Archaeologist at Large: Archaeology

Raiders of the Faux Ark

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:58:33 GMT

Great article on fringe archaeology

Extract below

Noah's Ark. The Ark of the Covenant. The Garden of Eden. Sodom and Gomorrah. The Exodus. The Lost Tomb of Jesus. All have been "found" in the last 10 years, including one within the past six months. The discoverers: a former SWAT team member; an investigator of ghosts, telepathy, and parapsychology; a filmmaker who calls himself "The Naked Archeologist"; and others, none of whom has any professional training in archeology.

We are living in a time of exciting discoveries in biblical archeology. We are also living in a time of widespread biblical fraud, dubious science, and crackpot theorizing. Some of the highest-profile discoveries of the past several years are shadowed by accusations of forgery, such as the James Ossuary, which may or may not be the burial box of Jesus' brother, as well as other supposed Bible-era findings such as the Jehoash Tablet and a small ivory pomegranate said to be from the time of Solomon. Every year "scientific" expeditions embark to look for Noah's Ark, raising untold amounts of money from gullible believers who eagerly listen to tales spun by sincere amateurs or rapacious con men; it is not always easy to tell the two apart.

More @ http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/fauxark/

Treasure Hunters vs. Archaeology: Saving History for the Public

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 23:04:01 GMT

Glorifying treasure hunters and denigrating archaeologists is a poor apology for the destruction of our underwater heritage.

In a June 8 New York Times Op-Ed piece, Robert Kurson, author of the popular book Shadow Divers, attacks archaeologists as pirates, calling us a "new breed of raiders." By contrast, he praises treasure hunters: "Without them...many of these wrecks would stay lost forever. Without the lure of a big and romantic payoff, no one would even look." Moreover, Kurson paints archaeologists as ivory-tower academics and the treasure hunters as larger-than-life men-of-action: "it's a good bet that a grizzled, lifelong salvage diver has better real-life, tight-squeeze shipwreck experience than an archaeologist who writes up guidelines for this work from his office near the student union." This is a response from a grizzled lifelong archaeologist who has plenty of real-life, tight-squeeze experiences, as do many of my colleagues

Thought provoking article, continue reading @ http://www.huliq.com/29373/treasure-hunters-archaeology-saving-history-for-the-public

Talking about Egypt: Nefertiti and the Lost Dynasty

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 18:35:31 GMT

Zahi's on the hunt

Quote

Egypt: Nefertiti and the Lost Dynasty

It is one of Egypts enduring mysteries. What happened to Nefertiti and her husband, the pharaoh Akhenaten, the likely father of King Tut?

Pyramids made of concrete??

Sat, 19 May 2007 12:07:43 GMT

The Surprising Truth Behind the Construction of the Great Pyramids

"This is not my day job." So begins Michel Barsoum as he recounts his foray into the mysteries of the Great Pyramids of Egypt. As a well respected researcher in the field of ceramics, Barsoum never expected his career to take him down a path of history, archaeology, and "political" science, with materials research mixed in.

As a distinguished professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University, his daily routine consists mainly of teaching students about ceramics, or performing research on a new class of materials, the so-called MAX Phases, that he and his colleagues discovered in the 1990s. These modern ceramics are machinable, thermal-shock resistant, and are better conductors of heat and electricity than many metals-making them potential candidates for use in nuclear power plants, the automotive industry, jet engines, and a range of other high-demand systems.

Then Barsoum received an unexpected phone call from Michael Carrell, a friend of a retired colleague of Barsoum, who called to chat with the Egyptian-born Barsoum about how much he knew of the mysteries surrounding the building of the Great Pyramids of Giza, the only remaining of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The widely accepted theory-that the pyramids were crafted of carved-out giant limestone blocks that workers carried up ramps-had not only not been embraced by everyone, but as important had quite a number of holes.

Home for archaeology to cost 1m

Sat, 19 May 2007 11:19:33 GMT

A new centre for archaeology in Essex has been approved by the county council at a cost of just over £1m.

