Author: Andie

Here’s the usual, albeit belated roundup, with an emphasis in the media on the terrible looting of Egyptian sites.  It needs highlighting, so that’s a good thing, but it is a ghastly outcome of the so-called revolution that it is happening at all.   Other stories, with much better news, are inevitably overshadowed but should not be forgotten.

This is, inevitably, a rather long post.  Sorry!

The recently excavated Avenue of the Sphinxes, Luxor (photograph taken in early 2011)

Fieldwork

Update on work being carried out in Karakhamun’s burial chamber. South Asasif Project http://bit.ly/1bERhpT

Research

Heritage Management and Looting

Books

Conferences

Museums and exhibitions

Smuggling and repatriation

Free online articles

Journals and Magazine  

Digital Projects

Travel and Tourism

  
Job Opportunities

Obituary

Miscellaneous 

2013 physical anthropology study period

Following a break of two weeks at the end of the spring excavation season (for the cemetery part see the Amarna Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/amarnaproject?ref=mf), the house and expedition opened again, on May 18th, for the start of the 2013 physical anthropology study period, that is due to end on June 13th. Led by Prof Jerry Rose, assisted by Dr Gretchen Dabbs, the 15-person group travelled by chartered bus to Amarna and quickly got to work. Facing them this time is twice as many bones as in the past. Since the 2012 study period, two full field seasons of excavation at the South Tombs Cemetery have taken place. The result is whole or partial skeletons of 141 individuals, who take the full total of individuals since excavation began in 2006 to 401.

The bones are stored, by individual, in large plastic crates and skull boxes, labelled as to circumstances of finding (date, location, etc). They still retain, however, a coating of sand that needs to be carefully brushed off over fine-mesh sieves. In order to hasten this, four of the regular cemetery workmen (led by Walid Mohammed Omar) are doing this necessary job.  As the individuals emerge from their ‘dry-cleaning’ episode, they are laid out in full anatomical order on the tables in the workrooms. They are then recorded according to a full bioanthropological protocol. Beyond this, several specific research projects are under way, some of them assisted by the expedition’s on-site x-ray facility.

A few photographs can be seen at:

https://www.facebook.com/amarnaproject/photos_stream

In some cases, the hair remains on the skulls, sometimes as a full head of hair. Often, however, ancient robbery has separated skull and hair, and the latter is found loose in the sand. When taken together, the eight seasons of excavation have provided a large collection. For a second time, the team was joined by Jolanda Bos from The Netherlands. Jolanda is an archaeologist and heritage consultant who has studied hair plaiting and beadwork amongst African societies. She began this time by improving the means of storing skulls with hair that will keep them stable, creating for each a paper bonnet that still allows the anthropologists access to the jaw and front of the skull for cranial measurements and dental research.

Her Amarna findings are exciting. “The amount of complete hairstyles dating to such a limited and specific period is unique, especially in combination with the preservation conditions and the ethnic complexity of the group.” A wide variety of types of hair, ranging from very curly black hair, to middle brown straight hair were present amongst the skulls, showing the ethnic diversity of the Amarna sample. No wigs were found, the preference being for hair extensions for which abundant evidence is present. The extensions were either braided or tied into the hair of the individual. It became clear that on almost all skulls which were analyzed, fat was used to model the hairstyles. On all skulls very fine pieces of textile were found covering the hair. Whether or not this was only done for burial or whether it was the general practice in daily life as well remains unclear. The textile found on the top of the head retained traces where fat cones had been placed, but textile was also present on the back and side of the head.

The remains of possible fat cones were discovered on most of the skulls examined.

At least three cases were identified of sidelocks on the skulls of children, the ages being four and a half, eight and a half and nine and a half. On the back and the side of some of the skulls, botanical remains were found. They seem to have been bound with string to the back of the head of the individual; sometimes they were found in relation with a strip of textile. Possibly these are the remains of floral garlands draped around the head of the deceased.

Bones, hair and much, much more is stored in the expedition storerooms, or magazines, situated beside the expedition house. This time the keys and responsibility are entrusted to Inspector Edward Rushdi, who otherwise helps to look after the central regional magazines at El-Ashmunein.

Enhancing and enlarging storage is a constant need. We have just added two new sets of steel storage racking, manufactured by two brothers who have a wrought-iron business in Mallawi across the river. One of the sets was paid for by a donation from the Sussex Ancient Egypt Society.

