March 3, 2009
I have finally got round to getting some of my photos on-line, thanks to Flickr. You can find them here. I’ve licensed them under a Creative Commons licence, so feel free to use them for any non-commercial work you wish, just credit me as the source.
As Flickr limit your upload to 100mb per month, I’ve only been able to get photos from Abydos and the Ramesseum on-line so far, but more will follow.
February 3, 2009
I’ve written on here before concerning the exceedingly black image that most of contemporary society has of Ancient Egypt. A lot of these views are based on old stereotypes from Hollywood, the press hysteria over the “Mummy’s Curse” surrounding the tomb of Tutankhamun (a.k.a. “King Tut”) and views based on the myths and folktales of an entirely different culture (I.e. Exodus).
Archaeology and study of Egyptian literature and administrative documents long ago dispelled these black myths, but the public perception lingers. This may be because that much of work done in translation and excavation is published in journals and books that are largely inaccessible and undesirable to the general public because of it’s highly academic nature, and many of the specialist publications are also not available in more general bookstores. Meanwhile increasing amounts of information come from TV, whose study of Egyptian culture is limited to Hollywood blockbusters or embarrassingly bad “edutainment” documentaries that focus on the sensational.
However, what good is research if it’s huge advances in understanding utterly pass by the general population, whom still cling the notions of the sneering Pharaoh keeping his slavesin line with the lash?
I am interested in getting some views and comments on this, so please debate!
February 3, 2009
I apologise for the long delays in posting anything on this blog. Partly due to moving house, partly due to new house being burgled, and partly due to the very real need to do some work for university, as well as work more hours to pay my way through said university.
Still, I am getting on top of things now and hope to be able to post as and when I can.
November 27, 2008
From Al Ahram Weekly -Link to full article
By Nevine El-Aref
Far from being a modern concept that came to pass only with the formation of the European Union and the Barcelona process, the dialogue between the different cultures of the Mediterranean region has been in place since time immemorial. This is becoming increasingly clear as more and more archaeological finds are discovered. Indeed, considering the Mediterranean as an entity deserving research in its own right has recently become a topic of discussion.
In the light of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC) organised a conference to look into intercultural contacts in the region. This was the first international convention to address this topic in a southern Mediterranean country.
The conference focussed on theoretical and methodological issues related to the study of intercultural contacts in archaeology on the one hand, and on actual case studies of intercultural contact on the other.
Papers presented at the meeting dealt with a wide variety of topics, including the methods and theory of the study of contacts in archaeology, immigration patterns in different countries including Egypt, trade and exchange, the import and local imitation of foreign objects, the adoption of foreign religious ideas, influences in artistic and architectural styles and seafaring. Although ancient Egypt is often seen by the wider public as a unique, united and rather isolated culture, the presentations made clear that Egypt had many and far- reaching contacts all over the Mediterranean. Not only did Egyptian objects and ideas reach the furthest corners of the region, but Mediterranean people, ideas and objects were also welcomed in Egypt itself…
November 16, 2008
From the State Information Service – Link to article
Archaeologists have discovered a new pyramid under the sands of Sakkara, an ancient burial site that remains largely unexplored and has yielded a string of unearthed pyramids in recent years, Egypt’s antiquities chief announced Tuesday11/11/2008.
“The 4,300-year-old monument most likely belonged to the queen mother of the founder of Egypt’s 6th Dynasty, several hundred years after the building of the famed Great Pyramids of Giza,” the country’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said as he took media on a tour of the find scene.
The discovery is part of the sprawling necropolis and burial site of the rulers of ancient Memphis, the capital of Egypt’s Old Kingdom, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of Giza.
All that remains of the pyramid is a square-shaped 16-foot (5-meter) tall structure that had been buried under 65 feet (25 meters) of sand.
“There was so much sand dumped here that no one had any idea there was something buried underneath,” said Hawass.