The county field archaeology unit's new building has been designed to encourage participation in studies by the public, Essex County Council said.

The new unit will be built at Great Notley Country Park, near Braintree, and will unite Essex's archaeologists with the existing Discovery Centre.

"Sounds like some kind of archaeozoo"

See more @

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Essex | Home for archaeology to cost £1m

Gilded youth

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:43:59 GMT

A sandstone lintel painted with gilded solar child deities was unearthed recently at the Temple of Mut in Luxor, reports Nevine El-Aref

Excavators from the Brooklyn Museum stumbled upon the unique lintel painted with five gilded deities during routine cleaning of the precinct enclosure wall of the temple. Topped with a cavetto cornice embellished with painted stripes, the lintel is well preserved. It is framed by rounded moulding and the decoration includes raised relief figures. The five gilded solar deities appear sitting on lotus blossoms against a blue backdrop, representing the sky, each with a finger in its mouth. The first and last are crowned with the sun disk, the second wears a double crown, the third a hem-hem crown and the fourth a two-plumed crown. The golden child gods sit before an offering table to the right of which are two figures, the first an ape, whose face still bears some gilding, wearing a modius and feather with his arms raised in a gesture of worship. Apes are often shown in connection with the sun. The second figure is of the goddess Taweret, crowned with cow's horns, a sun disk and two feathers.

Sabri Abdel-Aziz, head of the Ancient Egyptian Department at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, says early studies suggest the lintel may date from the late Intermediate Period. The newly discovered artefact is now being cleaned and restored.

from http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/830/fr2.htm

Ancient Techniques Employed to Rescue 5,000 Year Old Egyptian Monument

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:01:22 GMT

Nearly 5,000 years old, a monument known today as the Shunet el-Zebib, the only surviving example of a series of monumental cultic buildings built by Egypt’s earliest kings at Abydos, has been ravaged by the elements, attacked by animals and insects, and structurally compromised by humans over the millennia; its present day survival seems almost miraculous. One of the most mysterious of ancient Egypt’s monuments was in danger of imminent collapse. In 2001, the experts all agreed that unless steps were taken immediately this massive mud-brick structure would not remain standing much longer.

A conservation and stabilization program was developed, sponsored by New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, and surprisingly the most suitable methods recommended by the experts for saving the monument turned out not to be highly technical ones of modern construction, but rather those more traditional, and ancient, in nature. Work began soon after using many of the same techniques to save the monument that were employed to build it five millennia ago. The conservation of the monument, which occupies more than two acres, is now nearly fifty percent complete.

Continues @ http://www.exduco.net/news.php?id=816

Meteorites from under the pyramids

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:59:50 GMT

Samples of rock and fragments of pyramid walls brought from Egypt are being examined at the AGH University of Science and Technology. It is very likely that meteorites had dropped near the pyramids. The material was collected during the December expedition of geologists. Another aim of the expedition was to study some geoglyphics, i.e. gigantic pictures drawn on the ground.

According to "Dziennik Polski", the scientists were intrigued by some unusual structures, which resembled craters formed after meteorites hit the ground. They noticed them when analysing satellite pictures of areas north of the great pyramids in Giza.

Story continues @ http://en.naukawpolsce.pl/naukaen/index.jsp?place=Lead07&news_cat_id=269&news_id=4944&layout=2&forum_id=1118&page=text

Article about Dr Zahi Hawass of the SCA

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:55:17 GMT

Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt and Director of excavations at the Giza Pyramids, Saqqara, and Bahariya Oasis, offers a special public talk, “The Riddle of the Pyramids and the Magic of King Tut,” Thursday, February 1 at 6:00 p.m. in the Harrison Auditorium of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia.

Profile continues @ http://www.huliq.com/6800/zahi-hawass-speaks-on-the-riddle-of-pyramids

Too big for a coffin

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 18:01:49 GMT

This is from late last year but I missed it at the time

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are sizing up a splendid painted anthropoid wooden sarcophagus found by chance at the Saqqara necropolis last week..

