Last Fragments From 'Magical' Egyptian 'Book Of The Dead' From 1420 BC Found

Fragments of the missing parts of the manuscript have been discovered by renowned Egyptologist Dr John Taylor - potentially ending a search that has lasted a century

Last Fragments From 'Magical' Egyptian 'Book Of The Dead' From 1420 BC Found - After Century-Long Search By Archaeologists -- Daily Mail

* 'Last' pages of manuscript found after century-long hunt
* Egyptologist says he is 'floored' by discovery
* Papyrus book of spells supposed to guide spirits to land of dead

The last missing pages from a supposedly 'magical' Book of the Dead from an Egyptian priest, Amenhotep, have been found after a century-long search - in a museum in Queensland.

British Museum Egyptologist Dr John Taylor said he was 'floored' by the discovery of the 100 fragments.

It's the end of a worldwide search by archaeologists for the papyrus scroll - which supposedly contains spells to guide spirits into the afterlife.

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My Comment: One has to give credit to these academics. Even with the Egyptian revolution and political unrest continuing .... they are still doing their work.

Searching For Cleopatra

The Search for Cleopatra Continues -- Past Horizons

A radar survey of the temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria in Egypt, was completed last month as part of the ongoing search for the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. The expedition excavating the temple and its surrounding area is headed by Dr. Zahi Hawass and Dr. Kathleen Martinez from the Dominican Republic.

The recent radar survey is a significant step forward and was carried out by an Egyptian team, with American expert Dr. Roger Vickers serving as a consultant. The radar revealed three possible areas of interest where a tomb may be located. These locations have been passed to the archaeological team who received the results of the survey with great interest, and will begin excavation of the targets next week.

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Air Pollution In Ancient Egypt

This mummy was discovered in Dakhleh Oasis, a remote outpost in southwest Egypt and lived around 1,800 years ago, at a time when the Romans occupied Egypt. Although much of the mummy remains are lost, the area around the lungs, where particulates were found, is well preserved. CREDIT: Photo courtesy Dakhleh Oasis Project.

Egyptian Mummies Hold Clues of Ancient Air Pollution -- Live Science

Ancient Egyptians may have been exposed to air pollution way back when, according to new evidence of particulates in the lungs of 15 mummies, including noblemen and priests.

Particulates, tiny microscopic particles that irritate the lungs, have been linked to a wide array of modern-day illnesses, including heart disease, lung ailments and cancer. The particulates are typically linked to post-industrial activities, such as fossil-fuel burning.

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Hidden Hieroglyphs Found Inside The Great Pyramid

A composite of images taken by a robot of the floor of the Great Pyramid is shown. Red hieroglyphs are visible. Djedi Team

Robot Finds Hidden Hieroglyphs Inside Pyramid -- MSNBC

Secrets of 4,500-year-old tomb revealed in first images from behind mysterious doors.

A robot explorer sent through the Great Pyramid of Giza has begun to unveil some of the secrets behind the 4,500-year-old pharaonic mausoleum after it transmitted the first images behind one of its mysterious doors.

The images revealed hieroglyphs written in red paint that have not been seen by human eyes since the construction of the pyramid. The pictures also unveiled new details about two puzzling copper pins embedded in one of the so called "secret doors."

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Egyptian Mummy Mystery Thickens

One of the heads from a mummy damaged during the break-in at Cairo's Egyptian Museum appears in the photo above. Click to enlarge this image. Zahi Hawass Website

Headless Egyptian Mummy Mystery Thickens -- Discovery News

The mummies have become the symbol of the world's concern for ancient Egyptian cultural heritage.

* Egyptologists still don't know the identities of the two mummies whose heads were ripped off during a break-in at Cairo's Egyptian Museum.
* Initial reports that they could be King Tut's great-grandparents turned out to be unfounded.
* Based on evidence available so far, it's fairly clear that the mummies are non-royals.

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My Comment: This vandalism is just unbelievable.

Experts Fret Over Egypt's Treasures

Visitors look at the 8-metres high sandstone statue of Ramses II (1279-1213 BC) at entrance to the Nubian Museum in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, about 879 km (549 miles) south of Cairo November 8, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

From Cosmos:

PARIS: Archaeologists voiced deepening concern after fresh street battles erupted around Cairo's Egyptian Museum housing the gold sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun and other priceless relics.

Websites and chat-rooms buzzed with anxiety after a break-in that left a number of glass cabinets smashed and precious objects damaged, including two mummies. There were also accounts of pilfering at an antiquities storage depot at Qantara and anecdotal reports of tomb raiding at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara.

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My Comment: They should be worried.

5,000 Years Of Egyptian Antiquities Are Now Being Looted Across Egypt

Egypt's Antiquities Fall Victim To The Mob -- Wall Street Journal

When Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, came to work at the Egyptian Museum on Saturday, he found that looters had broken in and beheaded two mummies—possibly Tutankhamun's grandparents—and looted the ticket booth. Reports indicate that middle-class Egyptians, the tourism police and later the military secured the museum. But now it appears that many other museum's and storehouses have been looted, along with archaeological sites. A vast, impoverished underclass seems less taken with either the nationalist narrative of Egyptian greatness that stretches back to the pharaohs, or the intrinsic value of antiquities for all humanity, and more intrigued by the possibility of gold and other loot. For his part, Mr. Hawass has now been appointed state minister for antiquities by President Hosni Mubarak.

