Oriente Antigo - Ancient Near East in all modern languages

Egypt 2012 - second and third parts - days 12 to 23

2012-02-12T15:28:00.001Z

I am finally updating the whereabouts of my dilligent self, after being back from Egypt. Without proper access to the internet at the 'desert lodge' in the West Bank and the 'five star hotel' in Cairo (I had to check emails and Facebook messages through my phone), it was impossible to upload pics and write the blog.

The first part of my trip, as you know, concerned the work on TT37, dealing with the human remains found onsite. Photo left: me, Claudia and Sabina, the anthropological team, under the direction of Dr. Tiradritti.
We are now preparing the report on our preliminary findings and hope it will be published in the near future...

The second part consisted of another week spent in Luxor and used to visit sites, both ongoing archaeological excavations (you have to ask the inspector first, ask the director of the excavation, and if he/she has time to spare, which is a rare comodity, you will get a tour of the site and their work, and this is hard to comeby); visiting tombs, temples, and to observe Egyptians in their daily life. Shopping at the souk for spices, asking questions, feeling the scents, it's always rewarding. We stayed at the West Bank and crossed the Nile many times to Luxor city, and the ferry proved to be a very useful thing. Next time I will stay in a place closer to the ferry, so not to need to use a taxi too.

Reading Mahfouz at the same time was helpful, although it was a novel spent in WWII times, and in Cairo; as you feel integrated in his descriptions; smell the scents, see the colors, and find suitable substitutes for his characters in vivo...The English version has a perk: the prologue written by the translator about his meeting with the author, and the society which surrounded both the author and his predecessors, which influenced his writing.
A bit depressing, but, since it had medical stuff, it was enough to interest me to read it up to the end
There was still the International Book Fair in Cairo, which I was planning to attend...but then obstacles were risen...too far (Nasr City), I would have to go alone...and then, where to pack more books...

The third part of the trip was spent in Cairo, and, although some cultural facilities were closed, such as the Islamic Cutural Center/Art Gallery in Zamalek, and the hotel in Giza did not provide the service according to its status, it was fruitful to visit iconic places like the Egyptian Museum, the Coptic and Islamic centre, my favourite suppliers at the Khan el Khalili for spices, shoes and other items, and to be able to browse new publications. Thankfully I did not buy many books this time...The visits to early dynastic sites like Dashur, Saqqara and Giza were merely touristic, as I was accompanying my Italian colleague and her family. Many Egyptians but few foreigners.

I took many important notes at the Egyptian Museum as there are a few specimens of ancient plants there, and also also took many important pics in the West Bank of Luxor that will complete my present research, mainly some tree depictions at Deir el Medina tombs, the Ramesseum, Seti I, and Deir el Bahari.

Have to thank my dear friend Dr. Ben Harer for the opportunity to find more important information at the Chicago House Library and the Aboudi shop in Luxor for having some items on my to-buy list.
It was a pleasure to meet new people, Egyptian people, namely some of the directors onsite and some of the local people like the family owning the Nur el Gourna Hotel, where we stayed for one week.
The food was great and the atmosphere with so many animals, made me feel like time had stopped and we were all living in one big community; humans, dog, cats, chicken, ducks, turkey, cow, donkey, goats...

The perk of having a taxi driver as a neighbor was very useful too, as with cellphones, you can reach people at all times and have your transportation arranged in minutes.

As a contrast, the hotel in Giza had sloppy employees, who were careless about customers, mainly at the open restaurant serving fast food...I had to complain about everything, everyday. I don't mind complaining but I do mind not having hot water at 6am, and finding it out when I am already inside the tub, sleepy and cold...and having a man trying to open your room door when you are inside the bathtub, at 4.30pm, when you left the room at 7.30am (no time to do it?)...internet access costed a fortune compared to the rest of the services...

I was amazed at the old cameras' collection at Aboudi and the jewels you might still find among so many publications, some of those not accessible outside Egypt.

I was also very happy to find many Sekhmets not seen by me before; at the Mut precinct in Karnak, thanks to my dear friend Dr. Ben, at the columns of the Seti I temple and the Ramesseum, in the West Bank, and I was also happy to see so may plant depictions here such as Min and the lettuces, sacred trees, and plants used as perfume and as offerings...
It is a fact that, when you are researching a particular subject, you start to look at familiar places with different eyes and you see different things, more details and other items you've missed before.

Looking forward now for my next trip to Egypt which might be this year, for the CIPEG meeting in Aswan.

Egypt 2012 Day 11

2012-01-24T17:28:00.002Z

Today we worked before lunch, at the sofas we have in the lovely garden outside the house. Then, after lunch, we went to the East Bank and we were 'kidnapped' by a caleche driver, who calls it 'his Rolls Royce'...

The trip on the ferry is always very nice and poetic, we dream about living in Egypt for more time and do this every day...This is me holding a 'return ticket'...

Luxor temple, always beautiful, specially at sunset...

Passing through strange and obscure streets on the caleche, we see all kinds of workshops...

The back of our caleche, I believe those are pictures of his family (the driver's)...

A man at the market...sleeping...

Laundry...

The shop we were taken to, of course some commision to the driver, we believe, but, nevertheless, beautiful pieces...this is the papyrus 'section'...

The same shop, another section, showing the 'kitchen' where a nice girl made some tea for us.

The hotel I want to stay in someday...where we go to shop around......

Egypt 2012 Day 10

2012-01-23T13:18:00.001Z

Today we worked, had lunch, as usual, and we are now resting and working on our computers.
A calm day, but with lots of work done. We are anxious to see what the holiday and the celebrations will bring, as this is a new situation in Egypt.

Meanwhile, food is one of my biggest joys in this country!

Egypt 2012 Day 9

2012-01-22T21:44:00.000Z

After work we went to have lunch, then some work at the computer, and then off to Luxor. Today, as every Sunday, there is a lecture at the Mummification Museum. Today it was about TT12, Hery's tomb.
Before the lecture we had something to eat...falafel from a street vendor, very good but a bit salty...we were very thirsty afterwards...after the lecture we went to the souk and then to eat a lentil soup...
Back on the ferry home...

Loved this graffiti at the ferry...

The whole family after a stray duck and the little one catches it...

Men at the ferry

Crossing the streets of Luxor...

An Egyptian symbol...

My favourite shops...spices, bakhour and food...

Hobbies of Egyptian men...

Egypt 2012 Day 8

2012-01-22T13:01:00.000Z

Work Day filled with incense to clean the bad spirits...

Egypt 2012 Day 7

2012-01-21T14:13:00.003Z

We have witnessed big changes in the corniche, as you can see from these photos.

How to spend a day in Luxor...we did it like this; shared a common taxi, going around Gurna...took the ferry to cross the river; we walked around the work in progress...and went to Karnak temple.

At Karnak we visited everything available, and, as we already have been there before, we took more pictures and looked for some details concerning our particular research projects.

The Nilometer

Going round and round...

The missing Sekhmet...

Carob. Not part of my plant list for the PhD, but still interesting...
After Karnak we were very tired and hungry and we went to my favourite restaurant in Luxor: Maxime.

Had a great lunch...and then off to buying souvenirs and bargaining...

We suceeded to have better prices and moved on the the bookshops which are dangerous ground for people like me, i always find something i want for some time, on sale, on promotion, discounted...and come back with a heavy bag...

Then off to the ferry again, taxi home and some 30 min rest before dinner...exhausting but productive and total fun!

The Souk

Lots of nice things to choose from...

Egypt 2012 Day 6

2012-01-19T13:56:00.000Z

A tribute to Egyptian food...
Egyptian food is simple and great, at the same time. It includes some elements I cannot digest such as cucumbers and peppers, but it also has one of my favourite foods: fava beans. Also known (cooked) as fuul.
The bakeries smell so good and at a distance, we can smell the fresh baked bread and pastries from the end of the road...

Besides this, we have also tomatoes, bananas, oranges and pomegranates, also my favourites. Strawberries were introduced some years back and they are now delicious in January...

This lunch consisted of tuna fish with tomato; fried cauliflower; raw tomato (pepers on the side)...
Some shisha smoking for some, at the end of the meal, is the supreme final to a nice meal.

Egypt 2012 Day 5

2012-01-18T12:57:00.001Z

Another day starts...

A cat looks for food...

Every Egyptian has his Coran nearby...

A man plays a rababa for fun...

An exceptional view of Hatshepsut's temple...

Egypt 2012 Day 4

2012-01-17T14:14:00.003Z

Shopping is always good...

Our daily break for toilet issues was completed with a quick visit to the 'souk' behind Deir el-Bahari's visitors' centre, where we bought some scarves.

This was the delicious lunch the man from the store had prepared to start eating when we entered his store...

Egypt 2012 Day 3

2012-01-16T21:04:00.000Z

Today we started using the masks, as there is too much dust in the corridors, and the boxes are covered with it...we are tired of coughing...our fault; we forgot those in the first day...

After work and after lunch we went to Luxor (as we are located in the West bank)...on the ferry...great views from the Nile, as always...

I cannot be happier even with the cold weather and the noisy cellphones... and too much people smoking for my taste...but this is Egypt, and smoking is a natural way of life; that is why lung cancer comes first in the cancer statistics...

Tomorrow we have ideas to put into practice and new ventures will see the light of day...soon...over and out for today...:)

Egypt 2012: Day 2

2012-01-15T14:06:00.000Z

Day 2
Paula, Claudia and Sabina start the day, later joined by Marie.

A break to go to the toilet, which is the one located at the visitors' centre at Deir el-Bahari.

Pabasa tomb is closed but the guard might be opening it up for us one day...

The work day ended with another great lunch at Casa Italia, our dessert: strawberries!!!

In Egypt...Day 0, Day 1

2012-01-14T13:32:00.001Z

Yes, it is true. I am again in Egypt, this time near Luxor, in then West bank, to work with some colleagues, who are also friends, in some human remains found in TT37.
We are staying at a nice villa, Casa Italia, where we have the sounds of the local mosque and cats trying to eat with us, as usual.

Yesterday it was travel day, three flights for me; then road trip from Luxor airport at almost midnight to find an excellento pasta pesto waiting for us, cooked by the mission director, Dr. Tiradritti.
Today, after breakfast, with a group taking a safari tour here, it was acknowledging day, as we were touring the tomb with Dr. Tiradritti and finding the exquisite old Kingdom style depictions, made when Egypt was ruled by Nubians...

Me and my friend Dr. Sabina are very happy to be here and we took the time to photograph details and then walk along Deir el-Bahari back to our house, but we met our friends the photographers.

Now for some rest...

Packing...

2012-01-08T20:34:00.000Z

Started to pack a week ago as there are climate changes, things I still need to buy, others I am using and need to bring along, others still washing, other stashed somewhere I need to look for...
It will be the first time my new Rimowa will travel and I hope it is the first of many trips it does. Especially bought to long trips and resisting bad handling, this piece of luggage is already full and straped today.
Now I am listing what it is inside, what do I need to work for two weeks in an excavation in the desert, some days of sightseing and some days in the city (Cairo).

It looks like the house we are staying in has not got many pieces of furniture so, it is best to leave your clothes inside the suitcase.
Weather is not that hot at this time of the year, so we need to take long sleeved t-shirts, pants, and something to warm ourselves in the morning and night (I will bring only a Mexican coat and a gym sweat shirt, plus my vest).

I don't know how it will be with meals (what do they consist of, meat? cheese? fava beans (I hope so), and since I cannot have stimulant drinks (coke, coffee, black tea) I am taking cammomile bags, decaffeinato, menthol mints, cheese and crackers...

A bag filled with brushes, all sizes, a dental instrument, tweezers, surgical gloves, a human bone manual, working sheets, more plastic bags, pencils, erasers, pens, pencil sharpeners, scissors, paper cutter...

Another with detergent for clothes, anti-insect powder, plastic bags for garbage, incense (Tibetan), cosmetics bag (reduced to essentials), a pair of slippers for shower and black tenis shoes, to variate from the working boots I am carrying all day...

Most of this stuff will be left in Egypt, but the space will be filled with Egyptian spices, books and souvenirs...

I am so looking forward to meet friends who are working in other excavation sites, and Egyptian friends who are in Egypt now. Some sightseeing is in order, repeated tours and new ones, in the company of a great friend, also a colleague, and later, her family too, will join us.

Hoping that elections will bring a new and freshened Egypt and that Egyptians are free to live as they want, not forgetting that the safeguard of artefacts and monuments, as well as sites are of the essence.

Still, to Egypt or anywhere in the world, and after so many years of travelling, more and more each year, I can tell you that the most necessary and indispensable items on a trip are: VISA card (with available balance, no use flashing it and having zero money to spend), a charged NOKIA phone (preferably with an Egyptian SIM card); I take two, an international one (Portuguese SIM card) and another one for foreign SIM cards.

A full pijama and socks are also packed and (sorry Egyptair) I am planning on taking (borrow) a blanket and pillows from the plane...
I know they won't mind...
I also checked the refurbished Cairo Airport site and see that now we do not have to change terminals from international arrivals to domestic departures...nice.

Looking forward, as always, for my trip, this time, having three flights in one day, but with a special gusto as I will be doing what I like most, in the place I like most, with colleagues I also am very fond of...
Alhamdulillah or !!! الحمد لله

Christmas Greetings!!!!!!!!

2011-12-20T17:16:00.001Z

To be or not to be...mummified

2011-11-20T18:11:00.001Z

To be or not to be...mummified.

A recent study done on an Egyptian mummy housed in a Portuguese Museum (not shown here) brought to light the difference between an Egyptologist and a Museologist. The first is someone who does research in any aspect of ancient Egyptian civilization, contributing to a deeper knowledge of the thoughts and daily life of ancient Egyptians. Now, this is not the case of the Prof. who is followed by a group of Egyptomaniacs in Portugal, who does nothing else but teach the obvious, scare his students about other Universities, courses and teachers, and study Museum pieces.

The study in question was published in the International Journal of Paleopathology - Prostate metastatic bone cancer in an Egyptian Ptolemaic mummy, a proposed radiological diagnosis - and it reveals the probable unique case of an Egyptian mummy dated to around 600 BCE, with prostate cancer.

Abstract

There is great interest in the history and occurrence of human cancer in antiquity and particularly in ancient Egyptian populations. Despite the number of Egyptian mummies and skeletons studied through various means, evidence of primary or metastatic cancer lesions is rare. The Digital Radiography and Multi Detector Computerized Tomography (MDCT) scans of a male Ptolemaic Egyptian mummy, from the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia (MNA) in Lisbon displayed several focal dense bone lesions located mainly on the spine, pelvis and proximal extremities. The exceptional detail of the MDCT images allowed the proposed diagnosis of osteoblastic metastatic disease, with the prostate being the main hypothesis of origin. These radiologic findings in a wrapped mummy, to the best of our knowledge, have never previously been documented, and could be one of the oldest evidence of this disease, as well as being the cause of death.

The mummy belongs to the National Archaeology Museum in Lisboa, and it is part of a wider program to include also animal mummies housed at the same museum.
Dr, Salima Ikram is in the team and has recently given an interview to a Portuguese journal where she mentions the project. She is also one of the authors of the scientific article, along with Dr. Prates from the Imagiology Institute and others.
I have read this article in detail, and was amazed to find this outstanding findings (excuse me for the pleonasm), as I have researched upon cancer in ancient Egypt, and, although not many cases are found yet, this is a disease that leaves no trace in the body, kills in a short period of time, and may show us only the metastasis from the primary cancer in the bones. Therefore the maxima: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

I have already refuted some scholars' publications that say cancer is a modern disease (above link). This case proves that is a more ancient one. I was requested to express a public comment for Discovery about his, which made me happy to be able to contribute to the speading of this information.

To be mummified was important to preserve your body for the after life, so that your ba (an almost synonym of soul) could recognize your previous capsule (body) and re-enter it.

If you are aware of the importance of mummy studies, Egyptian or not, pay attention to this case; if not, if you are a mere museologist or museum enthusiast/tourist/curious person, agree with the professor who said otherwise in a public appearance (the inauguration of an ancient Egyptian museum room).

As ancient Egyptian believed that what is evil should not be repeated and worse, written down, I am not quoting him.

Biomedical Archaeology Congress and what I learned...

2011-09-27T17:20:00.007+01:00

Izmir Archaeological Museum

Recommended by dear Dr. Touwaide, I decided to participate in this congress as it touches the aspects of the History of Medicine, Plants in Medicine, Biomedical Techniques in Archaeology and because events like these are always a chance to meet experts and learn more.

Unfortunately the organizers were not very professional regarding logistics...they told me and nobody else nothing about my country requirements for a VISA to enter Turkey...they gave no contact for participants arriving Izmir airport, and they stood us up there for hours, while they were dressing up for a dinner gala...
Shameful...

The conference itself was very good, as there were many excellent researchers there, and I was able to acquire more information regarding my research subjects.

Themes like aDNA, plant medicines, bone diseases, excavation projects, and famous Greek doctors were the best. There were also some Turkish speakers who should revise their English before participating in an international event, as all other nationalities communicate in English and it was very hard to follow their presentations.

There was also a lady, Prof. Dr. at a Turkish University presenting a lot of bad associations, mistakes and telling lies about ancient civilizations. I had to confront her as she touched a nerve; Vineyards in ancient Egyptian tombs.

Kusadasi

The place where the conference was held loked like paradise and it turned out to be a poisoned present, a real hell on earth, to use simple Biblical images...

To held an international conference in a place where internet is only available at the reception lobby bar is crazy...the employees of the resort were all young boys, with a knack for foreign girls and no professionalism at all, there was loud music, a real disco night ambience, everywhere from dusk 'till dawn, airconditioning was rationed, only some hours in the day...food was terrible...the beach non-existent, the chairs on the sea or the pool 'reserved' with towels since sunrise...

A resort for eurotrash, as I wrote in my review of the place at Virtualtourist.com

But it was cheap...that is why they organized the conference there...

The good side of the coin, is that, despite all problems I had in Turkey (ignorance of VISA need, late planes, rude people who don't speak English, smelly meat allover, and bad hotels), I stayed at an exceptional hotel at Izmir, the Efes, and had a marvellous day there at the Spa and eating at the buffet restaurant, and I got the chance to visit exquisite monuments and museums and even see an Egyptian mummy with a newborn mummy for the first time At Istanbul Archaeological Museum!

We also had a very nice half-day trip to Ephesus, which I enjoyed very much!!

Biomedical research...about the average Western European man being related to an Egyptian pharaoh

2011-08-06T16:38:00.018+01:00

There has been speculation about Tutankhamun's DNA as well as his family's. We arrived to the point where commercial companies buy the right to investigate these things...and promote incomplete results that cause sensation on the media.

People involved in research and teaching boil with these things as there is so much difficulty in trying to educate young people, as there is to de-educate adults that have misconceptions, mostly because of media bad oriented news.

Lab work takes time (me, measuring a skull at an osteology class), and to have final, conclusive and reliable results, all teams have to undergo sponsoring issues, authorizations, museum permits, certification of laboratory conditions, and peer-reviewing of their publications.

I recently came across researchers who contradict themselves, and attest improbable and almost dumb conclusions to attract media attention, thus money for their research centres through new students...now it is a commercial company publicizing results that are still incomplete with sensational findings, which are probaly false or dubious.

