all places, worth reading, not only because it highlights the trend in modern archaeology, but it delves into Nubiology, a discipline which, till recently, has been sadly overlooked.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/27/young-sudanese-archaeologists-dig-up-history-as-west-knows-best-era-ends?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR0KIElUoPQRPn1yjFOSOue3_w995td-
oH8hBqatABY4dDzYW_0-d4VFlIc

[Anchorman]

  Last find of 2022.
The Egyptians were experts at recycling, especially when it came to a 'des res' for eternity.
A massive mummy cache found in the area of a very important eighteenth dynasty official's tomb.
Whether those who re-interred their dead there knew just how important Amenhotep son-of-Huy was isn't known, but he may have been the one who held the south of Egypt together during the first few turbulent years of Akhenaten's rule.
https://www.laprensalatina.com/spanish-egyptologists-unearth-60-mummies-at-luxor-site/?fbclid=IwAR3kkwC4er9uwkML34MEHeXrjSgoBol5tb6Uiiyp0orVLIRyqIwExI9GyxE

[Anchorman]

 Keeping an eye on the distressingly expansive illegal antiquities trade is never easy....but in THIS case.....er....how were they going to fence the loot?
https://scenenow.com/Buzz/3-Men-Caught-Trying-to-Steal-10-Tonne-Statue-of-Ramses-II-in-Aswan?fbclid=IwAR0hZyh762BPi1b0_2cCcDGPipaX9lNRYz_Kx3SsVxqMOw1QBrMpI6ejln8

[Anchorman]

Might as well enter another Egyptian post to start things off.

I accompanied my cousin to the blessed realm to stop me banging my head against a brick wall.

Luckily, I still have my Egypt Exploration Society membership....thank you, Miss Edwards....
This gained access to sites the general public are normally barred on grounds of potentially damaging them...so the pyramid of Unas with it’s cannibal text’s, various Sakkara sites, as well as the Valley of the Kings to say hello to Thutmose III's tomb, and reacquaint myself with Seti I's burial, as well as loitering with intent round the Luxor Museum, invading Karnak, before stopping at Abydos on the way back to Cairo, and limited access to the new Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza, and the two main museums in Cairo....plus a mosque, two Coptic churches and a belly dancer...tactile investigation was not required.

Bummer.