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More News On Egypt's Collection of Antiquities At Risk As The Unrest Continues To Grow

Egypt sees massive looting of antiquities -- Bikyamasr
Protesters defended Cairo's Egyptian Museum from looters; archeological warehouses raided -- New York Daily News
Egypt: Other face of unrest sees looters plunder country's past -- Scotsman
Details of looting of Cairo and other Egyptian museums -- The Art Newspaper
Haswass Anxiety for Egyptian Antiquities in Attacks on Museums -- Suite101
Egyptian artifacts in danger: antiquities chief -- CBC
Egyptologists fear for relics amid unrest -- CNN
Archaeologists Hold Their Breaths on Status of Egyptian Antiquities -- Science Magazine
Archaeologists assess Tut tragedy -- MSNBC
Egypt crisis: Looters destroy mummies in Cairo museum -- The Telegraph
Egyptian army boosts security at museums and archaeological sites -- The National
Egypt's Treasures Saved from Looters and Vandals -- FOX News
Egypt Treasures Looted, but Public Strikes Back -- National Geographic
Egypt's Human Chain: The Race to Save the Mummies -- Time Magazine
Egypt: military detains 50 at museum -- AP
The Break-In at Cairo's Prized Museum -- Time Magazine
Pictures: Ancient Egyptian Artifacts Damaged in Looting -- National Geographic
The battle for Egypt's past -- CNN
Egypt's museums must be defended -- Jonathan Jones, The Guardian

My Comment: The focus of the media is on the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and efforts to protect it. But the fact is that there are many more museums all across Egypt, and reports are now coming in that they are being looted. To say that this is a catastrophe is an understatement. Regardless of what is happening politically, years from now Egypt will be looking at what is happening today as a dark day in which a good portion of its historical past was looted and stolen.

Assessing The Damage At The Egyptian Museum

Photo: The Egyptian Museum (Courtesy Kristoferb/Wikimedia Commons)

Egypt's Treasures: Assessing The Damage -- Discover Magazine

Concern about Egypt’s priceless antiquities continues to grow, and Egyptologists around the world are issuing high-alert statements about the risk of Egyptian antiquities being smuggled abroad.

“It would be a wonderful gesture if people who are in the antiquity business do not buy any Egyptian artifact at the moment, particularly if they look Old Kingdom antiquities or if they appear to come from the Memphite Necropolis of the New Kingdom,” Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, told Discovery News in a phone interview from Cairo.

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King Tut Artifacts Damaged In Egypt

Looters Damage King Tut Artifacts in Egypt -- Live Science

As chaos reportedly ensues on the streets of Cairo, the Egyptian Museum became a piece of property for looters to exploit, according to Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

About 1,000 people jumped over the wall on the eastern side of the museum on Friday (Jan. 28) when the protests began. They raided the gift shop, thinking it was the museum, according to Hawass's blog. Ten of the individuals made their way into the museum.

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My Comment: It could have been far worse .... correction .... much worse.

Hidden Chambers In The Great Pyramids

One theory suggests that the Great Pyramid had been built inside-out using an internal spiral ramp, as opposed to an external ramp as had long been suggested. Corbis

Great Pyramid May Hold Two Hidden Chambers -- Discovery News

A 3-D simulation of the 4,500-year-old structure suggests an ancient secret lies beneath the desert sand.

* Two secret chamber housing funereal furniture were discovered at the Great Pyramid of Giza.
* The furniture was intended for use in the afterlife by the pharaoh Khufu, also known as Cheops in Greek.

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My Comment: If true .... I could only imagine the treasures inside.

Statue of King Tut's Grandfather Unearthed in Luxor

From Discover News:

Part of an ancient statue of King Amenhotep III, believed to be the grandfather of King Tutankhamun, has been unearthed, Egypt's Ministry of Culture announced on Saturday.

The 4-foot (1.3-meter) by 3-foot (0.95-meter) red granite statue depicts the Egyptian pharaoh in all his power. Amenhotep III wears the double crown of Egypt, which is decorated with a sacred asp, or uraeus, and is seated on a throne next to the Theban god Amun.

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Pyramid Of Mystery Pharaoh Possibly Located

A photograph taken from the area immediately south of the Unas pyramid,
visible in the foreground. Giulio Magli

From Discovery News:

The long-lost tomb of the 4,300-year-old Egyptian pharaoh Userkare may have been located.

The missing pyramid of an obscure pharaoh that ruled Egypt some 4,300 years ago could lie at the intersection of a series of invisible lines in South Saqqara, according to new astronomical and topographical research.

Connecting the funerary complexes raised by the kings of the 6th Dynasty between 2,322 B.C. and 2,151 B.C., these lines would have governed the sacred space of the Saqqara area, in accordance with a number of criteria such as dynastic lineage, religion and astronomical alignment.