Someone not yet very experienced in this 'jungle fever' of publish or perish, (expression originated in a non-academic context in the 1932 book "Archibald Cary Coolidge: life and letters" by Harold Jefferson Coolidge, Robert Howard Lord; Houghton Mifflin Company), who is reasearching a subject connected to these, wildly mediatized and wrongfully stated, might base their results on moving sands.

We need a special instrument to separate the garbage from the jewels. I am trying to illustrate it here...

I was educated to be responsible for what I say, write and most recently, what I publish. So, I expect to have the same courtesy from both the media and the academics that do research, in which I dwelve into finding more data, striking the fact that, when I do know the person in question, having been studying or working with, the shock is most devastating...

About commercial companies picking up polemic scientific researches just to mediatize themselves, this is the law of supply and demand (I have a previous degree in Management and I did my project in Marketing issues); if you are not buying or selling, just acknowledge them, and, as Sun Tzu once said:

it is always better to have your 'enemies' closer than your friends; and afterwards, ignore them.

If you need to retract their publications, do so, when you are certain of the facts you defend, and make sure those are reliable. That's all, folks!

Mummies and related ethics, discussions, informations, and facts

2011-07-16T20:00:00.002+01:00

I reached the point where I am in the process of writing three (3) different papers at the same time.

The first (in time, as we researchers also have deadlines), is to be sent by August 15th. It is an article concerning a presentation about What can science and history learn from human remains and the dna tests done on ancient specimens. Brings me back to my past research on mummies. Learning is a process and memory a tool. Still, new data arise, and we need to collect them and include those in the statements we find relevant to the paper.

The second (in time), are my notes and presentation for the next CIPEG meeting in Poland, end of August, beginning of September, about the ethics of collecting, displaying and testing human remains. Again, mummy materials. Lots of true things to be said but I will not point fingers to any individual or institution, just main issues.

The third (in time) but first in deadline as time is an issue, is a research proposal for an intership abroad, most focused on my present research: Osiris and his association with the medicinal plants' list I built.

A new trip is being planned as it was not foreseen a week ago, but it seems advisable to go...

As a background template, I have a pile of books to read, take notes and integrate in my PhD writing and table. Also the database I am building with all my bibliography is not yet half done, as I have to introduce all magazines and books in shelves (and the new pile).

And I will not think about personal items to solve before September, and the fact that, this season (summer) is becoming the most awful time in the year for me, as most people don't work, places for leisure time are filled with crowds on holiday, school is out, so, tons of children and teenagers all over (noise, rubbish everywhere and mobs).

Still, the city is the best place to be in the summer, if you can be the master of your work and do not need a third party to carry on what you need to be done. Spa's and clinics are empty and have promotions weekly, which is a must for me. Buses and metro are also empty if you avoid rush hour. Shopping is a pleasure in the middle of the afternoon.

And I keep buying books...both online and on store when they have the week promotions. More trips to be planned and I am eager to try my new RIMOWA, bright lemon yellow!

Camera is resting, no pics for the new weeks, and computers are being updated, data is being recorded into the new external hard drive, and new movies are in my list to watch.

My new Egypt trip will be a blast and I have new friends to meet at the next conferences! What else can a girl wish for, working in what I love most?

Carsten Niehbur, his participation in the Arabia Felix expedition and his legacy.

2011-07-02T17:33:00.001+01:00

It was this week, at a lecture given by a professor residing in Lisboa, that I learned more about the man who named the Copenhagen Oriental Studies Institute. A collection of papyri, some not yet published and studied in detail exists here, for the delight of orientalists, egyptologists and assyriologists.

About the expedition and from the 250 years commemoration website:

"Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815) was born in Ditmarschen in North Germany. First and foremost, he was educated as a surveyor and in physics and mathematics, but when The Danish Arabia Expedition entered the picture he chose to supplement this with Arabic and astronomy. The 28-year-old Niebuhr participated in the expedition as a cartographer and was in charge of the finances on the long journey from Europe to Egypt, across the Red Sea to Yemen and on to Bombay in India, back to the Persian Gulf, up through Iran and Iraq and back to Copenhagen.(...)"

"As the expedition progressed, Niebuhr’s fellow passengers started to succumb to malaria and they died, one after the other. Niebuhr then had to continue alone and undertake the deceased’s areas of responsibility. Niebuhr returned to Denmark in 1767 where the interest in his results had decreased considerably. He even had to pay out of his own pocket to get his travel accounts published."

The Arabian Journey

Of course my personal interest goes to the Botanical Results which brought to Europe many unknown species;
"Until the middle of the 19th century, Forsskål’s discoveries were the most important source of knowledge about the flora and fauna in Yemen. But most of his discoveries were not recognised until the 1920s."

Forsskål’s collection of pressed and dried plants is today at the Botanical Museum in Copenhagen, a must for me next time in Copenhagen!

Nationalmuseet
The Royal Library

Some editions (old and new) are available. I am posting pics of out-of-print ones and available ones too.

Gale ECCO, Print Editions, 2010, 2 Vols.

The Iluminism of the XVIIIth century contributed to an opening of the minds of all travelers and rulers, as the knowledge of different cultures and people was regarded as an interesting experience, and an enrichment of the mind.
After the French Revolution, all things changed and the western world did not develop, but turned inwards instead; the 'other' was seen as inferior to the white man...

These travels opened the East to Western eyes, and brought many specimens later used in pharmacology, medicine and agriculture. These men were pioneers of knowledge. And if you think of the difficulties posed in such trips regarding diseases, and personal hygiene, road blocks, no road at all, vegetation, wild animals at large, long months at sea, insect attack, food conservation, water available, no confort at all in transport, no communications with loved ones for months...

I believe the only two good things about travelling in those times were: discovery of sites and artifacts, and carriers to load and carry your luggage, something I would need today...

Plants, ancient and contemporary, are the source of medicines...

2011-06-01T19:06:00.002+01:00

On my last trip in the UK, besides an excellent Coptic seminar at DACE, in Glasgow University, which will help me with a piece from the National Archaeology Museum in Lisboa, I visited mostly gardens and museums with plants.

My first visit was The Kew Gardens, but, I know it must seem childish, I never imagined it was so BIG, before I went there in person...so...no time for a full visit.

After that, I went to The Chelsea Physic Gardens, also in London, for a very enriching tour with an expert about the History of Medicine in Plants.

The next day, I visited The Old Operating Theatre which has, besides the actual oldest operating theatre, used mainly for pepople with no financial means, the Herb Garret, a complete shop of an herbalist, with dried plants and the tools for the manufacture of medicines.

After lunch with a friend from the British Museum, which is also showing a natural sample of Australian Flora, I visited Florence Nightingale's Museum, in Westminster, and saw all the travel boxes and equipments she took with her to the Crimean War, and confirmed she also travelled to Egypt with a friend who drew some nice watercolors.

The same evening, I went to one of the best lectures I have been to lately, about New Light in Ancient Medicine, at the British Academy, all the specialists there, from Islamic Texts to Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, ...

New Oxyrrynchus Papyri are on their way to be published and new work on Galen by Prof. Vivian Nutton also a work-in-progress almost reaching its end.

The last day in London, which was the International Museum's Day, I was fortunate to have the oportunity to visit Sir John Soane's Museum/House, and found that a publication by Dr. John Taylor about the Seti's sarcophagus is on its way to be published soon...!

After lunch with a dear friend and colleague we went to a very interesting lecture at the Warburg Institute and then I had plans to visit the EES to check for new books concerning my research topics, and had no time to go and visit Charles Dickens' House.

The next day I had time to visit the Wellcome Collection and check the exquisite exhibition 'Dirt' about our miseries and the philth we accumulate in cities everyday. Genius!

Religious Ideas...

2011-04-09T21:31:00.005+01:00

This month I am attending a very interesting course on Religious Ideas.

It covers religious beliefs from Pre-Classical Cultures to the XXth century cults. And we are using most of famous Fernando Pessoa quotes...an esoteric and a famous writer.

Of course my interest is mainly focused in ancient beliefs such as the Christian Gnostics, Kabbalah, and Islamic Sufis.

The bibliography is wide, but most of the works are available online or at the bookstores, either as originals or translations. I do prefer originals...but in the case of Kabbalah and islam, although I have some knowledge of Hebrew and Arabic, it is not enough to read whole books...

I am posting here some examples cited by Prof. Jose Manuel Anes, the course lecturer, as you might be interested to learn more...those of you in contact via Facebook have more inputs as well.

With the Lisboa Book Fair coming soon this month it is a treat to make a list of books-to-buy-on-sale...Love it!

Demons, magic and medicine

2011-03-13T17:33:00.002Z

After attending the excellent conference ANCIENT EGYPTIAN DEMONOLOGY A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE, at Bonn earlier this month, I realised that many is still up to discussion on ancient Egyptian concepts, in particular here, what is a demon, what is a god, what kind of entities ancient Egyptians feared, struggled with, used, invoked, and last but not least, were unaware of but had a 'sixth sense feeling' about them anyway.

Some Egyptologists argued that ancient Egyptians did not assume that they had no knowledge of entities and others launched the question 'is Osiris really a god'...

We had discussion panels and nothing was finalized of course, this is a project to be developped in the near future, with more conferences, a museum exhibition, a database in progress, and publications to follow.

I really enjoyed it as almost all demons are related to the well-being of the person, so among several 'categories' we have the illness-demons.

It was stated that categories of demons are not yet defined, yet, they have different 'origins', as proposed by Dr. Lucarelli, world specialist on demons in AE:

demons of the netherworld

guardians

illness-demons

gangs of demons sent by gods

astral demons

demonic ones

individualized demons

I am interested in all of them, but specially on the illness-demons for obvious reasons, my research in medicine in AE.
But it is nice to compare these 'types' with other religions' entities and find there are correlations.

We had a very interesting lecture on Pre-Columbian entities and another on Mesopotamian ones, as well as Minoan inspired in Egyptian entities; and also Coptic.

It should be a colorful publication and the next meetings will surely be interesting, will try not to miss any of those...

Prosthetics in ancient Egypt

2011-02-16T20:28:00.004Z

Congrats to my dear friend and colleague Dr. Jacky Finch for being able to prove prosthetics were not only decorative and presumably to fill the dead with their 'missing parts'.

She's all over the news, all over the world and I leave here some links, including the original artcle in The Lancet:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2811%2960190-6/fulltext?version=printerFriendly

English
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/14/false-toe-helped-mummy-walk-like-an-egyptian/

Thanks to Tim Finch for this Manchester Evening News clip

Brazilian
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jjpigBcO7lV9sty7W7VaBokmCb3Q?docId=CNG.a41fb1a52e885b2417de92436f1310b6.331

Italian
http://amounegiziano.forumfree.it/?t=53954870

At a week seminar in 2008 Dr. Finch showed how she reconstructed from scratch, the same prosthetic toe:

I am always happy to see good work and dedication come to published media, as all the time and work consumpted in this research was too much for one person and she did it all, with the help of the volunteers who were missing the toe in question and the facilities of institutions collaborating in her research.

The Lancet article is still free to download:
http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673611601906.pdf

Taken...

2011-02-13T16:16:00.000Z

Some artefacts taken from Cairo Museum remind us of when those same precious objects were taken from Egypt and now fill other countries' collections.
Not that I am a defensor of repatriating ancient Egyptian artefacts to Egypt, but nevertheless I post this as a reminder that nothing is safe from being robbed, sold, destroyed or forgotten...

I have to link this post to Dr. Hawass' website as it is the 'official' report of the stolen objects.

Should museums limit the quantity of daily visitors when they have a huge appeal like the Egyptian Museum in Cairo?

Should artefacts be left in their place of retrieval and a small visitor's room built to house them?

Should artefacts be guarded by alarms, guards, glass windows and bars?

Should the general public, tourists in general, with no particular interest in those but pure curiosity be banned from visiting these collections?

Should governments issue new laws protecting heritage in situ and in museums penalizing heavily those who destroy, steal, vandalize and try to touch these artefacts?

Food for thought...

The paradox is that institutions around th world, because of the economic crisis, they say, are closing down ancient history departments, cutting money for research, and storing precious historic artefacts in damp basements.
Should culture be the last one to receive money when a country's annual budget is drawn?

Why?

The recent events in Egypt sow us that the world is concerned about this, so, why do governments still cut on education and research and promote tourism and construction businesses, if then we have nothing to show, no one to talk about it and nothing to conclude about?

I believe the recent events in Egypt shoud shake all governments' priorities as the future generations are bound to be lacking culture, aims in life and even if it sounds ridiculous, they are also condemned to be deaf as the use of music/noise banging your head all day and night will destroy the rest of the brain cells they have left...

Promoting culture, investing money in heritage and education/research would certainly attrack many young people to study and work in these areas.

Do we want to be controlled by machines one day? Investing all the country's economy on computers, planes, military equipment, chemical medicines, house appliances that think for you, cars that drive by themselves, and chips which have all your life's history?

Looting in Cairo Egyptian Museum

2011-01-30T19:05:00.004Z

We need to be reassured and I believe this photo is reassuring...

Antiquities from the Egyptian Museum were damaged by people working for the Egyptian Government:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTOf0x-eGU0&feature=player_embedded

Security officers in Cairo Egyptian Museum ripped the heads off two mummies from the Pharaonic era exhibited at the Cairo Museum during a robbery attempt staged during street protests, the two mummies mentioned by Dr. Zahi Hawass as being beheaded and severely damaged may be those of Yuya and Tjuya.

The former director of the Museum, which I had the pleasure of knowing in person, shared her preocupations with a German publication:
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2011-01/interview-el-saddik

The Museum is naturally lit with glass windows on its roof. The criminals broke the glass windows and used ropes to get inside, there is a distance of four metres from the ceiling to the ground of the museum. The criminals who stole the jewellery from the gift shop are so stupid they thought they were robbong the museum jewellery items.... They went into the Late Period gallery and broke thirteen vitrines and threw the antiquities on the floor. Then they went to the King Tutankhamun galleries and they opened one case. The criminals found a statue of the king on a panther, broke it, and threw it on the floor.

In this blog you can see all the destroyed pieces and how they were before:
http://www.eloquentpeasant.com/2011/01/29/statues-of-tutankhamun-damagedstolen-from-the-egyptian-museum/

Imarat Yaqubian

2011-01-26T15:07:00.002Z

It was with great pleasure that we indulged, last Saturday, in a very warm session about the Imarat Yaqubian, or the Yacubian Building, in Cairo, set in a novel by Alaa al Aswany.
Portuguese blog about the meeting:
http://nceo-nceo.blogspot.com/2011/01/os-pequenos-mundos-do-edificio.html

The Armenian name is given to an Egyptian building, and a small 'Egypt' lives inside this building, drawing a time and space parallel lines.

A book considered polemic by some, as it points out political, sexual and other Egyptian behaviours from the early 1900's to the Gulf War years (1990).

I simply adored it, and do recommend it to readers and people who love Egypt.

A movie was made in 2006 (trailer):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjUGskD-WW0

About the movie:
http://www.arabwashingtonian.org/english/article.php?articleID=117

http://osati.wordpress.com/2006/09/20/the-yacoubian-building-amaret-yacoubian/
Some interviews with the author are published online, here you can understand what drove him to write these characters:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/may/31/alaa-al-aswany-interview

http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2008/10/aswany-chicago-cairo-american

With video:
http://ideasaloft.com/view.php?video=6oAST47yn24&feature=youtube_gdata_player&title=Alaa+Al+Aswany%27s+The+Yacoubian+Building

More video interviews:
http://www.france24.com/en/20100327-interview-alaa-el-aswany-writer
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10364

He was among the protesters, this week, in Cairo:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112663450547321.html
I suggest anyone going to Egypt to read this book and do not get shocked as Egyptians are a colored people who have suffered many abuses either from politicians, either from misinterpretations of their authors, living abroad.

Pictures of the building online:

http://madas.jordanplanet.org/2008/07/20/two-years-later-yaqubian-building/

His most recent novel 'Chicago' was just banned in Palestine:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jmoed0lLT-LY7JWztAVf0II5PdZQ?docId=5745850

About 'Chicago':
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1710416,00.html

After 'Chicago' he has published a compilation of short stories:

Book of The Dead 2011

2011-01-12T22:48:00.003Z

Great trip to the UK; physically and mentally, as it will be a rich one:

giving a lecture,
http://www.egyptologyscotland.com/EgScot/events.php

meeting friends both in Glasgow, London

attending exhibitions
http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/all_current_exhibitions/book_of_the_dead.aspx

buying important books

and something more...

Fayum Conference in Würzburg, Germany, May 2011

2010-12-31T22:12:00.003Z

CSAA MILANO Egyptology lectures 2010-2011

2010-12-15T21:13:00.001Z

CSAA MILANO

15.12.2010 - ore 18,00 - Flavio Cambieri e Maria Emilia Peroschi “Sui
sentieri di Gebel Uweinat: alla ricerca dell’arte rupestre”

12.01.2011 - ore 18,00 - Gilberto Modonesi “Uno sguardo a flash su alcune
curiosità egittologiche”

26.01.2011 - ore 18,00 - Alberto Elli “Il Cristianesimo in Egitto. Nascita,
sviluppo e sopravvivenza sotto l’Islam”

16.02.2011 - ore 18,00 - Mario Lauro “Uno sguardo sul Medio Regno: i suoi
monumenti e la sua storia”

In the photo: Mario, Paula, Gilberto at Montepulciano, August 2010

16.03.2011 - ore 18,00 - Paula Veiga (con traduzione simultanea dall’
inglese di Sabina Malgora) “Osiris Green”

30.03.2011 - ore 18,00 - Gilberto Modenesi “Visitiamo alcune tombe chiuse
delle necropoli tebane”

13.04.2011 - ore 18,00 - Silvana Cincotti “Akhenaton e il sogno nel
deserto: analisi dell’epoca amarniana”

04.05.2011 - ore 18,00 - Livio Secco “Nel nome di Imhotep. Lo straordinario
fascino della scrittura geroglifica”

25.05.2011 - ore 18,00 - Silvana Cincotti “Invito alla festa di Opet”

Le conferenze si terranno nell’Aula Magna del Museo di Storia Naturale di
Milano.

info@csaamilano.it

Christmas Greetings

2010-12-07T19:35:00.000Z

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!

Health and Medicine in Ancient Egypt: Magic and science (bar s)

Egypt 2010

2010-11-16T20:35:00.002Z

Well, this is a summary report of my latest trip to Egypt. I have posted pics on Facebook, updates too, while I travelled (when possible and generally by cellphone), I have written another report for the travel agent in Portugal which was very kind to be interested in what had happened, and now I am writing about the 'egyptological' stuff.

I flew to Cairo and had to stay there for one night as we were departing to the desert the next day on a 4x4 vehicle (Toyota Land Cruiser, the best!). There is no point in repeting the details of my complaints in the hotel in Cairo (do not recommend the Mercure Le Sphinx), as I already did that to the agency. I can only mention that; giving a person the wrong time to have breakfast, when you hadn't dinner the night before does not turn me into Madre Teresa...

Day 2

Another thing I always have to worry about is buying an Egyptian card for my cellphone, to be able to call local numbers at a reduced rate. If not done and heading for the desert you might feel anxious; I do. I did not bring my laptop as I was afraid of the sand getting in...it was missed back in the boat and Cairo...

The Mount of Wishes has marine fossils and you have to make a wish. I did. Beware what you wish for, you might get it. Be prepared.