Hawass’ team has been excavating at the location for two years, but he said it was only two months ago when they determined the structure, with sides about 72 feet (22 meters) long, was the base of a pyramid.
They also found parts of the pyramid’s white limestone casing, believed to have once covered the entire structure which enabled them to calculate that the complete pyramid was once 45 feet (14 meters) high.
November 15, 2008
From Al Ahram Weekly – Link to article
The width of the Nile Corniche boulevard in Luxor is to double as part of a development plan that is now steaming ahead at full speed, says Jill KamilEgyptologists and concerned Luxor residents regard it as a terrible loss of historical 19th-century buildings and other structures on the town’s riverside esplanade, but several such landmarks are being demolished to make way for increased traffic between the two major temples on the east bank. Meanwhile letters have been flying back and forth on Internet blogs.
“If the current plan is implemented, this zone will be at the expense of buildings, and gardens in front of buildings, including those of a military club, a mosque, a Coptic Catholic rest house, and Chicago House garden. Can a less radical plan not be drawn up?” writes one anxious party.“I thought that tourism was to be moved out of Luxor city centre to permit better conservation of Theban monuments. Now we hear that the whole area between Karnak to the north and Al-Tod, the site of a Graeco-Roman temple to the south, are to become part of a tourist zone. What’s happening?” bemoans another.
Indeed this has caused a stir online. As the article states, the master plan is not in itself new, but up until now the scope of things had not been clear, though both the marina and the clearing of the Avenue of Sphinxes have been known for some time.
I must admit that I am inclined to agree with the writer. Whilst it may sound cold hearted, I am not primarily concerned with the modern city of Luxor. Whilst it is true, as the author says, that in Pharaonic times (and beyond) the temples were surrounded by the urban communities that operated and depended on them, both spiritually and materially, the situation was very different today. Firstly, there is the issue of damage to both the excavated and unexcavated aspects of the sites by modern day settlements. There are issues such as pollution, vibration, damage from buried utilities, foundations, and new construction, separate to issues concerning agriculture.
Secondly, there is the issue of encroachment. Sites in urban areas have been most affected by this, as sites such as Heliopolis, Giza and Helwan attest. The opportunity to clear land in order to protect these as yet unexcavated areas is undeniably “a good thing”. If the issue were this simple, I must admit I could live with some people having to be relocated, provided they recieve good homes and secure income.
The issue, however, is not this simple. Much of this redevelopment, as the author so clearly points out, is not about Waset or Thebes, but very much about tourism. Any benefits gained by shifting the Nile cruisers away from the temple will immediately be lost (and the problem severely aggravated) by the vibration and pollution caused by the vast increase in the number of heavy tourist vehicles using a widened cornice as a quick route to Karnak.
Any idea of reducing the overcrowding that is damaging the VK tombs will be dead in the water if a marina brings in dozens more cruisers, each packed with hundreds of visitors visiting the site as a single horde each day.
Ultimately we cannot talk about archaeological conservation and increasing the number of visitors in the same breath. There is, however, another, and, I feel, often overlooked solution. Rather than increasing visitor numbers, the Tourism authorities could look at increasing visitor spend. It’s about quality, not quantity.
Put simply, most foreign visitors to Egypt do not spend, by western standards, very much. Egypt is seen as a low-cost destination, despite possessing the highest “value” as a cultural destination (for the purposes here, we are concerned only with the Nile, not the Red Sea)
So, rather than brining in ever more visitors to fragile, unique and irreplaceable sites, the focus should be to increase their spending habits for measures such as encouraging higher standard and *greater variety* of leisure facilities such as hotels, restaurants, sports facilities etc. In addition the encouraging of archaeologically and environmentally aware practises by tour groups, a less invasive, higher revenue industry can be created, and one need only look at examples of “eco holidays” in Latin America and Asia to see how such things have been achieved. Sensitively built, non-invasive “natural spa” style hotels, built on low/no “footprint” ideas, often operating on a “fair trade” or “locally owned” basis attract high spending visitors whilst being far less invasive than “Costa Del Concrete” style resorts.