New publication

The Egypt Exploration Society has recently published a further Amarna monograph, one arising from research on Amarna’s other major archaeological period, that of the early Christian communities who established themselves in the rock tombs and on desert sites. The details are:

Jane Faiers, Late Roman Glassware and Pottery from Amarna and Related Studies. With contributions by Gillian Pyke and Wendy Smith. One Hundred and Second Excavation Memoir. London, EES 2013. 267 pages and many illustrations. It includes detailed information on the distribution of glass and pottery from the excavations carried out at the Kom el-Nana monastery.

Forthcoming tours

1) Between Saturday, October 5th and Saturday, October 19th Barry Kemp will accompany a tour from Aswan through Middle Egypt to Cairo. Two full days will be spent at Amarna. The tour, entitled ‘Cities of the Nile’, will be run by Ancient World Tours, a long-time supporter of the Amarna expedition.

A further, similar tour is planned for October 2014. Consult:

www.ancient.co.ukand tel. +44 844 357 9494

2) Between Monday, December 9th and Sunday, December 22nd the Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society plans to run a Study Tour to Lower Egypt, including the Faiyum, Alexandria and the Delta, taking in a number of rarely visited sites. The trip will be led by Barry Kemp and Dr Rawia Ismail. A donation will be made to the Amarna Trust. Attached are an itinerary, booking form and information sheet. See also [email protected]

Major conservation grant

We are delighted to report that the Amarna expedition has been awarded a major grant for the conservation of the decorated wooden coffins from the South Tombs Cemetery. The grant comes from USAID, as administered by the American Research Center’s Antiquities Endowment Fund. This stage of the conservation programme will commence at Amarna during 2014.

That the Amarna expedition is able to run lengthy seasons of fieldwork, conservation and research also owes a great deal to the continuing support of members of the public. Thank you!

Barry Kemp/Anna Stevens

The Mellon Foundation grant award for the Online Egyptological Bibliography (OEB) includes provision for an annual internship of one month to be held in Oxford.

Accordingly, we are seeking a person with an interest in bibliography & the development of databases in Egyptology to join the team for this period, during which they will gain experience of building an online bibliographic resource while contributing to the enhancement of the OEB database.

They will be able to devote some time to their own research, using the unrivalled facilities of the Sackler Library as well as other resources in Oxford.

We envisage that this person will be a graduate student of Egyptology (or a closely related subject) who will be willing to live & work in Oxford for a period of one month between July & September 2013. The precise period to be spent in Oxford need not coincide with a calendar month. Knowledge of Egyptological publications is essential, as is a concern for accuracy & consistency. The person must have a reading knowledge of French & German.

The intern will be reimbursed reasonable travel costs within the UK & will be helped with finding & paying for accommodation in Oxford, up to a total of £1000.
 

Those who are interested should write to R. Gareth Roberts (gareth.roberts [at] orinst.ox.ac.uk) with a letter, CV & the name of a referee (preferably their current graduate supervisor). We should like to receive expressions of interest as soon as possible, and no later than Friday 14 June, 2013.

Fragment of fallen ceiling in the open air storage of the lovely Temple of Tod complex, south of Luxor

 

Journals, Magazines and Newsletters

Job Opportunities

Miscellaneous 

Northampton faces legal challenge over Sekhemka statue sale from Marquis of Northampton. Museums Journal http://bit.ly/10U7Vgf 

 
Zahi Hawass, long-reigning king of AE antiquities was forced into exile but is now plotting a return. Smithsonian Mag http://bit.ly/16a12PH 

The Temple of Karnak

Free online: Analysis of wooden finds from burial shafts of A38 (from ABUSIR XXII, Abusir, Egypt). J.Beneš. Academia http://bit.ly/110ZUuJ 

 

Journals and Magazines 

Travel and Tourism

Job Opportunities

Obituary

Miscellaneous 

The Two-Dogs Palette from the Main Deposit, Hierakonpolis. c.3300-3100BC 1896-1908 E.3924 Ashmolean Museum

Research

A 19th century French poet (Rimbaud) in Harwa’s Cenotaph. EES Publishing Blog http://bit.ly/ZHSrM0

Downtown Philadelphia’s Wanamaker Building and Masonic Temple. Penn Museum Artifact Lab http://bit.ly/RUJaNa 

Wadi es-Sebua, Lake Nasser, Nubia

“Echoes of Egypt” takes a holistic view of AE’s impact on the art, architecture etc of more recent cultures. theday http://bit.ly/10iGr3y  

Exhibition at the Musée du Louvre featuring drawing in Ancient Egypt, from 19th April to 22nd July 2013. AMA http://bit.ly/16OsDFk  

