New Discovery, Aswan: 3,700 Year Old Skeletons of Woman, Fetus Discovered in Egypt's Aswan

3,700-year-old skeletons of woman, fetus discovered in Egypt's Aswan

An Italian-American archaeological mission working in Aswan's Kom Ombo has uncovered the grave of a woman and her fetus dating back 3,700 years, general secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri announced. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Waziri explained that the grave is almost intact and was found in a small cemetery previously used by nomadic people who moved to Egypt from the desert hinterland of its southern neighbour, Nubia, during the Second Intermediate Period (c 1750-1550 BCE).

He added that studies have shown that at the time of her death the woman was about 25 years old and was very close to giving birth. He added that the baby’s skeleton was found in the mother's pelvic area and had already settled in a "head down" position, suggesting that both mother and child may have died during childbirth.

Preliminary analysis of the mother’s remains revealed a misalignment in the woman’s pelvis, most likely the result of a fracture that had healed incorrectly. It is possible that this abnormality had caused problems during labour leading to death.

The mother’s skeleton was resting in a contracted position and was wrapped in a leather shroud. Two pottery vessels accompanied her on her journey to the afterlife: one was a small Egyptian jar, beautifully made and worn down by years of use; and the other was a fine bowl with a red polished surface and black interior, produced by these nomadic communities following a Nubian style.

Waziri mentioned that the mission also found an unexpected offering in the grave, consisting of many unfinished ostrich eggshell beads and blank fragments. The reason behind this offering is unclear; it is possible that in life the woman was a well-regarded bead maker and her family placed an amount of un-worked material in the grave to honour her memory.

Source: Ahram Online

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Our Treasures Abroad, Norway: Egypt Ambassador to Norway Inaugurates Ancient Egyptian Artifacts Exhibition in Oslo

Egyptian Ambassador in Norway Mahy Hassan Abdel-Latif inaugurated an exhibition of ancient Egyptian antiquities and paintings entitled "Images of Egypt" at the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. Written By/ MENA.

The three-month exhibition showcases Egyptian artifacts from across the world's largest museums including London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Paris's Musée d'Orsay and the US Metropolitan Museum of Art, alongside two original copies of the book "Description de l'Égypte."

Over 300 people attended the opening ceremony including ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives from Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and individuals from the Egyptian community in Norway.

Source: Ahram Online

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New Discovery, Aswan: A Sarcophagus With A Mummy Uncovered in Late Period Tomb in Egypt

A Late Period sandstone anthropoid sarcophagus with mummy uncovered near Al-Aga Khan mausoleum in the Upper Egyptian historic city. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Excavations carried out by an Egyptian mission near the Aga Khan Mausoleum on Aswan's west bank uncovered an anthropoid sandstone sarcophagus with a mummy inside of a Late Period tomb.

Mostafa Waziri, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the mummy inside the sarcophagus is wrapped in linen and in a very good conservation condition.

Waziri pointed out that more studies are needed to identify the sarcophagus’ owner. He noted that the mission also uncovered a couple of Late Period tombs with walls decorated with scenes depicting several deities such as Isis, Hathor, and Anubis.

A fragmented collection of coloured stone sarcophagi was also unearthed, along with the remains of a wooden coffin inscribed with hieroglyphic text.

Abdel-Moneim Saeed, the director of Aswan and Nubian Antiquities, explained that a large number of mummies, which were haphazardly buried in the tomb, were also unearthed, suggesting that the tomb was used as a communal burial site.

Saeed added that excavations inside the tomb revealed an unidentified sandstone head of a statue, as well as a collection of amulets and scarabs carved in faience and a wooden statuette of the deity Horus.

Source: Ahram Online

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Our Exhibitions Abroad, USA: Under The Spell of Egypt

North America fell under the magic of the Ancient Egyptians this week, with two exhibitions being inaugurated in St Louis and Los Angeles, reports Nevine El-Aref.

St Louis and the City of Angels were seized by Egyptomania this week when the “Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost World” and “Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh” exhibitions opened in the cities this week.