The sarcophagus was found by an Egyptian archaeological mission engaged in cleaning the burial shaft of the sixth- dynasty royal physician Qar, which neighbours King Djoser's pyramid complex at Saqqara almost 35km south of the Giza Plateau.

The team, which is led by Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), was taken by surprise when they stumbled upon the beautifully-painted anthropoid coffin. The covering featured a bearded man with a reddish brown face and large, open eyes lined with black kohl, thick eyebrows and red lips. His garment is painted dark blue and embellished by a collar with three rows of blue, green and yellow cylindrical beads and a pendant adorned with a figure of Maat, the goddess of justice, stretching her wings in a way that enables her to hold both sides of the lid. The lower part of the lid is decorated with a vibrantly-coloured painting of the mummified form of the four sons of Horus standing in two rows facing each other while offering linen wrappings to the deceased. Beneath is another scene of two grief-stricken women mourning the dead man. Prayers to the god of the afterlife, Osiris, are also written on the lid.

More @ http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/823/he3.htm

Lobbyist accuses Lord Renfrew

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 19:20:51 GMT

Lord Renfrew accused of wrong doing! Heavens above

His reponse:- " Thank you for your email. I am quite used to being misquoted in
this area. And I have no objection to collecting as such - I do collect
contemporary art. My reservations spring from the ongoing destruction of
archaeological sites to provide material for the illicit market. So the
objection is primarily to objects which have been (or might have been)
looted from ancient sites. There are of course objections to the export of
some other categories of cultural property, but I have not expressed views
on other materials than archaeological ones.

    I did, as a schoolboy, form a collection of coins which I still have,
and purchased a few minor antiquities, including an Egyptian ushabiti figure
which I bought around 1954 (at the age of 17) from an antique shop in
Canterbury. 'Avid' might be an overstatement. I have not added to that
collection since 1970, the year of the UNESCO Convention in question
(although I did not develop a clearer rationale against the collecting of
unprovenanced antiquities until very much later than that).

     I am not sure whether it is worth entering into debate with bloggers
who overstate their case as in the example you sent me. But it is worth
stressing that there is nothing wrong with collecting as such, so long as it
does not involve materials which may have arisen from the destruction of the
archaeological heritage.

     All the best,   Sincerely, Colin"

Archaeology Dig 2007: Barcombe Villa, Sussex, England

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 19:13:07 GMT

My very first archaeological dig was here in 2001

Focus on Field School

The summer of 2007 will see the seventh season of research and training excavations, this year run by the Centre for Continuing Education at the University of Sussex and the Mid-Sussex Field Archaeology Team (MSFAT), continuing investigations in the southern portion of the Roman villa complex at Barcombe, Sussex, England. The main villa building was discovered in 1999 by geophysical survey, and measures 45 metres long by 20 metres wide and is believed to date from around AD 250.

The large house included a line of rooms fronted by a long corridor which also connects wing rooms at both ends of the building. It would have had views across the Ouse valley towards the South Down. Although most of the original masonry has been removed, perhaps to build the nearby church of St Mary in the 12th century, archaeologists have been able to identify the development, layout and features of the Romano-British settlement, including an initial phase of 'Iron Age type' timber roundhouses, a suite of Roman baths and a large, aisled building.

More @ http://archaeology.about.com/b/a/257839.htm

In hot pursuit of Egypt's lost mummies

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 10:05:23 GMT

A recovery campaign has sparked debate over objects that museums acquired before a 1970 tightening of the antiquities trade.

By Sarah Gauch | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

CAIRO – Zahi Hawass is one part celebrity, one part investigator. Egypt's lead sleuth in the country's hunt to reclaim ancient antiquities has gained a reputation for often strong-arming curators and bullying museum directors. But while he's attracted critics in his hunt for Egypt's mummies and pharaonic masks, his hard-nosed techniques are indeed paying off.

