Edition - May, 2012
TV Review: The Pharaoh Who Conquered the Sea
The Pharaoh Who Conquered the Sea follows the activities of Cheryl Ward who decided that the only way to determine whether or not Hatshepsut’s expedition to Punt in the New Kingdom was a technically viable proposition was to recreate one of the ships shown on the walls at her funerary temple and test it on the Red Sea. [more…]
By Andrea Byrnes and Kate Gingell
Egyptologically Speaking: An Interview with Professor Salima Ikram
I have long been an admirer of Salima Ikram, even though as a modern (sentimental) pet lover, I struggle with the insights she provides into the sometimes gruesome details of animal cults in ancient Egypt. Anyone who has watched Professor Ikram’s many television appearances; heard her speak on animal mummification or read any of her many publications, cannot fail to be impressed at both her erudition and her easily accessible style of communication as she sets out her no-nonsense, non-sentimental account of the complex relationship between ancient Egyptians and the wide range of animals they worshipped, hunted, ate or preserved for eternity. [more…]
Edition - April, 2012
Book Review: Egyptian Myth – A Very Short Introduction
Williams reviews Egyptian Myth – A Very Short Introduction by Geraldin Pinch. Pinch has a formidable task. In 125 pages, Pinch outlines the framework within which Egyptian myths are contextualised before outlining the mythology itself. Such a brief book could have been facile but instead Williams is impressed by Pinch’s achievement. He explains why. [more…]
Book Review: Guide to the Valley of the Kings by Alberto Siliotti
By Kate Phizackerley, Published on Egyptological, Magazine Reviews, Edition 5, April 3rd 2012. Guide to the Valley of the Kings Author: Alberto Siliotti First published: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, London, 1996 (USA, Barnes and Noble 1997) Edition reviewed: 4th Edition (1999) ISBN-10: 076070483X ISBN-13: 978-0760704837 168 pages (hardcover) Introduction There are glossy coffee table picture books […] [more…]
Comparative Book Review: The Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb and Tutankhamun’s Tomb: the Thrill of Discovery
Kate Phizackerley compares and contrasts two books: The Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb (1976) and Tutankhamun’s Tomb: the Thrill of Discovery (2006), both published by the Metropolitan Musuem of Art and both showcasing Harry Burton’s photographs of Tutankhamun’s tomb. She identifies that both have particular strengths and weaknesses. [more…]
Book Review: The Oases. Egypt Pocket Guide.
The Oases is one in an excellent range of pocket guides to various parts and periods of Egypt. They are all characterized by beautiful photographs, excellent maps, site plans and illustrations and informative text that guides the traveler through the temporal, geographical and cultural space under discussion. [more…]
Edition - March, 2012
Lecture Overview: ‘Massive, Complex, Beautiful, Hidden’ by Chris Naunton
With fellow member of Sussex Egyptology Society, Amena, we made it to Chris Naunton’s talk to the Sussex Archaeology Society at the University of Sussex in Brighton on 15th March 2012 . Once inside the venue, we found a superb lecture theatre with a welcoming and enthusiastic audience. Chris called his illustrated talk Massive, Complex, Beautiful, Hidden. His title described TT37, the Tomb of Harwa at South Asasif, Western Thebes where Chris has been involved over 4 seasons. [more…]
Documentary Overview: The Vanished Capital of the Pharaoh
By Andrea Byrnes, published on In Brief, Egyptological, 18th March 2012 The Vanished Capital of the Pharaoh (In the series ‘Lost Cities of the Ancients’) BBC4, March 15th 2012. 2000-2100. Narrator, Mark Halliley, Series Producer, Dan Clifton Writer, Mark Everest Featuring Manfred Bietak, Edgar Pusch, Aidan Dodson Introduction Figure 1. Map of the […] [more…]
Edition - February, 2012
Gantenbrink’s Door – Part II, the Second Robot Mission
The first part of this series tells how, in the early 1990s, modern science revealed the existence of something at the far end of the small shaft heading upwards and outwards from the north and south walls for the Queen’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid. These shafts had attracted little attention since the 19th century. Gantenbrink’s discovery, and explosive pictures, of a door at the end of the southern shaft changed the game. [more…]
Consulting the Oracle
The word oracle derives from the Latin verb orare, to speak. Oracles were common to a number of cultures and are particularly associated with Classical Greece, where oracles were usually living individuals, male or female. In Egypt the oracle was a statue, usually hidden in the centre of the god’s temple, but taken out into the streets on procession during festivals for the public to consult. In either form the purpose of an oracle was to channel the messages of god, giving answers to specific questions. [more…]