All posts tagged: Ancient Egyptian artifacts

Newly Excavated Egyptian Tomb Sheds Light on Greco-Roman Era

Newly Excavated Egyptian Tomb Sheds Light on Greco-Roman Era

Published by José Betancourt

A newly excavated Roman-era tomb found at Al-Bahnasa, site of the ancient city of Oxyrhynchus, offers insights into Egyptian funerary practices during the Greek and Roman periods (332 BCE–641 CE). The find, announced by the Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry, was made by a team of Egyptian and Spanish researchers led by archeologists Esther Pons of Spain’s National Archaeological Museum and Maite Mascort of the University of Barcelona.   Among the contents of the tomb were several mummies elaborately wrapped in decorated linen; alongside them the team found three gold amulets shaped like tongues and one made of copper, objects that would allow the dead to speak in the afterlife. The archaeologists also noted traces of gold leaf on some of the mummies, suggesting elaborate funerary rituals. Related Articles In a statement, Sherif Fathy, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, said the discovery adds to a growing list of important finds at the site; other Greco-Roman-era objects unearthed at Al-Bahnasa by the same team have included terracotta statuettes of Isis-Aphrodite, a form of the Egyptian …

Archaeologists Discover Secret Chambers in one of Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza

Archaeologists Discover Secret Chambers in one of Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza

Published by José Betancourt

Using non-invasive technologies, researchers from Cairo University and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have located two air-filled spaces within Giza’s Menkaure pyramid that hint at a possible secret entrance. Their findings were published in the academic journal NDT & E International. The Menkaure pyramid is the smallest of the three main pyramids on Cairo’s Giza plateau. Built for the Fourth Dynasty ruler Menkaure, it was completed in the 26th century BC. It was excavated between 1906 to 1910, but has not been fully explored since then. Related Articles The structure is distinguished from its two larger neighbors by having been partially clad in red granite blocks, rather than white limestone. An unusually smooth area on its eastern facade has long intrigued researchers, due to its resemblance to a similarly polished section surrounding its north-facing main entrance. Working within the ScanPyramids project, the research team used ground-penetrating radar, ultrasound, and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to confirm the presence of voids behind this area. Their discovery supports the theory, suggested by researcher Stijn van den Hoven in …

Egyptian Archeologists Find 3,000-Year-Old Coffins of Temple Chanters

Egyptian Archeologists Find 3,000-Year-Old Coffins of Temple Chanters

Published by José Betancourt

Archeologists working near Luxor have uncovered 22 painted wooden coffins containing mummies, according to the Daily News Egypt, which reported the news in February. The well-preserved sarcophagi date to Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period (1077–664 BCE). The archeological mission, which was affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Zahi Hawass Foundation for Heritage and Antiquities, also found a group of eight papyrus scrolls, some with their seals intact, in a pottery jar. Related Articles The discovery was made during excavation work at a previously known tomb in the Theban Necropolis, a site on the Nile’s west bank where rulers, officials, and nobles were interred during Egypt’s Pharaonic period. The presence of mummies in the coffins makes the find particularly significant, with Zahi Hawass, head of the mission, saying it provides new insights into the Third Intermediate Period. Crowded into a rock-cut chamber, the sarcophagi were separated from their lids and stacked to save space, indicating that they were moved at some point from their original location. They largely bear professional titles rather than personal …

Ancient Egyptians Used Correction Fluid to Fix Errors on Papyri

Ancient Egyptians Used Correction Fluid to Fix Errors on Papyri

Published by Jenni Sidey

The ancient Egyptians used an early version of correction fluid to fix errors on artworks and documents, researchers have found. The news was first reported by the Times of London. While readying a 3,300-year-old papyrus for the exhibition “Made in Ancient Egypt” at the Fitzwilliam Museum in England, museum staff noticed that a painted figure of a jackal had been altered to make it appear slimmer. The jackal is part of a scene from a copy of the Book of the Dead—a scroll made to guide the deceased through the underworld—prepared for the tomb of the royal scribe Ramose. In the vignette, Ramose walks alongside the jackal, which likely symbolizes the jackal-headed god Wepwawet, a pathfinder for armies and guardian of the dead. Related Articles White lines can be seen along the top and bottom of the jackal’s body and down the fronts of its hind legs. “It’s as if someone saw the original way the jackal was painted and said, ‘It’s too fat—make it thinner,’ so the artist has made a kind of ancient …