Bawiti, one of the five oasis in Baharyia has only one hotel, not very good also, as cables don't reach plugs, but, it was ok to sleep and have a diet dinner (leftovers, I think). Better than nothing. The guide wanted us to climb this rocky mountain, filled with ardosia bits that are so good to do skimming and fall on your ... hip bones...mine are already mended with a metal plaque, no, thank you. I watched the sunset from where I could climb to and it turned out to be an Agora version, very good!

The mummies in Baharyia Museum are all covered and the room does not seem to have proper conditions to house human remains. The light is dim but because it is bad, not to protect the artefacts...Humidity does not seem to be controlled as the doors are open, everything looks dirty and the museum does not have any kind of marketing tools (catalogue, leaflets)...no pics allowed...

The tomb of Bannentiu has extraordinary reliefs (Sekhmets there) and I started to take pics but was stopped after some taken. Mafeesh Muskila.

We crossed the black desert and the white one and slept under the stars, in a tent, which was a first for me, 42 years old so far, stunning pics taken, of course. Our driver/cook/handyman is a great guy and does it all; we have the back seat filled with semi-cooked food for lunches and dinner out at the camping site, we have bags of bananas, tomatos, bread, cans of tuna and sausages, lots of buffalo cheese, also sintetic food...the guide says it is for children...orange and chocolate cakes plus waffers...he is giving those to the army guys at the control stops too...

We left the White Desert and our camping to get on the road to the next oasis. Got stopped in the mud of a Nile canal before we could reach another site to visit, Deir el-Hagar which has the most magnificent relief of Min being offered his lettuces.

Then we head for our hotel, Desert Lodge, at Dakhla oasis, which I do recommend, and visited a World Heritage medieval islamic village Al-Qasr, just before sunset. The unusual sight here was one of the doors being built with pharaonic blocks (upside down) as they couldn't care less about hieroglyphic or any other pharaonic inscription...

Day 5

The guide insisted on crossing another muddy Nile canal just to see some pre-historical writing on a stone, eroded from time, and looking like a camel...well my snickers have to last, at least, until Aswan, so, no way, Jose...

I told him I prefer to visit the Kharga Museum (which was not in his/the agency program), but we went because I insisted and he needed time in the police to arrange the permits to cross to Luxor.

Do recommend this Museum but not buying the 'alleged' CD with all the catalogued pieces from Dr. Mahmoud, as mine contains 'non-readable files'...New Year flasks, mumies at the right conditions and what could be surgical instruments made my day!

Continuing our trip to Luxor (the bridge has to be crossed before 5pm) and checking into the cruise boat was tiring but the shower felt good and my hair looks like hair again!

A dear frind who lives in Luxor came to visit at the boat and we chatted about egyptological events, people and subjects to research that might not have been explored yet...

The Nile cruise had its usual visits; Luxor and Karnak temples, Edfu, Kom-Ombo, Aswan Nubian Museum, Philae and the Nubian village. Did not go the Valley of the Kings or Abu Simbel as we had to wake up vey early, I have been there, not seen all the tombs, of course, and Tutmosis III was open but it is a climb for me...Awesome pics..around 1500...for the whole trip.

At the Nubian Museum I had the privilege of meeting its Director and see the museum again, as I love its' collection.

Had to share this one as this poor one died from this massive bluntforce trauma (as it says on the label) but the bone seems remodeled...maybe he died from the internal brain hemorrhage...that yes, might have been the COD...
Flew to Cairo from Aswan and stayed at the same hotel, again, no point in describing our complaints, just to mention one, each time one of us took a shower we were endowed with a second pool in our own bathroom, besides the one the hotel already has...

Day 9

Giza shops. There is one shop just in front of the Sphinx gate which has always something for me...either a book (I bought one for another friend who is top researcher on AE astronomy), poster picture, postcards from the time where ink was short...a visit to the Egyptian Museum, met another friend, world known by her work with animal mummies, saw the Mummy Room (again)...Hatchepsut looks different...after so many scans...age does not forgive you...new linen...Hard Rock Cafe lunch...the manager is no longer my ex-manager from HR in Lisboa, back when I started my second life as an Egyptologist, managed to get (buy) a special pin...OSIRIS playing guitar!

The next day we went to Fayum and visited Karanis, Hawara and Lahun sites with another friend, Egyptologist and teacher at the Faculty of Tourism in the Fayum University. Went to have lunch at the University, to his office where he was so kind to let me check my email (a perk) and head back to Cairo.
Karanis has Ramesses II stuff (brought from another site of course)...and the oldest bathtub I've seen...

The next day, my AUC informal lecture for students of Egyptology about my current research on Osiris and medicinal plants, met more friends there, had two cheeseburguers and head on the Khan el-Khalili bazar. Shopping time! I had already bought some hibiscus flowers and bakhur at the Laid-Down-Obelisk stores, but now I bought more hibiscus (tea bags) and more bakhur. New pair of babooskas...and I believe that's all.

Day 12

Another important stop: The Agriculture Museum in Cairo. Heard they have a collection of mummified plant remains, what else can a girl wish for? And it was true. Light was dim, but I managed to take good pics.

Had another friend picking us up at the hotel and driving us around the Agriculture Museum the exquisite Gayer-Anderson House and the Ibn Yulun mosque, finishing by eating at sunset at the Al Azhar Park restaurant (lovely view, few food options).

Last day we just relaxed by the pool and the next day woke up at 4,30 to catch a 9am flight...don't ask...

Cancer is not a man-made disease...

2010-10-17T14:10:00.000+01:00

After reading the Nature article from Profs. David and Zimmerman I was appaled by the conclusions.
Having researched this exact subject myself for two years and having published the results as my MSc thesis at Manchester, supervised by Prof. David, I am surprised she decided to use my subject to ask for funding, after I left, invited a specialist on cancer in antiquity, who I quote in my work, and still produce this non-sense.

This is misguiding information...cancer did exist in ancient societies. What man has made with the polluting agents is TO INCREASE the probability of cancerous cells developing in a human or other mammal body. The production of cancerigenous cells is not a characteristic of modern societies; it is a bio-chemical response of the body, either caused by genetic factors or environmental ones; it seems, from reading this piece of news released from Prof. Rosalie David, to whom I am indoubtly thankful, that PROF. ROSALIE DAVID HAS NOT READ WHAT I WROTE IN MY THESIS, SUPERVISED BY HER and published by VDM Verlag.

Plenty of carcinogenic substances in nature ( like tar, smoke from pollution in industry, transportation, oils, gases) can be the cause of many cancers, either in humans or primates.
Mummified Egyptians were, in their majority, noble people who spent their lives in leisure and protected environments, thus not exposed to the dust of a quarry, for example.
Life expectancy was lower but still we find traces of cancer in bones and mummified tissue, so it did exist. But not so frequently as today.
They used lead and other toxic minerals as ingredients for cosmetics and medicines.
Funghi and plants also produce toxic substances (aflatoxins from Aspergillus and aristolochic from certain plants) and these were used in herbal medicines by people then.
Viruses existed.
Some experts comment in the myriad of newspapers where this article is reported that the scientists who wrote it (David and Zimmerman) have poorly supported claims and that this should not have been enough for getting the funding for such a shallow conclusion/study.
The statement that ALL cancers are man-made is inaccurate as there are cancer rates found in primates.
Another part of the research that pops out as shallow is that, if the study is based on cancer in antiquity they (the scientists) should have considered our ancestors on earth, the dinossaurs. And they had cancer. Bone scans have revealed tumours induck-billed species; so this article was based on scanty fossil evidence or none...
What about the sun?
The beta and gamma rays, the genetic mutations in all living beings on earth, the drastic environmental changes...are those not to be considered too?

From my own published work (in which I used the Ebers Papyrus as a reference for tumours' treatments and it is mentioned many times as just EP), I post here a selection of paragraphs that sustain my criticism on this shallow article/study/conclusion:

(...) All diagnoses to date are controversial; what has been published since 1825 until today makes us conclude that, the average age at death being 36 years of age, shows that tumours essentially affected young people. Billiary duct[1] infectious diseases (due to the high prevalence of infection by water snail) affected obviously the liver, but there is no reported case found of liver cancer in ancient Egypt so far. Nasopharyngeal and uterus carcinomas were the most common and rarer cancers such as breast and colorectal may be attributed to a fat enriched diet. (...)

(...) Although computed tomography (CT) can reveal different layers of tissue, separate objects such as amulets, that can be identified; and reveal bones that can be located in regard to their position in the cartonnage; when we deal with an unwrapped mummy, little evidence of soft tissue tumours has been found. There are, nevertheless, more examples of bone tumours detected in ancient Egyptian mummies, but still they are a minimal amount in comparison to present statistics. (Harris 2007: 201) (...)

(...) The appearance of cancer is due to the transformation of normal cells into cancer cells. According to recent studies in oncogenesis, the concerted changes in the expression of those genes are crucial to provide insight into the mechanisms underlying malignancy. (Luo and Elledge, 2008) (...)

(...) Also, cancer is more commonly a disease of the elderly. As the life expectancy in antiquity was considerably lower than today, this may be one of the reasons; also the changing habits of populations, the indoor environment to which we are all more exposed now is characterized by particular types of pollution like radon gas, uranium, and other heavy metal ores. (Capasso, 2005) (...)

(...) Egyptian oncologists report that asbestos[1] has been recognized in ancient Egypt as it was used in mummification, wrapping bodies in asbestos clothes to offset the ravages of time. Mesothelioma, a tumour of mesothelial cells[2], increasing today due to the long latency period (30-40 years) is the cancer of toxic origin that results from exposure to this chemical. (Gaafar and Eldin, 2005); (Abratt et al., 2004). (...)

[1] Known in ancient Egypt as the magic rock, is mentioned by Pliny (Circo 2004); Chrysotile asbestos, the fibrous variety of the mineral serpentine, forms in metamorphic rock, that is, rock that has been altered by intense heat and pressure.

[2] These cells line the body's serous cavities and internal organs and lubricating the layers; a mesothelioma, cancer of the mesothelium happens when cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and divide uncontrolably invading and damaging nearby tissues and organs most frequently in the pleura or peritoneum (by inhalation of asbestos). More than 90% of mesothelioma cases are linked to asbestos exposure (Asbestos Resource Centre 2008)

[1] There is a record of an analysis made to a mummy from a priestess of Thebes, c. 1500 a. C., at The Royal College of Surgeons Museum in London, regarding a well preserved gall bladder containing 30 calculi; unfortunately, this mummy was destroyed by German bombings from the II WW, as stated by Knut Haeger in The Illustrated History of Surgery. A more recent example from this kind of pathology, linked to liver and bile duct and gallbladder; the famous Umm Kulthum, Arabic song diva, (May 4, 1904 –Feb, 3, 1975), became sick in the 1930s and, at the end of the summer of 1937, doctors recommended treatment with mineral waters. Next summer, Umm Kulthum spent a month at Vichy and came back to Egypt feeling better, although, according to her: «I am restricted by a rigid and limiting diet that forbids most part of foods». She later died of nephrites, a kidney inflammation provoked by an infection.

(...) The incidence of cancer in ancient Egypt seems to have been much less due probably to: shorter expectation of life, and the absence of carcinogenic factors in the environment (Nunn 1996: 64), 81; 75% of human cancers are related to environmental factors, a characteristic of industrialized societies (Zimmerman, 1977). However, diseases found in Egypt today are not very different from the ones that afflicted the ancient population if we consider parasitical infections.
Both environment and diet are factors to be considered in the analysis of cancer in ancient Egypt (Ebeid 1999: 114).
Another author says that cancers in ancient Egypt should be detected in wealthier individuals as their diet and sedentary type of living made them more prone to this kind of pathology and that these cancers must have been incurable for sure. (Halperin, 2004)
The diet factor is really difficult to consider as the people belonging to upper social status had access to beef and wine and other different foods than the ones on lower status of the society. Up to what point does this difference in eating has relevance to the incidence of cancer is really uncertain.
The type of living, sedentary or more active is another arguing factor as the populous
working class of ancient Egypt were more exposed to infections as they worked outdoors, most of them and the majority in contact with Nile water, a source of pathogens. (...)

Quoting Prof. Zimmerman, in my conclusions' chapter which is, alledgelly, the first an adviser reads:

(...) Zimmerman also said that, ‘There are only a handful of reports of tumours in ancient remains.’ (Zimmerman, 1977) We can now add some more to the reported cases thanks to the development of techniques and studies done on material found in excavation sites, which were not available before. Later on, this author’s experimental work suggested that malignant tumour cells would survive better than benign (Aufderheide 2003: 452). (...)

(...) There is reason to think, from studies done on the EP, that oncology was a fact in ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian doctors already had some information that enabled them to diagnose and treat cancers, although the literary sources do not clearly describe how they distinguish an abscess from a pustule or neoplasia (Temkin, 1938); (Meyerhof, 1926). (...)

(...) This does not mean, of course, that greater excavation activity in Egypt will necessarily reveal more cases of tumours, but it is an indicator that, as well as the fact that this population may have been less exposed to this diseases, there is also a lack of material to study. This is not only because this type of disease is difficult to detect in ancient tissues (including bone tissue) but also because not everything has been excavated yet. (...)

Veiga, Paula, 2009, Oncology and Infectious Diseases in Ancient Egypt: The Ebers Papyrus' Treatise on Tumours 857-877 andthe cases found in ancient Egyptian human material, VDM Verlag

Rothschild, B. M. , Tanke, D. H. , Helbling, M. II & Martin, L.D. . Epidemiologic study of tumors in dinosaurs. Naturwissenschaften, published online, doi:10.1007/s00114-003-0473-9 (2003).

Dinosaur Tumor Studied for Human Cancer Clues, http://www.livescience.com/health/060403_dino_med.html

From National Geographic News:
First Dinosaur Brain Tumor Found, Experts Suggest
Rothschild's own research, the first wide survey of cancer in dinosaurs, was published in the November edition of the German science journal Naturwissenschaften. His team x-rayed the bones of hundreds of dinosaurs in museums across the United States. They found 29 tumors—all in hadrosaurs, a particularly cancer-prone group of duck-billed dinosaur.

Egypt in my horizon...

2010-09-24T19:43:00.000+01:00

This is the view from a ship cruising Lake Nasser just off Abu Simbel...a sight for sore eyes...my wallpaper at the moment...and my physical view in some weeks...a bit upstream...but still...it is the Nile...

Egyptology Conferences...

2010-09-19T17:32:00.000+01:00

Back from London and the BEC conference organized by the EES at the British Museum.
The Book of The Dead exhibition is coming in November and I will be there in January, insh' allah...

Made interesting contacts for future internships, the only catch is that I have to find the money as they do not pay...Met more colleagues which I had only contacted online. Had nice talks at lunch times, coffee breaks...Experienced another two hotels in London Bloomsbury area, not to repeat...and even had the opportunity to be close to an editor' stand with my publications next to me...closer is impossible...Visited the newly refurbished Jewish Museum and saw rare books on loan.

Had to go to Heathrow via The Express as the Tube had a minor disruption on the Piccadilly Line that weekend...

Arrived at Lisboa almost at midnight just to be up next morning for the Iberian Egyptology Conference, held for two days at my favourite Pharmacy Museum and another two days at the very shallow, bright and modern Communications Museum, which I do not like...

The last day was a day trip day to Sintra, visiting magical places (those of you that are my friends on Facebook can see more pics)...it was also useful to have more interesting chats with more colleagues from Spain and South America...

Now it is time to continue my writing and my applications as well as planning my next Egypt trip...:)

Have to say that some colleagues, if I can call them that, at the Lisboa conference, have the nerve to go and present a paper about something thay did years ago...they are not doing research now...they even left Egyptology, they are just 'curious' people...and the organization allows these people to come to an international event and show how weak they are...

The excavations' presentations were excellent, many new finds, and some papers on texts and amulets made my day!

I had to skip some as I need groceries, sleep and to rest my swollen legs after a day wearing tightening socks...they don't prevent my legs from swelling, just from exploding...

Egyptology Conferences...

2010-09-03T17:06:00.001+01:00

After a magnificent time in Italy for the CIPEG meeting, held at Montepulciano and excellent organization by Dr. Tiradritti, director of the Harwa expedition in Egypt, I am looking forward to go back next year for the Egypt and the Aegean Conference...

And another Egyptology conference calls...this time in London, at the British Museum (11-12 Sep). Pic of Sotheby's entrance by Tine Bagh from Copenhagen (her blog http://tinebagh.wordpress.com/).

The program is at the clickable link in the title, an EES event. I am looking forward to hear many of the speakers, but my trip, being shortened by the Iberian Egyptology Conference the day after (13-17 Sep) in Lisboa... has other stops.

I intend to visit the refurbished Jewish Museum, to see the Vatican hebrew book on loan, the Taschen shop, and some other places where I usually find useful and interesting things to bring back home...

Not presenting anything this time but surely learning from the speakers there...also meeting colleagues/friends...planning collaboration works...and possibly/very likely buying some books...the usual.
It is a shame TFL chose this particular weekend to work on part of the Piccadilly line, as I will have to spend more money and go by tube to Paddington and then use the Heathrow Express...
It will surely be another good weekend spent with friends, talking about our Egyptological subjects, new partnerships ventured, new conferences planned, more trips to come, insh'allah, and more medicine buying at Boots, especially my 'knee wonder' the glucosamine-chondroitine pill...

Have a medium list of books to buy, but I cannot carry too much weight (maybe I will post them to myself) and cannot afford to buy them all at once...maybe one...or two...posting here some of them...

42nd World Congress of the International Society for the History of Medicine

2010-08-05T18:13:00.002+01:00

42^nd Congress ISHM, 2010

Forwarded by request of Dr. Pahor, in accordance to the wishes of the organizers,

Notice 42^nd Congress ISHM, 2010

Dear Colleague,

The above congress will be held in Cairo, Egypt during the period 9-13 October, 2010.

You are strongly encouraged to join in this important event in this ancient city in a country immersed in ancient history. Please visit the official web site of the congress:

http://www.ishmcongresscairo2010.com/

An IMPORTANT notice:

The period for Abstract acceptance has been extended to 1^st September, 2010.

There will be interesting events and visit of historic venues during the congress.

Facilities for joining well organized tours with reputable firms.

It promises to be an event to be remembered for many years to come.

Do come and enjoy the congress.

If you have any problems with the official web site you can send an e-mail to either of these two addresses:

nkotby@cng.com.eg (preferred E-Mail)
mnkotby@gmail.com

Look forward to see you in Cairo.

Main Theme :

The Knowledge and Practice of Medicine in the Nile Valley from the 3rd Millennium B.C. to the 3rd Millennium A.D.
Recommended Topics :

Medicine in the Nile Valley [Egypt]

Pharaonic Medicine
The School of Alexandria
Arab Islamic Medicine
Medical Instruments; the tool for the healer
Hospitals; the emergence and development
The development of Prosthetics
Medicine and the Arts
Medicine and Nursing in War Time
Development of Socialized Medicine and Health Care
Rehabilitation in Medicine
Translation in the Benevolent Cycle of Medical Knowledge
Call on the help of the Super Powers - Magic or Instinctive Need
The Index of Physicians and their Works by ibn-abi-Usaybi'ah and by al-Qifti

I wonder if I will manage to attend any of these conferences one day...
Happening in Cairo is another must for me...

