Ram statues could help decipher ancient script
Three ancient ram statues newly discovered in Sudan could help decipher the oldest script in sub-Saharan Africa whose secrets are mysterious to the modern world. The statues symbolize the god Amen, and include the first discovery of a complete royal dedication in Meroitic script, only found before in fragments.
The rams were excavated at El-Hassa, 180km north of Khartoum, on a sacred causeway leading to an ancient temple, said Vincent Rondot, head of the French Section of the Directorate on Antiquities of Sudan.
Key to the discovery three weeks ago is a royal inscription that bears the name of little known king Amanakhareqerem.
Experts can pronounce the text and can read names, but cannot understand the words. Meroitic is a branch of the same linguistic tree as languages spoken in contemporary Sudan and Eritrea, the archaeologist said.
Technology and archaeology at odds again
Image via Wikipedia
The Meroe High Dam, otherwise known as the Multi-Purpose Hydro Project or Hamdab Dam, is well underway — and the archaeological remains of the ancient African kingdom of Meroe which developed along the upper reaches of the Nile is destined to oblivion.
The purpose of the dam being constructed close to the Fourth Cataract, about 200 kilometres north of Khartoum, is to generate electricity. It is the largest hydropower project currently under construction in Africa. With a length of some nine kilometers, and a crest height of up to 67 kilometers it is reminiscent of the High Dam at Aswan constructed in the 1960s. It too is designed with a concrete-faced rock-fill barrage on each river bank, the left river channel with a clay core, and the right with a live water section. Once completed, its 200-kilometer long reservoir, with a capacity to produce 1,250 megawatts of power, will displace 50,000 people and inundate countless archaeological sites including Meroe in the African kingdom of Kush, sub-Saharan Africa’s earliest urban civilization.
In fact the Fourth Cataract region is rich in archaeology, and it is unfortunate that, unlike the UNESCO project of the 1960s when the High Dam was built at Aswan, Sudanese Nubia has no monuments of the caliber of Abu Simbel to attract world attention to what is being done. The half-dozen Sudanese and foreign missions working in the threatened area have already pin-pointed hundreds of settlements and cemeteries spanning four millennia, and lithic artefacts, rock art, pottery, and even a granite pyramid — the only one so far known in Sudan — have been found, not to mention medieval Christian remains and Islamic cemeteries.
Excerpted from an article by Jill Kamil for Al-Ahram Weekly
Modern Egyptians living in the shadow of past greatness
“Can you believe our government can do nothing for us, and this thing that was built thousands of years ago is still helping me feed my family?”
Image by liber via Flickr
For citizens and foreigners alike, there is no escaping the truth that Egypt is inextricably linked in the public consciousness with pyramids, especially the Great Pyramids of Giza. Yet living in the shadow of past greatness is not always easy.
The pyramids are proof of Egypt’s endurance but these monuments to Egypt’s early ingenuity are also an ever-present symbol of faded glory. It is hard to escape comparisons between an Egypt that once led the world in almost everything and modern Egypt, where about 40 percent of the population lives on $2 a day.
The ubiquitous nature of antiquities has helped mold a collective consciousness, a national identity, that is uniquely Egyptian.
Egyptians, as a group, are extremely patient, though given the growing pressure of daily life, a bit less than they used to be. Their it-is-what-it-is attitude is often attributed to a strong religious faith and a conviction that all events are God’s will. Yet growing up and living amid so much history has something to do with that view, too; the abundant antiquities in everyday life are a constant reminder of one’s place in time.
These days, Egypt is rarely spoken of in a positive context. The education system is in crisis, and unemployment, traffic and pollution are all major problems. Top to bottom, the state seems to have seized up. When the historic Parliament building burned recently, firefighters bungled for hours before bringing the blaze under control. When a rock slide crushed a neighborhood, the authorities responded slowly, infuriating rather than rescuing. And at nearly every level, there is anxiety over who will rule when Mubarak is gone. The president, who is 80, refuses to clarify the issue of succession and seems out of touch with daily life in his country. His son Gamal Mubarak, who appears positioned to inherit the job, says that it is premature to discuss succession.
And there is ample evidence that Egypt itself can be expected to continue to endure. It may be down for the moment, but this country has survived the test of the time, a lot of time, where so many others have not.
Excerpted from an article by Michael Slackman for International Herald Tribune
Official Emblem for Egypt 2009 unveiled
The Official Emblem of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009 was unveiled today during a ceremony held in Cairo.
The Official Emblem represents a harmonious fusion of Egypt’s glorious ancient civilization with today’s modern culture. The shape of the sphinx represents the millenary essence of Egypt, while the golden colour symbolises the sun, the desert sand and the golden kingdom of the Nile. The use of red, black and white embodies the colours of the Egyptian national flag.
Lower Tourism Revenue Expected for Egypt
Image via Wikipedia
Global financial crisis and its impact on the Egyptian economy may mean lower tourism revenue this year, according to Egypt’s minister of tourism.
Zohair Garanah said in an interview on Oct. 23 that the private sector is panicking because of the economic turmoil and is starting a price war, which will harm the industry in the long- term.
Tourism is the number one source of foreign currency income for Egypt, generating revenue of nearly $10 billion last year. Tourism accounted for 11.3 percent of gross domestic product in the last fiscal year, according to the minister. The country attracted 11 million tourists last year.
Related articles by Zemanta
