Egyptian princess tomb discovered

Egypt’s antiquities minister announced on Friday the discovery of a princess’s tomb dating from the fifth dynasty (around 2500 BC) in the Abu Sir region south of Cairo.

“We have discovered the antechamber to Princess Shert Nebti’s tomb which contains four limestone pillars,” Mohamed Ibrahim said.

The pillars “have hieroglyphic inscriptions giving the princess’s name and her titles, which include ‘the daughter of the king Men Salbo and his lover venerated before God the all-powerful,’” he added.

Ibrahim said that the Czech Institute of Egyptology’s mission, funded by the Charles University of Prague and directed by Miroslav Bartas, had made the discovery.

“The discovery of this tomb marks the beginning of a new era in the history of the sepulchers at Abu Sir and Saqqara,” Ibrahim said.

The Czech team also excavated a corridor in the southeast of the antechamber, which leads off to four other tombs, two of which have already been discovered separately.

The two tombs belonged to high-ranking officials including a “grand upholder of the law” and an “inspector of the servants of the palace,” according to their inscriptions. They date from the fifth pharaonic dynasty.

The discoveries have all been made during the excavation season, which began in October, said Usama al-Shini, director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities for Giza.

The corridor contains four limestone sarcophagi that contain statuettes of a man, a man accompanied by his son, and two men with a woman.

Reference:
Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

New Egyptian Pyramids Found by Google Earth

Two possible pyramid complexes might have been found in Egypt, according to a Google Earth satellite imagery survey.

Located about 90 miles apart, the sites contain unusual grouping of mounds with intriguing features and orientations, said satellite archaeology researcher Angela Micol of Maiden, N.C.

One site in Upper Egypt, just 12 miles from the city of Abu Sidhum along the Nile, features four mounds each with a larger, triangular-shaped plateau.

The two larger mounds at this site are approximately 250 feet in width, with two smaller mounds approximately 100 feet in width.

NEWS: Egyptian Pyramids Found With NASA Satellite

The site complex is arranged in a very clear formation with the large mound extending a width of approximately 620 feet — almost three times the size of the Great Pyramid.

“Upon closer examination of the formation, this

Two possible pyramid complexes might have been found in Egypt, according to a Google Earth satellite imagery survey.

Located about 90 miles apart, the sites contain unusual grouping of mounds with intriguing features and orientations, said satellite archaeology researcher Angela Micol of Maiden, N.C.

One site in Upper Egypt, just 12 miles from the city of Abu Sidhum along the Nile, features four mounds each with a larger, triangular-shaped plateau.

The two larger mounds at this site are approximately 250 feet in width, with two smaller mounds approximately 100 feet in width.

appears to have a very flat top and a curiously symmetrical triangular shape that has been heavily eroded with time,” Micol wrote in her website Google Earth Anomalies.

Intriguingly, when zooming in on the top of the triangular formation, two circular, 20-foot-wide features appear almost in the very center of the triangle.

Some 90 miles north near the Fayoum oasis, the second possible pyramid complex contains a four-sided, truncated mound that is approximately 150 feet wide.

Reference : 
Posted by : Memphis Tours Egypt
Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

Egyptian archaeological discovery in the Valley of the Kings on Luxor’s West Bank.

New archaeological discovery at the Valley of the Kings – Amun Re singer Ni Hms Bastet

The tomb of Amun Re singer Ni Hms Bastet was discovered in the Valley of the Kings on Luxor’s West Bank

A deep burial well was found during a routine cleaning carried out by a Swiss archaeological mission on the path leading to King Tuthmosis III’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings. The well leads to a burial chamber filled with a treasured collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts.

Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of State for Antiquities, said that further inside the chamber, excavators stumbled upon a wooden sarcophagus painted black and decorated with hieroglyphic texts, and a wooden stelae engraved with the names and different titles of the deceased.

Early studies carried out by the Swiss team revealed that the tomb dates back to the 22nd Dynasty (945-712 BC) and it belongs to the daughter of Amun Re, lecture priest in Karnak temples and also the singer of the God Amun Re.

