Archive for July, 2010

One of the most exceptional fossil finds at Wadi Hitan is the only complete specimen from the species Basilosaurus Isis, a 37 million-year-old whale unearthed by a team led by Prof Philip Gingerich of the University of Michigan in the United States. For the past two years Prof Gingerich and his team have been painstakingly... »

The new syndicate’s founders claim to have attracted 5000 of Egypt’s roughly one million teachers. The by-laws of the new syndicate demand a minimum wage of LE1200, the improvement of working conditions in public schools and the amendment of Egypt’s education law. The establishment of the new union represents the latest episode of a teachers’... »

Image via Wikipedia National Geographic Channel (NGC) has commissioned two coproduction specials – a factual heist comedy set in ancient Egypt and a Tony Robinson-fronted history special about the formation of Britain. The Egyptian Job is being coproduced with French terrestrial France 5 and CGI-specialist Wide-Eyed Entertainment, and is billed as a factual comedy that will... »

Image via Wikipedia A luxury hotel market is emerging in Cairo alongside the recovery of Egypt’s tourism industry after the downturn, hoteliers and analysts say. The hotel company Kempinski opened a boutique property in Cairo this month, while Ritz-Carlton and Rocco Forte are renovating and rebranding existing hotels. Other brands heading to the city include a... »

One of the best preserved craters yet found on Earth, the Kamil crater was initially discovered in February during a survey of satellite images on Google Earth. Researchers think the crater formed within the past couple thousand years. The Italian-Egyptian team that found the crater in pictures recently visited and studied the 147-foot-wide (45-meter-wide), 52-foot-deep... »

I have not posted anything about Chasing Mummies so far because I find the show cheap and contrived with little to do about Egyptology. But the following excerpt from York Dispatch says it all and much better. Hawass is a very big deal in his field and a superstar in his country. And he didn’t... »

Under the new Antiquities Law 3/2010, passed in mid-February, the SCA set up the Archaeological Collection Administration (ACA) as part of its professional echelon. The new body aims at inspecting the authenticity of all unregistered antiquities that are in the possession of members of the Egyptian public, and ensuring that they are properly documented. The... »

The Art of Counting is dedicated to capturing art (regardless of style, medium, or era) via a scientific process that tracks a vast range of variables. This allows for the discovery of patterns, trends, and messages contained in visual media through statistical analysis. The method for translating a body of images into their most basic... »

Image via Wikipedia One of the most prized collections of the Griffith Institute – arguably the best Egyptology library in the world, incorporates the notes, photographs and diaries of the English archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered Tutankhamun’s resting place in 1922. Now, this remarkable archive of pictures and notes can be viewed online. The only intact pharaoh’s... »

Forty companies are vying to build the final phase of Egypt’s new $550 million museum which will showcase the largest collection of pharaonic treasures in the world. These firms submitted pre-bid documents for the main construction phase of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which will span 117 acres overlooking the great pyramids of Giza and will... »