Tag Archives: archaeology

Empowering ancient Egyptian queens

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{credit}The National Museum of Antiquities{/credit}

If you find yourself near Leiden, home to Leiden University, the oldest university in the Netherlands, make sure to visit the Queens of the Nile exhibition at the National Museum of Antiquities, which promises to finally afford the wives of the pharoahs the attention they deserve. The exhibit of royal portraits, godly statues, lavish jewellery and accessories is curated by Leiden University students and PhD candidates, in addition to egyptologist Olaf Kaper.

“Too little attention has been paid to the wives of the pharoahs, both in science and in the museum world. I wanted to tell their history and show different aspects of life at court,” says Kaper.

According to Leiden University, the exhibition covers a period of 500 years and pays tribute to five queens of the era known as the “new empire”. Those queens were famed for their political prowess and divinity.

Among the showcase are two particularly valuable pieces, “the decorated granite cover of the sarcophagus of Queen Nefertari and a five-metre papyrus,” explains Kaper. “This enormous document is a legal text that describes the conspiracy against and the murder of Pharoah Ramses III by a group of ladies from the harem and a number of officials. It proves that women at that time were by no means happy to accept a subordinate role.”

This is the first major exhibit of its kind on the Egyptian queens in the Netherlands. It continues until 17 April 2017.

Solar barques: Ritual vessels into the afterworld or real, functioning boats?

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Khufu solar boat museum, King Cheops ship in the museum at the base of the Great Pyramid, Giza, Cairo, Egypt.

Khufu solar boat museum, King Cheops ship in the museum at the base of the Great Pyramid, Giza, Cairo, Egypt.{credit}Jack Sullivan / Alamy Stock Photo{/credit}

The exact functions of the Khufu “solar vessels” unearthed south of the Pyramids of Giza, have come into question again after a new revelation by archaeologists showed that ancient Egyptians used metal in their boats.

The most famous of the vessels, and the largest, is the Khufu vessel, preserved in the Giza solar boat museum. The typically human-propelled vessels were discovered in several boat pits around the pyramids.

Now, a fresh dig near the Great Pyramid of Giza unearthed circular and U-shaped metal hooks in a piece of wood–eight metres in length, 40 centimetres­ wide–that belonged to the frame of a boat discovered during the same year as Khufu’s vessel.

In all the boats discovered from this era, “we have not found the use of metals in their frames like in this boat,” Mohamed Mostafa Abdel-Megeed, an antiquities ministry official and expert in boat-making in ancient Egypt, tells AFP.

In ancient Egypt, funerary boats were used to ferry the dead, most commonly in funeral processions of kings. The wooden boats were believed to be “magically charged” after having been used. And it’s the reason why ancient Egypt would dispose of them after use, since they were “dangerous to the living,” explains Pearce Paul Creasman, associate professor of Dendrochronology and Egyptian Archaeology and director of the Egyptian Expedition at the University of Arizona.

In the Old and Middle Kingdoms, funerary boats were buried near royal chambers at the pyramid complexes. Now, as far as many archaeologists believe, “solar boats were a concept, not necessarily a construction,” says the scientist, “to be used by the god Ra in his travels across the sky, perpetuating neheh, the cyclical nature of the world.” In iconography, solar barques feature a specific set of accouterments associated with them, setting them apart from other types of boats.

Creasman chats to Nature Middle East about the possible nature of the boats, in light of of the new discovery, the first of its kind.

NME: How significant is this discovery?

PPC: The discovery of metal used in association with the ships of ancient Egypt is significant as it fills a logical hole in our understanding. The Egyptians had metal and were capable seafarers, why wouldn’t they use the metals to improve the durability or function of their boats? Until the recent discoveries, including the Khufu II vessel as well as ship remains from the Red Sea harbor of Wadi Gawasis (dating to the Middle Kingdom), we lacked archaeological evidence to demonstrate such a link. While the finds from the Khufu II work have not yet been scientifically published, from the press photos it appears that the metal was used precisely where we might expect: at stress points, such as oarlocks. The totality of the importance of these finds will have to wait for the scientific publications and analyses, but this is a great start.

NME: Was not this seen before in ancient Egyptian boats?

PPC: In only one instance prior to the Khufu II finds has metal been found in association with the structure and function of ancient Egyptian boats, that is, the disarticulated boat parts from Wadi Gawasis. The Khufu II finds are, by far, the oldest and appear to be used in the locomotive aspects of the boat. While we have seen metal in association with sails and their ropes, we have not previously seen it in the human-propelled aspects of boats.

NME: Why is this an important piece of information for archaeologists?