In this approach I do see how both the needs of both Ancient and Modern Egypt can be successfully met at the same time, whilst minimising the harm to both.
November 5, 2008
From State Information Service – Link to article
Zahi Hawass Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said on 31/10/2008 that the Supreme Council of Antiquities will hold an international competition under the auspices of Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak under the title “Egypt peace between past and present” for children and youth aged between 6 and 18 to encourage them to understand the principles and values of the Egyptian civilization and the genius of the ancient Egyptian.
He said that the competition comes within the framework of the role of the Ministry of Culture and the Supreme Council of Antiquities to shed light on some of the concepts and meanings of the ancient Egyptian’s work and their establishment of the ancient Egyptian civilization. He added that these concepts are: the right, peace and justice.
October 29, 2008
From Daily News Egypt – FULL ARTICLE
The grandeur and glamour of Cleopatra is coming back to the silver screen — but this time as a three-dimensional rock musical, Hollywood media said Friday.
US director Steven Soderbergh is wooing British beauty Catherine Zeta-Jones for the role of the Egyptian queen and Australian star Hugh Jackman as her lover, Marc Antony, according to Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.
Well, that will be, um, different. However, having watched a slew of Hollywood takes on Egypt recently, I’m not sure I’m in fit state to stomach another just yet.
October 7, 2008
From El Ahram Weekly -Link to complete article
By Zahi Hawass
These days it would seem that most of my time is spent denying rumours about the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and Egypt’s Pharaonic, Coptic, and Islamic monuments. I do not know why some people create this misinformation and give it to newspaper reporters to publish without them even trying to find out the veracity of the statement. Most of the things published in a small number of newspapers are not true at all. It is quite amazing to my mind how they make up these stories. I once gave a talk at the Smithsonian Institute about the Sphinx. There was a reporter there from The Washington Post listening to the lecture. After the lecture, he came to me saying that he was very interested in what I had said about the Sphinx but that he would first like to read all the written information about the monument and then he could come and talk to me. I respected this man very much. This is how news reporters should do their jobs.
A few weeks ago, we decided to move the pillar of Merenptah, the son of Ramses II, who ruled Egypt during his father’s old age. He was a very important king because we found a stela in his mortuary temple on the West Bank, reused in the Temple of Amenhotep III, of which only the Colossi of Memnon remains standing today. The stela of Merenptah has an inscription about the people of Israel. Many scholars tried to describe and translate this inscription. We must stress the fact that a poet wrote this inscription concerning the reign of Merenptah, his king. The most important passage of this inscription emphasises the greatness of the Pharaoh making peace with the Hittites, and states that the people of Israel were no longer in Egypt. Some translations even go as far as to say that they were destroyed. Since its discovery, the stela has been stored in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The pillar of Merenptah at Heliopolis was part of a temple built by this Pharaoh dedicated to the local sun god. While performing an inspection at Heliopolis, I saw this pillar between some houses. It was surrounded by water and garbage was everywhere. The inscription written on the pillar only tells us the nsw-bity (Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt) name of the Pharaoh…
For clarification the stela article is referring tois the Poetical Stela of Merenptah (a.k.a. the “Isreal Stela”). The Stela is carved on both sides, the reverse originally being used by Amunhotep III (18th Dyn) and was installed in his mortuary temple. It was later re-used by Merenptah (19th Dyn) when it was carved on the opposite side with a poem celebrating his victories over various peoples in Libya and Asia. The people of Israel are mentioned towards the end of the inscription, the last part of which is given below:
“…The princes are prostrate saying: ‘Shalom!’
Not one of the Nine Bows lifts his head:
Tjehenu is vanquished, Khatti at peace,
Canaan is captive with all woe.
Ashkelon is conquered, Gezer seized,
Yanoam made nonexistent;
Israel is wasted, bare of seed,
Khor is become a widow for Egypt.