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Door to Afterlife From Ancient Egyptian Tomb Found

Photo from Supreme Council of Antiquities

From ABC News:

Archaeologists unearth door to the afterlife from ancient Egyptian minister's tomb.

Archaeologists have unearthed a 3,500-year-old door to the afterlife from the tomb of a high-ranking Egyptian official near Karnak temple in Luxor, the Egyptian antiquities authority said Monday.

These recessed niches found in nearly all ancient Egyptian tombs were meant to take the spirits of the dead to and from the afterworld. The nearly six-foot- tall (1.75 meters) slab of pink granite was covered with religious texts.

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Tracing King Tut's Family Tree In London

A colossal statue of Amenhotep III - King Tut's only grandfather - can
be found at the British Museum, Room 4.

From The Independent:

Tutankhamun has always captured popular imagination, and been a major draw for museums.

The British Museum's 1972 exhibition of artefacts from his tomb smashed all expectations in the box office, drawing over 1.6 million visitors over its nine month duration. The pharaoh nicknamed 'King Tut' has been the source of more speculation, satire and popular culture references than any other male king of Egypt. Last week pathologists announced the results from their studies into the genetic relationship of eleven mummies from the Egyptian New Kingdom (mid 16th to early 11th centuries BC), including those of the legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun.

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Ancient Queen's Burial Chamber Discovered At Saqqara

The Pyramid of Behenu at Saqqara. SCA

From The Independent:

A French archaeological team digging at Saqqara has discovered the burial chamber of 6th Dynasty Queen Behenu, wife of either Pepi I or Pepi II. The burial chamber was revealed while the team was cleaning the sand from Behenu's pyramid in the area of el-Shawaf in South Saqqara, west of the pyramid of King Pepi I.

The burial chamber uncovered by the French mission is badly damaged, apart from two inner walls which contain engraved Pyramid Texts. Those texts were widely used in royal tombs – carved on walls as well as sarcophagi - during the 5th and 6th Dynasties (circa 2465-2150BC).

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Colossal Head Statue Of King Tut's Grandfather Dug Out In Luxor

The colossal head, after its excavation.
Courtesy: Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)

From Discovery News:

A colossal head statue of King Tut's grandfather has been dug out in Luxor, Farouk Hosni, Egypt's Culture Minister, said Sunday.

Smoothly polished and perfectly preserved, the 2.5-meter (8-foot) head belonged to Amenhotep III, the pharaoh who was King Tutankhamun's grandfather, according to DNA tests revealed last week.

The ninth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Amenhotep III (1390-1352 B.C.), reigned for 38 year during a time when Egypt was at the height of prosperity and cultural development.

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Uncovering Secrets Of The Sphinx

Carved in place from limestone, the Sphinx is among the world's largest statues.
Sandro Vannini / Corbis

From the Smithsonian:

After decades of research, American archaeologist Mark Lehner has some answers about the mysteries of the Egyptian colossus

When Mark Lehner was a teenager in the late 1960s, his parents introduced him to the writings of the famed clairvoyant Edgar Cayce. During one of his trances, Cayce, who died in 1945, saw that refugees from the lost city of Atlantis buried their secrets in a hall of records under the Sphinx and that the hall would be discovered before the end of the 20th century.

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Tutankhamun: Now We Know Who The Mummy's Mummy Was

The Viscera Coffin of Tutankhamun, one of four made for the Egyptian king. Getty images

From The Independent:

Secrets of Egyptian boy king's lineage and cause of death unearthed.

His autopsy took some time to complete – more than 3,000 years, in fact – but scientists now believe they know why the Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun died, as well as who his parents and grandmother were.

After conducting an extensive analysis of the ancient pharaoh's DNA, which they gathered from his mummified remains, the researchers concluded that a combination of malaria and bone abnormalities contributed to his premature death at the age of 19 in 1324 BC.

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King Tut's Mom And Dad ID'ed

From Live Science:

Candidates for King Tut's mother and father have been identified using DNA analyses from royal Egyptian mummies.

King Tutankhamun ruled from 1333 to 1324 B.C., during the period of ancient Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom.

Though he is possibly the most well-known of the Egyptian pharaohs, many mysteries still exist about the life, death and parentage of King Tut. But new DNA tests may have helped answer the question of what killed Tut, as well as exactly who his parents were.

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King Tut Died Of Malaria, Had A Club Foot: New Study

The removal of the lid of the sarcophagus of the mummy of King Tutankhamen in his underground tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor November 4, 2007. Reuters/Ben Curtis/Pool

From The National Post:

WASHINGTON -- The celebrated pharaoh Tutankhamun had a club foot, walked with a cane and was killed by malaria, a study showed on Tuesday.

Researchers from Egypt, Italy and Germany used DNA testing to draw "the most plausible" family tree to date for Tutankhamun and computerized tomography (CT) scans to determine that the pharaoh and his forebears were unlikely to have had the feminine physiques they are depicted with in 3,000-year-old artifacts.

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