Egypt: 4,300-year-old pyramid discovered
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Archaeologists have discovered a new pyramid under the sands of Saqqara, an ancient burial site that remains largely unexplored and has yielded a string of unearthed pyramids in recent years. The 4,300-year-old monument most likely belonged to the queen mother of the founder of Egypt’s 6th Dynasty, several hundred years after the building of the famed Great Pyramids of Giza.
The discovery is part of the sprawling necropolis and burial site of the rulers of ancient Memphis, the capital of Egypt’s Old Kingdom, about 19 kilometers (12 miles) south of Giza.
All that remains of the pyramid is a square-shaped 16-foot (5-meter) tall structure that had been buried under 65 feet (25 meters) of sand.
Zahi Hawass and his team has been excavating at the location for two years, but it was only two months ago when they determined the structure, with sides about 72 feet (22 meters) long, was the base of a pyramid. They also found parts of the pyramid’s white limestone casing — believed to have once covered the entire structure — which enabled them to calculate that the complete pyramid was once 45 feet (14 meters) high. Hawass said he believes the pyramid belongs to Queen Sesheshet, who is thought to have played a significant role in establishing the 6th Dynasty and uniting two branches of the feuding royal family. Her son, Teti, is believed to have ruled for around 20 years until he was possibly assassinated, a sign of the time’s turbulence.
The find is important because it adds to the understanding of the 6th Dynasty, which lasted from 2,322 B.C. to 2,151 B.C. It was the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom, which spanned the 3rd millennium B.C. and was the first peak of pharaonic civilization.
The pyramid is the 118th discovered so far in Egypt. The last new pyramid found in Saqqara three years ago is thought to belong to the wife of Teti’s successor, Pepi I.
Egyptian temple unearthed near the Bulgarian Black Sea
Archaeologists have uncovered what is thought to be the remains of a temple complex dedicated to Isis and Osiris in the Paleokastro area, near Pomorie on the Bulgarian Black Sea. The temple was built during the era of Emperor Antoninus Pius around the second century AD, though it was built itself on the remains of a sanctuary from the Thracian era.
The Thracians were an Indo-European tribe that occupied the lands of present-day Bulgaria, northern Greece, part of the Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, eastern Serbia and north-west Turkey from about 2000 BCE to about the sixth century AD.
The temple complex is the first such to be found in an archaeological dig. Until the discovery of the temple plot, the only evidence of worship of Isis and Osiris to have been found on Bulgarian territory had been in written form.
British Museum dig evidences Sudan once had a real power base to rival Ancient Egypt
Archaeologists working at a site in northern Sudan soon to be flooded by a large hydro electric dam have discovered evidence that a Sudanese civilization was once powerful enough to rival Ancient Egypt.
The team from the British Museum found a ruined pyramid containing fine gold jewelry. Well preserved bodies, naturally mummified in the desert air, and a cow buried complete with eye ointment were also unearthed. They also found ancient pottery that had been imported from as far as Turkey, large blocks with rock art and “musical” rocks that were tapped to create a melodic sound.
Historians had written off the area as being of little archaeological interest. This discovery evidences that a First Kushite Kingdom rivalled Egypt for power between 2500BC and 1500BC, when many of Egypt’s largest pyramids were built.
The Second Kushite Kingdom controlled the whole Nile valley from Khartoum to the Mediterranean from 720BC to 660BC.
Amarna lecture given at University of Dallas
“So have you made your lists and checked them twice? I hear King Tut’s coming to town,” joked Dr. James Hoffmeier, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Trinity International University, who addressed an audience of about 50 in the Art History Building on Sept. 25.
Since 1999, Hoffmeier and his team have been working on excavations at a fortress-outpost from the Armana period in the northern Sinai region of present day Tell el-Borg. He noted that around 1300 BC, this location was outside the boundaries of Egypt.
Hoffmeier explained that most scholars have thought that, during the reign of Akhenaten, the empire began to collapse, with the pharaoh’s armies pulling back to within the borders. Shards of wine pots found in the area might alter that view, however. Each shard Hoffmeier presented bore the cartouche-hieroglyphic name-of the pharaoh under whom the wine was bottled. With these, Hoffmeier has been able to trace an unbroken line of cartouches of seven consecutive Egyptian rulers, including those of Akhenaten and Tutankhamen, evidence that the fortress was occupied continuously throughout the period, which challenges the idea that Egypt became isolationist during Akhenaten’s reign.
