Luxor Development Plans

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 Kamil

Egyptologists 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.

 

Anubis (Anpu) as a jackal?

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

 

Travelogue : Ramesseum

Febuary 2008, Luxor

Today was a chance to revisit one of my favourite of all sites in Egypt, the Ramesseum. It is the perfect site for first time independent travellers to Egypt, since it is an easy site to navigate, and being built all at one point by a single ruler, easy to comprehend, and doable in a single visit, as well as being reasonably easy to get to.

The Ramesseum is an oasis of calm. More than any other place on the West Bank, it gives the impression of being a true mortuary temple, a memorial. The minute you turn off the road and pass the tiny ticket collection booth you forget about the world outside. It’s location at the edge of the fertile strip is both a blessing and a curse. A few trees grow here, providing colour, shade and life.

The House of Millions of Years of User-Ma’at-Ra Setep-En-Ra That Unites with Thebes in the Domain of Amun (or, “The Ramesseum” as it’s, thankfully, also known) has, by Egyptian standards, a relatively simple history. Built by Ramesses II in the 19th Dynasty (New Kingdom) as his mortuary temple and monument, the remains of today give only a hint of the splendour of the original. The temple was begun in the 2nd year of his reign, and took two decades to complete. The architects were Penra of Coptos (modern Qift, Egyptian Gebtu) and Amunemone of Abydos (Egyptian, Abdju). It was a splendid monument that matched it’s splendid name. Hard though it is to imagine, this quiet, secluded “backwater” temple would have been one of the grandest on the West bank. Only Medinet Habu (not yet built at this point) and Amunhotep III’s now sadly destroyed temple would rival it.

However, just like Amunhotep III’s temple, the Ramesseum’s life as a working temple would be sadly brief. By the Third Intermediate Period the temple cult, it seems, was no longer maintained, and the magazines were being used as a necropolis, and several burials of the priesthood have, and continue to be, discovered here.

During the Ptolemaic Period, stone and columns were plundered from the temple to build additions to the Small Temple at Medinet Habu, and in the 1st century CE the heart of the temple itself was converted into a Christian church. The Christians attacked many of the surviving wall carvings, hacking out some details, and adding carved graffiti, an act which would be repeated on numerous occasions by later explorers, whose names are now visible, particularly on the rear surviving wall of the Hypostyle hall. During the Roman/Byzantine period, an earthquake struck the Theban area, causing further destruction when, amongst other catastrophes, the colossal statues of Ramesses fell, destroying the second pylon as it did so, and breaking into the “shattered visage” beloved of Shelley. The temple’s subsequent history, following it’s final abandonment is summed up well by Richard Wilkinson.

“For centuries thereafter the Ramesseum remain a cluttered, broken and puzzling – if romantic – ruin, as impressive for the incredible destruction wrought upon it as for it’s surviving monuments”

Today, only limited reconstruction has been undertaken at the site, and it retains it’s broken and puzzling, if romantic air, especially given that relatively few visitors come or linger here, hurried past it’s tranquil ruins by tour guides to the spectacular setting of Dier El Bahri and elsewhere.

The damaged nature of the site, and the poorly designed modern approach from the North Eastern corner of the complex does nothing to dent it’s wonderful atmosphere . The solitude the site offers, the beauty of it’s surroundings and the temple itself all contribute to one of the most pleasant experiences one can have in Egypt.

Many people, not least Shelley himself, who wrote of this very place, find Egyptian temples overwhelming. Vast edifices, designed, in their eyes, to instil awe, fear and terror of the living gods who built them, into the hearts of lesser beings, the “sneer of cold command” reaching out from every statue. Shelley, however, never visited the Ramesseum. Indeed, he never visited Egypt at all. Had he done so, perhaps he would have found a place rather more like the one I have, a world away from the trunkless legs of stone that he imagined.

I have always found, from my childhood to the present day, Egyptian temples to some of the most welcoming structures. Entering the Ramsseum leaves one with a feeling of being welcomed home by a loving relative after a long trip. A place not of ecstatic joy, but of a reassuring warmth, welcome, tranquility and relaxation. It is everything one could ask for and want in any religious building.

And what of that famous colossus? It still lies where it fell so many centuries ago, the face, larger than my person, beautifully carved in granite, with serene, confident, gently smiling features. With the notable exception of the Middle Kingdom rulers, the Pharaoh’s of Egypt are invariably portrayed with that supreme confidence in their own quasi-divinity and gentle smile, even when smiting a horde of Nubians/Libyans/Sea People/Asiatics/Bedouin.

Modern visitors to the Ramesseum enter the site from it’s North Eastern corner, past a small wooden ticket collection and security kiosk, and down a sloping path past the ongoing excavations of Amunhotep II’s mortuary temple (no standing remains, no access permitted), entering into the temple proper at the ruined first courtyard. Like so many temples, this is a less than ideal approach, for the full impact of approaching up to, and then through the pylon is lost.

