Friday, March 19, 2004



Viagra of the pharaohs? SECRETS OF THE PHARAOHS, PART 3: UNWRAPPING THE MUMMY

Disease, drugs, sex, and death are the topics on offer in this last episode of Nova's three-part series, Secrets of the Pharaohs, which features the detailed examination of the 3,000-year-old mummy of Asru, who was a chantress at the temple of Amun at Karnak ca. 1000 B.C. There is, however, no unwrapping as the episode's title suggests. Asru had been stripped of her bandages in the early nineteenth century, shortly before she was donated to the Manchester Museum in 1825. That she lacks the layers of linen makes the extracting of tissue far easier.

While Asru may have lived the good life by ancient Egyptian standards, it was a painful one, according to the team of pathologists, led by Egyptologist Rosalie David of the Manchester Museum. The first half of the episode is devoted to the analysis of X-ray images and tissues extracted from the mummy and the identification and description of the many ailments that plagued her.


Bang the rock slowlyAncient Indians made 'rock music'

Archaeologists have rediscovered a huge rock art site in southern India where ancient people used boulders to make musical sounds in rituals.

The Kupgal Hill site includes rocks with unusual depressions that were designed to be struck with the purpose of making loud, musical ringing tones.

It was lost after its discovery in 1892, so this is the first fresh effort to describe the site in over a century.

Details of the research are outlined in the archaeological journal Antiquity.


MYSTERY OF SWORD IN ARCH

A FULL-LENGTH sword blade that could date back to the late 18th century has been found at Stowe Landscape Gardens.

Building contractors made the find while working on the Corinthian Arch. It was underneath the floorboards of one of the attic rooms.

The sword is missing its wooden handle and it is likely it was discarded under the floorboards when it became detached.

Other items were found by the contractors, including a bone-handled whittling knife, a small woodworking auger, used for boring holes into pieces of wood, and several pieces of upholstery.

The sword will probably be sent to the Royal Armoury in Leeds for expert identification, and the other items have been sent to the Buckinghamshire County Museum in Aylesbury.
All the items appear to date from the late 18th or early 19th century.