All who roamed have been subdued
By the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banera-Meramun
Son of Ra, Merenptah, Content-with-ma’at
Given life, like Ra, every day.”
Excerpt from Cairo Museum 34025. Translation from Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol II, M. Lichtheim, University of California press.
October 6, 2008
An Egyptian friend of mine recently posted an article concerning the god Anubis and his view that the depiction of the god as a black canine, commonly held to be a jackal may be a Xoloitzcuintli (commonly known as a Xolo), a breed of hairless dog indigenous to Meso-America.
He responded to my comments with this article, and out of respect to the trouble he has taken with such a reply, I wish to address the points that he has raised, and also to put forward my argument for the “Jackal Theory”. However, before I do so, I must admit to having no official expertise in either Egyptology or Pre-Columbian Meso-American religions. Contrary to my friends touching compliment, I am not an Egyptologist, merely a student of the subject, who harbours hopes of one day holding such an honour. That said, let’s begin.
The fact that the Xolo is native to the Americas is not disputed here, rather my friend points to the possibility for Pre-Columbian transatlantic travel, and the recent attempts to cross the Atlantic on a reed built vessel, christened the “Ra II”. This vessel was actually built in Latin America by Bolivians, but was built using technology easily within the capabilities of the Egyptians. It sailed from Morocco to Barbados successfully, captained by Thor Heyerdahl. This, combined with the apparent existence of nicotine in some Pharaonic era mummies and similarities of Anubis to gods worshipped in Meso-America form the basis of this argument. Let us first examine these, before proceeding to my arguments in favour of the “Jackal Theory”
Ancient Egyptian Naval Capabilities
Where the Ancient Egyptians capable of crossing the Atlantic? These days it is widely agreed that pre-Columbian contact with North America had been made by the Viking civilization, so the idea of earlier contact must likewise be given serious thought.
The Egyptians lacked the magnetic compass, but were perfectly at ease with astronomy, and were also skilled boat builders. In fact, Egyptian boat building skill extended beyond the design of Heyerdahl’s “Ra II”. The kbnt ships that Egypt used for trading overseas were built using Lebanese timber[i] and, according to the report of the Third Intermediate Period official, Wenamun, were capable of surviving storms quite well[ii]
So in answer to the question, with their technology would crossing the Atlantic have been physically possible, I would say, yes. After all it is physically possible to row across the Atlantic, if you so wish, and are sufficiently determined. The question therefore is, did they?
On this the evidence is not so good. There are no Egyptian accounts of any trans-Atlantic missions. There are no records of any contacts with any people there, nor of any exotic goods that they surely would have brought back with them. It must be remembered and emphasised that Pharaonic Egypt had a very highly developed state structure that kept records of large transactions, trade missions and military campaigns. Individual Pharaohs also used such missions as propaganda opportunities, as can be seen at Deir El Bhari with Hatshepsut’s expedition to Punt. If such a relatively short journey requires a colonnade to itself, it is hard to imagine that a trip to the Americas doesn’t warrant a single mention on any temple wall, in any officials tomb, in any folk record, in any papyri, or even in any tales handed down and recorded by classical authors.
If the Egyptians conquered a new land, they were uncharacteristically modest in recording their truly outstanding victories against both the elements and the enemy, and never spoke of the exotic produce they were sure to have brought back. Neither did they leave behind a stela, or any inscription, at their destination.
Punt Colonade, Deir El Bahri. By the author.
Nicotine in Egyptian Mummies
The only published study on this matter is that undertaken by Institut für Anthropologie und Humangenetik, Munich[iii] . Findings from this study remain controversial and ultimately inconclusive. The signature of the nicotine found in the bodies does not point specifically to the tobacco plant, rather only to the family to which it belongs, the Solanaceae family. The Mandrake plant also belongs to this same family, and was widely used by the Egyptians. It is attested to in medical papyri[iv], and has anaesthetic properties as well as narcotic. Other plants used in folk medicine also belong to this same family.