The pylon itself is missed by most of the relatively few visitors the temple does receive, for it lies across uneven, salty ground with small yet very spiky grasses. However a visit is recommended, both to appreciate some of the battle scenes (Kadesh, naturally) depicted on it’s western (inner) face and also it’s precarious position. As even a brief glance at the ground will quickly reveal, salt corrosion and the water table are both serious enemies which the temple faces. Large holes and pits can be seen at the foot of the pylon, damp and sometimes even part filled with water, further rotting it’s already damaged foundations. The pylon itself is visibly leaning and skewed (having already survived the major earthquake that shattered the colossi) and the doorway has now been (rather crudely) blocked up, assumeably to prevent it’s collapse.

Across the courtyard are the ground level remains of the southern wall and a part of the palace that once adjoined the temple, and was fronted by a columned portico of which only the bases now remain. On the northern side, beside the entrance path are some stored carved blocks, with some amusing and well executed details of processions and the like. The lack of any surviving paving in the courtyard, and the lonely nature of the pylon leave one with the feeling of the area having always been open, though it was originally enclosed by the Pylon on the east, porticos on the north and south, and a second pylon, fronted by the colossus, in the west.

The western side of the courtyard is the instant draw for most visitors, dominated by the fallen colossus that now straddles the mostly destroyed second pylon. In the scrub and grass around the fallen statue lie feet, hands and various parts and inscriptions, which allow you to get a close up view of the incredible finish of the work. The scale of this project really begins to hit home, and one cannot help but be humbled by the skill of the craftsmen who worked on it, giving such fine finish to a piece so large, and the engineers and overseers who had it transported so far, an installed.

The statue “Ramesses, Sun of Foreign Sovereigns” was made from a single piece of Aswan limestone was almost 70 feet high and weighed over one thousand tons. Like all Egyptian statues, it would have moved to and from a barge via sledges hauled by men. That they all pulled together in the same direction, both figuratively and literally, was quite important.

Originally a twin statue was intended for the north side of the court, though there is no evidence to suggest it was ever installed. Perhaps, for once, the ambitions of the architects exceeded their abilities, and the logistics involved in quarrying and transporting the first one all the way from Aswan were so prohibitive as to make giving it the proposed twin unviable. Time is unlikely to have been the issue, as the complex was finished less than half way into Ramesses’ reign. The colossi it seems, may have shown the Egyptians just how far they could push the bounds of bronze age logistics, even with the most superb organisation and skill. Although never receiving it’s twin, it was flanked to the other side by a statue of Ramesses’ mother, Tuya, and a subsidiary temple existed in the complex dedicated to her and his wife, Nefertari.

A flight of wooden steps leads past the fallen statue (giving a good view as they do so) and through the ruined second pylon into the second court. This feels much more like a surviving temple court, and it’s quite possible to imagine it as the enclosed courtyard it once was. In the North Eastern corner a substantial part of the colonnade remains, with a wonderful scene of the Battle of Kadesh, fairly well preserved and, with an appropriate explanation, quite easy to understand. The colonnade is fronted by Osiride statues, whose vast proportions are disguised by being proportionate to the structure as a whole.

There are two objects of particular beauty in this courtyard. The first, and perhaps one of the most photographed features of the Ramesseum, even more so than the colossos, is the beautifully head of a statue of Ramesses II, displayed where it fell, on a small plinth. The second is a reconstructed basalt feature which has a lovely traditional carving of the Pharaoh. Both depict him with the Nemes headdress, and both are subtly and finely carved in hard, beautifully finished stone, with attention to quality that it is often said is lacking in works ordered by Ramesses II. The Ramesseum, though perhaps in keeping with it’s creators taste for large scale monuments, does, however, tantalise in it’s remains, for it is clear that this was fully intended to be the crowning glory in Ramesses’ architectural legacy, and here quality appears to have been considered every bit as important as quantity.

The Western side of the second court has another surviving colonnade (again with Osiride statues), leading through into a hypostyle hall that gives the impression of a miniature Karnak. Like it’s more famous big brother, most of the roofing blocks have gone, leaving a procession of massive columns, mostly open to the sky, though here the Northern and Southern walls are also missing, giving the impression of a broad corridor rather than the hall it originally was. The Eastern wall features another battle scene, this one with a high degree of realism. Rather than the usual effortless smiting of the vile Asiatics, here we can see a real battle, with Egyptian soldiers shown fighting, and fighting hard, defending themselves against enemy onslaughts with their shields, and even taking casualties, whilst Ramesses charges the enemy in his chariot.