Mr. Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, has recovered some 3,500 objects, including the Ramses I mummy from Atlanta's Michael C. Carlos Museum and an ancient sarcophagus from the chairperson of Chicago's electric utility, Exelon.

They are running a readers pole, the question is:

Who has the more legitimate claim to Egyptian artifacts taken decades - or centuries - ago? Egypt or Western Museums?

You can vote on line @ http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0104/p07s01-alar.html

Find a Dig!

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 12:24:32 GMT

Findadig.com

Spend a Summer in the Past

For decades, BAR's annual volunteer dig guide to archaeological excavations has been the only resource of its kind. That guide has now evolved into its own web site: www.findadig.com.

More than two dozen archaeological digs throughout Europe and the Middle East are looking for volunteers this summer to help them excavate history. Whether you’re interested in the worlds of Kings David and Solomon, want to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and the apostles, or search for the heroes of the Trojan War, we’ve got a dig for you.

Visit www.findadig.com and receive a free e-book, I Volunteered for This?!, an informative, amusing and sometimes touching collection of articles by dig volunteers culled from BAR.

Findadig.com contains:

• In-depth descriptions of 29 sites currently undergoing excavation

• The historical and/or Biblical significance of each site

• Descriptions of how volunteers will help at the site of their choice

• Profiles of the dig directors

• Essays by the 2006 winners of scholarships provided by the Biblical Archaeology Society, which enabled them to join a dig this past summer. Application forms for 2007 scholarships are available on the site.

Participating in a dig requires no previous experience; all that is needed is an enthusiasm for the adventure of digging up the past.

Isn’t working on a dig site a dirty and sweaty job? It sure is! But people wouldn’t trade it for anything. Almost everyone who has been part of an archaeological excavation describes it as the experience of a lifetime. Visit www.findadig.com to see why.

Rosetta - a new online journal

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:22:19 GMT

Another Annoucement

The Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity at the University of Birmingham are pleased to announce the launch of the new online journal "Rosetta".

www.rosetta.bham.ac.uk

Rosetta is a journal for archaeologists, historians and classicists interested in the study of ancient and modern societies. It welcomes articles, book reviews, museum and conference reports, and other items related to its areas of interest, especially those that cross disciplinary boundaries. It is organised and edited by research postgraduates at the University of Birmingham.

The journal is free to view and Issue #01 is online now. If you would like any further information please contact the editorial team at rosetta@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

Police confiscate mummy from Mich. woman

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:31:53 GMT

Lets hope this gets back to Egypt

PORT HURON, Mich. -- Mummified human skeletal remains confiscated from the home of a woman who police say was trying to sell them on eBay likely came from an early 19th century Scottish collection, authorities said.

Police said Friday they have closed their investigation and do not plan to seek criminal charges.

The remains were confiscated Oct. 10 after being spotted on the Internet auction Web site.

A Michigan State University anthropologist determined that remains likely date from the early 19th century and were part of a collection of anatomical specimens from Scottish anatomist Allen Burns, the Times Herald reported.

More @ http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=524943&category=Strange%20News&BCCode=STRANGENEWS&newsdate=11/6/2006

All eyes on Nubia

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:44:30 GMT

Of more than 150 papers that researchers presented at the 11th International Conference of Nubian Studies, the largest group concerned recent studies with special emphasis on current rescue operations in the area of the Fourth Nile Cataract.

Organisers made an effort to bring together papers that would present an overview of the most important archaeological sites under excavation in recent years, those where significant discoveries have recently been made. The conference provided an excellent opportunity to review the achievements made in Nubian studies over the 34 years since the 2nd conference took place in Warsaw in 1972, and conference committee director W Godlewski made particular mention of Nabta Playa, Kerma-Doukki Gel, Naga, Banganarti and Dongola.

More @ http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/818/he1.htm

Sex and booze figured in Egyptian rites

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:21:39 GMT

Today, it sounds like a spring-break splurge on the order of "Girls Gone Wild": Drink huge quantities of beer, get wasted, indulge in gratuitous sex and pass out — then wake up the next morning with the music blaring and your friends praying that everything will turn out all right.