Excavations are now in full swing in order to reveal more of the tomb’s treasured collection.

Posted by : Memphis Tours Egypt
Reference : ahram.org.eg

Egypt’s Sinai peninsula Has the Potential to be a Show Case in Human and Resource Development for the New Egypt.

Sinai’s 1,000km shore line offers a window to two great seas, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Its mountainous

Monastery which was built by Emperor Justinian and considered the oldest populated monastery in the world and is currently the home for fifteen monks. Its library is the most ancient in Christianity. Catherine (or Katrin) is an Egyptian Coptic martyr from Alexandria who died in the late 4th century defending her church against the invading Romans. central-southern area has two peaks of 2,300 and 2,600m. One mountain has a great religious significant to Muslims, Christians and Jews; Mount Sinai where God talked to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments near the Burning Bush.
Sinai includes another site of great religious significance. Stand at the foot of Mount Sinai is the famous St. Catherine

Human settlements in Sinai date back to 5,000 – 7,000 BC. Ancient Egyptians used widely Sinai’s turquoise and copper deposits in an advanced technology for their daily life and for their tombs and temples.

Sinai was, and still is used as an east-west land route between Asia and North Africa. Sinai provided routes to millions of travelers to the Muslim Holy sites in Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina, especially at the time of Hajj.
Sinai was invaded by ancient Asian tribes and most recently by Britain, France and Israel in 1956 and by Israel again in 1967. It was threatened by the Crusaders and by the Moguls. In all cases, Egyptians manage to liberate Sinai from foreign invaders, to end any threats and even to liberate other countries in Asia in the process as was the case of liberating Palestine, Syria and Iraq from the Crusaders and the Moguls.
Sinai is an area of great zoological importance, its fauna is an intriguing assemblage of African, Asian and European and its wildlife is both fascinating and rare. It is the home for many rare animals including the Sinai Leopard.
Sinai has the potential to be the world’s leading example for using alternative energy sources to satisfy its needs. Both solar and wind power generation can be the highest per capita. It has an average of over 10 hours of daily sunlight over the whole year, one of the highest in the world. Its average wind speed per year is over 25km per hour. Also dams can be built to make use of seasons of heavy rain in hydraulic power generation.
Agriculture and integrated farming, and a fishing industry can provide jobs for millions of workers from the Nile Valley. Sinai can provide the country with its needs in vegetables, fruits, fish, honey and meat and become a world leading exporter of these products. It is ideal for growing wheat, corn, tomatoes, lettuce, apples, oranges, mangoes, figs, olive and date. It has an average rainfall in the mountainous central-southern region of 300 millimeters, enough to form plenty of underground springs.  It has several unique plants and shrubs which are used to cure many diseases, a well-known fact to the local Bedouin community. Its mangrove ecosystem can be studied and duplicated throughout the peninsula and related industries can be established.
The Mediterranean north coast can accommodate a California-style IT silicon oasis dotted with software and hardware design houses and research centers. The northern city of El-Arish, Sinai’s largest city with some 100,000 inhabitants can be the first to turn into the Great El-Arish Area (GEA) with modern schools, hospitals and universities competing with

the best in the region. The city can be a great seaside summer resort with its sandy beaches and great expanse of palm trees. It can also house the world’s largest historical and culture center for Bedouin and nomadic life.
The South Red Sea shores are suitable for an all-year tourist industry which, with a massive promotion campaign, can become one of the top 10 tourist destinations in the world. It has what it takes; history, sunshine, mild temperature most of the year, sandy beaches, rich coral reefs, mountains and natural protectorates at both land and sea which are second to none. Sothern Sinai can attract millions of tourists while protecting Sinai’s natural environment, heritage and culture.
I invite readers interested in the development of Sinai to contribute and/or attend the first international conference on Sinai for New Egypt which will be held in Cairo at The American University of Cairo near Tahrir Square, just before the first anniversary of the January 25 revolution.