The website for the Society http://www.bium.univ-paris5.fr/ishm/eng/debut.htm has some abstracts, but their publication, Vesalius, is only available for subscribers/members.

Upset stomach, diarrhea and al. when in Egypt...

2010-07-25T18:45:00.002+01:00

I was browsing the net for medical info (even more than those I already know after being there many times) and found several useful posts.

I am writing here both my notes from my trips, and bits of posts I found, together with pharmaceutical information (active substances of the medicine in case you have it in your country but, with a different commercial name).

I urge everyone interested in this to add comments and info to this post, as it might be useful for others searching this kind of information, before travelling.

Beginning with a list of essentials to bring, when travelling to Egypt:

Flagyl is an oral antiprotozoal and antibacterial antibiotic. It fights infections caused by bacteria or amoeba in the vagina, stomach, skin, joints, and respiratory tract.

Important information about Flagyl:
Take this medication for the entire length of time prescribed by your doctor. Your symptoms may get better before the infection is completely treated. Flagyl will not treat a viral infection such as the common cold or flu. Do not drink alcohol while you are taking this medication and for at least 3 days after you stop taking it. You may have unpleasant side effects such as fast heartbeats, warmth or redness under your skin, tingly feeling, nausea, and vomiting.
Before taking Flagyl:
Do not use this medication if you are allergic to metronidazole, or if you are in the first trimester of pregnancy. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment, or have:
liver disease; a stomach or intestinal disease such as Crohn's disease; a blood cell disorder such as anemia (lack of red blood cells) or leukopenia (lack of white blood cells); epilepsy or other seizure disorder; or
nerve disorders.

If you have any of these conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take this medication.

Ultra-Levure/Imodium/Entocid

Visadron (or other eye relief liquid in drops)

Facial/hand/toilet wipes (plenty)

Water purifying tablets (at the pharmacy)

Sunscreens (SPF 15 and more, not less)

Insect repellent (spray, or citronella adhesive or bracelet stripes)

Mineral water (bring, buy and drink ONLY bottled mineral water), and avoid BARAKA

Eat plain yogurt with a spoon of honey at breakfast every morning.

Buy Rayeb in an Egyptian supermarket and drink about 200ml a day. It's a probiotic milk drink and very cheap.

Buy Entocid

Manufacturer & License holder: CID
Composition:
- Di-iodo-Hydroxyquinoline 0.2gm/tab
- Phthalyl-Sulphathiazole 0.2gm/tab
- Streptomycin Sulphate 0.1gm/tab
Therapeutic class:
- Anti-infective Agents
- Antiprotozals
- Amoebicidals

or Antinal

from the pharmacy and take 2 tablets if you feel icky.
Never eat fruit out of it's skin.
Always eat boiling cooked vegetables and avoid cold and salad veggies.
Don't have ice in drinks.
Drink plenty water and not too much soft drinks with sugar.
Don't drink alcohol as it will dehydrate you more in the heat.
Drink Yansoon/Anise tea if you feel unwell. Yansoon is everywhere in Egypt just ask.

Avoid any contact with tap water. No ice, no veg or fruits if you can't peal or cook them..
But if you get sic follow this advice please!!!
First day when you arrive in Egypt go to any pharmacy and buy ENTOCID tablets. The pack of 8 costs only 2 LE . On the first sighn of sickness drink at once 2 tablets and after, take them for a few days, one in the morning and one in the evening. (although the problems are most likely to stop in a few hours after the first two tablets).
The advice was given by a guide who lives there for 8 years.

YANSOON (ANISEED DRINK) --EGYPT
<!--YANSOON (ANISEED DRINK) --EGYPT--> For each cup: 3/4 c. water 1 tsp. aniseeds 2 tsp. sugar or honey to taste Boil ingredients together for 2 minutes. Pour through a tea strainer into serving cups.

Drug Stores and Health and Beauty Stores (including Pharmacies) in Egypt

SCA website

2010-07-24T13:37:00.000+01:00

The Supreme Council of Antiquities is the Government Body, in Egypt, concerned with - and responsible for - all aspects of running the Cultural Heritage of the Country; being in charge of its welfare, management, protection, conservation, preservation, exhibiting, documentation, research and media presentation. The support services for these tasks are undertaken by six Sectors; which cover all administrative, financial, legal, technical, engineering and scientific needs. The Six SCA Sectors are: The General Secretariat Sector, The Egyptian (Pharaonic) and Graeco-Roman Antiquities Sector, The Coptic and Islamic Antiquities Sector, The Antiquities and Museum Financial Support Fund Sector, The General Projects Sector and The Museums Sector.

The highest SCA authority is the Administrative Council (Board), which acts as a Governing Body. The President of the Council is the Minister for Culture; who is the sole legal representative of SCA. The Heads of the Six Sectors form the executive core of the Administrative Council; as Permanent Members (ex officio; by virtue of their office). The Head of the General Secretariat Sector; i.e. the General Secretary, acts as the Executive Head of SCA: in running its every day functions, and directing all Sector operations and activities; with the other Sector Heads working under his direct supervision.

The establishment of a Government Body in charge of Egypt's Cultural Heritage goes back to the year of 1859. Such body initially assumed the name (title) of The Department of Antiquities (under the Ministries of Public Works, Education, National Guidance and Culture; Respectively); which is the title it retained until 1971, when it acquired the new name of "The Egyptian Antiquities Organization; or EAO". The latter was transformed into the present Supreme Council of Antiquities; by virtue of the Presidential Decree Number 82 of the year 1994.

http://archive.cyark.org/egypts-supreme-council-of-antiquities-partner

At the SCA website you have news (not updated to the day) lists of excavation sites (alreadt excavated or ongoing), list of museums in Egypt (with links to the museum website - when available - ), a store, annouces on exhibitions, lectures, conferences, resources for roreign missions and media, rules and regulations.

At the bottom you have a pdf showing the price list for visiting sites which are closed to the general public. I was already told by the most valuable information person in Luxor(Jane Akshar) that the prices are not updated...

http://www.sca-egypt.org/eng/pdfs/MR_Site-fees.pdf

Contacts for different purposes:

Office of the Secretary General
For other inquiries, you may contact the Office of the Secretary General.

Secretary General: Dr. Zahi Hawass
3 El-Adel Abu Bakr St.
Zamalek, Cairo
Email: pyramiza2007@gmail.com
Tel.: +20 02-2736-5645
Fax: +20 02-2735-7239

Commercial and Event Permits Office
This office deals with commercial filming and photography permits; permits to hold special events; and special permission to visit closed sites and monuments. Go to Rules and Regulations for more details.

Director: Mr. Ashraf Salah
3 El-Adel Abu Bakr St.
Zamalek, Cairo
Email: sca.permits@gmail.com
Tel.: +20 02-2736-0468
Fax: +20 02-2735-7239

Department of Foreign Missions
Foreign missions and researchers who wish to conduct work in Egypt should contact this office. Go to Foreign Mission Resources for more details and application information and forms.

Director: Dr. Mohamed Ismail
3 El-Adel Abu Bakr St.
Zamalek, Cairo
Email: sca_missions2@hotmail.com
Tel./Fax: +20 02-2735-0629

Press Office
Members of the press should contact this office for information on breaking news in Egypt, and to join the SCA’s mailing list for press releases. Go to Media Resources for more details.

Director: Ms. Nevine El-Aref
3 El-Adel Abu Bakr St.
Zamalek, Cairo
Email: sca_press@yahoo.com
Tel./Fax: +20 02-2735-3964

Office of Cultural Development
Contact the Office of Cultural Development if you have questions about upcoming SCA sponsored lectures and events. Go to Lectures and Events for more details.

Director: Ms. Injy Fayed
3 El-Adel Abu Bakr St.
Zamalek, Cairo
Email: injy_fayed@yahoo.com or injyfayed@gmail.com
Tel./Fax: +20 02-2736-0468

http://www.sca-egypt.org/eng/SCA_Contact.htm

Interesting Conferences in the next month...

2010-07-03T21:33:00.002+01:00

12th International Conference for Nubian Studies
The British Museum
London, UK
1 - 6 August 2010

http://www.nubiansociety.org/nubianconference.htm

19-23 August 2010
Montepulciano, Italy
“News from Egyptian Collections and new Egyptian Collections ” http://cipeg.icom.museum/media/docs/program_montepulciano.pdf

Dating Pharaonic Egypt...again...

2010-06-18T22:31:00.000+01:00

June 18th, 2010

scientists managed to date ancient plants left with human remains and in ancient Egyptian context, to different dates and periods formerly stated by History (from Greek sources).

Another proof that Science can aid History and that journalists should stop writing about Tutankhamun as 'the son of Akhenaton' as the body found in KV55 has not yet been proved to be Akhenaton's.

Egyptologists growing mould like some I know, say this was not a major advance...people like these should mingle more, research more, learn more foreign languages so they could be able to read articles published in international peer reviewed publications; and maybe attend some more international conferences, BEFORE letting their ignorance fly out of their mouth and land on national newspapers...

Thankfully, "Fortune favours the bold" said Terence (190-159 BC)... Mould-growing humans will not get far and repel other humans as the smell is not pleasant...

Portuguese news:
http://www.publico.pt/Ci%C3%AAncias/a-idade-dos-reinados-do-antigo-egipto-confirmouse-nos-vegetais_1442457

The original article on Science:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/328/5985/1489

IV Congresso Ibérico de Egiptologia - IV Iberian Congress of Egyptology

2010-05-22T19:35:00.000+01:00

Last Congress held in Spain (interview):
http://www.gh.profes.net/puntovista2.asp?id_contenido=48126

Actas del Segundo Congreso Ibérico de Egiptología Proceedings of the second congress

The Congress is being held in two different sites:

The Museum of Pharmacy:
http://www.anf.pt/media/catalogo_museu.pdf museum catalogue
http://www.agendalx.pt/cgi-bin/iportal_agendalx/Q0000576.html?directorio=Museus&area=&tabela=&genero=&datas=&dia=&mes=&ano=&numero_resultados= museum description and information (Portuguese) at the City hall's Agenda

The Communications Museum:
http://www.fpc.pt/FPCWeb/displayconteudo.do2;jsessionid=B11059BB91FD80CD101F693910DBC896?numero=21857

The programme (provisional) is online (click on the title of the post).

Abstracts are not yet online (check this page for future reading of the abstracts):
http://www.fl.ul.pt/unidades/centros/c_historia/sitegip/resumos.html

My preliminary analysis of what this congress might be is that:

- thankfully many Spanish Egyptologists are coming to talk about their research work, their excavations and Egyptian discoveries

- Portuguese Egyptologists are few and we have report on the Portuguese mission in Egypt, elaborations on different aspects of life in ancient Egypt, and the usual museology items done by the usual people...

- Some Portuguese papers show that their authors are still researching the same subject on and on...nothing new then...

- I am not presenting as I prefer not to disclose the stage I'm in, concerning my research to some people...but I will have plenty of opportunities to discuss my present research with the people I find important, and that can help me understand some aspects of it, and maybe develop my approach.

- The fee for attending is excrutiating (150 euros) and it does not include the proceedings, the social programme, meals...The last fee 'call' was only for students (80 euros) as the organizers wanted to 'fill' the room with Egyptologists and prevent 'curious people' from attending the conference. Researchers who are not presently affiliated to any institution (like me) but who are actively pursuing research in Egyptology had some difficulty registering. We have Egyptologists from Spain and Latin America, Brasil in majority and less Portuguese. This has several reasons; we are fewer. And most of the people post-graduating in Egyptology don't follow up. It is just to have a degree. And this for the ones finishing and defending their theses.

I have only one colleague from my times of the Master in Lisboa pursuing research and intending to do a PhD (like me). She is presenting at the congress. The rest have disappeared in the sands of time...

I asked one of the professors in Egyptology in Portugal (Lisboa) recently why not having a Hieroglyphic course to improve knowledge (I know I was being selfish), and he replied it takes too much time and work...

These brief thoughts of mine, shared with you here are some of the reasons that justify why I cannot have my PhD in Portugal. Sadly.

I am glad I have made many contacts and friends in Egyptology so I can search for options all over Europe and America. it is just a matter of time and I will be starting my PhD soon. The writing has started already last Summer, after I had my two books published (my previous Masters' theses).

Health and Medicine in Ancient Egypt: Magic and science (bar s)

- I am very happy that some of my Egyptologists/friends are coming and I believe it will be another excellent opportunity to exchange information with people doing relevant work and researching aspects of ancient Egypt that interest us all...

Looking forward for the congress and some of my friends attending!

'Saint Cat' in Gatrooms hotel, Lisboa...

2010-04-29T19:46:00.009+01:00

Click on title above to see the hotels' website.

I found this by accident...a friend of a friend posted a petition to remove this icon from the facade of a new hotel in downtown Lisboa (note the facade missing the image in the empty niche).
I searched online and read the petition. People who consider themselves devote Catholics think this was a church image that was modified/altered to have a cat face.

People should surround themselves with means of information before jumping into (wrong) conclusions.

This is a piece made by the architect/artist decorating ALL Gatrooms hotels. This means no offense to any religion, it is simply a decorative piece, well enthwined in the Portuguese touristic scenario.

When I went there today with my friend, the recepcionist told us they had to remove it from the hotel front as it was vandalized one night. They cleaned it and then inserted it in an interior niche, in a small hall, next to the hotel reception, similar to the one in the hotel wall outside.

Portuguese are extremely Catholic but most people don't even go to mess...I was raised in a nun's college and I was raised as a Catholic and I consider myself a Catholic. But I also embrace knowing about other religions and I have to thank the nuns at my previous school that made me question so many things about the life of Jesus, and that led me to become an Egyptologist.

What does one thing have to do with the other?

There are obvious visual references and historical ones that show the origin of the depiction of The Virgin Mary with The Child Jesus.

These are Isis and the Boy Horus/Harpocrates.

Most Catholics do not know about the Apocrypha, the Gnostic Gospels, but they should. They should all read the Gospel of the Egyptians. They should all learn about ancient Egyptian mythology and compare.

We have a book fair starting this week here. Why not going there and buy interesting books about it? They are 50% off everyday from 22.30 to 23.30h...

I am posting here some images just for visual comparison and I believe everyone would agree they have the same meaning...

I have been studying an amulet form the National Museum of Archaeology in Lisboa that dates from the Coptic Period in Egypt, that is, the time where the first Christians, already living and breeding in Egypt, used Roman, Greek, Christian and ancient Egyptian iconography to ensure well-being.

The Christian icons as this one of the Virgin Mary had many influences at the time of its' birth as an image, and these influences came from Palestine, of course, and Egypt, to where Jesus fled.

So it should not be a surprise to ALL Christians (Catholic, Protestant, Coptic, Orthodox) that historical, ethnical, geographical and circunstancial influences defined what we believe it has always been like that.

Jesus himself is compared often to the Child Horus or Harpocrates in later periods of Egyptian history, emerging from the Primeaval Waters in a Lotus Flower... the water people used to pour over Horus Cippi (a type of Horus' small altars depicting the child stepping onto crocodiles) was thought to cure everything...what is Holy Water held in church basins and used in exorcisms then?

It is a shame that the 'Saint Cat' is now indoors, but you can always go inside the hotel and take a pic of it, as we did, I was very happy to find out how religions can be sinchronized in 2010 or, from the artistic point of view, how ancient Egypt still influences contemporary artists, even if it was a subliminar idea the one he had...

My next step is try to find the contact of the man who did the piece and ask him what was he thinking...in a good way!

Mieloma found in Egyptian mummy

2010-04-28T20:01:00.001+01:00

Mieloma found in Egyptian Mummy housed at the museum in La Plata, Argentina

Argentinian researchers studied three sarcophagi with high technology appliances and one of those was diagnosed to have probably died from a mieloma. This mummy was bought by Dardo Rocha, founder of the city of La Plata, in 1888.

The museum website:
http://www.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar/museo/

Click on the tile of this post to read the full news in Spanish.

The First International Conference on Ancient Egyptian Science

2010-04-20T14:56:00.003+01:00

The First International Conference on Ancient Egyptian Science

	Saturday, 24 April 2010 9:00
	Monday, 26 April 2010 20:00
	Cairo University & The Supreme Council of Antiquities

Saturday 24 April, 2010 (IBN SINA hall; Faculty of Science, Cairo University)
09:00-10:00 Registration
10:00-11:00 - Opening Ceremony
Dr. Hamed Ead Conference Coordinator
Dr. Abd El Halim Nur El Din Honorary Chairman
Dr. Zahi Hawas Honorary Chairman
Dr. Hossam Kamel President of Cairo University

11:00-12:00 Session I: Plenary lecturers

Chairman: Dr. Abd El Halim Nur El Din & Dr. Zahi Hawas,
Speakers:
• Dr. Gregory S Thomas
Atherosclerosis: Not just a disease of contemporary humans
• Dr. Rosalie David
Ancient Egyptian Medicine: A Scientific Perspective

12 :00-12:30 BREAK

12:30-02:30 Session II: Astronomy

Chairman: Dr. Alaa Shahein & Dr. Magdi Abd el Wahab
Speakers:
1- Dr. Shahinaz Yousef; Dr. Khadiga Abdur-Rahman; Dr. Mohammed Mounirand Dr. Moutaz Mazloum
The Nile Ancient Egyptians Epoch La Nina and El Nino during the times of the prophets Yusuf and Moses
2- Dr. Mosalam Shaltout
The dawn of Astronomy in the world: Napta Playa , Egypt, 4890 BCE
3- Dr. Hanan A. Abou el-Dahab
Sotis and Isis: A comparative study since early history of Ancient Egypt till the end of the Graeco-Roman Period
5- Dr. Yosef Mazhar
Wind directions and conditions on ancient Egyptian sailing ships

03:00-04:30 LUNCH

Sunday 25 April, 2010 (Ahmed Basha Kamal hall; Supreme Council of Antiquity; 3 El Adel Abu Baker st. Zamalek; Cairo)

09:00-12:30 Session I: Medicine and Mummification

Chairman: Dr. G.Thomas ; Dr. M. El Manawy ; Dr. Aziza Mahrous
Speakers:
1-Dr. Moushira E. Zaki , Dr. Azza M. Sarry El-Din1, Dr. Muhammad Al-Tohamy Soliman1, Dr. Neveen H. Mahmoud2, Dr. Walaa Abu Baker Basha1.
Limb Amputation in Ancient Egyptians from Old Kingdom
2- Dr. Moushira E. Zaki, Dr. M. Al-Tohamy Soliman &Dr. Aly El-Sawaf
Cranial Tumors in Ancient Egyptians from the Greco-Roman period
3- Dr. El – Sawaf, A. & Dr. Al- Tohamy, M.
Ancient Dental Pathology
4- Dr. Aly El-Nofely
About child growth in ancient Egypt
5- Dr. M. Saleh and Dr. Esmat Seifelnasr
An introduction to the history of Veterinary Medicine
6- Dr. Gomaa Abdel-Maksoud , Dr. Ezz Eldin A. Al-Shazly , Dr. Abdel-Rahman El-Amin
Damage caused by insects during the mummification processes:
An experimental study
7- Dr. Ghada Darwish Al-Khafif, Dr. Zakia M. Kamel, Dr. Mahmoud Said Mahmoud
Is this natural mummy a historic find? Case study

12 :30-01:00 BREAK

01:00-03:30 Session II: Pharmacology
Chairman: Dr. Rosalie David; Dr. Moushira E. Zaki & Dr. Aly El-Sawaf
Speakers:
1- Dr. Aziza M.M. Amer
History of Pharmacology in Ancient Egypt
2- Dr. Rosalie David
Pharmacy in Ancient Egypt: A multidisciplinary historical and scientific study
3- Dr. Esmat Seifelnasr &Dr. M. Saleh
A brief history of animal communication
4- Dr. Hanifa Moursi, S. A.
A view on the ancient Egyptian herbal
5- Dr. Gamal S. Gabra
Drugs in ancient Egypt

03:30-04:30 LUNCH

Monday 26 April, 2010 (Ahmed Basha Kamal hall; Supreme Council of Antiquity; 3 El Adel Abu Baker st. Zamalek; Cairo)

09:00-12:30 Session I: Basic science and Agriculture

Chairman: Dr. A. Nur El Din; Dr. Rifaat Hilal & Dr. Ahmed Hegazy
Speakers:
1- Dr. M. I. Wanas
The Great Pyramid and Finsler Geometry
2- Dr. Salah Eid
The Circle as the Heart of Ancient Egyptian Geometry
3- Mr. Ayman A. Waziry
Anet and the conception of the velocity of light in Ancient Egypt until the end of the Greek- Roman periods
4- Dr. Abed El-Naser Tawfik
Experimental methodology as leading tools of the Scientific progress in Pharaonic civilization
5- Mr. Hisham El-Hennawy
Scorpions in ancient Egypt
6- Dr. Ahmed H. Abd El-Megeed
Pharaohs' Scientific techniques in carcasses quality
7-Dr. Nesrin .M.N. El Hadidi & Dr. Rim Hamdy
Basketry Accessories: Sandals, Bags and Fans in Ancient Egypt
8- Dr. Wafaa A. El-Ghanam
Waterwheel in Graeco - Roman Egypt

12 :30-01:00 BREAK

01:00-03:00 Session II: Architecture and Conservation

Chairman: Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Hady & Dr. Mona Foad.
Speakers:
1- Dr. Mohamed El Sharkawy
Waterspouts in Ancient Egyptian Architecture
2- Dr. I.M. Abdallah & Dr. N. Abdtawab
Effects of environmental conditions on deterioration of the Oracle Temple, Siwa Oasis , Egypt
3- Dr. Abdou El-Derby
Some construction and buildings defects in Ancient Egypt
which have played role in own deterioration and damage .
4- Dr. Mohsen M. Saleh
Restoration and conservation of Hwi–Nfr granite sarcophagus lid, Cairo University excavation: Giza - Saqqara
5- Dr. Mohamed M. Megahed
Scientific study for treatment & conservation of archaeological iron artifacts, applied on a selected object from Tell-El Farama, North Sinai, Egypt.