But back in 1470 B.C., this was the agenda for one of ancient Egypt's most raucous rituals, the "festival of drunkenness," which celebrated nothing less than the salvation of humanity. Archaeologists say they have found evidence amid the ruins of a temple in Luxor that the annual rite featured sex, drugs and the ancient equivalent of rock 'n' roll.

More @ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15475319/

Internet Archaeology: Call for Papers

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 20:57:23 GMT

The Editor of Internet Archaeology is actively seeking research
contributions on a variety of themes:
 
	+ Feasts and Festivals
	+ Journeys
	+ The Archaeology of Children
	+ Medicine, Health and Well-being
	+ Animals
 
	http://intarch.ac.uk/call_for_papers.html
 
This call is especially, but not exclusively, aimed at those who have not
yet considered Internet Archaeology to be a potential outlet for their work.
 

Internet Archaeology is the leading international electronic journal for
archaeology available on the web and has no print equivalent. The journal
covers archaeology worldwide and all article forms are welcome. As long as
you've got quality content, then maybe your next publication will be in
Internet Archaeology! 
 
Please see http://intarch.ac.uk/call_for_papers.html for details. 
 
Best wishes,
Judith
 
Judith Winters
Editor, Internet Archaeology
http://intarch.ac.uk

PACE in the UK

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:03:56 GMT

Between 23-28 November Dr Adel Yahya, the Director of the Palestine Association of Cultural Exchange (PACE), will be in the UK.

Dr Yahya is a Palestinian archaeologist who has been documenting the impact of Israel's Annexation Wall on Palestinian culture and archaeology.

He will be giving a number of lectures during these dates

and is available to speak to other groups about the effects that the construction of the Wall is having on archaeology in Palestine.

Further information about his visit and the Wall of Peace campaign is available from www.wallofpeace.org

Information kindly provided by Bill Parry, Organiser, Wall of Peace.

Team helps save Egypt tomb mural

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 20:33:11 GMT

OSAKA (Kyodo) A Japanese research team has successfully removed a mural in an ancient Egyptian tomb at the World Heritage site of Saqqara, using a technique used on Japanese murals, so that preservation work can be done on it, team members said Friday.

A Japanese researcher prepares to remove part of a mural from the underground tomb of Princess Idut at the World Heritage site of Saqqara, Egypt. KYODO PHOTO

The Kansai University team removed the plaster mural from the underground tomb of Princess Idut, which dates back to around 2360 B.C. The mural depicts birds, food and beer in color and has hieroglyphs engraved in it.

In the rare removal of a fragile plaster mural, the team glued rayon paper with resin over parts of the mural to be removed, using a type of seaweed paste to protect them, and carefully separated the plaster from the rock wall with knives.

More @ http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20061028a6.html

Making a difference: help to revise PPG16

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 17:47:53 GMT

This from Dr Mike Heyworth, Director, Council for British Archaeology

In England, PPG16 is the key guiding document which sets out the government's policy on archaeological remains on land and how they should be preserved or recorded both in an urban setting and in the countryside. It gives advice on the handling of archaeological remains and discoveries through the development plan and development control systems, including the weight to be given to them in planning decisions and planning conditions.

You can find a copy of the text online at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1144057

It was published in 1990 and is due for revision. But how should it be revised?

The Archaeology Forum is going to be putting forward suggestions to the Government for revisions which are urgently needed, following up on our conversation with the Culture Minister last year. This is particularly relevant now that it looks as if the much touted new Planning Policy Statement covering the historic environment (bringing together PPGs 15 and 16) may not be on the Government's agenda for some time.

We would welcome all suggestions for specific changes to the current PPG16 text. As an experiment in collaboration, I have uploaded the text of the current PPG16 to an online Writeboard at:

http://123.writeboard.com/567b21b7c03b9bd87 (use the password "archaeology")

(a Writeboard is a web-based text document that people can write, share, revise, and compare. Writeboard is free and doesn't require you to even create an account)

So, please go and have a look at the text and edit in any necessary revisions that you would like to see.

