New Discovery, Nubia: Ancient Tomb of Gold Worker Found Along Nile River

A 3,400-year-old tomb holding the remains of more than a dozen possibly mummified people has been discovered on Sai Island, along the Nile River in northern Sudan.

Archaeologists discovered the tomb in 2015, though it wasn't until 2017 that a team with the Across Borders archaeological research project fully excavated the site.

The island is part of an ancient land known as Nubia that Egypt controlled 3,400 years ago. The Egyptians built settlements and fortifications throughout Nubia, including on Sai Island, which had a settlement and a gold mine. 

The tomb, which contains multiple chambers, appears to hold the remains of Egyptians who lived in or near that settlement and worked in gold production.

The artifacts found in the tomb include scarabs (a type of amulet widely used in Egypt), ceramic vessels, a gold ring, the remains of gold funerary masks worn by the deceased and a small stone sculpture known as a shabti. 

The ancient Egyptians believed that shabtis could do the work of the deceased for them in the afterlife. Some of the artifacts bore Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions that revealed the tomb was originally created for a man named Khnummose, who was a "master gold worker."

The remains of Khnummose (which may have been mummified) were found next to those of a woman who may have been his wife. Some of the other people found in tomb may have been relatives of Khnummose, the researchers said, adding that they planned to conduct DNA analyses of the remains.

"We will try to extract ancient DNA from the [bones] of the bodies in question," said Julia Budka, professor for Egyptian Archaeology and Art History at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. "If the [ancient] DNA is preserved, this will help us a lot. 

Otherwise, it all remains tentative," said Budka, who noted that the samples are already at the Department for Archaeogenetics at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany.

The archaeologists said they aren't sure how many of the bodies were mummified.

"The state of preservation is very difficult here," Budka said. "I am waiting for the report of my physical anthropologists. For now, the position and also traces of bitumen speak for some kind of mummification for all persons in Tomb 26 who were placed in wooden coffins." 

Bitumen is a type of petroleum that the ancient Egyptians sometimes used in mummification.

Many of the coffins are also poorly preserved, and it's uncertain exactly how many of the people were buried in coffins, Budka said.

Source: LiveScience.com

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News, Giza: Tutankhamun Artifacts Moved to Grand Egyptian Museum Ahead of Soft Opening in 2018

Zidan During Restoration on The Oars

Mummified dates, grains and small model boats were among the objects moved in this most recent batch, an operation that required careful packing and essential restoration work. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities has transported another batch of items from the Tutankhamun collection to their new home at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) overlooking the Giza Plateau.

The ancient Egyptian artifacts were moved on Sunday from their current location at the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo to the GEM ahead of its soft opening in early 2018.

Tarek Tawfik, supervisor general of the GEM, said the new batch of artifacts includes dried and mummified seeds and fruits, as well as several model boats crafted from wood and a small wooden chair painted in white plaster.

Prior to the move, the objects were subjected to essential restoration work, courtesty of the GEM's First Aid Restoration department.

Eissa Zidan, the department's director, said the artifacts – including dried dates, onions, garlic, wheat, barely and doum – were all transported safely.

He said that the restoration staff used scientific methods to pack and transport the items. They also compiled a detailed report on the current condition of all items prior to the move. Zidan said the objects would undergo further restoration at the GEM.

The GEM is due to open in April 2018, with two areas accessible to the public: a large hall containing the entire Tutankhamun collection; and the Grand Staircase collection of major objects and statues from Ancient Egypt.

The process of transporting items from Downtown to the GEM started in the summer of 2016, while the transfer of the Tutankhamun collection began earlier this year.

Source: Ahram Online

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Recovered Artifacts, Cairo: Qurans From Ottoman Era Seized at Cairo International Airport

One of The Seized Quran

A smuggling attempt of five Qurans was foiled today at Cairo International Airport. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The Customs Authority at Cairo International Airport has foiled a smuggling attempt of a collection of five Ottoman era Qurans, found in three parcels arriving from Ethiopia.

Ahmed Al-Rawi, head of the Antiquities Units at Egyptian Ports, explained that the parcels were seized in the cargo village at Cairo International Airport earlier today. When the archaeological committee of the Cairo Antiquities Units inspected the packages they verified their authenticity.

The Water Container And The Swords Handles 

Hamdi Hamam, director general of the Antiquities Unit at Cairo International Airport, explained that the parcels include five Qurans from the Ottoman era written in large Naskh handwriting (a style of cursive calligraphy) on old paper and covered with leather.

He pointed out that some of the seized Quran were not organised according to the Quran's normal index but were a grouping of the Quran's verses.

Hamam said that the five seized Qurans are in a very bad state of conservation and are in dire need of restoration work.

Six handles of old swords carved in animals bones were also found in the parcels, as well as a water container made of animal leather. El-Rawi said all the artifacts are now being held as investigations continue.

Source: Ahram Online

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Our Exnibition, Astana: Temporary Exhibition of Islamic Artifacts to Open Thursday in Kazakhstan

The temporary exhibition in Astana is to include a number of artifacts selected from the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Under the title, "Sultan Bebars and his reign," the Astana National Museum in Kazakhstan is to host its first temporary exhibition from Egypt.

Elham Salah, head of the museums sector of the Ministry of Antiquities, explained that the exhibition includes a collection of 22 Islamic objects from the reign of Mameluk Sultan Bebars that were carefully selected from the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo.