The Western wall features a procession of Ramesses’ sons, with their side-locks of youth. Sadly this scene is quite damaged, unlike the battle scene, though both lack the beautiful colours which are retained to a surprising degree on the columns. Despite the bird droppings and their exposure to the sun, many shades of reds, greens and blues can be seen, particularly around the capitals. It really is a most pleasant and unexpected surprise.

Beyond the Hypostyle hall is a smaller room with an intact roof which contains a 12 month calendar. It is believed to be something of a first, though, frustratingly, I have been unable to find any details concerning it, so am unable to provide any information as to exactly what makes it a first, or how to interpret it. Taking time to try and interpret it oneself is also difficult due to it’s height, and it’s position on the roof. Short of lying on the floor with a pair of opera binoculars, it is not the easiest carving to study in detail! Maybe next year I shall do just that, for I am determined to write about such a significant scene in my most beloved temple.

Beyond this bring you to the Western side of the last standing wall of the temple proper, the back of which (now open, originally a further chamber) contains scenes of a pilgrimage to Abydos and Ramesses before various deities, including Ra-Horakhty, to whom Ramesses dedicated several temples in Nubia. Although little colour remains in these scenes, the quality of the carving is good, and in the late afternoon in particular, as the sun allows shadows to return, the scenes are vivid and clear. Indeed, the late afternoon is perhaps the most beautiful time of all at this temple, and it is a lovely place to watch colour return after the bleaching sunshine of midday. In winter, it’s a lovely place to catch a sunset too, though sadly the temple closes too early to be able to spend a long, warm summer evening here.

This completes the most accessible of the standing remains of the temple. Beyond, to the North West lies the extensive and uniquely well preserved remains of the mud brick magazines, which with the barrel vaulted construction do a lot to dismiss the myth the common misconception that the arch was a Roman invention, and it’s use in Egypt goes back at least to the 3rd Dynasty.

The temple has one of the most pleasing, tranquil and reassuring atmospheres of any Egyptian site. Although it’s remains are often noted for the degree of destruction wrought upon them, it is still easy to loose oneself in the quiet shade of remains of the hypostyle hall, take in the beauty of the surroundings from the second peristyle court and relive the Battle of Kadesh upon it’s walls. As such it deserves far more time than the half or single hour devoted to it by the groups that make it this far, especially given the delightful Ramesseum Resthouse that lies next door, with it’s lush gardens and polite, quiet staff. Indeed, for those who dedicate a quiet day or half day to the site, it’s often possible, if you speak kindly to the site guards, to leave the temple to visit the resthouse, and then return on the same ticket. The owner of the resthouse is the grandson of one of the workers in Howard Carter’s team that excavated the tomb of Tutankhamun, and has a good number of photos of the personalities involved in the excavation, and some of the finds.

Overall, the Ramesseum is one of my favourite sites in all Egypt, for it’s beauty, tranquillity, welcoming, calm atmosphere. And, perhaps most of all, because it so defies the unfair and unkind words levied against it and it’s creator by a certain British poet.

Ramesseum Practicalities:
Access: Easily accessible from Luxor via the National Ferry (LE1). From here walk to the main road out of town and hail a bus (25pt flat fare) heading to the SCA Ticket Office, where you can purchase tickets. From here either walk (approx. 15 to 20 min, fine in winter, but not summer as there is no shade or shelter on the road) or take another bus, again 25pt., heading toward Gurna Ta’rif. The Ramesseum is on the right hand side of the road, along with the Ramesseum Resthouse, opposite the surviving core of Old Gurna. Note that you MUST go to the ticket office first, as no tickets are sold at the site entrance. A taxi from the ferry should cost no more than LE10, and can be arranged for a one way trip, as there are many taxis plying the road outside the temple, so getting stranded is extremely unlikely. Prices given are for March 2008.

Tickets: From the SCA ticket office, LE25 for foreign non-student adults. If you wish to go tot he resthouse, speak to the staff at the ticket barrier, as it’s usually possible ot arrange with them to be allowed re-entry. Bring pens, small notes, or something similar.

Opening Hours: 7:00am – 5:00pm (6:00pm in summer)

Facilities: None at all on site. Next door Ramesseum Resthouse has full range of drinks and a selection of (mostly light) meals for reasonable prices. As such, it’s only really necessary to bring water.

Photography: No restrictions on private photography.

 

Rest in Peace, Seti

From Al-Ahram weekly, by Nevine El Aref, concerning the temple of Seti I at Abydos:

…Over the decades, however, spontaneous urban and agricultural development around Abydos has affected the monuments. The city’s inhabitants have encroached on the area in the vicinity of Seti I’s temple. Some have cultivated the triangle in front of temple, leading to the leakage of drainage water into the temple, while others have constructed residential mud-brick and concrete houses around the temple walls and along the road leading to Ramses II’s temple, which in its turn affects the scenery of the whole site.