Travel and tourism

Comprehensive report on the current state of travel in Egypt with emphasis on safety. Travel Reportage http://bit.ly/10af8Ny  

Pyramids of E. Lothian and Edinburgh: looking at Egyptianized pyramids in Scotland. Lothian Life http://bit.ly/18pqWNL 

Interview, in Spanish, with Myriam Seco. Ushebtis http://bit.ly/10FLIBe

BBC 1974: Magnus Magnusson talks to Sir Mortimer Wheeler about Sir Flinders Petrie. http://bbc.in/YaPrdB   

The twists and turns of the early days of the Napoleonic expedition to Egypt at the end of the 18thC. Al Ahram Weekly http://bit.ly/12fpNDP  

Palm trees at Abu Simbel

Mummy hnty-k to go on display at McManus Museum in Dundee, Scotland. http://bit.ly/11TnsiX 

What is museum learning? Museums + Heritage http://bit.ly/10da7xQ  Via @gem_heritage

British Museum director to advise on Burrell Collection (Scotland) revamp. BBC http://bbc.in/ZRySk6
Exhibition: Nesperennub is still on his travels and is now opening in Singapore. ST http://bit.ly/11J4Bav

In Spanish. Interview with Egyptologist and excavator Francisco Martín Valentín. Ushebtis http://bit.ly/11PxjFh

Videos of Sai Island, Sudan. Medieval Sai Project https://medievalsaiproject.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/videos-from-sai/ …

On BBC iPlayer for 7days for those with access: The Man Who Discovered Egypt. About archaeo William Flinders Petrie. http://bbc.in/15UVhob

Free online: CENiM – Les Cahiers Égypte Nilotique et Méditérranéenne. ENiM 6, 2013 (4 articles in French) http://bit.ly/Y94R1Q

Who were the Mamluks? History Today http://bit.ly/124tJuj  

Download the PDF for Armenian Egyptology Centre Newsletter 27 (27th April 2012).http://www.academia.edu/3413672/AEC_Egyptology_Newsletter_27_27th_April_2012_ …

 

Journals and Magazine  

Nouveau numéro d’Égypte Afrique & Orient (N°69), consacré aux femmes égyptologues au XIXe siècle. Centre d’égyptol.​ http://bit.ly/12IElOw

Travel and Tourism

Jane Akshar explains the new rules for the operation of hot air balloons in Luxor on her Luxor News Blog http://bit.ly/ZU315B 

Obituary

Chicago House Director Ray Johnson’s obituary of Helen Jacquet-Gordon. Oriental Institute http://bit.ly/Ybr13m 


Miscellaneous 

Questions that might be asked on your academic job interview http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2013/04/29/essay-interview-questions-academic-job-searches 

Antiquities Looting and the War in Syria. Cultural Lawyer http://bit.ly/15R8SNa 

Final Issue of Egypt Independent: In Egypt, environmental journalists are endangered species. Egypt Independent http://bit.ly/Yc9UAV 

Richard Cavendish remembers King Farouk’s succession to the Egyptian throne on April 28th 1936. History Today http://bit.ly/Y5VqQP
 
 

Abu Simbel

A New discovery in North Sinai including imported amphorae from Rhodes Island. Luxor Times http://bit.ly/ZkWhxZ

Free PDF press kit about the Egypt and Sudan galleries at the Ashmolean Museum website with lots of info and photos. http://bit.ly/XQMI8U  

More re the recently re-opened 1920s Egypt-influenced Louxor cinema in Paris: “Luxor-on Seine.” The Economist. http://econ.st/ZgLOnf 

Review of Cathie Bryan’s @PetrieMuseEgypt tour of Egyptianized + Masonic tombs at Kensal Green Cemetery. Petrie Mus. http://bit.ly/ZIkb5Z 

New websites and apps

New archaeology apps may make you an armchair Indiana Jones. Fox News http://fxn.ws/Zlqo9p 

From the South Tombs Cemetery photo album on  the Amarna Project’s Facebook page (see link below)

The final season of excavations at the South Tombs Cemetery is now underway at Amarna, and with just a couple of weeks left on site we are working hard to try to reach our project target of 400 skeletons. 21 to go!

We are continuing work at the Upper Site, under the direction of Dr Mary Shepperson, where the odd trend for multiple burials noted in previous seasons continues. Do these graves simply represent family tombs, or was this part of the cemetery in use at a time when the population was exposed to a particularly harsh outbreak of disease that killed many and resulted in Œ”mass graves”? The physical anthropology team, who will recommence their study of the human remains in May, will no doubt be interested to examine these new burials with these issues in mind.