PPC: In the more than 3,000 years of intensive maritime history for the pharaonic Egyptians, there must have been tens-of-thousands of boats created to traverse the waters. Yet, today we have comparatively little archaeological remains to understand the the ships that facilitated this maritime life: whole or part of only some 30 boats. So, any new clue in unraveling the mysteries of the world’s first great maritime society is extremely valuable.

Check Nature Middle East’s sister magazine For Science for the full coverage in Arabic.

Ancient parasites hitched rides to the region using European travelers

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The fossilized faeces were riddled with both roundworm and whipworm

The fossilized faeces in the ancient cesspool were riddled with both roundworm and whipworm{credit}Hui-Yuan Yeh{/credit}

Analyzing a 500-year-old latrine in the Christian quarter of the old city of Jerusalem, researchers found evidence of some species of intestinal parasites that seem to have been “imported” from medieval Europe.

Of the six species of parasitic eggs detected – including large quantities of roundworm and whipworm, both spread by faecal contamination of food and thought to be endemic to the region at the time – two had been normally very common in northern Europe, but almost absent in the Middle East.

“The analysis of this fifteenth century latrine in Jerusalem provides a vivid glimpse of the infectious diseases suffered by the people who used it,” reads the study.

The parasites in question are Entamoeba histolytica and fish tapeworm, explains the research published in the International Journal of Paleopathology. The researchers believe long distance travelers had taken these parasites with them as they journeyed to Jerusalem.

The fish tapeworm was prevalent in Europe and often eaten raw, smoked or pickled – which doesn’t kill the parasite. But, as per Arabic texts of the time, in inland cities such as Jerusalem, fish was either not commonly eaten, or was thoroughly cooked before being consumed. The cooking kills the parasite and prevents its spread.

The researchers found pieces of Italian pottery in the same cesspool, which – they believe – point to strong trading or religious links between Europe and Jerusalem during the late 1400s, according to the official press release with details of the study. Based on that, the researchers hypothesise that the latrine was either a town house owned by local merchants who traveled to Europe, contacting the parasite while there, or a hostel where European merchants or pilgrims stayed.

“While we can only suggest reasons as to why people made these journeys between northern Europe and Jerusalem’s Christian quarter, it does seem they brought with them unsuspecting hitchhikers in their intestines,” Piers Mitchell, biological anthropologist and author of the study, says.

The researchers also found quantities of Taenia parasite eggs, indicating pork or beef tapeworm. The Mamluk Period (1250-1516 AD) was Islamic but pigs would have still been consumed in the Christian quarter.

Though its effects varied, “a heavy load of these parasites in children, however, can lead to malnutrition, reduced intelligence and stunted growth. Dysentery may cause diarrhea and abdominal cramps for a week or two and then settle, or it may cause death from dehydration and septicaemia,” says Mitchell.

“This research highlights how we can use preserved parasite eggs in ancient toilets to spot past migrations and the spread of ancient diseases. Jerusalem’s importance to Christians in medieval Europe made it a key destination for both pilgrimage and trade. We can see these travellers took unexpected guests along with them.”

Tomb of ancient Egypt chief physician unearthed in Giza

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The massive tomb carries the mark of elevated status.

The massive tomb carries the mark of elevated status.{credit}Arab Republic of Egypt Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs{/credit}

The tomb of a top ancient Egyptian physician, who treated royals, was discovered in the Abusir necropolis, a site of excavations just 25 kilometres south of Cairo. A Czech archaeological mission unearthed the limestone tomb last week, confirming through press interviews and on its Facebook page that the tomb does indeed belong to the head of the physicians of the north and south of Egypt some 4,400 years ago.

Shepseskaf-Ankh, which translates to “Shepseskaf is living,” was associated with royalty, including a ruler of Egypt named Niuserre. The same site, which shelters the remains of 14 pyramids, served as the resting place of two other physicians from the fifth dynasty, as well as Old Kingdom rulers and a number of high temple priests close to the kings.

The architecture of the tomb, and its size, stretching across 21 by 14 meters and rising up 4 meters in height as well as housing an open court and eight burial chambers, gives away the high and noble status of the chief physician—who is believed to come from an elite Egyptian family, according to Ali Al-Asfar, deputy head of the ancient Egyptian section of the Ministry of State of Antiquities.

In one section of the tomb, a false door carries some of the ancient doctor’s prestigious titles, including Priest of Ra—the sun god—and Priest of Magic.

Miroslav Bárta, director of the archaeological team from the Czech Institute of Egyptology, told the National Geographic that he is pleased with the historical details contained in the tomb. “This microcosmos illustrates general trends that ruled the society of the day,” he said. “This is exactly the moment when the empire starts to break down due to rising expenses and increasing independence of powerful families.”