The Cairo-Aswan highway was another threat to the archaeological site. The highway, a the mega-project for the government, was meant to strengthen domestic transport routes as a way of promoting tourism and boosting trade between the governorates; it was the ground of a major debate between three ministries: housing, agriculture and culture. The controversy was sparked when construction began on the section of the road linking Assiut to Aswan. Archaeologists from the SCA argued that the road would cause irrevocable damage to the major archaeological sites at Abydos, the primary pilgrimage destination for ancient Egyptians, through which it runs. According to Sabri Abdel-Aziz, who heads the SCA’s Ancient Egypt Department, the Temple of Osiris, the royal cemetery of the first and second dynasties, the ramp of Senusert III’s chapel and his funerary complex, as well as the ramp of Ahmos’s Pyramid, and the famous Seti I Temple with its list of Egypt’s ancient kings and queens, would all be in danger of destruction.

As a result, two committees — comprising representatives from the ministries of culture, housing and agriculture, as well as Sohag governorate and transport authorities — inspected the section of the road in question in an attempt to revise the route and reach a compromise.

Four suggestions were made. The first proposed detouring the route towards the agricultural land east of the archaeological site, thereby destroying 65 feddans of Sohag’s most fertile land. The second would link the road via the desert behind the Abydos mountains at an additional cost of LE150 million.

The remaining two suggestions involved paving the area parallel to the Qasr canal, resulting in a 25-kilometre longer route that could end up necessitating the demolition of a number of rural houses, and, finally, an alternate route through an agricultural area, as well as an archaeological zone which must first be excavated prior to construction.

During the debate, Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said his ministry would not stand in the way of development projects meant to benefit the general public. However, he also said, the ministry was very serious about preventing the destruction of monuments. He said no new construction would be taking place until the newly-organised ministerial committee made its final decision. For his part, SCA Secretary- General Zahi Hawass suggested that the SCA was perfectly willing to help construct the proposed detours if that meant preserving Egypt’s heritage.

After several meetings and inspection tours, the controversial parties agreed on the rerouting of the road and that the LE15 million which would be used for recompensing the residents would be provided by the three ministries concerned — each would pay LE5 million. So far the SCA has paid three million, and when the construction of the new houses starts it will pay the rest.

The problem of water in Abydos is becoming serious. Abdel-Aziz told Al-Ahram Weekly that he counted three direct causes; namely the cultivation around the temple zone, the lack of a proper drainage system in the shanty housing areas near both temples, and the heightened level of the Nile in July and August, which in its turn augmented the level of water inside the Osirian.

Now, he continued, in collaboration with the Subterranean Water Research Centre and the Tarek Wali engineering bureau, the SCA was carrying out a comprehensive project to reduce the rate of subterranean water inside the Osirian. The triangle cultivated in front of the Seti I Temple had also been removed in an attempt to return it to its original feature.

“Abydos is archaeologically rich, and even more important historically than Giza and Luxor,” Hawass said. “It was also a sacred pilgrimage site for Osiris, and almost every king in Ancient Egypt built a cenotaph or a chapel dedicated to the god of the afterlife.” He said an LE20 million development project was now under implementation in order to end the problems Abydos is suffering from and to develop the whole site in a way that matches its archaeological and historical importance. According to the project, which will be implemented over the next six years, Abydos will regain its original scenic position.

In an attempt to protect the archaeological site of Abydos from any further encroachment, a wall will surround it and the 92 houses located along the road between both temples will be demolished. Residents will be moved to other houses now under construction by the Ministry of Housing in a nearby area after it has been archaeologically investigated. A high-tech visitor centre will be set up un front of the temple of Seti I, replacing the cultivated triangle, along with a cafeteria and a bookshop. “A sound and light show for the archaeological sites of Abydos is now under study as another tourist attraction,” Hawass says.

That the original route for the highway was even considered is quite incredible. Abydos is perhaps the single most important religious site in Pharaonic culture. While it may lank the monumental splendour of Karnak or Giza, it’s religious prominence dates back to the very foundations of Egyptian culture. The Pharaohs of the very earliest dynasties were buried here. Djoser’s pyramid is the world’s first monumental all-stone structure, but Khasekhemwy was showing the way, with a truly monumental mastaba with it’s stone burial chamber, in Abydos.

One and half millenia later Abydos was the site of the last royal cenotaph to use the pyramid as an architectural form, for the founder of the New Kingdom, and re-unifier of Egypt, Ahmose I. In the 19th dynasty the city would be graced with the finest artwork that Pharaonic civilization would produce in a history spanning 3,000 years.

The archaeology of this site is hard to over-estimate. Whole swathes of Egyptian history have been made available to us by finds there. Without Abydos, it’s not an exaggeration to say that our knowledge of Egyptian history, especially of the Early Dynastic period, would be in tatters. Perhaps nothing sums up the place better than the king list to which it gave it’s name.