03:00-04:00 LUNCH

06:00-08:00 Closing Ceremony (El Arsh hall; Kasr El Manial )

1- Dr. Khairy I. El-Malt
The Role of the Ancient Egyptian Musical Instrument for the
Revival of the Pharonic Music.
2- Pharonic Music Play
3- El Mosika Al Arabia (Music Play)
4- Medal for the Distinguished Archaeologists
5- Certificate of Attendance

DINNER

Cancer in ancient Egypt, a new medical papyrus atests treatments

2010-04-11T15:53:00.065+01:00

I am excited! The new medical papyrus is finally being edited, after having been exhibited in 2007 for two months only at the Louvre; it deals with the Khonsu pustules that might have been cancer as described in the Ebers papyrus (worked in my 'Oncology in ancient Egypt'). Thierry Bardinet published an article about the papyrus religious' angle but the medical info is revealed!!!

After reading the article with extreme attention I have gathered some notes and I am posting them here alongside with quoting form the article to illustrate how this papyrus really shows that the ancient Egyptians really knew about cancerous diseases and tried to treat them.

Papyrus Louvre E32847, recto 20-verso 16

Benign and malignant tumours

Osiris as a victim of Khonsu is an expression I found endearing as Osiris represents life and regeneration and Khonsu is the 'bad guy' here. The one bringing the worse disease ever. Maybe not even Osiris could ressuscitate from this...

These nasty diseases were brought by Khonsu's will, and the Louvre Papyrus presents conjurations to ward off the disease. The whole nasty thing has a big name and it is called many things, which describe how pathological it is for the human being...

- the disease is revealed by the swellings it produces in the body

- secretions are produced now from the swellings, and these appear on top

- these substances once produced, are very corrosive

- and these are all actions of a god (Khonsu) of a deceased, of death itself

In summary, a malignant growth, and this needs to be expelled and fought.

The swellings are liquid filled pouches containing deadly secretions, bringing disease; some are incurable, others simple absesses. They might have different sizes and different substances being produced, and we cannot use the description to say those are lymph nodes, swollen to battle infection.

The secretions coming out of the body can be considered malevolent substances – wxdw - the carriers of disease, transmitters of pain and pathology.
The wxdw were originated by a type of putrid process in the intestine and these substances circulate all over the body while resting.
Their removal was vital, and therefore ancient Egyptians carried out daily purges in order to get their bodies pure and clean of disturbing substances and infections of all kind.

I have presented a poster (and I am waiting to know if it is going to be published), in Bolzano, at the Mummy Conference of 2009 which had:

There are reasons to believe, from studies made on the Ebers Papyrus, that oncology was a fact in ancient Egypt. Doctors then had already some knowledge allowing them to diagnose and treat cancer, although, from the literary sources we have an undefined idea of how did they make a distinction between an abscess, a pustule or a neoplasia.

Now I can add that we do know they made the distinction!!

These secretions degraded the body and these wxdw were more dangerous than the ordinary ones coming out of other diseases...as they would cause cancerous ulcers.
And these were the most morbid pathologies engineered by Khonsu...

The cancerous nature of pathological formations due to Khonsu's actions seems evident in the reading of Papyrus Louvre E32847.
Doctors knew cancer was serious and beyond their therapeutical possibilities. By approaching this disease the doctor is entering a pathogenic environment filled with demons!
The doctor has to be paying attention when taking the demons/disease out of the patient so to avoid them to enter his own body. This 'protection of the doctor is well shown in Papyrus Ebers 1,2,3 paragraphs. These demons were, of course, emissaries from Seth!
From the other hand Khonsu is a very difficult god to oppose, in this Louvre Papyrus the doctor is fighting Khnosu's decisions asking for the help of a foreign god, also a coleric one.

This foreign god, coming from Palestine, is a baboon named twice in this papyrus and he is called upon to fight cancer violently, which was caused by khonsu (another baboon).

The cult place of this foreign god is found in a mountain, ' the baboon from the Laban mountain with a face as fire, eyes as flames, and a breath that burns tumours' or ' the baboon from the region-of-the-Phoenician-juniper'.

At the New Kingdom Khonsu was depicted with two baboons, the second one being the one applying decisions, and this is shown in Stela C284 from the Louvre, a fighter who specializes in demons...
A lunar god.
An executioner, oposing nefast decisions which were not his own so he could anul them!
He commanded fate, so, he was the last resource...

Ouan - Edom - Palestine

Where the Phoenician junipers grow, the Laban mountain, Jebel Harun (about midway between the Dead Sea and the Elanitic gulf with two summits, in the hallow between which it is supposed that Aaron died), might be the exact spot where this god was venerated.
A geographic explanation based on ancient Egy[ptian texts is given in this article.

Another baboon in ancient Egyptian mythology, Bebon, also a lunar god, can be associated with this, as his lips are also fire as Papyrus Hariis mentions (BM 10042).

At the end it all turns out to be a case of jealousy, the evil eye working again as the Laban baboon might not like competition so he was called upon to fight Khonsu.

I loved reading this and I will be loking forward to read the complete edition soon to be out from the Louvre. I have to thank Dr. bardinet for his dedication and expertise on the medical papyri and the team at the Louvre Museum working on the new papyrus. This papyrus was offered by the Ipsen group to the French State in 2006, exhibited at the Louvre in 2007 and since that studied, its' publication to be out soon.

Petição "EM DEFESA O MUSEU NACIONAL DE ARQUEOLOGIA"

2010-03-30T16:12:00.000+01:00

Petição "EM DEFESA O MUSEU NACIONAL DE ARQUEOLOGIA"
Quando há cerca de um ano o anterior Governo colocou a hipótese da transferência do Museu Nacional de Arqueologia (MNA) para a Cordoaria nacional, o seu Grupo de Amigos (GAMNA) chamou logo a atenção para os riscos inerentes, dos quais o mais importante é o da segurança geotécnica do local e do próprio edificado da Cordoaria, para aí se poderem albergar as colecções do Museu Nacional português com colecções mais volumosas e com o maior número de peças classificadas como “tesouros nacionais”.
Após as últimas eleições pareceu ser traçado um caminho que permitia encarar com seriedade esta intenção política. A ministra da Cultura afirmou à imprensa que fora pedido ao Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC) um parecer acerca das referidas condições geotécnicas e que seria feito projecto de arquitectura coerente, respeitador tanto da Cordoaria Nacional como do programa do Museu. Ao mesmo tempo garantiu que esse complexo seria totalmente afecto ao MNA, sem a instalação antecipada de outros serviços no local. Sendo assim, deixaria também de ser necessário alienar espaços do MNA nos Jerónimos, a título de garantia da ocupação antecipada da Cordoaria.
Causa, pois, profunda estranheza a sucessão de acontecimentos das últimas semanas, os quais vão ao ponto de comprometer ou até inviabilizar a continuidade da gestão do Director do Museu, que nos cumpre elogiar pelo dinamismo que lhe conseguiu imprimir e de cujos interesses se constitui, perante todos nós, em legítimo garante.
O estudo tranquilizador que se dizia ter sido pedido ao LNEC, deu afinal lugar a parecer meramente pessoal do técnico convidado para o efeito. O GAMNA, encomendou estudo alternativo, que vai em sentido contrário. O Director do Museu recolheu, ele próprio, outros pareceres, dos mais reputados especialistas da área da engenharia sísmica, que igualmente corroboram e ampliam as preocupações existentes. É agora óbvia a necessidade da realização de um programa de sondagens e de verificações in loco, devidamente controlado por entidade idónea, de modo a poder definir com rigor a situação da Cordoaria em matéria de riscos sísmicos, maremoto, efeito de maré, inundação e infiltração de águas salgadas. A recente tragédia ocorrida na Madeira, onde se perdeu quase por completo o acervo do Museu do Açúcar, devido a inundação, aí está para nos lembrar como não pode haver facilidade e ligeireza neste tipo de decisões.
Enquanto não estiver garantida a segurança geotécnica da instalação do MNA na Cordoaria Nacional, importa manter todas as condições de operacionalidade do Museu nos Jerónimos. Neste sentido consideramos intolerável a alienação pretendida da “torre oca” a curto prazo, até porque uma tal opção iria comprometer definitivamente qualquer hipótese futura de regressar a planos de remodelação e ampliação do MNA nos Jerónimos, conforme foi a opção consistente de sucessivos Governos, até há dois anos. O MNA merece todo o respeito e não pode ser considerado como mero estorvo num local onde aparentemente se quer fazer um novo Museu.
O poder político não pode actuar ignorando os pareceres técnicos qualificados e agindo contra o sentimento de todos os que amam o património e os museus. Apelamos ao bom senso do Governo, afirmando desde já a nossa disposição para apoiar o GAMNA na adopção de todas as medidas cívicas e legais necessárias para que seja defendida, como merece, a instituição mais do que centenária fundada pelo Doutor Leite de Vasconcelos, o antigo “museu do homem português” e actual Museu Nacional de Arqueologia.
Lisboa, em 29 de Março de 2010.
Os Peticionários

POR FAVOR ASSINEM, PARA ASSINAR CLICAR NO LINK (TITULO)

MUSEU NACIONAL DE ARQUEOLOGIA: mudar, só para melhor

2010-03-29T18:34:00.000+01:00

[esclarecimento apresentado durante as VIII Jornadas Anuais do ICOM Portugal, em 29 de Março de 2010]

MUSEU NACIONAL DE ARQUEOLOGIA: mudar, só para melhor

Uma vez que foi anunciada a intenção de fazer transitar rapidamente o Museu Nacional de Arqueologia (MNA) para a Cordoaria Nacional (CN), destinando-se o espaço dos Jerónimos à ampliação do Museu de Marinha ou a um novo museu, o Museu da Viagem, julgo já ser altura de dizer o que penso sobre o assunto. A tal me conduzem os deveres que tenho para com os visitantes, o Grupo de Amigos do MNA, as comunidades científicas e museológicas a que pertenço e sobretudo para com a minha própria consciência pessoal. Vejo, aliás, que o tema mobiliza as comunidades da arqueologia, da museologia e do património e começou a interessar os media. Ainda bem, porque o futuro de uma instituição centenária desta natureza é um assunto de cidadania, que ninguém poderia esperar, muito menos desejar, ficasse escondido dentro de gabinetes.

Como tenho repetido noutras ocasiões (v. por exemplo Publico, 23-12-2006), não sou, em absoluto, contra a transferência do MNA para outras instalações. Pertenci a equipas que procuraram essas alternativas e elas chegaram a estar prefiguradas em sucessivos PDMs de Lisboa (Alto do Restelo, Alto da Ajuda, terrenos anexos ao CCB, etc.). Tendo falhado todas estas hipóteses, optei na última década ? e com eu todas as direcções do Instituto de tutela - por estudar, primeiro, e depois propor projectos de arquitectura muito sólidos, da autoria de Carlos Guimarães e Luís Soares Carneiro, alicerçados em sondagens e estudos geológicos realizados sob supervisão do Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC), visando a ampliação do MNA nos espaços já ocupados nos Jerónimos. Estes estudos e projectos foram desde 1998 acolhidos por todos os governos que precederam a actual legislatura e chegaram ser formalmente adoptados por um primeiro-ministro, que anunciou o calendário da sua execução.

Não posso deixar de considerar ser pena que se deitem agora à rua as dezenas, ou porventura centenas, de milhares de euros assim gastos. Mas, enfim, se a opção é de mudança de instalações, então o que importa assegurar é que ela seja claramente para melhor. Não podendo ser para edifício novo, pois que seja para um edifício histórico prestigiado, bem situado e sobretudo adequado às necessidades de um museu moderno, mormente daquele que é um dos mais visitados do Ministério da Cultura, o que possui colecções mais volumosas e vastas e ainda o que tem maior número de bens classificados como ?tesouros nacionais?. E já agora, quanto ao espaço deixado livre nos Jerónimos, que se execute nele um projecto cultural que realmente valha a pena e honre a Democracia.

Ora, devo confessar que, não obstante a atitude positiva que sempre tenho em relação à mudança, o espírito construtivo e colaborante a que minha posição funcional me obriga e ainda a esperança que depositei na orientação política traçada pela actual Ministra da Cultura, tenho agora dúvidas que estes desideratos sejam de facto assegurados.

Em Novembro e Dezembro passados, após reuniões tidas com a tutela do MNA e directamente com a senhora Ministra da Cultura, foi traçado um caminho que me pareceu e continua a parecer sério e viável, a saber:

-mandar executar estudos geotécnicos, sob direcção de entidade idónea (que a senhora ministra anunciou à imprensa ser o LNEC), garantidores da viabilidade e condições de instalação do MNA na CN; destes estudos resultariam as obras de engenharia que fossem consideradas como condições prévias a qualquer projecto de arquitectura;

-execução de um projecto da arquitectura arrojado, respeitador da Cordoaria (ela própria classificada como monumento nacional e merecedora de todo o respeito) e do programa museológico do MNA;

-afectação de toda a CN ao MNA, reconfigurado institucionalmente de modo a incluir alguns serviços de arqueologia do Ministério da Cultura que nele poderiam desejavelmente ter lugar;

-não instalação antecipada na CN de serviços do MC, de modo a que o espaço estivesse totalmente disponível para a execução do projecto de arquitectura; correlativamente, não havendo necessidade de ocupação da CN por parte da Cultura, não entrega adiantada à Marinha de espaços nos Jerónimos, mantendo aqui o MNA toda a sua capacidade operacional, até que pudesse ser transferido para a CN, em boa e devida ordem.

Nos últimos dois meses parece que toda esta estratégia foi abandonada, sem que se perceba muito bem porquê. Talvez apenas pelo que se quer fazer nos Jerónimos e não propriamente pelo interesse na melhoria do MNA. Importa recordar que a ideia de afectar o sector oitocentista dos Jerónimos em exclusivo à Marinha, de forma clara (ampliação do Museu de Marinha) ou encapotada (Museu da Viagem, colocado em instalações alienadas para a Marinha, bem diferente do que seria um tal museu antropológico e civilista, sob tutela exclusiva da Cultura), limita-se a ressuscitar o antigo projecto do Estado Novo, sob impulso do almirante Américo Thomaz, que teve golpe de finados quando o Conselho da Revolução, em Janeiro de 1976 (no rescaldo do 25 de Novembro e quando País corria o risco de uma deriva cesarista), entendeu publicar um decreto hoje risível, no qual se impunha a transferência para a Marinha de todos os espaços dos Jerónimos não afectos ao culto. É irónico que este projecto seja retomado agora, mas? é a vida. Na condição em que subscrevo este texto, apenas me cumpre assinalar esta entorse cívica. Todavia, na mesma condição, cumpre-me mais, cumpre-me denunciar a extraordinária situação para que um museu mais do centenário e um acervo tão vasto e estruturante para o País são atirados, tratados como meros empecilhos para que uma opção política de regime possa rapidamente ser executada. Em ditaduras terceiro-mundistas não se faria diferente.

Quanto ao edifico da CN o problema não é tanto político mas técnico e altamente complexo, fazendo todo o sentido os cuidados na sua abordagem, acima sumariados. Trata-se de uma proposta que tem meio século, ressurge ciclicamente e foi sempre recusada com base em pareceres técnicos credíveis. Mudaram entretanto as circunstâncias ? Talvez. Mas apenas se alguém com competência bastante puder agora garantir a inexistência ou o adequado controlo dos riscos sísmicos, de inundação, impacte de marés, etc. que são reconhecidos naquele preciso local (edificado sobre o estuário do rio Seco num local, ?Junqueira?, que significa pântanos de juncos) e arriscam conduzir a uma catástrofe para o acervo histórico nacional que o MNA guarda. E se outro alguém garantir depois a mobilização dos meios financeiros suficientes para a profunda requalificação do quarteirão inteiro da CN, onde nalguns sectores se verifica uma quase ruína e noutros as coberturas são em telha vã, os pavimentos são irregulares, estão saturadas em sais marinhos, etc., etc. Ora, a única coisa que até aqui me foi apresentado em sentido tranquilizador, foi um parecer dado a título individual por um antigo técnico LNEC, certamente competente, mas que não responsabiliza mais do o seu autor. O Grupo de Amigos do MNA obteve estudo de outro técnico muito credenciado e que vai em sentido contrário; eu próprio recolhi pareceres de dois dos mais reputados especialistas portugueses em engenharia sísmica ? e todos concordam em alertar para o risco efectivo e elevado que existe no local da CN.

