AVENTURA -

The mummy didn’t have a heart.

So doctors at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Aventura and scholars everywhere will never know for sure if it was high cholesterol, or any other type of illness, that killed the person wrapped inside.

On Friday, radiologists at the hospital used modern medical technology in hopes of unwrapping the mummy mystery. The Egyptian mummy, belonging to the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach, is at least 2,600 years old and is tucked inside a wooden sarcophagus.

After using 3D scanners to take a peek beneath the ancient bandages, it was what wasn’t inside that most surprised the doctors.

Unlike most Egyptian mummies, all of its organs had been removed. The mummy was essentially wrapped to preserve its bones, said the hospital’s chief radiologist, Jeffrey Neitlich.

“Most cultures left the heart intact, because the heart was considered an important vessel for the afterlife,” said Neitlich. “It could’ve been something cultural, and this might help [researchers] localize what culture it came from.”

Finding a cause of death was one of the main goals of the examination, but learning anything from this particular mummy was a good start.

Until Friday, curators at the museum knew very little of their mummified possession, with no records of where the coffin and mummy were first discovered.

“We knew it was a boy,” said curator Sylvia Cubinas. “It’s a mystery we’ve been wanting to solve for a long time.” The size of the mummy’s leg bones confirmed its gender.

An early analysis revealed that the mummy had a nice set of dentures, with only one bottom tooth missing. It also had signs of early arthritis.

More distinguishing, it appears the person had a severe curvature of the spine that may have caused him to shrink with age, said Neitlich.

Friday’s findings will be incorporated into an ongoing study by researchers at New York’s Brooklyn Museum who began studying the mummy in July. The study’s early findings indicate that the coffin is typical of those used during the Dynasty 26 (circa 664-525 BCE). The date of the mummy itself remains unknown, although the style of wrapping is often associated with the Roman period, Cubinas said.

The mummy now will go back into storage where it will stay until next spring, when it will be the centerpiece of a new exhibit.

Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

 

  

 

09/10/2009
By Dr. Zahi Hawass

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- Despite the numerous articles I have written on the Pharaoh who looked after Prophet Moses and the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and the details of their lives in Egypt based on archaeological evidence, and despite that the holy books have approached the issue in detail and that the story of the Jews in Egypt and the Exodus led by Moses is one of the stories most mentioned in the Old Testament and the Holy Quran, there are still many questions that require answers.

Unfortunately, antiquities have not yet revealed any evidence that could benefit us in this regard. There are some facts that cannot be overlooked in the story of the Exodus for example that the existence [of the Israelites] in Egypt has been confirmed by archaeological evidence ever since the age of the Modern Kingdom [of Egypt]. The beginning of the arrival [of the Israelites] to Egypt could be linked to the groups of immigrants arriving along with the Hyksos. They settled in the eastern Nile Delta and stayed there even after the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt and the beginning of the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt.

As for the name ‘Moses’ it is undoubtedly purely Egyptian meaning ‘newborn’. It might be the name that the Pharaoh’s wife gave to him the moment he was found. Some argue that the name means ‘son of the water’ or ‘water-born baby’ based on the assumption that ‘Mo’ means water and ‘Ses’ might mean ‘newborn’ or ‘son’.

The third fact of the story of the Exodus is that the Holy Quran mentions the king whose palace Prophet Moses was raised in and during whose reign details of the Exodus emerged. However, he is referred to as ‘Pharaoh’. This is in line with archaeological evidence, as those who ruled Egypt during the age of the Modern Kingdom were given the title ‘Pharaoh,’ not ‘king’ and that was also the case before this age.

But there are still questions to which we do not have answers: who is the Pharaoh of the Exodus? Is he the same Pharaoh as the Pharaoh who raised Prophet Moses? Whilst the Old Testament mentions two Pharaohs – one that persecuted and tortured the Israelites and the other under whose reign the Exodus took place, the Holy Quran refers only to one Pharaoh, or at least that is how the following verse is interpreted: “(Pharaoh) said: ‘Did we not cherish thee as a child among us, and didst thou not stay in our midst many years of thy life?’” (Surat al Shuara: 17).