So it is with a sigh of absolute relief that I discover the Ministry of Culture (of which the SCA forms a part), and the ministries of housing, agriculture, and the transport authorities have finally reached an agreement not to build a massive highway right through it all.

The future plans for the site are very exciting, now that the “sword of Damocles” no longer hangs over it. The chance to clear some of the houses that crowd the area provide a great opportunity for further study, as well as safeguarding the site from water and sewerage. As at so many sites, water is a key issue at Abydos, as the sad state of the Osirion dramatically shows. The conversion of the “triangle” from agricultural to touristic use will no doubt also be of benefit here. The wall, meanwhile should hopefully “lock in” these benefits and help prevent any future encroachment back onto the site by housing and agriculture. Hopefully this will keep the site safe and secure from human and environmental harm, so that we can continue to learn from it’s rich archaeological record, and preserve it’s splendour.

The plans for touristic development here intrigue me, though. At present Abydos is hardly a visitor friendly place. The only way for a visitor to access the site is via a once daily convoy from Luxor which gives them – at most – 90 minutes at the temple, or by taking a train journey followed by a taxi from the station in a “private convoy”, accompanied by police. As such, for the proposed S&L show and visitors centre to really take off, a major security / transport rethink will be needed. Is the Sohag governate finally considering opening it’s doors to mainstream tourism?

Whilst another S&L show is not something I’d like to see inflicted upon the graceful walls of the Abydos temples, an easing of restrictions upon visitors, combined with a good site management programme, would be a welcome development that would allow more people(appropriately managed within the site) to appreciate a very important and beautiful site.

Interesting, exciting, disturbing, times in Abydos…

 

SCA Developments on the Giza Plateau

If the media are anything to go by, it’s exciting times on the Giza Plateau.  As most visitors over the last few years won’t have been able to miss, a massive site management plan is underway, the most visible aspect of which is the network of walls and fences ringing the site, in an attempt to control access. Within the last few days, the first phase of this project, “went live” as modern parlance will have it. The SIS had this to say:

Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni accompanied with Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawwas, inaugurated Monday 11/8/2008 the first stage of the Giza pyramids plateau development project.

The project that will be implemented by the Ministry of Culture on three stages to develop the plateau and prepare it for tourist visits will cost LE 300 million.

Minister Farouk Hosni inspected the first stage works that included building electronic ports, 18 km long security siege with 199 TV cameras around the tourist area to monitor all the area.

The works included as well fixing sophisticated weapons and explosive detectors and magnetic tickets machines.

Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawwas said the council will sign a contract with a specialized company to operate electric transport vehicles to move tourists and visitors from the parking lots to the archeological sites of the area.

During the visit, Minister Farouk Hosni announced the start of the 2nd stage of the project. The 2nd stage will include lighting works and paving the roads.

SIS Website

The BBC has reported the cost as £14 million, which allowing for exchange rates is lower than the figure given by the SIS. The Daily Telegraph has reported £13 million.

Focus has been on the high degree of technology and sophistication in the systems employed, including motion detectors, CCTV, metal detectors and even infra red cameras mounted along the perimeter. New reporters who attended the opening commented on the contrast between the incessant and omnipresent hawkers of hte plateau as it was previously (which had become almost as famous as the pyramids themselves) and the calm on the opening day of the new systems

Hawkers — many from the nearby impoverished neighborhoods looking to benefit from the tourist dollar — have had free rein, and have become notorious.

Tourists undergo a constant barrage from peddlers selling mock-ups of pharaonic statues and scarabs, T-shirts and other trinkets, or are followed by men on camels selling rides or photos — and rarely taking no for an answer. Young men even try to force their way into taxi cabs carrying foreigners toward the pyramids, looking to steer them to nearby horse stables for a ride around the site…..

…..It was not clear whether the trinket dealers were pushed out just for the day or whether they would return in a more controlled fashion. Kamal Wahid, the site’s general director, said phasing out the hawkers will not be sudden or “unkind.”

“Two years from now, you won’t see them inside the site,” he said. He added that a special area nearby will be designated for horse and camel riding for tourists — with the pyramids serving as a dramatic backdrop for photos.

International Herald Tribune

“Unkind” or not, I do hope that Wahid’s assurances that the site will kept clear hold true. The previous situation was clearly unsustainable from all points of view. The site is extremely sensitive, and uncontrolled visitors, both tourists and hawkers, were essentially unsupervised. On my most recent visit to the site, earlier this year, I noticed many visitors climbing on the slopes of Khufu’s pyramid as well as other structures. In addition the amount of animal traffic on the site was extremely high, which is both destructive and dangerous, given the number of un-excavated structures and the crowds in the area.

I am glad to see the project has reached this milestone, and I hope it is carried through to it’s conclusion. The site is home to the greatest monuments of Egyptian civilization, to the tombs of some of the greatest rulers of the Old Kingdom, and is one of the world’s most important archaeological sites. It is heartening to see that the infrastructure and polices be put in place so that visitors and traders alike begin to treat it as such.