In addition it should be noted that only a single intact mummy was involved in the tests, and no details concerning the exact provenance of the mummy, and other incomplete human remains used in the study, has not, to the best of my knowledge, been provided.
Without a strong provenance, it is impossible to know for certain whether or not these bodies have been contaminated, and in the case of the parts, or even the whole mummy, whether or not they are genuine or fakes from a later period. Excavation techniques in the 19th and early 20th centuries were not conducted in the same manner as the “forensically aware” techniques of the current era, and modern contamination is also possible. The possibility of tomb robbery as the ultimate source of some of these parts cannot be completely discounted either.
Similarity of Anubis to Meso-American Gods
The nearest likeness to Anubis I have been able to locate in Meso-American religions is the Aztec god Xolotl, hence the name Xoloitzcuintli, or Xolo, for the breed of dog that is being linked to Anubis.
Xolotl. Wikimedia Commons
A brief look a chronology is important here. Anubis is one of the older gods of the Egyptian pantheon. Figurines in his image (though without being able to be conclusively identified as representing him) go back to the Pre-Dynastic period, and he mentioned repeatedly and explicitly in Old Kingdom funerary texts[v] . This gives the birth of his cult to be some time in the late 4th or early 3rd millennium BCE, at the latest.
Aztec civilization, however, is much, much more recent. The Aztec civilization flourished from the 12th to 16th centuries CE. It’s people probably did not migrate into the central American region before the 6th century CE. Pharaonic Egypt had ceased to exist as an independent state in 30BCE, and had been ruled by a foreign dynasty since 343BCE. Had the Egyptians crossed the Atlantic at any point in Pharaonic history, they would never have met the Aztecs, nor Xolotl.
The Aztecs would not have been there to be taught of Anubis by the Egyptians. It is fortunate, for had the two met, then the Egyptians would just as surely have decimated the local population with their eastern hemisphere diseases, just as Cortez did. Indeed, had the contact occurred, Cortez may have found his contact had much less influence on the natives, who would by that time developed the same immunities as his own people. The Vikings, it should be noted here, made no contact with the Aztecs, landing thousands of miles to the north.
Xolotl shares certain traits, besides his canine imagery, with Anubis. Both are guides of the dead. But whilst Anubis has his role end here and upon the embalming table, and is otherwise a relatively minor god in the great scheme of things, Xolotl is a major figure in Aztec mythology, taking in roles associated with fire, bad luck, and guarding the sun at night in the underworld. As well as his canine forms, he could also be a mythical beast, featuring reversed feet. These are areas with which Anubis is never associated, and indeed, remind one more of Set than of Anubis.
The Jackal Theory
My arguments for the imagery of Anubis to be that of a jackal, or, perhaps, a jackal hybrid with another local canine, is based on both visual similarities, the habits and natures of the animals in keeping with the nature and role of the god, and the confirmed knowledge of, and interaction with these animals by the Ancient Egyptians.
Several canines were known in Ancient Egypt, listed below:
· The Egyptian Jackal (Canis aureus lupaster)
· The Saluki
· Several subspecies of Fox, including the Nile Fox.
· Arabian Wolf (Canis Lupus Arabs)
Of these, the Arabian Wolf is currently an endangered species due to hunting and killing by farmers. It’s current habitat within Egypt is believed to be restricted to the Sinai, but may have been wider in the past. Little research has been done.
The Anubis imagery, of which are best example comes from a statue of Anubis in fully canine form atop a shrine, found in tomb KV62 of Tutankhamun (18th. Dyn) and now in Cairo Museum depicts an all black canine, with large, pointed ears, long slender jaw and body, as shown here.
Anubis. Egypt Archive
In terms of body shape, I believe this imagery closely resembles that of the subspecies of jackal found in Egypt, Canis aureus lupaster, shown below.