Talvez assim se compreenda melhor porque atribuo a esta matéria tanta importância. Talvez se entenda porque não posso em consciência, neste momento, considerar como definitivamente adquirida a transferência do MNA para CN. E, por outro lado, também assim se possa melhor perceber porque considero inaceitável executar desde já o despejo de parte do MNA nos Jerónimos ? situação que seria sempre anómala (e desnecessária, porque não existem agora pressões para colocar quaisquer serviços da Cultura na CN), porque o que faria sentido, conforme o acordado inicialmente, era que o Museu apenas desocupasse os espaços actuais quando mudasse de instalações, após as obras profundas de arquitectura a que a CN deverá inevitavelmente ser submetida.

Continuo, pois, a aguardar a apresentação pública de estudos que garantam a segurança do acervo do MNA na CN. Aguardo, logo depois, a abertura de concurso público ou o convite a arquitecto consagrado para desenvolver o projecto que se impõe, tudo isto sem esquecer os estudos urbanísticos da zona envolvente, de modo a precaver, e potenciar, o fluxo das várias centenas de milhar de pessoas que passarão anualmente a frequentar uma zona em que se irão colocar lado a lado os dois mais visitados museus do Ministério da Cultura.

No entretanto, o MNA continuará a servir da melhor forma que puder os seus utilizadores, no cumprimento do programa cívico que Leite de Vasconcelos concebeu e Bernardino Machado adoptou. As iniciativas públicas já tomadas em torno do futuro do MNA, com especial relevo para o espírito combativo demonstrado pelo nosso Grupo de Amigos e para os oferecimentos de activa solidariedade por parte de personalidades as mais diversas, das associações científicas e profissionais, das universidades e das autarquias, reconfortam-me e dão fé de que a sociedade civil não está adormecida.

Luís Raposo

Director do Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, 29 de Março de2010.

Learn about the process of mummification

2010-03-28T21:24:00.001+01:00

This is just a simple example of how technology can help Egyptology...

Learn about the process of mummification

Should the British Museum Return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt?

2010-03-13T23:08:00.005Z

Should the British Museum Return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt?

Well, this is a very polemic opinion as Egyptians want it back, and Zahi Hawass has managed to get many of ancient Egyptian artefacts back in Egypt. Should this piece have the same fate? I don't think so...
Why?
Because of the same reason many ancient Egyptian artefacts are displayed today in European and American museums and, although Zahi's influence is a growing factor in the antiques' dealers world, important pieces which bring thousands of people and money to museums worldwide will certainly not be returned to Egypt.
It is business.

Icons of culture like these (the Rosetta Stone, the Nefertiti bust, The Seated scribe or the Sekhmet statues) are the postcard of these museums where they are displayed. Egyptian culture is a calling subject for public in general, mummies are the most wanted artefact, and the next best thing are these iconic depictions of ancient Egyptian society.
One wonders where these objects would be now if they hadn't been brought out of Egypt in the 18th and 19th centuries... And in what state of preservation... Even when Egypt has managed to have all its collections on display in environmentally controlled rooms, should these be returned?
We could have a point there but would the institutions housing them now want to get rid of them so easily, just because they are Egyptian in nature, should they be in Egypt, the end? No.
I do not subscribe to the idea that buying ancient Egyptian artefacts from markets and underground dealers is good, but that is what happened in the past and should be corrected now. Contemporary illegal sale of these objects is punishable by law and I believe this is good and correct. But what happened in the past had different laws, costumes, cultural settings and reasons. Countries had other countries for colonies!!
To be accurate, that still exists today (the 'Netherlands' Antilles, the Bahamas, the 'French' Polinesian islands...).
Loaning is an alternative. Loaning objects for international exhibitions (although the insurance is sky-high) is an idea museums should discuss with Egyptian officals, themed exhibitions, travelling exhibitions, special occasions' exhibitions...
The British Museum is a great institution and it comprises more than simply exhibiting artefacts; we have conferences, courses, an exquisite library, lunch talks by curators, excellent replicas for sale, a whole world of business both in commercial and intellectual aspects.

I don't think the Rosetta Stone is feeling homesick as it has been well taken care of. Or that any other ancient Egyptian artefact has any reason to complain of the treatment given to them where they are housed in the present.

From my personal opinion, mummies,, which are human beings and thus more important than simple objects, including jewellry which most people find the most fascinating items, are being given more importance than ever all over the world and the Egyptian authorities care less about them, they have storage houses filled with body parts and whole bodies, still not studied, and there are some scientists and egyptologists eager to study them out there...
Zahi does not want mummies back, but he says that mummies in Egypt have to be studied by Egyptians, rather than by foreigners. But until 2007 Egypt did not have any laboratories or any kind of suitable facilities for technical analysis of human remains. The laboratories now existing in Cairo, at the basement of the Egyptian Museum and at the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University were donated by 'foreigners' and the people who are highly qualified to conduct dna tests and who were training the Egyptian teams are also 'foreigners'.

And what about the thousands of objects stashed in Cairo's Egyptian Museum basement? Filled with dust, still in their original boxes (some from the 19th century), scorpions passing by, most of these objects never seen by anyone outside the museum, except for some very interested Egyptologist who went there to study some of them?
I think it would be a good idea for Zahi and his teams to start by cleaning and displaying the immense legacy they have stored, and maybe then think about claiming already famous artefacts, displayed in other countries' museums.

I believe in interdisciplinary work and in international cooperation, and because of that, it is my firm opinion that neither the Rosetta Stone or any other ancient Egyptian artefacts attracting too much attention in the world should be returned to Egypt just because it is Egyptian by birth...

The Salakhana Trove

2010-03-13T21:22:00.001Z

THE SALAKHANA TROVE
Votive Stelae and Other Objects from Asyut

by TERENCE DuQUESNE

with the collaboration of
Sabah Abdel Razek, Edmund S Meltzer, Janet M Johnstone; Geoffrey J Tassie

Darengo Publications
large format (A4), 668 pages, profusely illustrated
casebound in buckram, gold blocked
publication date: March 2010
UK £150.00. ISBN 1-871266-26-2

In 1922, a large trove of stelae was discovered in the tomb of Djefaihapy III, nomarch of Asyut in the XIIth Dynasty. During the XVIIIth and subsequent Dynasties, these and other objects were deposited in this sepulchre (known as the Salakhana tomb), which evidently then served as a shrine for placing of votive offerings. The use of an individual's tomb for such a purpose is otherwise unknown from ancient Egypt. This fact would itself be sufficient to justify the interest of scholars. But the trove is extremely important for a number of other reasons. The stelae and maquettes from the Salakhana tomb provide unparallelled evidence about life and religion in Middle Egypt during the New Kingdom. Most of these objects were dedicated to the local god Upwawet, and shed a good deal of light on Egyptian popular religion and cult practices. They also provide significant information about the names and occupations of the inhabitants of the Lycopolitan nome, especially in the Ramesside Period. Many of the stelae are of fine artistic quality, while others were crudely crafted, often by persons of low status. Several are iconographically unique.

http://www.ceae.unlugar.com/duquesne.htm

Previous Publications covering some of the stelae featured in this publication (more than 600):

Anubis, Upwawet, and Other Deities: Personal Worship and Official Religion in Ancient Egypt, Wafaa El-Sadeek, Sabah Abdel Razek, American Univ in Cairo Press, 2008

Proceedings of the ninth International Congress of Egyptologists
Jean Claude Goyon, Christine Cardin - 2007, THE SALAKHANA STELAE. A UNIQUE TROVE OF VOTIVE OBJECTS FROM ASYUT

Votive stelae for Upwawet from the Salakhana Trove = Stèles votives en l'honneur de Upwawet provenant de Salakhana Trove, Discussions in Egyptology, 2000, n^o48, pp. 5-47

The fruit of fifteen years' research, this new book documents the 600 votive stelae and other objects discovered in 1922 in the Salakhana tomb on the Western Mountain of Asyut in Middle Egypt.
No web address currently available but orders and enquiries can be made to:

Daniel Jacobs, PO Box 48462, London SE15 5XW, UK or by email to jackaldeities@fsmail.net.

Why the mummy found in KV55 may not be Akhenaton...

2010-03-02T20:41:00.000Z

A very thourough analysis of what might be missing in the already famous 'JAMA article on Tut's parentage':

The paper Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family by Hawass al. (Journal of American Medicine, 2010 - JAMA. 2010;303(7):638-647), states that the mummy in KV55 is “probably” Akhenaten, although the attribution has attracted considerable comment and debate with a number of writers questioning the forensic data.

In the JAMA paper, Hawass et al. outline what they see as the most likely 5-generational family tree including the identification of the KV55 mummy and KV35YL as full siblings. I accept the family tree with the exception of the sibling identification which I believe should be questioned and the identification of Akhenaten.

The age at death of the KV55 mummy has attracted considerable debate. The forensic assessment of the age at death based upon skeletal and dental analysis remains contentious. Since this paper identifies that the KV55 mummy is not Akhenaten on genetic grounds, I don’t discuss the forensic assessment at the age of death in detail. However, I note in passing that once the identification of KV55 as Akhenaten is set aside, the this forensic data ceases to be problematic – at least for now – as so little is known of Smenkhare (if indeed the KV55 mummy is even he).

Go to http://www.kv64.info/2010/03/dna-shows-that-kv55-mummy-probably-not.html for the rest of the discussion.

My nomination for the first Lufthansa A380

2010-02-27T18:00:00.000Z

My nomination for the first Lufthansa A380: "The A380 the new Lufthansa flagship, a special experience, the Lufthansa A380. Find out more about the fascination of a new era in air travel. Take part, Raffles, Downloads, Photos, Video, Gallery, First Flight in 2010."

Lectures on Egyptian Literature in Lisboa, Portugal

2010-02-20T23:17:00.000Z

CICLO DE CONFERÊNCIAS ACAPE: A literatura Egipcía do passado ao presente

from Museu Nacional de Arqueologia

no Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, aos sábados, das 15 às 17 horas.

20 de Fevereiro

O Livro dos Mortos do antigo Egipto. Professor Doutor Luís Araújo (Universidade de Lisboa)

20 de Março

Literatura do Egipto faraónico. Professor Doutor José das Candeias Sales (Universidade Aberta)

24 de Abril

Literatura egípcia arabo-islâmica. Professor Doutor António Dias Farinha (Universidade de Lisboa)

29 de Maio

Literatura árabe moderna do Egipto. Mestre Alexandra Diez de Oliveira (Universidade de Lisboa)

26 de Junho

Literatura copto-árabe do Egipto. Professor Doutor Adel Sidarus (Universidade de Évora)

As sessões deste novo ciclo de conferências são, como habitualmente, abertas aos membros da Associação Cultural de Amizade Portugal-Egipto e do Grupo de Amigos do Museu Nacional de Arqueologia. No final de cada sessão será servido um beberete na sala de conferências.

King Tut's Medical History and Autopsy Report

2010-02-17T17:50:00.000Z

I was very happy to be invited to write about this by Heritage Key. Here is the copied/pasted article that you can read at the HK website:

Early Research

KV62 - Tut's tomb - was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. Multiple attempts at proving kinship between various royal mummies have been made since then, including tests by Connolly (1976), Flaherty (1984) and Harrison (1969). In the case of Tutankhamun and Smenkhare, these tests have included estimates of both mummies' blood groups in order to compare them.
Both mummies share the same rare blood type (group A2, and both with the serum antigen MN), suggesting close consanguinity.
In 2000, Tutankhamun was due for testing again. This time, a Japanese team would attempt tot extract DNA from the mummy. Shortly after the announcement was made, the Egyptian government decided to revise the granted permissions, and the planned geneaology and paleopathology research was cancelled.

The Two Fetuses - King Tut's Daughters

In the case of the two fetuses found in KV62, the DNA test confirmed a theory. The two girls have different body shapes, but their DNA would quickly prove if they really are sisters, and even twins - as suggested by Connolly. He believes the difference are symptoms of a rare event in which one twin consumes more nutrients from the mother than the other, and is therefore born much bigger and stronger. Dr. Connolly explained this theory to me himself, when I was attending Manchester’s KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology in 2008.
Premature or severely ill newborn babies hardly ever survived in Ancient Egypt, and often a child died in the mother's womb. It is very probable that Tutankhamun's daughters are an example of this, as they were far from full-grown: they died at five and six months gestation.

This fetus is one of Tutankhamun's stillborn daughters.

The First CT-scans

In 2005, Madeeha Katthab, Dean of the Medical Department of Cairo University, together with his team and aided by specialists from Italy and Switzerland, performed a CAT scan of Tutankhamun's mummy (using equipment kindly donated by National Geographic and Siemens Medical Solutions).
Based on these scans, in 2007, Dr. Benson Harer was the first to suggest that King Tut's early death might have been linked to the pharoah's leg.
An interesting detail worth mentioning from Harer's research is that if Tutankhamun had a deficient immune system, ancient Egyptians were already knowledgeable in this area. Black cumin oil was known in Egypt as a stimulant and as an reinforcing agent for the immune system. When the tomb of Tutankhamun was first opened, archaeologists discovered a bottle of black cumin oil, no doubt gifted to the King to ensure a painless afterlife.

Where Was His Willy?

Not related, but too funny not to mention, is that Tutankhamun’s lost phallus had been hiding in the sandbox (the sand around the mummy) since the 1960s. The missing member generated a lot of controversy; it is clearly present in Burton's photographs, but at a certain point disappears from the (not Burton) picture. King Tut's member was rediscovered by Dr Hawass in 2006, who found that it had never left the sandbox after all.

The Murder Conspiracy

Speculations about Tut's cause of death - and his missing penis - started in 1968, when a team from Liverpool University, led by Professor Ronald Harrison, X-rayed Tutankhamun's body in his tomb. These images revealed a possible blunt force injury to the back of the King's head and the presence of what looked like bone fragments inside the skull.
I learned from Dr. Connolly (I also had a glance at the original X-rays myself) that the bone fragments inside Tutankhamun’s skull, commonly called ‘the vault’, were small fragments from the smallest bones we have in the skull next to the eyes and nose (nasal, lachrymal and palatine). These tiny bones break easily, so could have well been damaged in the process of mummification.

Tut's legs, photographed by Burton, shortly after the discovery of KV62. - Image copyright the Griffith Institute

Break a Leg

The pathological condition that King Tut suffered in his leg was a bone inflammation that, according to the recent released article, was enhanced by his weakened immunity system.
Sir Marc Armand Ruffer studied several Egyptian bodies. Writing in 1921, he described the typical condition of leg bones: "In contrast to the spine, the femurs showed, as a rule, but slight lesions, and even these did not occur often. Altogether only nine femurs showed any lesions, the most pronounced of which, at the upper end."
Osteomyelitis is the inflammation of the marrow cavity; thirty-one cases were noted on twenty-six individuals from the Predynastic cemetery at Naga ed-Der. The tibia and maxilla are the most frequent affected bones, with ten examples known for the tibia.
Elliot Smith and Wood Jones nevertheless concluded that inflammatory diseases of bone were rarely seen in ancient Egyptian skeletons. New data published show they also found that "the left second metatarsal head was strongly deformed and displayed a distinctly altered structure, with areas of increased and decreased bone density indicating bone necrosis."

One Pharoah, 130 Walking Sticks

The deformities found in King Tut's foot indicate that the disease was ongoing at the time of his death. Since Howard Carter discovered 130 whole and partial examples of sticks and canes in the king’s tomb, we might say that ancient Egyptians prepared themselves well for the afterlife. These finds support the hypothesis of a walking aid being a necessity for the young king’s travel after death. Some of the canes found in KV62 are worn, which consolidates the idea that he must have needed some kind of cane to walk.

A Rather Rare Physiognomy?

According to Dr. Corthals, genotype defines phenotype, so, the application of DNA testing can also help to determinate if the strange physiognomy observed in depictions of Akhenaten and his children - possibly including Tutankhamun - may derive from a genetic ‘corridor’ set up by his ancestors, meaning a genetically-inherited feature.
During the New Kingdom, the environment did not changed substantially enough to disrupt a genetic trace, so it would be possible to confirm Akhenaten’s genetic characteristic and its passage to his offspring.

The research also concludes that the KV55 mummy, who is most probably Akhenaten, is probably the father of Tutankhamun

The newly published article in JAMA states that "a Marfan diagnosis cannot be supported in these mummies." This means that all the theories suggesting feminine traits in this dynasty crumble, as science - once again - proves them wrong. The full text reads: "Macroscopic and radiological inspection of the mummies did not show specific signs of gynecomastia, craniosynostoses, Antley-Bixler syndrome or deficiency in cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase, Marfan syndrome, or related disorders."
Another fascinating part of this study is that, in many cases, DNA analysis (see how they take the samples in this photo preview of 'King Tut Unwrapped') provides information that makes it possible to detect an otherwise invisible infection.

Akhenaten is the Father of King Tut (Probably)

The research also concludes that the KV55 mummy, who is most probably Akhenaten, is probably the father of Tutankhamun. According to the latest scientific data published today in the JAMA (Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family), "Syngeneic Y-chromosomal DNA in the Amenhotep III, KV55, and Tutankhamun mummies indicates that they share the same paternal lineage."
KV55 is thought to have housed Akhenaten’s body and the article clearly states that "...the KV55 mummy, who is most probably Akhenaten, father of Tutankhamun. The latter kinship is supported in that several unique anthropological features are shared by the 2 mummies and that the blood group of both individuals is identical."
However, this does not mean the identification of the mummy in KV55 is conclusive.

A Mean Case of Malaria

Last but not least, after PCR amplification of DNA samples they found indicative proof of at least a double infection with the P falciparum parasite (malaria) in Tutankhamun, as well as the mummies of his ancestors Thuya and Yuya. The type diagnosed is malaria tropica, the most severe form of this disease. Although Tut's relatives suffered from malaria as well, they lived much longer than him. A possible explanation is that, although they all lived in a malaria endemic area, the ‘ladies’ did not suffer from the same other pathologies (almost all of the above) that Tutankhamun did.
The photos of Tut and his daughters I've mentioned can be consulted in a publication by Leek F. The Human Remains from the Tomb of Tutankhamun. Oxford, UK: Tutankhamun Tomb Series V; 1972. More bibliography on the serological tests, previous tests done on Tut and his daughters can be browsed in the JAMA article references’ list.

Tut weakened by congenital illnesses dead by complications from the broken leg aggravated by severe brain malaria

2010-02-16T17:26:00.000Z

JAMA will publish it tomorrow, the press conference is tomorrow but this appeared today.