Reference :The Egyptian Gazette
Posted by : Memphis Tours Egypt
Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

The Last Secret Door of Great Pyramid will be opened in 2012

The secret gates at the heart of the Great Pyramid may be opened for the first time in 2012, a British robot company believes – solving a mystery that has puzzled archaeologists since 1872.

‘We’re still waiting for permission to return to the pyramid,’ Whitehead told Mail Online today. ‘In the meantime, we have been working on enhancing the robot.’

‘The main plan is to carefully survey and document the shafts, to gather as much information as possible to allow archaeologists to determine their purpose.  We also still plan to look beyond the blocking stones at the ends of the shafts, if it is safe and practical to do so.’

Scoutek UK had already begun exploring behind the gates earlier this year – and produced the first-ever images from behind the gates using a ‘micro snake’ robot. But the exploration was halted by the recent unrest in Egypt.

Expedition leader Shaun Whitehead said, ‘I’m very confident we can resume work in 2012.’

Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities stopped granting permits for research such as the Djedi robotic exploration of the Great Pyramid.

But it has recently started granting permits again.

The expedition is named Djedi after the magician who Khufu consulted while building the pyramid. It is a joint project founded by Dr Ng from Hong Kong University, and Scoutek UK, in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt, Dassault Systèmes in France and the University of Leeds.

The four narrow shafts deep inside the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid have puzzled archaeologists ever since they were first found in 1872.

The shafts are just eight inches across – and thus can’t be explored by human explorers. Many experts believe that the shaft was designed to provide an ‘exit’ for the Pharaoh’s spirit into.

The pyramid is the last of the seven wonders of the ancient world still standing, and is thought to have been built as a tomb for Pharoah Khufu, who ruled in the Fourth Egyptian Dynasty and died in 2566 BC.

Khufu had the Great Pyramid of Giza built as a monumental tomb, inside of which are tomb chambers, ante-rooms, chambers, ventilation shafts and access tunnels.

There are three main chambers: The King’s Chamber, the Queen’s Chamber and the Grand Gallery.

The King’s Chamber has two shafts connected to outside, but two tunnels from the Queen’s Chamber deep inside the widest part of the pyramid have two stone doors.

Some experts now believe this may indicate a secret chamber, further still within the pyramid.

 It is not the first time robots have been used within the pyramid to gather evidence about the inner depths of the structure.

In 1993 a robot discovered a small door set with metal pins, the first time any metal had been found inside the pyramid, igniting speculation that the pins were keys or door handles.

In 2002 a different robot filmed a small chamber blocked by a stone after managing to drill through the first stone block.

The latest robot, built by UK company Scoutek, is a ‘micro-snake’ armed with a camera, designed to explore small spaces.

Designer Whitehead also worked on sensors for the Beagle 2 Mars exploration craft.

The door which still puzzles experts can be seen to be polished, thanks to the bendy camera, marking it out as an important part of the structure rather than simply as something to stop debris entering the chamber, says camera designer Shaun Whitehead.

Egyptologist Kate Spence of Cambridge University says the tunnels may purely be symbolic and relate to the stars.

Although she is not involved directly in the study of the Giza pyramid, Spence does not believe there is a further, hidden chamber behind the door, suggesting instead that the shafts could have been built to allow the Pharoah’s spirit to cross to the afterlife.

Reference : Dailymail
Posted by : Memphis Tours Egypt
Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

The exhibition of Tutankhamen will be held in Japan for $7 million

 

General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Antiquities released a decision to newly appointed Minister of Interior take over the Ministry of Antiquities, concerning their consent to hold the Tutankhamen exhibition in Japan.

The council released an order for the transfer of the monument along with the head of the museum sector, media coordinator and four journalists by the end of December.

The exhibition will be held for a year in two cities in Japan for the benefit of U.S. $7 million.

This decision was made is contrary to the decision of the Head of Department of Foreign Exhibitions of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, who prepared a document a few months ago recommending to refuse the exhibition to be held in Japan.

the Supreme Council of Antiquities considered the bad weather in Japan, including the previous tsunami and the current nuclear leak from nuclear energy stations.