The dig site’s web page is www.tellelborg.org.
Granite statue found in the Nile delta is probably of Ramses the Great
Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a granite statue probably depicting Ramses II. Researchers discovered the statue 150 cm (five feet) under ground in the eastern Nile Delta town of Tell Basta, which was once the capital of ancient Egypt, the culture ministry said.
The pink granite head had a broken nose and a missing beard, Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in a statement. Archaeologists continue to dig around the site in hopes of finding the rest of the statue and possible remains of a temple built by Ramses.
Spanish team to clean and restore the funerary temple of Thutmose III
Meet archaeologist Myriam Seco. This sort of Spanish “Indiana Jones” is a specialist in the search for hidden treasures. While few are likely to know her name, Seco is an eminence within the small circle of Egyptology.
Permanently settled in Egypt, Seco and her team will embark in six weeks of hard work. Their mission: cleaning and restoration of Thutmose III funerary temple in Luxor.
Nobody since the 60’s had a chance to trace the sand in this area. However, thanks to a grant of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, Myriam Seco and her team will work there until October 30. The project includes mapping, photographic documentation and the availability of the temple so that it can be seen by tourists without affecting the restoration work.
Around a dozen people from different nationalities (Egyptian, Lebanese, Brazilian, Japanese, German and Spanish) will start work on the west bank of Luxor, about 700 kilometers from Cairo, with the aim of trying to unearth some of the mysteries of the sixth pharaoh of the XVIIIth dynasty.
Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC) is one of the greatest rulers in the history of ancient Egypt, and his fame could not be overshadowed by his predecessor on the throne, the great Hatshepsut. After his death without progeny, Thutmose III began a glorious era of conquests and imperial expansion in Syria, Palestine and Nubia. Despite the fact that his funerary temple has not been preserved so well as that of Hatshepsut, Thutmose has bequeathed to history the expansion of the Temple of Amen at Karnak and the construction of seven huge obelisks of which four are still visible in Istanbul, Paris, Rome and New York.
The Spanish archaeologist explained that the project, funded by the oil company Cepsa for the next three years, will conduct an initial exploration of the land and the consolidation of temple structure still preserved, such as the pylon and the outside wall of mud. The team will be digging in front of the first pylon (the monumental entrance to the temple) to look for the location of the pier where the funerary boat approached.
Myriam Seco assures that this is an excavation with a great potential for discoveries, as can be seen through aerial imagery, such as statues and wall reliefs.
Translated from GACETA.es
Treasures unearthed at Alexander’s birthplace
Archaeologists have unearthed gold jewelry, weapons and pottery at an ancient burial site near Pella in northern Greece, the birthplace of Alexander the Great.
The excavations at the vast cemetery uncovered 43 graves dating from 650-279 BC, at the start of the Macedonian kingdom, which had an empire that stretched as far as India under Alexander’s conquests.
Among the most interesting discoveries were the graves of 20 warriors. Some were buried in bronze helmets alongside iron swords and knives. Their eyes, mouths and chests were covered in gold foil richly decorated with drawings of lions and other animals symbolizing royal power.
The team also found 11 graves of women from the Archaic period, with gold and bronze necklaces, earrings and broaches. Nine of the graves dated to the late classical or early Hellenistic period, around the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.
Ancient royal burial chamber found
A MENA press release informs that Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered the burial chamber and coffin of King Senusret II (1897 BC to 1878 BC) in Al Lahun, the town built by the pharaoh which became Egypt’s political capital during the 12th and 13th dynasties. But according to Vincent Brown, this find may not be that “new” after all.
“I am not sure what to make of this news release. Petrie examined the sarcophagus of Senusret II (a.k.a. Senwosret II, Sesostris II) in great detail when he conducted his survey in 1889,” says Brown in his Pyramid of Man blog. Since he is much more knowledgeable of this matter than I am, it’s best to follow up on this story on Vincent’s blog.
Four more sphinxes discovered in Luxor
Four statues of sphinxes, over 2300 years old, have been found on the eastern bank of the River Nile in Luxor, Upper Egypt, and probably fifteen more of its kind are awaiting discovery.
According to a communique from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), the four sandstone statues were found in excavations carried out between the town of Khaled Ibn Al Walid and the Temple of Luxor. These excavations are aimed at discovering the so-called ”Road’ of the Sphinx”, which in ancient times joined the Temple of Karnak to the Temple of Luxor.