It will be interesting to see if we can work together and reach a consensus on the desired changes....

One note of caution, with apologies to those who don't think we should have a PPG16 or would dispute the philosophy behind much of our current approach, we are really looking for *revisions* to the current PPG, not a complete rewrite starting from a different place!

I look forward to following the collective effort.

Mike

Archaeological treasures a click away on Google Earth

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 20:59:05 GMT

After 25 years of gritty field work, UNC Chapel Hill archaeologist Scott Madry has dug up a new way to hunt for ancient ruins -- without leaving home.

Last year, Madry read how an Italian man accidentally discovered the outline of an ancient Roman villa while looking at his house on Google Earth.

Madry explores how a Celtic people called the Aedui lived in France for about three centuries starting about 300 B.C.

Madry got out his laptop, fired up Google Earth and looked over lands in Burgundy, near his research area. Immediately, he spotted features that, to his trained eye, resembled outlines of Iron Age, Bronze Age, ancient Roman and medieval residences, forts, roads and monuments.

More @ http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/15763952.htm

Germany university to return ancient Egyptian relief

Sun, 28 May 2006 13:47:19 GMT

CAIRO -- The University of Tubingen in Germany has agreed to return to Egypt five fragments of a relief removed in the last century from the Temple of Pharaoh Seti I, culture minister Farouk Hosni said on Thursday.

The fragments, which were cut out of the walls of the 19th dynasty (1307-1196 BC) Pharaoh's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, are to be handed over next month, the minister said in a statement.

The university made its decision "voluntarily" and agreed to return the artifacts "without any conditions", said the head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass.

The fragments are to be restored to their original resting place at the tomb, which is currently closed to the public because of the damage.

More @ http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060526-042233-6796r

A great day for the Valley of the Kings and Egypt, now lets get the rest back !!!

Great Pyramid as Cuckoo Clock? It Might Not Be Crazy

Sun, 28 May 2006 13:23:07 GMT

An article about the guys Dr Zahi wants to keep out of the great pyramid

THEY have been called mystical, awe-inspiring, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. But it is safe to say that in the 45 centuries the great pyramids of Giza have cast their formidable shadow over the desert, they have never before been described as a cuckoo clock.

But that is what Jean-Pierre Houdin said as he lifted his tall lanky body up the steps into the pyramid of Cheops, the largest of the three pyramids high up on the Giza plateau overlooking this teeming, ancient city on the Nile.

More @ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/27/world/africa/27houdin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Tut On-Line

Sat, 20 May 2006 15:15:23 GMT

It was the most famous archaeological find of all time, but still it holds secrets that have yet to be unravelled. Now Oxford scholars are preparing to post the notes, diaries, drawings and photographs from the 1922 excavation of the tomb of King Tutankhamun on the internet in an attempt to study it completely.

More @ http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1774854,00.html

World's first underwater museum opens in Israel

Sat, 06 May 2006 21:40:45 GMT

CAESAREA, Israel -- When most people think of Israel's underwater attractions, their thoughts immediately turn to Eilat: there, you can swim with dolphins, observe the myriad of sea life at the underwater observatory, or dive down to Red Sea coral reefs.

Last week, however, a new attraction welcomed its first visitors, this time on the Mediterranean coast: at the ancient port of Caesarea, roughly 60 kilometers north of Tel Aviv, the world's first underwater museum opened for business.

More @ http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060505-062911-5025r

The Pope & Zahi

Tue, 02 May 2006 08:08:05 GMT

Dr Zahi Hawass makes the Time 100 most influential people list!!

TIME 100: The People Who Shape Our World

He walks briskly toward the television cameras, the perfect image of a modern-day archaeologist—having traded his suit for jeans, blue work shirt and trademark Indiana Jones hat. The confident stride is justified. Zahi Hawass, 58, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, is The Man. He determines who will excavate in Egypt and when and where. Unlike some of his predecessors, he does not keep a low profile. He ranges the world lecturing, making TV appearances and turning out a stream of books and articles.