 

More DNA Testamania…

From Daily News Egypt – Original article in full

Egypt to DNA-test 2 fetuses from King Tut’s tomb

CAIRO: Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities says the country’s scientists will start DNA tests on two mummified fetuses found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun to determine their link to the young pharaoh.

The fetuses were found in 1922 in the tomb in Luxor and have since been stored at Cairo University. They are widely believed to be King Tut’s stillborn children.

The tests will be carried out in collaboration with Cairo University’s Faculty of Medicine under the leadership of Dr Ashraf Selim, head of Cairo Scan.

Selim together with Dr Yehia Zakaria of the National Research Center have carried out CT scans of the two fetuses and took samples to make the DNA tests.

The council quotes in a statement Egypt’s Antiquities chief Zahi Hawass as saying the test will also try to determine the fetuses’ mother as well as Tutankhamun’s family lineage, a mystery that has baffled Egyptologists for years.

And what, precisely, do we hope to gain from this? A snippet from further into the article rasies some eyebrows for me…

Hawass said the tests will also help in identifying the mummy of Queen Nefertiti.

Which the last batch of DNA tests and CAT scans were supposed to have already established. I am not personally convinced that the ethical issues involved, and the time and cost spent on DNA testing of the royal mummies is consistently repaid in concrete advances in our knowledge. I am willing and ready to concede that some breakthroughs have been made, particularly in regards to the royal line of the early 18th Dynasty. But, at some point a line needs to be drawn between “testamania”, and ethically and practically justifable research, which we can reasonably expect to deliver a significant advance to our understanding.

In addition, most archaeology involves conservation and preservation of material. DNA testing is unusual in archaeology in that it is the opposite. DNA testing is damaging to, and invasive of, the human remains which are subjected to it.

 

Spending Eternity Aboard The Celestial Barque

The “boat pits” around the great pyramid of Khufu were first discovered in 1954 by Kamal Al Mallakh. Five pits have now been discovered all in all. However, only two were found to still contain the giant solar barques. One, pictured above, has now been reassembled (they were buried in a dismantled state, fortunately with builders marks and notations indicating how they should be put together) following a lot of work, and is now on display in a dedicated building constructed where it was found. A beautiful and humbling sight indeed.

In 1987 a mission from Waseda University used an electromagnetic wave scan of the western pit and detected that it too, contained a dismantled vessel. In October of the same year National Geographic created an airtight entry and searched the inside of the pit with an endoscopic camera and air sampling equipment. It was discovered that this chamber was not airtight, and that this had allowed insects to penetrate and attack a small part of the wood. However, overall there were indeed substantial wooden remains.

In 1992 Waseda returned to the site and conducted a study to gain further details on conditions inside the pit and of the wood itself. They also managed to cleanse the pit of the insects that had been the cause of great concern. Eventually a decision was reached with the SCA to begin preparations for excavation.

However, all is not so straightforward. The glory of the first barque has been to the detriment of the second. The dryness of the plateau and its that made such perfect conditions for the survival of the first barque have been compromised by it’s display in the new on-site museum building. Water leaking from that building has penetrated the pit and along with the insects has contributed to damage of the wood.

However, despite the complications, at the end of July this year, the Waseda team has managed to rig up a closed circuit television system, allowing visitors to see the boat resting in it’s pit – “Now we can smell the past” as Dr. Zahi Hawass put it, and indeed see it too.

It is hoped that the conserved and reconstructed vessel will eventually have a home in the Grand Egyptian Museum, a gigantic new construction at the edge of the Giza plateau, a few kilometres away, due to open in 2011. However, it will miss the opening ceremony. The International Herald Tribune reports Prof. Yoshimura of the Waseda mission as saying that the process of removing the components will not begin until November this year, and Dr. Hawass as saying that the overall projectwill most likely take a decade.

The introduction of the cameras amidst high publicity has brought some welcome attention to an important long-term project. Although the two solar barques of Khufu are not the only surviving boats from Ancient Egypt (two boats from the reign of Senusret III were found at his Dashur pyramid complex, and are now on display in the Egyptian Museum, and largely ignored) the solar barques are larger, better preserved, and if the current one is anything to go by, more than a little grander.

It is heartening to see progress on the second barque, however I think the problems that have been encountered by Waseda mission should lead to pause for thought. The contamination of the environment of the western pit was due in part to the construction of the museum to contain the original solar barque. Now, a much much larger museum is being built on the Giza plateau. In our rush to learn from the ancient past, we should not forget the lessons of a more recent time.