We’ve also opened a new part of the site, around half way along the wadi in which the cemetery lies, which is densely packed with very regularly spaced graves, most occupied by single skeletons. Yet, as always, the site offers something unexpected: the burial of an adult not in the extended position as is standard, but in the contracted (fetal) position. This is only the second burial of this kind in eight seasons of excavations, and we are wondering if this individual was perhaps a foreigner living at Amarna.

Back at the dig house, the conservation team led by Julie Dawson is recommencing their crucial project to consolidate the pieces of decorated wooden coffin recovered from the cemetery over recent years, which are so important for the study of funerary religion in Akhenaten¹s reign.

And the excavations continue to produce other finds that convey something of the character of the people of Amarna, including two pairs of bronze tweezers in the grave of an adult female, and an entire necklace formed of blue faience fish-shaped pendants and hundreds of little ring beads.

These pieces can be viewed in the online photo album at the link below, which is updated regularly and includes images of the excavations:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.559090944111844.1073741825.178713395482936&type=3

And yesterday we were joined by the BBC, who are working on a new program entitled “Treasures of Ancient Egypt”, so some footage of the cemetery excavations might also make it to the television screen soon!

The excavations this year are funded by a British Academy Small Research Grant, and by the Amarna Trust, and the conservation of the coffins is paid for by grants from the Thriplow and Aurelius Trusts.

For anyone interested in learning more about the cemetery excavations, you might also like to read our recently published research article in the journal Antiquity (subscription required):

http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/087/ant0870064.htm

Thanks again for your interest in and support of our work.

19 April 2013

Anna Stevens/Barry Kemp

A piece of famous Amarna Princess painting (Ashmolean Mus) found by Manchester Museum curator in their stores http://bit.ly/17Mb2gb 

More re “Echoes of Egypt”: Abiding influence of ancient Egypt on world’s cultures explored at the Yale Peabody Museum.http://bit.ly/Z88GpL 

Review of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, southwest England. Seshat’s Journal http://bit.ly/11YDV5k

Free online 

Via @ISAWLibrary Open Access: Armenian Egyptology Centre Newsletter. Download issues 1 to 24 in PDF format from http://yerevan.academia.edu/AshkhenZakharyan/Papers …

A number of PDFs on the subject of Egyptian rock art by Fred Hardtke are available for download on Academia. edu: http://mq.academia.edu/FredHardtke

Travel

Respite in the desert. Bahareya Oasis is more than what first meets the eye. Ahram Weekly http://bit.ly/WYv6K9

Alexandria, Egypt’s ‘Pearl of the Mediterranean.’ Huffington Post http://huff.to/ZyL4ZW 

18th April 2013

Table of Contents:
The Significance of the Crossed Arms Pose in the New Kingdom – Part 1.  By Dylan Bickerstaffe

Labib Habachi A Life to Know…. Part 1. By Garry Beuk

Replicating the tomb of Tutankhamun. Conservation and sustainable tourism in the Valley of the Kings. By Andrea Byrnes

An Exploration of the term ‘inw’ from the Early Dynastic Period to the New Kingdom. By Barbara O’Neill

Marianne Brocklehurst and the West Park Museum, Macclesfield – Part 1. By Andrea Byrnes

Revisiting Heqanakht. By Barbara O’Neill

Merneith – The First Queen of Egypt? By Kate Phizackerley

In Brief:
The goddess Neith in the Early Dynastic period

Book Reviews:
Traveling Through the Deserts of Egypt
Dawn of Egyptian Art

I’ve tried a new layout to make navigating the stream of links more manageable. 

Painted ceiling, Coptic Monastery of St Simeon, Aswan (7th Century AD)

Ian Shaw’s email re the postponement of the 2013 season of the Gurob Harem Palace Project posted on Egyptology News blog at http://bit.ly/111Pto6

Young Egyptians start “Stop the heritage drain” campaign to prevent loss of Egypt’s heritage. Daily News Egypt http://bit.ly/17yTxQn

More re Nature article: Mummy genetics study may enable widespread genome mapping of Ancient Egyptians. Huff Post http://huff.to/17BTlzI

Egypt lifts ban on Luxor ballooning, although company that owned crashed balloon still grounded. IOL News http://bit.ly/ZukQVt  

Strike in front of the Karnak temple in Luxor has ended after officers heard the strikers’ demands. Daily News Egypt http://bit.ly/159NphX