Monday 21 March 2016

Mummification Museum Lecture TT110 Field School – JJ Shirley


Mummification Museum Lecture TT110 Field School – JJ Shirley

You have no idea how good, good, good it is to write these words. I really hope more are organised.

I only heard about it 6pm the night before Barry Budd rang me and although I blogged it and shared it everywhere I was not expecting much of a turn out. Boy was I surprised. Look at the photos, it was heaving. I think it shows how much these lectures are wanted.










First things, the field school have a website Theban Tomb 110 Epigraphy & Research Field School: Home and you can get much more information there. Dr JJ Shirley gave the lecture and there is lots of stuff about her online.

TT110 is the tomb of Djheuty who was an official under both Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III. He is unique in having depictions and cartouches of BOTH pharaohs in his tomb and having served in a high capacity for both rulers. Other officials of this period normally choose either one or the other.

Therefore his tomb gives us important information about the dynamics of the period. ARCE have been running field schools at the tomb for some time first in excavation and conservation and now in epigraphy and research. Djheuty’s tomb was originally publish by Norman de Gare Davies with photos by Harry Burton. It is a T-shaped tomb with a pillared hall. It was originally entered from the back through the tomb of Amenemose so early publications do not detail the entrance. It used the same courtyard as Rebiu and Samut.

When ARCE first started at the tomb the walls were extremely black due to soot but once cleaned a wealth of information was seen. The cartouches of both Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III were there together with images of both kings with Djheuty making offerings. The image of Hatshepsut had been erased. Tuthmosis is shown on the left in the transverse hall and Hat on the right.  It is extremely unusual to have both in a tomb but these are the original cartouches so it was planned that way. Djheuty was a Royal Butler (under Hatshepsut) and Royal Herald (under Tuthmosis III) and Offerer of Amun for both of them.


ARCE spent 4 years doing the excavation and conservation and have also excavated other tombs that share the same courtyard where objects were found. The new field school is training Egyptian inspectors in epigraphy and preparing a tomb report. There is a lot to epigraphy, many lectures in the classroom, learning to draw and the students get a tool kit provided. The drawings being produced are of publication quality. Students are also assigned a tomb for independent study. They have to learn drawing of objects and pottery. When you look at the website the logo is student work and used on t-shirts.

They also do walking tours were they get to understand the relation of tombs and their locations. Chicago House library also forms part of the school and they are taught to use the library, how to get the best out of books not in their own language, comparing old drawings and publications like Porter and Moss. Using different methodologies digital, scanning, drawing on film.

One of the subjects is damage, the damage in this tomb can tell a lot. Were the erasures during; the lifetime of the owner, during the proscription of Hatshepsut and during the Amarna period. Understanding all these tells the Egyptologist a lot.

They also undertake field trips to Gebel Silsila and Hierakonpolis and can see things they find. For example the drawings revealed large tambourines and on a field trip they saw the same instrument at Hierakonpolis. The recarving of the Tuthmosis III cartouche over the Hatshepsut cartouche, where you can still see traces of the original at Gebel Silsila so they can compare to the cartouches in their own tomb and assess if it is original or recarved. JJ recalled on the bus back from one of these trips how the students were so excited and discussing things Arabic.

They have been able to shed light on the career of Djheuty and their drawings are revealing. She encourages other missions to start using these motivated and skilled inspectors.







 

Saturday 19 March 2016

Exhibition of Wael Nour's watercolours

Last night was the opening of Wael's exhibition Nector of the Earth. A collection of water colours of Luxor. Unusually it is not tourist Luxor but the real life of Upper Egypt. The exhibition runs until 23rd March and he is hoping to take it to Cairo and the UK after that. I picked my favourite pictures but there were many others.





Friday 18 March 2016

Mummification Museum lecture Saturday

From Barry Budd

Short notice I know but tomorrow evening Saturday 19th March at 6:30 pm there will be a free to all lecture by JJ Shirley (The University of Pennsylvania) on Theban Tomb 110 This work is being carried out by the ARCE

Let us hope that we can kick start the annual lecture series somehow. I know many have asked that we get this lecture series reinstated. Please try to attend and show your encouragement for the lectures.