The St Louis International Airport, streets, shops, buses and hotels were all plastered with posters of granite colossi of the goddess Isis, the Nile god Hapi, Ptolemaic royal figures and the head of Caesarion, Cleopatra’s son by Julius Caesar, half buried in the seabed, for the Egypt’s Lost World exhibition.

Others showed divers coming face-to-face with monuments beneath the waves decorating sections of the St Louis Art Museum (SLAM) façade, while a large 3D photograph of one of Napoleon’s sunken vessels dominated the main wall of the museum’s central courtyard and connecting the six grand galleries of the exhibition. St Louis, it felt, had come under the spell of the Ancient Egyptian sunken treasures.

The exhibition displays 293 objects excavated from beneath the Mediterranean. It was inaugurated by Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany and SLAM Director Brent Benjamin in the presence of Egyptian MPs Osama Heikal, head of the Culture, Antiquities and Media Committee, and Sahar Talaat Mustafa, head of the Tourism and Aviation Committee.

Enormous care had been taken in recreating the Alexandrian theme.

The different galleries of the exhibition had been designed to resemble the sunken cities of Heracleion and Canopus in Abu Qir Bay, and all the galleries were painted light blue and dark sandy-red to reflect the colours of the sea and sand.

Giant plasma screens showed films documenting the progress of marine archaeologists as they uncovered the mysteries of Alexandria’s ancient Eastern Harbour within the display theme.

A prologue and an epilogue provided information about the underwater missions of the Institut Européen d’Archéologie Sous-Marine (IEASM) that discovered the treasures and the natural disasters that had led to the submergence of the area more than 1,000 years ago.

Benjamin had no doubt about the block-busting nature of the show in a city that already boasts one of the world’s finest collections of Egyptian antiquities. “The first exhibition of these Egyptian treasures is one of the cultural highlights of 2018.

This exhibition will attract and enthrall St Louis inhabitants as well as their neighbours,” he told Al-Ahram Weekly, adding that he expected one million people to visit the exhibition during its six-month duration.

The museum has permitted only 200 visitors per hour in order to protect the monuments and provide people with a positive experience. “This week, for example, we succeeded in selling 1,000 tickets in only one day,” Benjamin said.

He described the exhibition as “very important for American audiences as it combines both archaeology and underwater aspects at one time. We grew up watching the TV specials of [French diver] Jacques Cousteau, and here they are combined together which makes the exhibition more compelling to Americans,” Benjamin told the Weekly.

He said the exhibition was a good opportunity for those who had not had the chance to visit Egypt, as it gave them an idea of Egypt’s great civilisation. It also encouraged others to visit Egypt. “As the minister said, these exhibitions are good ambassadors of Egypt,” Benjamin said.

Frank Goddio, head of the IEASM and leader of the underwater archaeological missions that recovered the artefacts, said the exhibition was an ideal opportunity to encourage people to visit Egypt and to explore its art and culture.

He told the Weekly that the aim of sending the exhibition to the United States was to open the new discoveries to the widest public and to encourage visitors from the United States.

He explained that the interior design of the exhibition was totally different from earlier outings in Paris and London. It had a different sonography focusing more on museological techniques and history than on a spectacular ambience, he said... READ MORE.

Source: Ahram Online

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Our Exhibition Abroad, Canada: The World of The Fatimids Goes on Display in Toronto

A collection of Fatimid artefacts arrived safely in Canada for a temporary exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

A collection of Fatimid artefacts from Cairo arrived in Toronto on Tuesday for inclusion in a temporary exhibition at the city's Aga Khan Museum.

The exhibition, titled The World of the Fatimids, will run from 10 March to 2 July, providing North America with its first display of carefully selected Fatimid artworks, according to the museum.

Elham Salah, head of the museums sector at the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the museum has received eight wooden boxes containing a collection of 37 artefacts for the show.

The artefacts were carefully selected from the collection of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in the Bab Al-Khalq area of Cairo. They reflect the history of the Fatimids, who "established one of the greatest civilisations in the world, influencing knowledge and culture throughout the Mediterranean, Europe, and the Near East," according to the Aga Khan Museum website.