The opening of the exhibition was discussed again during the period when Mohamed Abdel Fatah was the head of the General Secretariat of the Council. Abdel Fatah agreed to the previous recommendation concerning refusing the opening of the exhibition in Japan. The current secretariat of the council Mostafa Amin decided to hold the exhibition in Japan after the environmental state in Japan stabilized.

The Japanese Company is organizing the exhibition and promised to choose the most secure cities in Japan. The exhibition will be held for a year, six months in Tokyo city and six months in Osaka city. The exhibition will be held in Japan with the benefit of U.S. $7 million.

The exhibition includes 131 rare ancient pieces from King Tutankhamen’s collection. It will be transferred from Australia to Japan in two trips, the first on December 14 and the second on December 15.

Youm7 was told there is a team of archeologists in Australia counting the pieces and covering it to be transferred. The council received a total sum estimated at U.S. $40 million from the exhibition.

Reference : youm7.com
Posted by : Memphis Tours Egypt
Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

Team unearths first Roman-era basilica in Egypt

Egyptian officials say archaeologists have unearthed the first basilica erected in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.

Team unearths first Roman-era basilica in Egypt

Antiquities authorities say the basilica is dated to the Roman era and was built on the ruins of a temple from the Ptolemaic reign that ended with the death of Cleopatra.

A statement Thursday says two parallel rows of granite and limestone pillars suggest the basilica was a social site that was also used for trade and judicial matters.

It says several statues of the Ancient Egyptian goddess Isis — one showing her breast-feeding — and others of the Graeco-Egyptian god Serapis also have been unearthed during five months of excavations that ended in May when archaeologists hit underground water.

 

Posted by : Yasmine Hamzawy
Reference : youm7.com

Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

New Pharaonic artefacts discovered in North Egypt’s site of San El-Hagar

During routine excavation work, French excavators working at the San El-Hagar archaeological site unearthed hundreds of painted limestone blocks that were once used in the construction of the temple of the XXII dynasty king Osorkon II.

Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass said that early studies on site revealed that these blocks were dismantled and reused in the construction of edifices during the Late Ancient Egyptian period and the Ptolemaic era.

He promised that after unearthing all the blocks the archaeological team would study and reconstruct the blocks into their original shape in order to discover whether they formed a temple or a chapel.

French archaeologist Philip Brousseau, head of the French mission, claims the newly discovered blocks were reused in the construction of the enclosed wall of goddess Mut’s sacred lake, which the mission has been working hard to locate since last year. The lake is 30 meters in width, 12 meters long and six meters deep.

In his report, Brousseau wrote that cleaning 120 blocks revealed that 78 of them were skillfully painted and decorated while two were engraved with the names of kings Osorkon III or IV.

Meanwhile, he continued, other blocks bear hieroglyphic text with the name of the goddess Mut, the lady of Usher lake, which makes finding the sacred lake at San El Hagar temple, like the one that was found at Karnak’s temples on Luxor’s east bank, even more important.

Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, general supervisor of the minister’s office, describes the discovery as “very important” because it will add to the history of a great archaeological place in Lower Egypt. San El-Hagar, he explains, displays monuments from the Ramesside period that were once transferred in antiquity from king Ramsess II’s capital Per-Ramsess, now Kantir. It also has monuments that can be dated to the Graeco-Roman and Ptolemaic eras.

Abdel Maqsoud asserted that following the completion of the discovery of all the blocks the French mission will reconstruct these blocks according to the paintings and decorations engraved on them in order to discover what kind of edifice these blocks form. This reconstruction work, Abdel Maqsoud pointed out, reminded him of the dismantling and reconstruction of the chapel of king Senousert I and queen Hatshepsut’s red chapel in the Karnak temples.

He stated that the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA) is now developing the site to make it more tourist friendly.

The first phase has already begun, with a budget of LE50 million, which includes reducing and controlling the level of subterranean water leaking from the urban settlement and agricultural lands neighbouring the site.

A visitor center will also be installed at the site as well as a museuological warehouse.

Ibrahim Soliman, director of San El-Hagra site, said the site is located on the northern side of Zagazig and includes a collection of temples, the largest one dedicated to the ancient Egyptian god Amun. It was the capital city during the XXI and XXII dynasties.