Thursday 17 March 2016

Hidden Chambers Discovered In King Tutankhamun’s Tomb By Scans | Egyptian Streets

Hidden Chambers Discovered In King Tutankhamun’s Tomb By Scans | Egyptian Streets



In a press conference, the Ministry said that the two chambers, on the
North and Eastern walls of the tomb, contain either metal or organic
material,
as according to scans carried out by Japanese radar specialist
Hirokatsu Watanabu.



Hirokatsu Watanabe, Mamdouh Eldamaty, the Egyptian antiquities minister, and archaeologists Nicholas Reeves and Yumiko Ueno study an image of a painted wall scene. PHOTO: Brando Quilici, National Geographic

Tuesday 15 March 2016

Tutankhamen tomb project - KV62A Search for Nefertiti



*Ministry of Antiquities*

*Press Office*

A press conference is to be held by Dr. Mamdouh Eldamaty next Thursday March 17, 2016 at 10: 15 am. to announce the results of the preliminary radar scan of the Tutankhamun Tomb preformed by the Japanease teamework headed by Prof. Watanabe.
The Japanese team started its work at the Tomb last November and results will be announced to public within the framework of the search of "Nefertity's" Tomb behind the rear wall of the Golden Pharaoh's Tomb.
Please attend for press coverage at 9:30am, Thursday 17th of March 2016 at Ahmed Pasha Kamal Hall – Zamalek.

Archaeologists excavate a cultic pit near temple of Ptah at Karnak

Left: Osiris statuette and figurine, Right: Small head of statue probably representing the God Imhotep.Image: © CNRS-Cfeetk / J. MaucorAn archaeological team working at Karnak in Egypt has just completed the excavation of a pit for cultic objects (favissa), which was discovered in early December 2014 near the temple of the god Ptah. The dig has unearthed 38 statues, statuettes and precious objects, making this an exceptional find, both for the quantity and quality of the religious artefacts brought to light.

The team also used a new recording method during the dig which makes it possible to virtually reconstruct each step of the discovery with millimetre accuracy. .......



http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/03/2015/archaeologists-excavate-a-cultic-pit-near-temple-of-ptah-at-karnak

Economists welcome Egyptian Pound devaluation, flexible exchange rate - Economy - Business - Ahram Online

 Great news for tourists, your cash will go further and bring cash. Rates within Egypt are excellent.



Economists welcome Egyptian Pound devaluation, flexible exchange rate - Economy - Business - Ahram Online



Sad news for Egyptians wanting imports like flour so please spend  

Wednesday 9 March 2016

Thebes in the First Millennium BC

Registration for the second “Thebes in the First Millennium BC” conference is open. The conference is being organized by the South Asasif Conservation Project (SACP) in conjunction with the Ministry of Antiquities (MoA), and the Egypt Exploration Society (EES). It will take place in September 25–29, 2016 in the Mummification Museum, Luxor. The Organizing committee: Elena Pischikova (Director of the SACP), Julia Budka (SACP), Kenneth Griffin (SACP), John Billman (SACP), Shaaban Abd el-Gawad (MoA), Nashwa Gaber (MoA), Essam Nagy(EES). To register for the 2016 conference and for information on the first conference (2012) and its proceedings visit our website http://southasasif.com/conference2016.html

Monday 7 March 2016

Exhibition of Watercolours

I have admired Wael Nour's paintings for many years and now he has an exhibition as part of film festival. Entitled Nectar of the Earth it starts 5pm 18th March at the library on the airport road (overlooking Sphinx Alley).

Sunday 6 March 2016

Egypt's Railway Museum inaugurated after major renovation - Museums - Heritage - Ahram Online

train
Reading about this reminded me about a set of guests who came many years and for the man of the couple this was the best part of his visit to Cairo. He was seriously into trains. We caught the train together from Aswan to Luxor just so he could have a railway fix. He was in ecstasy about the signalling system which apparently was old 1930's British design and in his opinion was the safest and best system. It is interesting what extra things make an Egyptian holiday special for a tourist. Bird watching, star gazing and fishing are obvious extras to a historical Egyptian holiday But trains!!!! that one was unique