See also:

• Al Ahram
• International Herald Tribune
• State Information Service
• Sina.com / Xinhua English

Photo: The solar barque of Khufu (4th Dyn) – Wikimedia Commons by Alex Lbh (2005)

 

God of the Week – IAH

I have been seriously neglecting this task, for which I apologise to all my patient readers. I have finally got most of my books out of storage now, so am able to write more fully once more. A lot of my books still hadn’t been brought up to London. It should be noticed, that if I ever seem to know what I’m talking about, it’s only because I happen to have the right book to hand!

So, this week, I shall write about Iah, a lesser known lunar god, of whom our understanding is somewhat limited.

Origins:
Iah (sometimes translated as Yah) appears in quite a prominent role in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom. Imagery of him is not very common, though his name is synonymous with the actual lunar disk itself. It is therefore probable that he was worshipped in pre-dynastic periods in this literal form.

Appearances and Associations:
Iah is portrayed variously as a male wearing a three part wig, and wearing the full lunar disc and crescent symbols. He is also sometimes seen wrapped (mummy wrappings?) in the same manner as Khonsu in some depictions, along with a staff. Sometimes the only differentiation between them can be the side-lock of youth that Khonsu sports.

Iah can also sometimes be seen bearing the damaged (lunar) eye of Horus.

Due to his association with Thoth, he may also appear with the distinctive Ibis head of this god, wearing a simple crescent crown.

Associations and Prominence:
As already mentioned, Iah is a lunar god, and this dominates his associations. In this role he is very closely associated with Khonsu (the primary lunar god from the New Kingdom onward) and Thoth (Thoth-Iah), who also has some lunar associations. This affected his prominence in later periods. Iah also eventually become associated with Osiris (Osiris-Iah), possibly through the lunar cycle of regeneration, and also the association of the lunar disc with the damaged eye of Horus.

However, in the Old Kingdom, and up until the 18th Dynasty, Iah enjoyed a fair degree of visibility, appearing in the Pyramid Texts, as well as being involved in The Book of the Dead (more accurately, The Incantations of Arising by Day) which, unlike the Pyramid texts, was used by commoners as well as royalty.

It appears that Iah was particularly popular with the 17th Dynasty royal line, as several prominent royals adopted his name into their own, including Ah-Hotep, and her son, Ahmose I (Amosis), founder of the 18th Dynasty, along with his wife, Ahmose-Nefertari. Some have also speculated that the name Kamose may also have had some root in Iah’s name. Interestingly, another association can be seen between Iah and the 26th dynasty, in the form of Ahmose II (Amasis), despite his eclipse, so to speak, by Khonsu. Also, statuettes and amulets of Iah continue to be found throught the New Kingdom and Late Periods, including a fine statuette now in the collection of the British Museum.

There is no mention, however, of Iah ever having any significant temples or state endowments of his own.

Titles:

• Dweller Among The Gods (?)

Decline:
Iah is mentioned from the 5th dynasty, and clearly had a following through well into the Late Period. As far as I am aware, however, it is unknown exactly when his following died out.

Photo – Bronze statuette of Iah, Late Period, BM-EA12587. Photo by BM

 

Menkaura and the Mediterranean

This is hardly up to date news, it did in fact hit the pages of The Times  back in June (link), however I havn’t had a chance to comment on this until now. However, I feel it warrents a mention.

The empty sarcophagus of Menkaura, a Pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, was found inside the burial chamber of his Giza pyramid by Richard Vyse, who had  ”excavated” the pyramid using gunpowder. In a true testament to Menkaura’s engineers and architects, this didn’t bring the entire structure down on top of either Vyse or the sarcophagus.  He also found shards of a wooden coffin, inscribed with Menkaura’s name, and a skeleton wrapped in cloth. The coffin turned out, interestingly, to be from the 26th Dynasty, whilst it’s inhabitant was from the Coptic Period. The Pharaohs of the 26th Dyansty had, it seemed, piously re-consecrated the pyramid, having found it robbed, as was common at the time, the 26th Dyn. being the height of the Archaic Revival mentioned in my last post on the Late Period tomb of Harwa.

Vyse claimed that the basalt resting place of  Menkaura would be endangered if it were to be left in place, and decided to ship it back to the British Museum in London, along with the coffin shards and remains.  All did not go to plan, however. The sarcophagus was loaded onto one ship, the Beartrice, along with some other artifacts Vyse had found, whilst the coffin and remains were placed upon another vessel. The Beartrice departed Egypt, and stopped in at Malta, where she departed, ominously enough, on October 13th 1838.

Exactly what happened next is unclear, but the Beartrice was lost, and sank somewhere off the Spanish Mediterranean coast, never making it as far as Gibraltar.  It is speculated that the wreck lies around the south eastern coats of Spain, around Cartagena. And now, Dr. Zahwi Hawass wishes to recover the sarcophagus, and has enlisted Robert Ballard, who located the wreck of the Titanic with help of the US Navy (they were using the mission to search for two lost 1960′s nuclear submarines) to help him.