In 1939 french Egyptologist Pierre Montet discovered a collection of royal tombs and a treasure known as the Tanis treasure, now on display at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir. It includes gold jewellery inlaid with precious stones and funeral masks.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg

Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955.

Posted By: Mohamed Mokhtar

Egypt to restore ancient boat found near pyramid

CAIRO, Egypt (AP): Archaeologists have begun excavating a 4,500-year-old wooden boat found next to the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of Egypt’s main tourist attractions, Egypt’s top antiquities official said Thursday.

The boat is one of two buried next to the pharaoh Khufu in what appeared to be a religious custom to carry him in the afterlife. Khufu, also known as Cheops, is credited with building the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Sakuji Yoshimura, a Waseda University professor who is leading the restoration project with Egypt’s Antiquities Council, said scientists discovered that the second ship is inscribed with Khufu’s name.

Khufu founded the 4th Dynasty around 2680 B.C. and ruled Egypt for 23 years.

Zahi Hawass, Minister of State for Antiquities, called the excavation “one of the most important archaeological and conservation projects in the world.” He hoped its display would boost tourism in Egypt, which has fallen sharply since the country’s popular revolution that deposed President Hosni Mubarak in February.

The boat was originally found in 1954 along with another ship, which was restored and is regarded as one of the most significant discoveries on the Giza plateau for its age, size and condition. Experts say the ships are the oldest surviving vessels from antiquity.

The second boat is thought to be smaller than its sister ship, which is about 140 feet (43 meters) long.

Using a pulley system, a team of scientists lifted the first of 41 limestone slabs, each weighing about 16 tons, to uncover fragments of the ancient ship. Over the next two months, experts expect to unearth about 600 pieces from the boat’s underground resting place. Restoration is expected to take about four years, and then it will be displayed at the Solar Boat Museum near the huge pyramid, which routinely attracts millions of tourists, boosting one of Egypt’s most important industries.

Both boats were made from Lebanese cedar and Egyptian acacia trees.

The experts hope to restore the second ship as successfully as the first. Hawass said the boat’s condition was better than he expected. “I was really afraid when I first saw the wood,” he said. “I am very optimistic that in four years there will be another boat.”

The entombed boat remained untouched until 1987, when a team from the National Geographic Society threaded a tiny camera under the site’s limestone surface to see what lay beneath and found it. Other similar cavities nearby were empty.

After receiving a $10 million grant from Waseda University, Egyptian and Japanese scientists in 2008 began preparing for the ship’s excavation process, conducting environmental surveys and building a temperature and humidity controlled structure around the site.

After the excavation process is complete, scientists will devise a computerized schematic of the boat to aid in its reconstruction.

Source: http://english.youm7.com

Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

Posted By: Mohamed Mokhtar

Remnants of Islamic, Coptic buildings discovered in Luxor

An Egyptian expedition team working in Luxor discovered remnants of ancient Islamic and Coptic buildings, the Ministry of Antiquities announced Wednesday.

The remnants include churches, minarets and domes and are located in the Luxor Temple area along the Avenue of the Sphinxes, according to a ministry statement.

The team found remains of an ancient church that dates back to the Ptolemaic era (AD 5), built with stone blocks typical of ancient temples. The church reflects the style of ancient Egyptian architecture in its stone cornices, columns and ceiling vault.

As for the Islamic monuments, the expedition team found the authentic architrave of a mosque called al-Muqashqash, as well as the minaret and dome of another mosque, Abul Hajjaj.

Other findings included a sandstone river gauge, an ancient pot used during Christian rituals and an oil squeezer discovered near the church.

The team also discovered pieces of pottery, some ornamented, and house walls made mainly from bricks, which date back to the late Coptic era and the start of the Islamic period.

The 3-km Avenue of the Sphinxes, which links the Karnak and Luxor temples, was a road used for ceremonies and religious processions during the pharaonic era.

Source: http://www.almasryalyoum.com

Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955.

Posted By: Mohamed Mokhtar