The objects, Salah told Ahram Onine, include a copper food container gilded with silver, a lion-shaped white marble sheet, a copper basin gilded with silver and gold, a wooden holder of the Quran embellished with ivory and a collection of silver and gold coins.

The exhibition will last until August.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Cairo: AUC Hands Over Egyptian Artifacts From 1964 Excavation in Fustat

The American University in Cairo transferred the 5,000 items to the Ministry of Antiquities, in line with Egyptian law. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The American University in Cairo (AUC) has handed 5,000 historical artifacts over to the Ministry of Antiquities, parting with a collection it has held since the 1960s. The collection consists of a number of clay vessels of different shapes and sizes, ushabti figurines, tombstones and wooden funerary masks from the Graeco-Roman era, as well as lamps from the Islamic period.

Mahmoud Afifi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Department, told Ahram Online that the artifacts were unearthed by an AUC excavation team led by late Professor George Scanlon in 1964 at Establ Antar archaeological site in Fustat, Cairo. According to the Egyptian antiquities law during that time, said Afifi, any artifacts unearthed at archaeological sites could be divided with foreign missions. Accordingly, the AUC succeeded in keeping half of the excavated items.

Then in 1983, with the passing of the Egypt Antiquities Law (No. 117), the objects were registered as the property of the Egyptian state, but in the possession of the AUC. Mahmoud Khalil, Director General of the Antiquities Possession Department, said the AUC recently sent an official letter to the ministry asking for the artifacts to be returned to the state.

Khalil went on to say that the ministry immediately assigned an archaeological committee to inspect the collection, pack the items and transport them to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat. The ministery has stated that anyone in possession of Egyptian antiquities should follow the lead of the AUC in handing them over, "since they are part of Egypt's heritage, to be enjoyed by all humanity."

Source: Ahram Online

Short Story: Not Out of Africa?

Recent DNA analysis apparently showing that the ancient Egyptians were more Levantine than African has created controversy among Egyptian archaeologists. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Early this week, scientists and researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History at the University of Tubingen in Germany revealed that the ancient Egyptians were genetically related to ancient Turkey and the Levant and not as African as had previously been thought.

The results were published in the journal Nature Communication after a DNA analysis on 151 Egyptian mummies from a period lasting from 1388 BC to 426 CE when Egypt become a province of the Roman Empire had been conducted.

The mummies came from an area named Abusir Al-Meleq, an ancient community in the middle of Egypt, and the DNA samples were extracted from the bones, teeth and soft tissues of the mummies.

Johannes Krause, a paleogeneticist from the University of Tubingen who made the study, told the US newspaper the Washington Post that the major finding was that “for 1,300 years, we see complete genetic continuity”. Despite repeated conquests of Egypt by Alexander the Great, the ancient Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Assyrians, the ancient Egyptians showed little genetic change. “The other big surprise,” Krause said, “was that we didn’t find much Sub-Saharan African ancestry.”

Comparing of the results was done with modern Egyptians and Ethiopians, and the results showed that the ancient Egyptians were closely related to people who lived along the eastern Mediterranean coasts and that they also shared genetic material with residents of the Anatolian Peninsula at the time and Europe. African genes were found in only 20 per cent of the material, and this was due to trade exchange.

In their paper, the researchers acknowledged that “all our genetic data were obtained from a single site in Middle Egypt and may not be representative for all of ancient Egypt.” In the south of Egypt, the authors wrote, Sub-Saharan African influences may have been stronger.

The study has triggered anger among several Egyptian archaeologists who have questioned the results. Egyptologist Zahi Hawass described the studies as “hallucinations” and told Al-Ahram Weekly that they were not accurate for several reasons.

The mummies that were subjected to the DNA tests dated to the Graeco-Roman period when the mummification process was very poor, he said. They also belonged to people who came from Italy or to Greeks who lived in ancient Egypt and not to native ancient Egyptians.

“How can the ancient Egyptians be genetically from Europe,” Hawass asked, adding that when the ancient Egyptians were busy building their civilisation Europe did not exist in civilisational terms.

“There is no scientific or archaeological evidence that could support such results,” Hawass said, adding that the only discovery that scientists think could indicate the origin of the ancient Egyptians was the Naqad Necropolis discovered by archaeologist Flinders Petrie which houses .... READ MORE.

Source: Ahram Online

New Discovery, Alexandria: Hellenistic Tomb With Pottery Vessels Discovered in Alexandria

Newly Discovered Pottery Vessels

An archaeological mission from the Ministry of Antiquities discovered the rock-hewn tomb in the city's El-Shatby district. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

During excavation work at a site in the El-Shatby neighbourhood of Alexandria, an Egyptian archaeological mission from the Ministry of Antiquities discovered a rock-hewn tomb that can be dated to the Hellenistic period (323-30 BC).

Mahmoud Afifi, head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities at the ministry, told Ahram Online that studies on the architectural style of the tomb’s decorative elements and pottery sherds found at the site show that the tomb dates to the time of Greek occupation in Egypt.

The tomb is composed of four halls with burial shafts decorated with geometric, coloured designs as well as funerary prayers written in ancient Greek.

Mustafa Rushdi, director-general of Antiquities of the Western Delta and Alexandria told Ahram Online that the mission found around 300 artefacts within the tomb’s hall. 

Among the objects were pottery vessels, a terracotta statue and lamps made of clay.

During the next archaeological season, the mission plans to study the funerary phrases written on the tombs to identify their owners.

Source: Ahram Online

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