The now headless statues are set in blocks of sandstone, which were extracted from the mountains of Selsela in northern neighbouring city of Aswan, about 800 kilometres south of Cairo, according to the secretary general of the CSA, Zahi Hawass. The figures contain several titles of the King Nekhtnebef who founded the 30th Dynasty (380-363 BC), added the source. Archaeologists expect to find the missing heads of the sphinxes before the excavation project is finished.
Several buildings from the Ptolemaic period (332 BC-30 AD) were also found, along with a stone that contains the name of Cleopatra VII.
The EHCA is currently coordinating with the Higher Council of Luxor as part of a 100,000 Egyptian pound (18,800 dollars) project to reclaim all areas between the Luxor and Karnak temples and to rescue the antiquities that surround the avenue of Sphinxes.
The area had previously been covered by modern buildings. Twenty Sphinx statues were discovered at the site in 2007.
Interview: Zahi Hawass
Andrew and Whitney Bayuk’s interview of Zahi Hawass on 28 July 2008 is truly revealing of the many archaeological activities going on in Egypt today. These include research, excavations, restorations, improvements and new projects.
Research:
The 18th dynasty mummies CT scan and DNA research continues. The latest is a much publicized study of the two mummified fetuses at Tutankhamen’s tomb. This research is aimed at establishing the parentage among well reknowned figures such as Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Tutankhamen.
Excavations:
New finds continue to sprout all over Egypt. At Saqqarah, a pyramid of a queen of King Teti and other tombs were found.
At the Valley of the Kings, the entrances of 2 tombs, KV 64 and KV 65 have been cleared and excavation will start in October. One of these could be the Tomb of Ramses VIII. Work at the Tomb of Seti I has revealed that it is even larger than thought, with a possible second chamber at the end of a large tunnel recently discovered.
Evidence of a temple at Deir el Bahari might lead to the discovery of the Tomb of Amenhotep I. And the search continues for the tombs of Queen Nefertiti, Thutmose II, Ramses VIII and all the queens of the 18th Dynasty. The Royal Ladies were not buried in the Valley of the Queens as the tombs here were first built in the 19th Dynasty.
Restoration:
A comprehensive laser survey is being conducted at the Step Pyramid of Djoser. Hawass mentions that “the laser survey is very important. If you need to restore anything we must first record all the stones. And all the stones cannot be recorded without using the laser. The Japanese Team now are doing all the computation for each stone then we can really know what’s weak, what’s strong, this is the only way to restore the pyramid.” Other restoration projects in the area are happening at the Serapeum and the South Tomb.
At Giza, the Pyramid of Menkaure is closed and the Pyramid of Khafre will soon follow. The Great Pyramid of Khufu will remain open with a limit of 300 visitors a day.
At the Valley of the Kings, the Tomb of Tutankhamen closes everyday from 12:00 to 2:00 pm with a limited number of visitors allowed entrance every day.
Improvements:
The entrance at the Giza Plateau now has x-ray security. The unearthed second boat of Khufu is now visible to the public via camera on a TV screen. The boat will be restored and reconstructed.
In Aswan, visitors now have a better experience at the Unfinished Obelisk and the temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo. At Kom Ombo, tourists arrive and see the temple from the water. They can now visit the Crocodile Museum, a new installation dedicated to the animal worshipped at Kom Ombo.
In Amarna, a new modern road will bring visitors in less time. The tombs are improved now, and work is going on the Visitor Center, to introduce the site.
New Projects:
The biggest addition at Giza is the new Grand Museum. The giant statue of Ramses II have been moved there from Ramses Square. The conservation rooms are finished and the construction of the museum will start in October. After its inauguration (5 years?) all 4500 objects from Tutankhamen will be exhibited there as well as most of the objects at the Cairo Museum, which is being transformed into an Open Museum about Egyptian art.
Construction at the Civilization Museum in Old Cairo is finished. Al-Muizz Street in Old Cairo, with its beautiful mosques and houses is now a no car zone and an incredible experience to walk at night.
Near Alexandria, the finished National Museum of Rashid, about the Mameluke period, will soon be opened.
Construction of the Akhenaten Museum in Mynia is finished. It will tell the public about the history of monotheism and its only about Akhenaten and the royal family of Amarna.
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By N2H