This does not necessarily mean that the Pharaoh who said these words is the same Pharaoh who raised Prophet Moses. Another matter that still puzzles archaeologists is the area where the Israelites stopped during the Exodus and the places they lived in during the period of wilderness, which is known to have continued for about 40 years. Sinai was thought of as the land of wilderness with regards to the Israelites. Moreover, the Old Testament named several places, but unfortunately, the excavations that had been carried out in Sinai, whether by Jewish archaeologists during the Israeli occupation of Sinai or Egyptian archaeologists after the occupation, showed no indications of the existence of the Israelites in Sinai.

What is even stranger is that some people argue that the event did not take place in Sinai in the first place but somewhere else outside of Egypt. Several sites in Yemen have been suggested in this context, but there is no archaeological evidence to support this argument.

Last but not least, debates over the location of Prophet Moses’ grave and the circumstances surrounding his death still arise from time to time. Surprisingly, the Holy Quran does not mention anything about Prophet Moses’ final days, his passing or the location where he is buried. There is wisdom behind this that only Almighty God knows. It was said that the Holy Quran had not referred to the location of Prophet Moses’ grave so that it would not become a place of worship for the Jews where they could worship the prophet after his death, as they had previously disobeyed the commands of God and committed what he had prohibited.

CAIRO – Archaeologists have unearthed a cache near the Western gate of the National Museum in Cairo, which contained a table made of limestone, a fragment of a slab with hieroglyphic inscriptions, some stones, and the base of a pharaonic pillar, which date back to the pharaonic period around 1,300 years BC.

“This type of slab was quite widespread during the era of the Pharaohs, who used it to mark a special occasion,” Hawass told The Egyptian Gazette.

“The slab shows the head of a cobra,” Hawass said, adding that foreign archaeologists were in the habit of burying antiquities they had considered ‘useless’ in the Museum’s garden.

“The antiquities will be analysed,” said Hawass, who has been supervising a project for giving a facelift to the Museum.

The project, which is near completion, includes upgrading the museum and adding new, showrooms, meeting rooms, a library, a bookshop and a cafeteria. (ANI)

http://blog.taragana.com/n/archaeologists-unearth-cache-of-ancient-artifacts-in-egypt-104026/

New ancient Egypt temples discovered in Sinai

CAIRO — Archaeologists exploring an old military road in the Sinai have unearthed four new temples amidst the 3,000-year-old remains of an ancient fortified city that could have been used to impress foreign delegations visiting Egypt, antiquities authorities announced Tuesday.

Among the discoveries was the largest mud brick temple found in the Sinai with an area of 70 by 80 meters (77 by 87 yards) and fortified with mud walls 3 meters (10 feet) thick, said Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The find was made in Qantara, 2½ miles (4 kilometers) east of the Suez Canal. These temples mark the latest discovery by archaeologists digging up the remains of the city on the military road known as “Way of Horus.” Horus is a falcon-headed god, who represented the greatest cosmic powers for ancient Egyptians.

The path once connected Egypt to Palestine and is close to present-day Rafah, which borders the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Archaeologist Mohammed Abdel-Maqsoud, chief of the excavation team, said the large brick temple could potentially rewrite the historical and military significance of the Sinai for the ancient Egyptians.

The temple contains four hallways, three stone purification bowls and colorful inscriptions commemorating Ramses I and II. The grandeur and sheer size of the temple could have been used to impress armies and visiting foreign delegations as they arrived in Egypt, authorities said.

The dig has been part of a joint project with the Culture Ministry that started in 1986 to find fortresses along the military road. Hawass said early studies suggested the fortified city had been Egypt’s military headquarters from the New Kingdom (1569-1081 B.C.) until the Ptolemaic era, a period lasting about 1500 years.

In a previous find, archaeologists there reported finding the first ever New Kingdom temple to be found in northern Sinai. Studies indicated the temple was built on top of an 18th Dynasty fort (1569-1315 B.C.).

Last year, a collection of reliefs belonging to King Ramses II and King Seti I (1314-1304 B.C.) were also unearthed along with rows of warehouses used by the ancient Egyptian army during the New Kingdom era to store wheat and weapons.

Abdel-Maqsoud said the fortified city corresponded to the inscriptions of the Way of Horus found on the walls of the Karnak Temple in Luxor which illustrated the features of 11 military fortresses that protected Egypt’s eastern borders. Only five of them have been discovered to date.

Over the past year Egyptian tourism has grown at rates not seen since 2004, according to a Companies and Markets report.
The growth in foreign arrivals in Egypt has been attributed to the weakness of the Egyptian pound against the Euro, the development of tourism products and operations, successful marketing campaigns and success in key markets.