Egypt's Railway Museum inaugurated after major renovation - Museums - Heritage - Ahram Online: The Egyptian National Railways Museum re-opens its doors to visitors in the heart of Cairo

Friday 4 March 2016

Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: WINDING DOWN AND GOING HOME

the last blog for this year

Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: WINDING DOWN AND GOING HOME: Working in Egypt is always full of surprises. As is not uncommon, we came to do certain things and ended up accomplishing other things we didn't expect. For example, we originally hoped to investigate tombs KV 50, 51 and 52 but due to a couple of unanticipated situations, we instead concentrated our efforts on KV 48 and 60, two remarkable tombs very worthy of attention. We accomplished much but at some point, we needed to call a finish to this year's field season, close up operations, and head on home. The work doesn't end there, though, as there is data to analyze and prepare for publication.

Thursday 3 March 2016

Wolf - new restaurant in Luxor



Michael on the roof and I went to the new Al Gezera restaurant Wolf tonight, We knew it was ok as Mahmoud Jahlan had taken some guests there the other night. It had only been open 10 days so still smells of paint!. Extremely clean and fresh.  It is run by Nubi who worked in America for 25 years and has very high standards. His wife is Moroccan so he hope to have Moroccan dishes on occasion. He has a menu but I recommend asking what is special. The moment we heard there was lamb both Michael and I chose that and didn’t regret a single mouthful. The menu does need a bit of work, we were tempted by the hand maid tagen lol. Any driver on the west bank will find it for you, the new restaurant near the school.








Direct flights to Luxor

Please sign this petition and share on what ever social media you use if you would like direct flights to Luxor from where you live.



Petition update · NO MARKET FOR FLIGHTS TO LUXOR??????? · Change.org: Mar 3, 2016 — At the recent meeting here in Luxor with the British Consul John Hamilton he went on and on about how the British Ambassador John Casson was working very hard with the Foreign Office and the UK airlines to get the flights resumed as soon as possible to SHARM EL SHEIKH. I challenged him saying that we were not interested in what was happening in Sharm and that they had only had reduced tourist numbers since November whereas Luxor had been suffering for the last FIVE YEARS and what help had the British Ambassador been to the people here? NO HELP AT ALL!!!! NOBODY had intervened with the airlines to get flights resumed to Luxor as soon as possible. The Consul's reply to this was that there is no market for flights to Luxor and that they could only work on getting regular flights when there was a demand for them. We again challenged him and said that there a VERY MANY people who wanted to fly DIRECT from the UK to Luxor without the extra hassle and expense of having to fly into Hurghada or via Cairo to which he replied "Well I don't know about that" and laughed. So, let's let him know that there IS A DEMAND for DIRECT flights from ALL airports in the UK. PLEASE SIGN and get all of your friends to sign. Thank you

Wednesday 2 March 2016

AWOL Newsletters - Animal Welfare Of Luxor



This month's AWOL newsletter is out





AWOL Newsletters - Animal Welfare Of Luxor

Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: KING TUT'S VALLEY

Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: KING TUT'S VALLEY: .....In what is becoming a HUGE story, my good friend, Nicholas Reeves, has proposed that there are two additional rooms hidden behind the burial chamber’s painted walls, perhaps even concealing another burial. His idea is based on his study of the high-resolution scans along with other data including studies of other royal tombs. With the cooperation of the Egyptian government, radar scans were conducted in November 2015 and the results will likely be announced in the next few months. No matter the results, Nick should be congratulated for his new creative approach to studying a very old tomb.......



Totally agree with that Nick Reeves thinks outside the box literally!

Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: KING TUT'S VALLEY

Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project: KING TUT'S VALLEY: .....In what is becoming a HUGE story, my good friend, Nicholas Reeves, has proposed that there are two additional rooms hidden behind the burial chamber’s painted walls, perhaps even concealing another burial. His idea is based on his study of the high-resolution scans along with other data including studies of other royal tombs. With the cooperation of the Egyptian government, radar scans were conducted in November 2015 and the results will likely be announced in the next few months. No matter the results, Nick should be congratulated for his new creative approach to studying a very old tomb.......



Totally agree with that Nick Reeves thinks outside the box literally!