See more @ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187259,00.html

KV63 again!

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 08:56:59 GMT

Raider of the Lost Tomb
Otto Schaden uncovers a deeply buried treasure in the Valley of the Kings
Feature article in Egypt Today

@ http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6469

UCLA Egyptologists to Launch New E-Encyclopedia

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 08:31:05 GMT

Wendrich and Dieleman will present their plans for the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology April 28 at the annual meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt, an umbrella group for American scholars and archaeologists with ongoing research in Egypt. This year's meeting will be held in Jersey City, N.J.

The UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology's Internet address is http://www.uee.ucla.edu/.

The world's most dangerous archaeological site

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 16:51:32 GMT

A careless step could prove fatal when you inspect the ancient archaeological treasures of Laos.

You must be careful where you walk," says our guide, Lan Phetrasy, as he leads us around the rim of an enormous bomb crater and onto the mysterious Plain of Jars, the world's most dangerous archaeological site.

Ancient Objects found in Egypt

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 20:02:56 GMT

Cairo - The discovery of gold cartouches dating back to 1400 BC sheds new light on the relationship between two ancient Egyptian rulers, Egypt's antiquities department said Friday.

A team of French and Egyptian archaeologists have discovered two sets of nine solid gold cartouches bearing the name of Thotmusis III (who ruled from 1479-1425 BC) near the pharaoh's stepmother Queen Hatshepsut's temple in Luxor, 700km south of Cairo.

More @

http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,6119,2-13-1443_1920639,00.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060421/wl_mideast_afp/egyptarcheology_060421175034

Erich Von Daeniken space park needs down-to-earth sponsor

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 13:44:01 GMT

Great Story

Erich Von Daeniken space park needs down-to-earth sponsor

Long ago, astronauts from outer space visited earth to lay the foundations for human civilisation, controversial Swiss writer Erich von Daeniken has always insisted.

Now, Von Daeniken hopes for a visitor with enough down-to-earth money to save his Mystery Park theme park in Interlaken from financial collapse.

The park, set up by the author of bestsellers such as "Chariots of the Gods" and "The Gods were Astronauts", has failed to attract enough visitors and needs more than $3,08m in cash to stay in business.

The park’s attractions — which showcase giant drawings in the Peruvian desert that may once have been "traffic" signs for visiting spacecraft, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and more — may close forever if it does not find the money.

Mystery Park’s shares have risen sharply in heavy volumes recently as investors speculate about its future and the stock now changes hands well below the levels they stood at before 2004.

The group said today it had asked a court for protection from creditors to win time to propose a restructuring plan to a shareholder meeting in May.

But the company will be declared bankrupt if the plan does not get approved and the days of Mystery Park will be numbered. Unless some higher power intervenes, that is, financially or otherwise.

Egypt Again!

Sun, 09 Apr 2006 21:43:49 GMT

Oldest-Ever Ship Remains Found PORT SAFAGA, EGYPT (AP) - The oldest remains of seafaring ships in the world have been found in man-made caves in the Egyptian desert at the edge of the Red Sea.

Florida State University professor Cheryl Ward said she has determined that wooden planks found in the caves are 4,000 years old - making them the world's most ancient ship timbers.

Shipworms that had tunneled into the planks indicated the ships had weathered a voyage of several months, likely to the fabled southern Red Sea trading center of Punt - a place 1,000 miles to the south - that is referenced in hieroglyphics on empty cargo boxes found in the caves, Ward said.

The ships were built at a shipyard along the Nile, disassembled and taken some 90 miles across the desert to Wadi Gawasis, a lagoon on the Red Sea, where the parts were reassembled and the ships launched, she said.

Along with the timbers and cargo boxes, they found stone anchors, pieces of storage jars and more than 80 coils of rope in the caves at the Wadi Gawasis site, which is a few miles south of the city of Port Safaga.