Europeans are still dominating the international visitor market in Egypt, who now comprise 74 per cent of all tourists in the country (up from 69 per cent in the previous year).  Arrivals from India and China were also on the rise, reports PR-inside.com.

An Egypt visa is a permit issued by the Egyptian visa authorities to a person for entry, exit or transit through Egypt. Tourist and Business visas are issued according to the applicant’s status, purpose of visit and passport type.

British and other EU nationals travelling to Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba resorts only, for up to 14 days, do not require a visa but can instead receive a free entry stamp upon arrival. 

The Egypt tourist visa (or Egypt visit visa) is issued with a validity of three months, and is intended solely for applicants wishing to visit the country for the purposes of tourism.  However, applicants must leave upon the visa’s expiry and must not engage in any form of employment while on their visit.  Additionally, Egyptian tourist visas can be issued for either single entry or multiple entries. 
——————————————————————————–

The Worldwide Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in Egypt visa and immigration services.

Article by Jessica Bird, Worldwide Visa Bureau.

http://www.visabureau.com/worldwide/news/26-09-2008/tourism-report-for-egypt-released.aspx

The palace of Queen Cleopatra, laid under the Eastern Alexandrian harbor water, will be explored to reveal the mysteries of the famous queen’s life. The plans to drain the water are expected to be completed by November 2008, after which archaeologists will begin to excavate the “Sunken City”. This challenging and exciting project should enable the discover of the hidden treasures within the place of Cleopatra’s love story with Mark Anthony and to restore the palace to its timeless historical glory.

There have already been numerous discoveries since the project got underway. A 120 meter long underground tunnel, with a number of rooms, has been found and also gold coins with the face of Queen Cleopatra in the water surrounding her temple. These discoveries have led Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, and other archeologists to believe that the project will lead to the discovery of Cleopatra & Mark Anthony tombs. The belief that the two historical figures are hidden in this palace is based on a strong conviction that the two were buried in the temple of Tabusiris Magna, which archeologists believe is the submerged building in this harbor area.

The Supreme Council of Antiquities mission has discovered two ancient citadels; the first one is in Tal Hebwa on the ancient military road “Horus” which dates back to the Pharaonic era (18 & 19 dynasty), the second one is in Tal El Kedwa which goes back to the Persian era.
 
Dr. Zahi Hawas, the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced that the new discovery is located 30 kilometers east of the Suez Canal and the first citadel has inscriptions of King “Sity I”. The ancient Egyptian papyrus indicates that these citadels were built to secure Egypt’s eastern borders.
 
It is worth mentioning that the inscriptions of the ancient Horus Road carved on the walls of El Karnak temple in Luxor is the oldest topographic map in the world that outlines 11 military citadels on the eastern borders

According to an estimate by the international labor organization, 246 million children are engaged in child labor, while millions are especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. It has been widely recognized that there is a strong link between the tourism industry and child exploitation, especially in countries where economic growth has created an enormous demand for child labor. Equally alarming is the spiraling growth of sexual exploitation of minors which is often associated to travel and tourism.

UNWTO is currently preparing information materials producing video spot to be launched in London at world travel market 2008, in early November. The full campaign will take effect on Universal children s day – November 20,2008Meanwhile we invite you to join us in this effort and help us spread the word about the campaign by linking your website to http://www.unwto.org/protect_children and using its banner. With the backing of various international partners both from the public and private sectors this awareness- raising campaign should make it possible to place the issue of child exploitation in tourism firmly back on the international rights agenda.

At this stage the UNWTO is looking for assistance in number of areas:
1-Rasising awareness – we are looking for travel partners to promote this cause.
2- distribution- we will distribute the video, logo and literature from airplanes to hotels
3- Financial- this will be used for video production and distribution.

Sponsors will get full recognition at UNWTO website and at meeting of the international Task force for the protection of children from exploitation in tourism to be held at WTM 2008.

http://www.unwto.org/protect_children

A royal burial ground has been unearthed near the necropolis of Abydos in southern Egypt on the 5^th of July. Archaeologists from the Supreme Council of Egyptian Antiquities have uncovered 13 ancient wooden coffins which, could be dated back to the Old Kingdom (3,000 B.C.) the golden age of pyramid building in ancient times. These tombs are believed to be of senior royal employees or people who contributed to the construction of the cemetery. Human bones and ivory objects of an ancient Egyptian game called “Senet,” which resembles chess.