"(...) Egypt's famed King Tutankhamun suffered from a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane, and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria, according to the most extensive study ever of his mummy.
(...)
Speculation had long swirled over why the boy king died at such a young age. A hole in his skull long fueled speculation he was murdered, until a 2005 CAT scan ruled that out, finding the hole was likely from the mummification process. The scan also uncovered the broken leg.
The newest CAT scans and DNA tests revealed a pharaoh weakened by congenital illnesses finally done in by complications from the broken leg aggravated by severe brain malaria. The team said it isolated DNA of the malaria parasite — the oldest such discovery.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ga4G96HXif0cFiMzDdK5PGYqTthgD9DTBV302

"Press Conference to be held at Egyptian Museum"

http://www.drhawass.com/blog/press-release-press-conference-be-held-egyptian-museum

"The Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, will hold a press conference
on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 11:00 am in the Cairo Museum
to announce new discoveries surrounding the family of Tutankhamun
and the cause of the young king's death. (..) The study on the family
of Tutankhamun was conducted through the Egyptian Mummy
Project (EMP) headed by Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the
SCA, and a team composed of Egyptian scientists from the National
Research Center, members from the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo
University, and two German DNA specialists. Dr. Zahi Hawass and
the scientists involved in the EMP's latest study submitted an article
to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), who
approved of the study's scientific method. The article will be
published on February 17; the same day as the press conference.
The study was conducted inside two DNA laboratories which are
under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Antiquities; one is
located in the basement of the Cairo Museum, and another is in the
Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University. These are the only two
DNA laboratories exclusively aimed at the study of ancient mummies."

http://jama.ama-assn.org/

He forgot to say that the specialist on ancient DNA, Dr. Angelique Corthals, was training the Egyptian scientists who did this latest study on Tutankhamun...

http://www.aspcorthals.net/Site/Short_Bio.html

Modern technology and innovation bring new insight to Egypt’s past

2010-02-14T15:48:00.000Z

Como eu costumo dizer, ainda existe muito para descobrir no Egipto, enterrado, submerso, coberto, escondido, esquecido, etc...
Ja o Zahi Hawass disse que falta descobrir 70% da riqueza do antigo Egipto.
Tambem e um facto que as tecnologias actuais, passadas e futuras vao revelando o que antes parecia inexistente.
Por isso quem diz mal da internet e nao utiliza meios novos de comunicacao e acesso a informacao deve ser 'descartado' principalmente se estiver ligado ao ensino... so prejudica, nunca ajuda nada nem ninguem...
Este artigo vem confirmar todas estas coisas e esperemos que o passado continue a ajudar a compreender o presente e perspectivar o futuro...

Vai ser revelado o parentesco de Tutankhamon em breve...

Modern technology and innovation bring new insight to Egypt’s past
By May Kaddah
Over the last three decades, technological advancement has allowed archeologists to answer longstanding questions and refute misconceptions about missing details of Egypt’s history. From the remains of ancient rulers to Napoleon’s flagship, et takes you through some of archeology’s most significant discoveries in the last 30 years.

http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=8812

O exemplo do que um mestrado em Egiptologia deve ser... What a Master in Egyptology should have...

2010-01-30T15:06:00.001Z

PARA TODOS QUE DIZEM INTERESSAR-SE POR EGIPTOLOGIA EM PORTUGAL; AOS QUE SE INTERESSAM REALMENTE E AOS 'FALSOS' INTERESSADOS, MAIS CONHECIDOS POR INTERESSEIROS:

A Universidade de Napoles vai comecar um Mestrado de Egiptologia que serve de modelo a qualquer Universidade que pense fazer o mesmo.
Tem todas as componentes necessarias, historicas e linguisticas, bem como a experiencia arqueologica e a passagem pela arte e arquitectura.
A considerar por todos os departamentos que ainda nao tem formacao especifica em Egiptologia e que deveriam ter pois procura existe.
Ha que encontrar os leitores (professores) adequados, e isto quer dizer que muitas vezes se convidam pessoas estrangeiras para leccionar certos modulos.
Uma mais-valia para qualquer Universidade que queira evoluir e prestar servico educativo de qualidade.

Por experiencia propria e por ter adquirido e continuar a adquirir os conhecimentos em locais e tempos diferentes, penso que este mestrado esta muitissimo bem elaborado pois contem os instrumentos necessarios a boa investigacao em egiptologia, confere experiencia de campo, e abarca os varios temas que compoem a egiptologia ficando ao criterio de cada um escolher o seu tema de tese.

Isto quer dizer que quem procura 'tapar' a necessidade de viajar a conta de bolsas com a desculpa que faz investigacao, e ganhar uns trocos usando publicacoes alheias para fazer brilharetes em palestras de reformados curiosos, fica logo de fora...
Uma pessoa que dedica a sua vida a egiptologia, se nao estiver dedicado ao ensino, estara com certeza na investigacao, e as duas vertentes requerem trabalho continuo e constante.
O elemento chave sera a inovadora abordagem que der ao seu trabalho e com isto deixamos de fora museologos e oportunistas...
Inovar, investigar temas mal explorados ou nunca desenvolvidos, nao e fazer recensoes criticas mal fundadas dos trabalhos dos outros, duvidar de bibliografia citada so porque nao se conhece a publicacao (muitas vezes porque nao se dominam linguas estrangeiras em variedade suficiente para os estudos que se propoem fazer), mas e escrever sobre novos prismas de interpretacao, sejam eles filosofico-religiosos, linguisticos ou cientificos.

Que sirva de licao, este novo mestrado e a sua belissima composicao aos monos desactualizados que vivem dentro de redomas de fantasia, alimentados por confortaveis interesseiros e mais monos com poder politico e economico que so ouvem os que sao da mesma cor...

E depois admiram-se que quem tenha algumas capacidades se ponha ao fresco e va fazer coisas noutros paises...

Anseio vivamente por novas pessoas em lugares chave para desenvolver o ensino e o saber por vias mais adaptadas a realidade.

Componentes do curso:

Egipto Predinastico e Protodinastico
Imperio Antigo e Primeiro Periodo Intermediario
Imperio Medio e Imperio Novo
Egipto greco-romano
Antiguidade Nubia

Egipcio Medio
Hieratico e Egipcio Novo
Lingua Copta e literatura do Egipto Cristao
Demotico

Cronologia da arte predinastica
Arquitectura templar
Textos funerarios
Rituais funerarios

Informatica para a arqueologia
Aplicacoes G.I.S.
Laser scanner
Novas tecnologias para o estudo da ceramica egipcia

Escrita com o Winglyph
Arqueologia maritima egipcia
Coleccao egipcia do Museu Arqueologico de Napoles
Nascimento da escrita no Egipto

Palestras varias

Excavacao em Helwan (Cairo)

Tese

Ptolemaic Egypt course in Lisboa

2010-01-20T21:36:00.000Z

Final Programme CRE XI - Leiden - 5,8 January 2010

2009-12-22T16:18:00.001Z

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden

http://www.rmo.nl/

Leiden University:
http://archaeology.leiden.edu/research/near-eastern/

To get to Leiden

Schipol airport Amsterdam, then train:

http://www.schiphol.nl/Travellers/ToFromSchiphol/PublicTransport/ByTrainDomestic.htm

Tuesday January 5th, 2010

18.00 Registration of participants in the Taffeh Hall, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (RMO)

20.00 Keynote lecture by Dr. R.J. Demarée, Taffeh Hall, RMO
New Lights on the Reigns of the Later Ramesside Kings 21.00 Welcome reception ‐ Café RMO

Wednesday January 6th, 2010

09.00 Reception with coffee and tea ‐ Lipsius building, central hall

09.30 Official opening of the conference in the Lipsius building, lecture room 011

Session 1: Politics, power and society ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 011
10.00‐10.30 Alessandra Siragusa, Ca'Foscari University The Swty.w: Brokers and Operators in the small and Large Range Trade
10.30‐11.00 Heba Abd el‐Gawad, Durham University "Out of Bounds ‐ Priest's Property!" The Status of the Ptolemaic Kings at Memphis

11.00‐11.30 Coffee and tea break

Session 2: Funerary texts ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 011
11.30‐12.00 Nathalie Andrews, Durham Univeristy Protecting Personhood in Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead: The role of the Sacred Eye in Ensuring the Continued Identity of the Deceased
12.00‐12.30 Antonio J. Morales, University of Pennsylvania Old Kingdom Priestly Texts of Nut and their transmission into the Middle Kingdom
12.30‐13.00 Jens Blach Jørgensen, University of Copenhagen Myth and cosmography. On the Union of Re and Osiris in two types of religious discourse

13.00‐14.00 Lunch break

Session 3: Arts and Artifacts ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 011
14.00‐14.30 Jurgen van Oostenrijk, Leiden University The "chaîne opératoire" of Late Period Shabti Groups from Saqqara
14.30‐15.00 Daniel Soliman, Leiden University Iconographic and stylistic studies of kingly sculpture from Dynasties 13, 16 and 17
15.00‐15.30 Nico Staring, Leiden University Analysing figural graffiti: stela Louvre C8 as a case study

15.30‐16.00 Coffee and tea break

Session 4: Cross‐Cultural Relations ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 011
16.00‐16.30 Alexandros Giannakoulas, University of Oxford Before Polydamna: Egyptian parturient vessels and the trade of medical lore with the Bronze Age Aegean
16.30‐17.00 Irene Vezzani, University of Florence Lioness‐Headed Female Figures between Egypt and Anatolia at the Beginning of the II Mill. B.C.: An Example of the Egyptian Influence on Pre‐Hittite Iconography
17.00‐17.30 Felix Höflmayer, DAI Berlin / DEI Amman / SCIEM 2000 Egyptian pots, Aegean chronology and radiocarbon: Recent research on Egypt and the early Aegean Late Bronze Age

17.30‐18.00 Coffee and tea break

18.00‐19.00 Keynote Lecture by Dr. B.J.J. Haring ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 011
Cursive and Monumental: Worlds Apart? The Role of Hieratic in the Composition and Copying of Hieroglyphic Texts.

19.00 Drinks

Thursday January 7th, 2010 09.00 Reception with coffee and tea ‐ Lipsius building, central hall

Parallel session 1A: Religion ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 003
09.30‐10.00 Susanne Töpfer, University of Leipzig A (new‐)edition of the Embalming Ritual after the papyri Boulaq 3 and Louvre 5158
10.00‐10.30 Jared Brent Krebsbach, University of Memphis The Persians and Atum Worship in Egypt's Twenty Seventh Dynasty
10.30‐11.00 Kata Jasper, University Budapest Ha, Lord of the West. Some Remarks on the Figure of an Ancient Egyptian Personification
11.00‐11.30 Paula Veiga, Independent Researcher Osiris’ green: his body represented in medicinal plants

11.30‐12.00 Coffee and tea break

Parallel session 1B: Cultural Identity ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 005 09.30‐10.00 Sander Müskens, Leiden University Cultural Choice and Constructing Identity in later Roman Egypt: Funerary Stelae from Behnasa
10.00‐10.30 Yanne Broux & Sandra Coussement, K.U. Leuven Creating Identities in Graeco‐Roman Egypt: Double Names in the Ptolemaic and Roman Period
10.30‐11.00 Kim Ridealgh, Swansea University ‘Yes Dear!’ Spousal Relationships in the Late Ramesside Letters
11.00‐11.30 Gwen Jennes, K.U. Leuven Creating Identities in Graeco‐Roman Egypt: Theophoric Names

11.30‐12.00 Coffee and tea break

Parallel session 2 A: Household Archaeology ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 003
12.00‐12.30 Miriam Müller, University of Vienna An elite quarter of Avaris/Tell el‐Dab'a ‐ multicultural life in a town of the Second Intermediate Period
12.30‐13.00 Lara Weiss, Leiden University Encountering liminal zones at Deir el‐Medina?
13.00‐13.30 Maria Correas‐Amador, Durham University Egyptian Mud Dwellings: An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective

13.30‐14.30 Lunch break

Parallel session 2 B: Linguistics ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 005
12.00‐12.30 Ines Köhler, Freie Universität Berlin Prototype semantics and its approach in the Ancient Egyptian lexicon
12.30‐13.00 Anita Sempel, Leiden University Participles and Aspect
13.00‐13.30 German Ruiz Ruiz, Halma‐Ipel Univeristy of Lille The Notion of Combat in Ancient Egypt: A lexicographical Study of the Terminology 13.30‐14.30 Lunch break

Parallel session 3 A: Early Christianity ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 003
14.30‐15.00 Renate Dekker, Leiden University Peeping into the Bishop's papers: Re‐edition of the archives of Pesynthios of Coptos (seventh century)
15.00‐15.30 Joost Hagen, Leiden University Church and state in medieval Christian Nubia: The evidence of the Coptic texts from Qasr Ibrim
15.30‐16.00 Lisanne Kleiterp, Leiden University “From Temple to Church”: the Christian reuse of ‘pagan’ temples

16.00‐16.30 Coffee and tea break

Parallel session 3 B: Predynastic Egypt ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 005
14.30‐15.00 Grazia Di Pietro, University "L'Orientale", Naples Models from Predynastic daily life
15.00‐15.30 Gavin Smith, Liverpool University The transmigration of Predynastic and Protodynastic typologies, and their economic utility

16.00‐16.30 Coffee and tea break

Parallel session 4 A: Interdisciplinary Approaches ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 003
16.30‐17.00 Stephanie Atherton, University of Manchester Sacred Ibis mummies in the Manchester Museum: a morphological and forensic study
17.00‐17.30 Conni Lord, University of Manchester The life and death of the sacred bulls: what we really know
17.30‐18.00 Howard Middleton‐Jones, Coptic UK Research The Digital 3D Reconstruction of the Coptic Church at Qubbat al‐Hawa

18.00‐18.30 Coffee and tea break

Parallel session 4 B: Middle Kingdom Society ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 005
16.30‐17.00 Margaret Maitland, University of Oxford Spatial hierarchy in Middle Kingdom Elite Culture 17.00‐17.30 Melinda Nelson‐Hurst, University of Pennsylvania The Evolving Roles of Collateral and Female Kin in Society and the Funerary Cult from the Middle Kingdom through the Second Intermediate Period
17.30‐18.00 Rita Gautschy, Universität Basel Lunar and Sothic data from the archive of Illahun revisited: Absolute Chronology of the Middle Kingdom

18.00‐18.30 Coffee and tea break

18.30‐19.30 Keynote Lecture by Dr. M.J. Versluys ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 005
Egyptology versus Egyptomania? Stages in the mnemohistory of Egypt

20.00 Congress dinner ‐ Restaurant "De Branderij"

Friday January 8th, 2010

09.00 Reception with coffee and tea ‐ Lipsius building, central hall

Session 1: Temples ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 011
09.30‐10.00 Carina van den Hoven, Leiden University Balancing the gods. Priestly design in the temple of Kalabsha
10.00‐10.30 Kenneth Griffin, Swansea University An Analysis of the Rekhyt Rebus on the Columns of the Temple of Seti at Abydos
10.30‐11.00 Marta Sankiewicz, Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznan ‘Coregency’ of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III in the light of iconography in the Hatshepsut Temple at Deir el‐Bahari

11.00‐11.30 Coffee and tea break

Session 2: Literature ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 011
11.30‐12.00 Shih‐Wei Hsu, Freie Universität Berlin The power of the image and the image of the power: "The griffin" as a visual and written image for the king
12.00‐12.30 Lea van de Sande, Leiden University The 21th maxim of the Instruction of Ptahhotep: a comparison of versions
12.30‐13.00 Linda Steynor, University of London The function of Metaphor in The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant

13.00‐14.00 Lunch break

Session 3: Predynastic Burial Customs ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 011
14.00‐14.30 Maarten Horn, Leiden University Dressing the Dead during the Tasian, Badarian and Early Naqadian Periods in the Qau‐ Matmar Region ‐ A Comparison and Interpretation
14.30‐15.00 Veronica Tamorri, University of Durham Preliminary Observations on Practices of Bodily Manipulation in Predynastic Egyptian Funerary Contexts
15.00‐15.30 Sarah Foster, University College London Landscape and Cosmology in the Badarian (c. 4500‐4000 B.C.): an insight provided by 'exotic materials'

15.30‐16.00 Coffee and tea break

Session 4: Egyptology, Archaeology and Museology ‐ Lipsius, lecture room 011
16.00‐16.30 Henning Franzmeier, Freie Universität Berlin The Cemetery of Sedment in the New Kingdom ‐ New Light on an old Excavation
16.30‐17.00 Gemma Tully, University of Southampton ‘Answering the calls of the living': Collaborative Museology and the Representation of Ancient Egypt in Western Museum Displays
17.00‐17.30 Michal Kurzyk Geophysical surveying in Egypt: the Polish contribution

17.30 Annual General Meeting and closing session – Lipsius, lecture room 011

Tribute to Susan Weeks

2009-12-16T21:06:00.002Z

Tribute to Susan Weeks

I have gathered here a few information pieces that circulated online a propos of the tragic, unexplained and almost unbeliaveble death of Susan Weeks:

First of all, Jane Akshar's blog post in which she describes how 24 hours can be an eternity of stress:

http://luxoroneday.blogspot.com/2009/12/wedding-and-funeral.html?spref=tw

The New York Times article from July, 2009 where their life is portrayed romantically and the tale of a wish come true; living on a boat by the Nile:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/greathomesanddestinations/15gh-egypt.html?_r=1

A page on Susan from The Theban Mapping Project:
http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/about/staff_16.html
From: AUC President
president@aucegypt.edu

It is with great regret that we announce the death of Ms. Susan
Weeks, wife of Egyptology Professor Emeritus Kent Weeks.

Susan received a Bachelor of Arts in graphic arts from the University
of Washington. She and Kent met while working on the Nubian
Salvage Project in Upper Egypt. In addition to being one of the
foremost archaeological illustrators of the past half-century, she has
built a career as one of the best general field archaeologists in Egypt,
having worked on sites all over the country, both with her husband and
as a specialist called by other teams. Members of the AUC community
who knew and worked with Susan will always remember her sly wit
(which her quiet demeanor never succeeded in obscuring), her keen
and penetrating intelligence, and most of all the immense care and
concern that she devoted to her friends, colleagues and students.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her two children,
Emily and Christopher, and one grandchild.

Those wishing to send condolences may do so by email care of
magdiali@aucegypt.edu, Dr. Weeks's assistant.

In his book "The Lost Tomb", Kent Weeks wrote this dedication
to his wife Susan, (who lost her life this week in a tragic accident).

The words are a fitting tribute to her.

"Susan Weeks has filled the roles of wife, mother, artist, epigrapher,
ceramicist, cook, and camp organizer throughout the TMP's history, and she performed every one of them superbly. Her talent and her
patience deserve much more credit than these simple lines can offer. I am in awe--- and in love. Kent Weeks "

and she in turn said of their life together

"Every morning as we walk into the Valley towards the tomb, I count my blessings. It is a privilege to be able to work here and to share it with my husband. Every day is magic still. Susan Weeks"

Christmas Greetings!!!

2009-12-06T15:03:00.004Z

I have recorded a wmv movie featuring images from Portugal to wish the best on these Holidays to my friends and colleagues.
Click on the link above, or here below again, so you can watch it.

Christmas Greetings for 2009!!

Paula

Body Parts: Ancient Egyptian Fragments and Amulets

2009-11-21T12:39:00.000Z

November 19, 2009–October 2, 2011
Special Exhibitions Hall, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

Body Parts features thirty-five representations of individual body parts from the Brooklyn Museum’s ancient Egyptian collection, many of which will be displayed for the first time. This exhibition uses fragments of sculptures and objects created as distinct elements to illuminate the very realistic depiction of individual body parts in canonical Egyptian sculpture. Ancient Egyptian artists carefully portrayed each part of the human body, respecting the significance of every detail. When viewed individually, these sculptures and fragments reveal ancient notions of the body, as well as details of workmanship, frequently unnoticed in more complete sculptures.

This exhibition is organized by Yekaterina Barbash, Assistant Curator of Egyptian Art, Brooklyn Museum.

Two major highlights include an eye cut from crystalline limestone and blue glass that was once part of an anthropoid (human-shaped) coffin similar to the Museum’s famous Cartonnage of Nespanetjerenpere and a colossal left foot that was created as a votive offering for the god Serapis.

Neue Museum in Berlin are open!