Many have said that the project is next to impossible, as the exact location of the Beartrice is not known. However, in comparison to the project to locate the Titanic, conditions are in fact much easier, from a marine point of view. Firstly, the area is in fact, fairly confined. If we are to go with the fairly well founded assumption that the best chance for finding the vessel is along the coast of Cartagena, then the actual area of seabed to be searched is not huge compared to the North Atlantic. Secondly, conditions are infinitely better. The sea bed in this area is much shallower. The Titanic lies at some 3,800 metres, and more than 600km from the nearest land, in an area of frequent violent storms. The Mediterranean, by contrast, is an enclosed, almost tideless, sea, with much more moderate weather conditions. The area in question is close to land, as indeed, almost every single point in the Mediterranean is. The difficulties with this project are not technical.

The difficulty is legal, and, of course, political. Egyptian antiquities, on a British vessel, that (it is believed) sank in Spanish waters. In addition, Dr. Hawass announced this project before an agreement with the Spanish authorities has been reached, and I have been unable to find any actual acceptance of the request for his assistance, or confirmation, by Robert Ballard.  Dr. Hawass has stated that he is hoping for co-operation with the Spanish authorities, citing the positive publicity this would bring for all parties (in association with National Geographic, one assumes, especially given the involvement of Ballard) and has also stated that whilst the sarcophagus would return to Egypt, any other Egyptian antiquities found with the wreckage would remain with the Spanish.  This is a pragmatic move, and is more likely to lead to Spanish co-operation. However I cannot help but think this a rather risky offer to make, as well as somewhat contradictory in light of the wish, often expressed by the SCA, to return Egyptian antiquities to Egypt. It is risky, because we do not know for certain what other artifacts were on board the Beatrice when she went down. There may be some unique or extremely valuable items amongst the wreckage, and should this be the case (rather than “less valuable” or lower profile items, which is expected) then I cannot help but fear that many in Egypt will be eating their hats, as it were, in frustration.  It will inevitably lead to arguments…

So, what is to be done? Personally, I see no reason why this project shouldn’t go ahead. I feel the technical issues, whilst expensive to tackle, are far from insurmountable. Politically and legally, a genuine and out of the limelight dialogue between the Egyptian, Spanish and British authorities could easily be stepped up, with no side issuing unilateral statements to the awaiting media.  Menkaura’s sarcophagus could, and should, be brought home. There is a strong argument for this, but it is not one that should be fought through the media. Meanwhile, deciding on who gets the other “spoils” before they are even seen is, I fear, only going to lead to further problems down the road, as well as conjuring up unseemly images of vultures fighting over a carcass.

 

The Tomb of Harwa

On Friday I attended an EES lecture by Dr Francesco Tiradritti of the Italian Archaeological Mission to the Theban Tombs, held at the The Society of Antiquaries of London. It was a fascinating lecture, and I must admit that up until then I had known very little about the Late Period tombs in this area, so the talk was a true eye opener for me.

The renaissance, or Archaic Revival, of the Late Period has long held a fascination for me, and it’s normally something I think of as having been “kicked off” – as it were – by the Pharaohs of the 26th Dynasty. But these classical Saite signatures, such as the passion for (exquisitely executed!) scenes in the Old Kingdom traditions, and even the inclusion of parts of the Pyramid Texts, can be seen in Harwa’s tomb (TT37, El Assasif) at the height of the 25th Dynasty.

Harwa was the Great Steward of the Adoratrice of Amun, during the reign of Taharqa, and possibly acted as a vassal ruler of the south under him, since the Pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty remained in Nubia and only held power through the Priesthood of Amun, hence Harwa’s great importance. The scale of his tomb would indeed suggest this, for although it’s layout is entirely different, in it’s ambitious design, and in the quality of carving, it is certainly the equal of some royal tombs.

Sadly, time has been unkind to Harwa’s eternal home. Only fragments of the decoration survive, having been re-used for subsequent burials during the Late period, and functioning as a chapel to Osiris in Ptolemaic times. Dr Tiradritti also presented some of the tombs later history that had been unearthed during excavations, including an earlier Italian visit to the tomb by soldiers during the Second World War, leaving behind part of a biscuit packet for future generations.

Thankfully, the team have been able to take advantage of changes in technology over the long course of their work so far (excavation began in 1995, and there is still much work to be done) and this has allowed maps, images and also a complete catalogue of decorative fragments found to be made available on an online database. This has also allowed for digital reconstructions of numerous wall scenes to be made, allowing a much better understanding of the tombs original design.

A multi-lingual web portal has now been online for ten years, and is available at http://www.harwa.it

All in all, it was an interest and enjoyable lecture, and I certainly took home some new insights from it. Plus, the reception was excellent, particularly the cheesecake.