Friday, August 31, 2007

And now. . . . .news from the EEF

Press report: "There could have been two sphinxes, argues one researcher"
http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=9016
"Egyptologist Bassam El Shammaa believes that the famed
half-lion, half-man statue was an Egyptian deity that was erected
next to another sphinx, which has since vanished without a trace."
[Ahum... Anyhow, for the misinterpreted Dream Stela, see the
drawing in LD III, 68, online at http://tinyurl.com/3joex AKE]

Press report: "Mummies' exodus to Genesis goes well"
http://snipurl.com/1q4kw
[http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/08/22//news/local/
doc46cbb8ec67d3d675500197.txt]
About the scanning and handling of the Putnam Museum’s two
mummies. "There was a slight chance that the wrapped
mummy — estimated at 2,000 years old — might have been
a female, but the scans of its pelvic bone structure clearly
show it was male, the radiologist said. (..) The male mummy’s
body is “kind of in bad shape,” Berkow said, explaining how
several of its ribs are broken and its back is broken in at least
one place. He thinks those fractures happened after the male
was dead, probably by rough handling before it arrived at the
museum. (...) The scans of the [3,000 years old] unwrapped
mummy, known as Isis Neferit or “beautiful Isis,” didn’t
show any noticeable bone fractures at first glance. However, it
does appear it was a female, probably a young one at death,
Berkow said. “There’s not a lot of arthritis in her spine,” he said."
(..) Putnam officials also brought [a mummified head and] two
mummified birds along for scanning."
There's also a report on the unwrapping of the female mummy
in the 60ies.

-- Another press report:
"Investigation continues into Davenport mummies"
http://snipurl.com/1q4ky
[http://www.kgan.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.ia/
34b70678-www.kgan.com.shtml]
"Museum officials says puncture holes, incisions and rolled-up
linens seen inside the two bodies offer important clues about
the mummification process used thousands of years ago."

-- Another press report, with scan of the male mummy's skull:
http://snipurl.com/1q4l0
[http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/08/29//news/local/
doc46d5007e6dc22949161085.txt]
"The scans show holes in the nasal cavities where someone
punctured them to remove the brains. On both mummies,
incisions were found on the sides where someone reached
inside to take out the internal organs (..). Linen wrappings,
which most likely were soaked in resin and spices, still
remain in the body cavities as a preservation tool (..) Berkow
also said he found evidence of a heart inside the female mummy,
but nothing in the male."

Press report: "Beneath Alexandria. Team finds evidence
of a hidden city"
http://snipurl.com/1q4l1
[http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/
FEATURES/708270372/1010/FEATURES]
"But little was known about the site in pre-Alexander times other than
Rhakotis, a fishing village, was located there. Coastal geoarchaeologist
Jean-Daniel Stanley of the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History
said his team's work suggested a much larger community at Rhakotis
than previously believed. " [cf EEF NEWS (468).]

Press report: "Museum as archaeological park"
http://news.gom.com.eg/gazette/business/detail_9_99.shtml
About the GEM. "The museum will compromise five
thematic areas chronologically displayed: the Land of Egypt,
Kingship and State, Man, Society and Work, Religion and
Culture, and Scribes and Knowledge.

Press report: "Ancient lifestyle may link art found in Egypt, Europe"
http://snipurl.com/1q4l3
[http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/science/stories/2007/08/
28/sci_lepper28.ART_ART_08-28-07_B5_2A7MIT9.html]
About the rock paintings found by the Belgium team of Dirk Huyge
[cf EEF NEWS (457)(459)(463)], which have been called
'Lascaux on the Nile'. "Huyge is not suggesting any direct
connection between Paleolithic France and Egypt. Instead, he
said the similarities in the art likely occurred because the
artists shared a common way of life."

End of EEF news