2009-10-18T11:53:00.002+01:00

Am 17. Oktober 2009 öffnet das Neue Museum wieder seine Pforten.

Errichtet wurde dieses Hauptwerk der Kunst-, Museums- und Technikgeschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts nach Plänen Friedrich August Stülers. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg schwer beschädigt, wurde es unter der Leitung des britischen Stararchitekten David Chipperfield aufwändig restauriert und wiederhergestellt. Das Ägyptische Museum und Papyrussammlung und das Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte mit Objekten der Antikensammlung finden hier ihre neue Heimat...

These were established (art, technology and history museums) in the 19th Century after plans from Friedrich August Stülers. In the Second World War it was heavily damaged, it was then restored under the line of British star architect David Chipperfield. The Egyptian museum and papyrus collection, and the museum for prehistory and antiquity showing objects of the ancient collections find here their new home...

http://www.neues-museum.de/

Time to go visit the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin http://www.wiederaufbauneuesmuseumberlin.de/ and its' brothers in the 'Isle of Museums' in Berlin and practice German!!

Egyptology in Brasil

2009-10-07T21:11:00.000+01:00

Programme:
http://www.historia.uff.br/ceia/geemaat/files/2009_ciclopalestras_programa.pdf

Desert rallye and Egyptology...

2009-10-07T14:25:00.001+01:00

Italian team in Egypt

4X4 2009 2010 Africa Anubi Anubi Project Avventura deserto DJ Ringo Erzberg Rodeo Eventi fuoristrada moto motorally Mototv phara Pharaons Rally

Watch on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAY9PEKuIlM&feature=player_embedded

Dr. Sabina Malgora speaks about the desert...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QnCaxAHixc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvc8pKIFLNY

DNA tests on Granville's mummy show TB killed ancient Egyptian

2009-09-30T13:38:00.001+01:00

The first mummy to be scientifically analized was again tested for its real cause of death.

Augustus Granville first described his Egyptian mummy to London's Royal Society in 1825. The remains are of a woman, Irtyersenu, who died in Thebes around 600 BC, aged about 50. It was the first mummy to be subjected to a scientific autopsy, and Granville concluded that she died of ovarian cancer.

But around 20 years ago, the remains of the mummy were rediscovered and subjected to new tests. These suggested that the ovarian tumour was benign, and that the mummy also had malaria and signs of inflammation in the lungs, which could have been caused by pneumonia or tuberculosis.

But when Donoghue http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slms/people/show.php?personid=11405

and colleagues from the University of Birmingham, UK, combined DNA amplification with a recently developed technique to search for a short repetitive section of DNA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, they identified the organism in tissue from the lungs, bone and gall bladder.They also found biomarkers specific to the cell wall of the bacterium in the lungs and bones.

Journal reference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1484

Other references:

What killed Dr Granville's mummy
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B83WY-4V7DBHM-2F&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1029647907&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=e264eb9ddc53717d5b859e4f9e2f54ed

http://allaboutegypt.org/2009/01/what-killed-dr-granvilles-mummy/

Dr. Aufderheide's Scinetific Study of Mummies (first 29 pages)

http://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/18261/sample/9780521818261ws.pdf

pages 7, 10, 11 with picture of the 'ovarian cyst'

Ancient Egyptian Medicine, John Francis Nunn - 2002 page 65

The Granville mummy (Itry-senu) was re- examined in 1994 (Harer and Taylor, in preparation) ...

http://books.google.com/books?id=WHfEnVU6z8IC&pg=PA65&lpg=PA65&dq=granville+mummy&source=bl&ots=mKQ_wEn_61&sig=owomNXWPxD2cyHbx03hfQ30U0Eo&hl=en&ei=qk7DSuPfEYeC_Qbx3JDOAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCIQ6AEwBzgU#v=onepage&q=granville%20mummy&f=false

THE ORIGINAL...

An essay on Egyptian mummies: with observations on the art of embalming ... By Augustus Bozzi Granville
http://books.google.com/books?id=tlIGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=granville+mummy&source=bl&ots=eKWsiOZZGs&sig=piR7CPz7QsMUAqdvwJrhDnPEODY&hl=en&ei=fU_DStSCCMnJ_gawkPHNAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CA4Q6AEwATgo#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Who was Granville?

The experience of ancient Egypt By Ann Rosalie David
Augustus Bozzi Granville (1783—1872) was of Italian origin and spent part of ... An interest in Egyptology led him to investigate an Egyptian mummy...

http://books.google.com/books?id=Asc6LOUOLd0C&pg=PA161&lpg=PA161&dq=granville+mummy&source=bl&ots=U1UNc5jRL5&sig=VKuTevP-1x9kJB44d1S63nQWh6Y&hl=en&ei=clDDSpyiCdD6_Aa8iIDOAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCUQ6AEwBzhG#v=onepage&q=granville%20mummy&f=false

The Third International Congress for Young Egyptologists

2009-09-23T14:12:00.000+01:00

Programme

http://www.byblos.org.hu/documents/programme_ICYE2009.pdf

24 September 2009

Location: King's Hotel, 1072 Budapest Nagy Diófa utca 25-27. (www.kingshotel.hu)

20:00 – 21:00 Welcome drink

25 September 2009

Location: Eötvös Loránd University, 1088 Budapest Múzeum krt. 4.

8:00 – 9:00 Registration

9:00 – 9:30 Opening

9:30 – 10:30 Prof. Dr. Jac J. Janssen Earning a living at Deir el-Medina

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 – 11:30 Hanadah Tarawneh Gift exchange and tribute in the Amarna letters

11:30 – 12:00 Vessela Atanassova The Economic Function of the Title jmy-r HmwnTr

"Overseer of the God’s Servants"?

12:00 – 12:00 Andrea Zingarelli Trade and “money” in Ramesside Egypt: the use

of general equivalents in economic transactions

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch Break

14:00 – 14:30 Dr. Ian Shaw Economic symbols? Quadrilingual vessels as

metaphors for the Egypto-Achaemenid

encounter

14:30 – 15:00 Agnese Iob The circulation of precious objects and

materials in Egypt and between Egypt and the

Near East

15:00 – 15:30 Dr. Sara Caramello – Dr. Alessandro Cappellini

An economic perspective on Near Eastern interkingdoms

relationships during the Late Bronze

Age

15:30 – 16:00 Coffee break

16:00 – 16:30 Elena Valtorta Commercial routes in Upper Egypt from Late

Naqada II to the Protodynastic: Defining

patterns of interaction

16:30 – 17:00 Mariusz Jucha The early Egyptian rulers in the Nile Delta – a

view from the necropolis at Tell el-Farkha

17:00 – 17:30 Marcin Czarnowicz At the intersection of the trading routes,

Commerce and economy of pre- and early

dynastic Tell el-Farkha

17:30 – 18:00 Gavin Smith The transmigration of Predynastic and

Protodynastic typologies and their economic

utility

26 September 2009

Location: Eötvös Loránd University, 1088 Budapest Múzeum krt. 4.

9:00 – 9:30 Anna Hodgkinson Mass-production in New Kingdom Egypt –

Capital cities of the New Kingdom and their

major industries

9:30 – 10:00 Walter de Winter The Egyptian temple economy in the Foreign

Lands of Canaan and Nubia

10:00 – 10:30 Giulia Pagliari Storage in the ancient egyptian palaces

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 – 11:30 Evgeniya Kokina Two Egyptian private-law documents of the Old

Kingdom

11:30 – 12:00 Kata Endreffy Business with gods: The role of bargaining in

demotic letters to gods and Graeco-Roman

judicial prayers

12:00 – 12:00 Gabriella Dembitz The oracular inscription of the High Priest of

Amun Menkheperre in the Khonsu temple at

Karnak

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch Break

14:00 – 15:30 Public debate The nature of the Egyptian economy and its

interpretation

keynote speakers: Dr. Edward Bleiberg and

Dr. David A. Warburton

15:30 – 16:00 Coffee break

16:00 – 16:30 Birgit Schiller Customs and duty in New Kingdom

16:30 – 17:00 Abeer El-Shahawy Reflections on the trade scenes in the New

Kingdom

17:00 – 17:30 Filipa Nascimento Luxury goods' imports and trade – Private

banquets

17:30 – 18:00 Péter Antalffy The Nubian tribute

27 September 2009

Location: Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 1146 Budapest, Dózsa György út 41.

9:00 – 9:30 Alessandra Siragusa Maritime study on north- and south-bound

trade: the Red Sea harbours

9:30 – 10:00 Elsbeth van der Wilt Lead weights and ingots from Heracleion-Thonis:

an illustration of Egyptian trade relations with

the Eastern Mediterranean

10:00 – 10:30 Maria Rosa Guasch Research on the Egyptian wine marketing

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 – 12:00 Prof. Dr. Manfred Bietak

The palace of Khyan

12:00 – 12:30 Máté Petrik The Asiatics at el-Lahun

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch Break

14:00 – 14:30 Barbara Gilli Under the protection of the gods: The divine role

for the good outcome of trade and mining

expeditions

14:30 – 15:00 Virpi Perunka Pottery as an indicator of economy in Egypt’s

marginal sites

15:00 – 15:30 Johanna Sigl Food and luxury good – Shipping meat

products and live animals through Ancient

Syene/Aswan, Egypt

15:30 – 16:00 Coffee break

16:00 – 16:30 Marco Rolandi The grain trade and the importance of Egypt for

the economy of the Hellenistic-Roman world:

some remarks

16:30 – 17:00 Dania Bordignon Use and sympolism of stone statuary: stone

painted to timitate another one

17:00 – 17:30 Prof. Dr. László Török Closing remarks

17:30 – 18:00 Closing

18:00 – 20:00 Reception

28 September 2009 - Excursion

10:00 – 11:30 Guided tour in the Egyptian Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts,

Budapest by Dr. Éva Liptay, chief curator of the Egyptian Collection

11:30 – 12:30 Bus trip to Visegrád (http://www.visegrad.hu/en)

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch at Visegrád

14:00 – 16:30 Guided tour in the Visegrád Citadel and the Royal Palace

16:30 – 17:00 Bus trip to Szentendre

18:30 – 19:00 Bus trip back to Budapest

We look forward to seeing you all in Budapest!

András Hudecz (MA) Máté Petrik (MA)

Byblos Foundation

ICYE2009@gmail.com

www.byblos.org.hu/index.php

First international Egyptological conference in Moscow, Russia

2009-09-14T19:07:00.000+01:00

Centre for Egyptological Studies of
the Russian Academy of Sciences.

http://www.conference.cesras.ru/

Program of the International conference

"Achievements and Problems of Modern Egyptology"
Moscow, September 29-October 3, 2009

Program of Lectures

September 29, Tuesday

09.00–10.00 Registration
10.00–11.00 Opening Ceremony
Welcoming speeches of Academician Yury S. Osipov, President
of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and H.E. Ezzat Saad
El Sayed, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the
Russian Federation
10.30–11.30 Opening Lecture
Dr. Zahi Hawass - Recent Discoveries in Egypt

Coffee Break

Conference Day 1
Chairmen Dr. Ian Shaw, Dr. Erhart Graefe

12.00–12.25 Gueter Dreyer - Dynasty 0 and the Origin of Horusname
12.25–12.50 Diana Liesegang - The Power of Image
12.50–13.15 Ann Macy Roth - Old Kingdom Cemeteries and
Settlements: Parallels and Contrasts
13.15–13.40 Olga Py?nichuck - Magical World View of Ancient
Egyptians of the Period of Middle Kingdom
13.40–14.05 Mu-chou Poo - Wisdom Literature in Comparison:
Ancient Egypt and China
Lunch Break
15.05–15.30 Amanda-Alice Maravelia - Éléments astronomiques
et cosmographiques dans le Conte du Nafragé
15.30–15.55 Yekaterina Barbash - Books of the Dead on Linen:
Inscribed and Decorated Mummybandages
15.55–16.20 Gloria Rosati - Joining Papyri: The Book of the Dead
Fragments in Cortona
16.20–16.45 Victor Solkin - Papyrus Denon and Other Ancient
Egyptian Papyri from the Collection of the Russian National Library
(St. Petersburg)
16.45–17.10 Elena Tolmacheva - Images of the Benu-Bird on
the Coffins of the 21st Dynasty
17.10–17.35 Kerry Muhlestein - The Use of Biblical Figures in
Egyptian Religion, a Survey
17.35–18.00 Alla Davydova - Main Pecularities of Sarapis Temples
in Egypt and Their Social and Cultural Aspects
18.00–19.30 Welcome Reception
20.00–22.00 Moscow City Tour

September 30, Wednesday
Conference Day 2
Chairmen Dr. Guenter Dreyer, Dr. Nigel Strudwick

09.00–09.25 Irene Forstner-Mueler - The City of Avaris — Excavating
an Urban Site
09.25–09.50 Dieter Eigner - Report on the Work of the Joint
Netherlands–Russian Mission at Tell Ibrahim Awad
09.50–10.15 Eleonora Kormysheva - Russian Archaeological Mission
in Giza: New Discoveries
10.15–10.40 Galina Belova - Kom Tuman-2009
10.40–11.05 Rosario Pintaudi - News from Antinoupolis
Coffee Break
11.30–11.55 Esther Pons Mellado - Archaeological Site of Oxyrhynchus
(el Bahnasa), Egypt: Ptolemaic Tomb No 19
11.55–12.20 Sameh Iskander - The Epigraphic Documentation of
the Temple of Ramesses II at Abydos
12.20–12.45 Laure Pantalacci - Streets and Doors: Recent
Archaeological Work in Qift-Coptos, Upper Egypt
12.45–13.10 Cornelius von Pilgrim - Urban Archaeology at the
First Cataract: Elephantine — Aswan — Senmet
13.10–13.35 Wolfgang Mueler Aswan/Syene: The Development
of the Town from the Late Period to Modern Times
13.35–14.00 David Fabre, Alexander Belov - The Shipwreck of
Heracleion-Thonis (Egypt): An Introduction
Lunch Break
15.00–18.00 Guided Tour to Moscow Kremlin

October 1, Thursday
Conference Day 3
Chairmen Dr. Laure Pantalacci, Dr. Cornelius von Pilgrim

09.00–09.25 Nigel Strudwick - Thebes: Balancing Research Perspectives
with Modern Egypt
09.25–09.50 Erhart Graefe - Report on the Work of the German-
Russian Mission to TT 320, the Royal Cache, 1998-2006
09.50–10.15 Laurent Bavay - Rediscovery of Theban Lost Tomb C.3
10.15–10.40 Marilina Betro -Virtual Environments and Web Community
in Archaeology: Theban Tomb 14 as Case Study
10.40–11.05 Sergej Ivanov - Tomb of Thay (TT 23): Seasons 2006–
2008
Coffee Break
11.30–11.55 Kerstin Leterme - Pictorial Practices in Ancient Theban
Tomb Paintings: Methodological Approach and Comparative Study
of Five Eighteenth Dynasty Private Tombs
11.55–12.20 Edwin Brock - Reversing Chaos. The Restoration of
the Sarcophagus of Ramesses VI
12.20 –12.45 Edward Loring - They Were Not Yellow. 21st Dynasty
Coffins in the Egyptian National Museum in Cairo
12.45–13.10 David Lorand - Membra disjecta. About Two Colossi
of Senwosret I Found in Tanis
13.10–13.35 Alexander Gormatyuk - Preserving Egyptian Heritage:
Conservator’s View
Lunch Break
14.35–15.00 Paul Nicholson - The Trade and Control of Glass
between New Kingdom Egypt and Her Neighbours
15.00–15.25 Svetlana Malykh - The Ceramic Material of Giza
Necropolis: the Commercial Relations of Ancient Egyptians
15.25–15.50 Sara Caramello - Physicians as Luxury Goods — The
Role of Medicine in LBA International Relations
15.50–16.15 Emanuele Ciampini - Persian Culture and Pharaonic
Egypt: the Inscriptions on the Statue of Darius Ist from Susa
16.15–16.40 Simone Petacchi - Steatopygia in Ancient Egyptian
and Nubian Art. An Ethnical Countermark or a Primitive Revival?
The Case of Kushite Iconography and Style
16.40–17.05 Sergey Yartsev - Egyptian Cult of Isis among the
barbarians in the Northern Azov region and Crimea in Classical
Antiquity
17.05–17.30 Vladimir Tolstikov - The Latest Archaeological Finds
of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Panticapaeum — the
Capital of Bosporus
Coffee Break
18.30–20.30 Guided Tour to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

October 2, Friday
Conference Day 4
Chairmen Dr. Wlodzimierz Godlewski, Dr. Irene Forstner-Mueler

9.00–9.25 Ian Shaw - New Fieldwork at the Medinet el-Gurob Harim
Palace Town
9.25–9.50 Wlodzimierz Godlewski - The Christian Cemeteries at Naqlun
9.50–10.15 Alexei Krol - Joint Russian-American Mission at Deir el-Banat
(Fayoum): Results of Seven Seasons of Archaeological and Anthropological
Works at the Site
10.15–10.40 Anthon Voytenko - Preliminary Report on Coptic Burial
Custom at the Necropolis of Deir el-Banat
10.40–11.05 Natalia Sinitsyna - Archaeological Textile Conservation: Methods
and Results of the Textile Treatment at the Site Deir el-Banat (Fayoum,
Egypt)
Coffee break
11.30–11.55 Joanne Rowland, Kristian Strutt - Geophysical Survey and
Sub-Surface Investigations at Quesna and Kom el Ahmar (Minuf ),
Governate of Minufiyeh: An Integrated Strategy for Mapping and
Understanding Sub-Surface Remains of Mortuary, Sacred and Domestic
Contexts
11.55–12.20 Agnese Kukela, Valdis Seglins - Artefacts and
Geo-Environmental Data Inventory in the Step Pyramid and Its
Management through Geographical Information System (GIS)
12.20–12.45 Caroline Wilkinson, Christopher Rynn, Fabian Kanz -
Facial Reconstruction of Cleopatra’s Sister, Arsinoe
12.45–13.10 Kirill Kolosov - To the Way to Provide the Uniform
Search of Archeological Data. Some Basic Aspects in the Creation
of the Archeological Database in CESRAS
Lunch Break

Chairmen Dr. Marvin Meyer, Dr. Anthon Voytenko

14.10–14.35 Maryum Jordan - Conceptualizing Incest: The Social
Effects of Interbred Marriages during Graeco-Roman Egypt
14.35–15.00 Lorenzo Fati - Patron’s Papers: Which Route to the Fayum?
15.00–15.25 Marvin Meyer - Judas: Where We Stand with the Text and
Interpretation of the Coptic Gospel of Judas
15.25–15.50 Boris Koptelov - Alexandrine Church and the Roman
Emperors in the 4th Century
Coffee Break
16.15–16.40 Dmitriy Romashov - Alexandrian Medicine in Jewish
Palestinian Law
16.40–17.05 Michail Wogman - Alexandrian Jewry between Fiction
and Exegesis: Moses’ Ethiopian Campaign Reconsidered
17.05–17.30 Christine Chaillot - Monastic Life of the Coptic Orthodox
Church in Egypt in Contemporary Times
17.30–17.55 Sherin Sadek El-Gendi - The Ancient and Contemporary
Arts’ Influences in Coptic Art

17.55–18.30 Closing Ceremony
19.00–22.00 Social Dinner