Canis aureus lupaster. Unknown orignal source.
The sub-speicies of jackal known in Egypt is a desert living creature, that as well as hunting small prey can also be a scavenging carrion eater[vi]. As such, they would have been attracted to Ancient Egyptian cemeteries, were food could be found amongst the bodies of the recently deceased. They would have been particularly visible in times of epidemic. Both these factors, along with it’s living in the “dead” lands of the deserts would likely have strengthened the link between the god Anubis and the jackal.
The difference in coloration may well be the result of symbolism in Egyptian religion. There are numerous other examples of this in Egyptian imagery, including most notably, Osiris, whom is often depicted with black skin, and, like Anubis, is a deity associated with death and the afterlife[vii]. This is currently the most widely accepted view amongst experts, though there remains the possibility of the Anubis canine depiction being a hybrid wither another breed, of which I believe the most likely to be the Saluki.
Osiris depicted with black skin. Wikimedia Commons
The Saluki (sometimes confused with the Greyhound, though it’s possible both were known in Egypt) was known in Egypt from at least the time of the Old Kingdom. They are tall, athletic, slender canines with coats that can be a variety of colours, including black, with both smooth and “feathered” fur. Animals with the latter have short body hair, with long “feathers” at the tail, ears and legs. Salukis were bred for hunting, but retain the traditional canine qualities of loyalty and obedience to their perceived alpha, or pack leader, the human. They also have a tendency to “sing”, with a varying howl, when their owner is away for long periods of time, for example, if he died. Thus, with the “mourning wail” for their separated owners, their role as loyal and dutiful guides to living creatures out in the deserts, alongside the similarly canine jackals, it is feasible that the Saluki would be a likely candidate, given their role, nature and appearance, to be part of a hybrid imagery for Anubis.
Feather coated Saluki. Wikimedia Commons
Conclusions
Given the above arguments, my personal conclusions are that the cult of Anubis grew up in Pre or Early Dynastic Egypt, and the iconography of the god is a natural product of the Ancient Egyptian view of life and death. Factors such as the sterility and inhospitable nature of the desert to humans, contrasting with it’s suitability for the carrion eating jackal make sharp symbolism that would be as clear to a modern eye as to ancient ones.
The symbolism of black in association with both death and rebirth are quite clear, in terms of both the long standing Egyptian solar tradition (day as opposed balanced by night, living balanced by after living, the transition from one to the other occurring in the west, beyond the valley) and also, as it would appear in the cult of Osiris, with it’s emphasis life coming anew from the black soil.
I do not dismiss the possibility that the Anubis canine could be a hybrid of a jackal with the desert hunting Saluki, for which some Egyptians would depend upon for hunting, guidance and possibly protection in the “dead” lands of the Western Desert.
I do not feel that Anubis bears anything beyond surface similarities to much later canine cults of Meso-America. Aside from the total silence of the Egyptians concerning the American continent, and the fundamental differences between Xolotl and Abubis, the chronological differences involved further rule out the possibility of links.
Is this a Euro-Centric view? I do not think so. I think subscribing to the idea that the Meso-American civilizations developed independently of those of the Ancient Near East does nothing to demean either family of civilizations. Egypt remains, to me, in many ways, the most remarkable of all civilizations, as the first large nation-state in history.
My view that she did not give birth to Meso-American civilization does nothing to dent those achievements, whilst the development of another family of sophisticated civilizations in Meso-America is perhaps testament to the fact that, as humans, even when separated by vast distances, times and conditions, we all aspire to harmonious, lawful, organised societies. A thought which I find most heartening.
Notes:
1 David, Rosalie: Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt
11 Lichtheim: Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol. II “Report of Wenamun”
111Published in Naturwissenschaften, Vol 79, #8, August 1992
1V Papyrus Hearst
V Wilkinson, Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
V1 University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology website (Link)
V11 Wilkinson, Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