Salah said that the ministry had taken all the necessary legal and administrative measures to ensure the safe transportation of the artefacts from Cairo to Canada, applying the latest techniques in packaging and transportation.

An archaeologist and a conservator from the ministry accompanied the artefacts to monitor them on their long journey and inspect them on arrival, said Salah.

Mamdouh Osman, general director of the MIA, said that the artefacts include a collection of clay pots, dishes with various foliage and animal decorations, and a wooden mihrab (niche) decorated with a two-line inscription in kufic script.

There are also a number of marble tombstones inscribed with kufic script reading: "This is the tomb of Hamzah ibn Ali and his descendant Al-Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib," referring to the cousin of Prophet Mohamed.

Also among the artefacts are marble vases, copper lamps and chandeliers with kufic script, and other objects in rock crystal, ivory and ceramic.

The exhibition features films on Fatimid Cairo, using drone video footage and 360 virtual reality technology, offering an insight into what the city was like a thousand years ago.

The Aga Khan Museum says the exhibition, "bears witness to a remarkable dynasty that built one of the world’s oldest universities, compiled one of its greatest libraries, and fostered a flowering of the arts and sciences."

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Cairo: Museum of Islamic Art to Display Replicas in Cairo's Metro Stations

The photo and replicas exhibition at Opera Metro station aims to increase archaeological awareness among Egyptians. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) organised a photo and replicas exhibition of its treasured collection at the Opera Metro station in collaboration with the Metro company and Ministry of Transportation.

Elham Salah, head of the Museums Sector at the Ministry of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the exhibition is a new initiative launched by the ministry to raise archaeological and art awareness among Egyptians, as well as encouraging them to visit the MIA. She added that the initiative will be applied across all Metro stations in due course.

Source: Ahram Online

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News: Pharaonic Influences on Display at Egypt Art Show

Paintings by top Egyptian artists shared wall space with hieroglyphs and Pharaonic relics at Cairo's Egyptian Museum this week in an exhibition highlighting ancient influences on contemporary art.

Artists, intellectuals and ambassadors from around the world attended the Saturday night opening of "A night with Art at the Egyptian Museum", organised by the private Art D'Egypte organisation. The exhibition, at the museum on Cairo's iconic Tahrir square, will be open to the public until Tuesday. "We wanted to highlight the link between contemporary art and ancient Egyptian Pharaonic art," Art D'Egypte founder Nadine Abdel Ghaffar told AFP.

The modern paintings included abstract portraits and other works by prominent contemporary Egyptian artists such as Adel El Siwi, Mohamed Abla, Ghada Amer, Farouk Hosny and Hoda Lotfi. "This initiative shows that artistic creativity spans millennia reaching today," said Abla, who showed five paintings at the exhibition, reflecting ancient Egyptian influences. "Contemporary art is an extension of art by the Pharaonic ancestors," he said.

The show also includes interactive seminars on ancient Egyptian art and its influences on contemporary artists. Several prominent archaeologists and Egyptologists are to speak, including former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass. Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani said it was important to preserve Egyptian heritage "because the antiquities belong to the entire world." The ageing Egyptian museum, which is undergoing renovation, was a key tourist attraction before a January 2011 uprising toppled autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak.

Visitors would wait in long lines outside its entrance, while the halls inside brimmed with foreign tourists and Egyptian visitors, including students on school trips. But Mubarak's ouster unleashed years of political turmoil and sent tourist numbers plummeting. During the uprising, which was centered in Tahrir Square just outside the museum, looters broke into the building, stealing and damaging several ancient treasures.

The fall in tourist numbers prompted the museum a few months ago to open its doors at night in the hope of attracting new visitors. Among its best-known exhibits are a golden funerary mask and other artifacts from the tomb of 18th dynasty Pharoah Tutankhamun. His belongings are among exhibits set to be transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum, a new facility currently under construction near the Giza Pyramids. Anani said the facility should open at least partially before the end of 2018.

Source: Ahram Online