Edition - December, 2013
Egyptologically Speaking: Dr. Christine Lilyquist
Following a PhD at New York University where she specialised in the art history and archaeology of Egypt and the Near East, Christine Lilyquist spent 38 years of her career as an Egyptologist with the Metropolitan Museum of New York. [more…]
Book Review: Ancient Egypt Investigated. 101 Important Questions and Intriguing Answers
At first glance, this is a curious concept and is distinctive, when compared to other popular titles, due to its unusual premise – that ancient Egypt can be explored by asking questions rather than via chronological narrative or thematic chapters. The questions that Schneider asks are intended, the fly-leaf explains, to assist in the author’s attempts to move away from the familiar ideas perpetuated by coffee table books, art exhibitions and spectacular discoveries, towards a more modern view of Egypt that dispels “myths and inaccuracies.” [more…]
Edition - November, 2013
Overview of the BBC’s “Egypt – The Search for Tutankhamun”
By Andrea Byrnes and Dylan Bickerstaffe. Published on In Brief, 14th November 2013. Egypt: Series 1 – 1. The Search for Tutankhamun Part 1 of a six-part series by the BBC Director – Ferdinand Fairfax Executive Producer – Phil Dolling Series Producer – Paul Bradshaw Writer – Tony Mulholland Narrator – Andrew Sachs Described as […] [more…]
By Andrea Byrnes and Dylan Bickerstaffe
TV Write-up: Secret History – Tutankhamun, The Mystery of the Burnt Mummy
By Andrea Byrnes. Published on Egyptological, In Brief. 10th November 2013 Secret History: Tutankhamun. The Mystery of the Burnt Mummy 10th November 2013, Channel 4, 20:00 Presenter: Chris Naunton Director: Sean Smith Executive Producer: Justine Kershaw When I saw all the newspaper reports about this show, my heart sank. You can have enough […] [more…]
TV Write-up: Unreported World – Egypt’s Tomb Raiders
By Andrea Byrnes. Published on Egyptological, In Brief. 8th November 2013 November 8th 2013, Channel 4, 7.30pm Reporter: Aidan Hartley Director: Alex Nott Series Editor: Suzanne Lavery This evening on English television Channel 4 aired “Egypt’s Tomb Raiders” in their Unreported World series. The programme focuses on the plundering of Egypt’s heritage since the […] [more…]
Egyptologically Speaking: Dr Maria Nilsson on Gebel el Silsila
In the beginning: I discovered Gebel el Silsila by accident one could say. Back in 2007, when still a doctoral student, I visited Egypt to study relief scenes depicting Queen Arsinoë II. At the time the convoy system was still in use for those who wished to travel by car. Visitors were permitted just an hour in each temple before being rushed off to the next. So John (Dr. John Ward) and I travelled from Aswan to Edfu in a felucca instead, which allowed us the time we required in each temple. As we sailed up the Nile our captain informed us that a Pharaonic site was coming up and asked us if we wished to stop there to have a look. My first thought was that stopping there would mean a delay in an already tight schedule. But then again who was I to say “no” to a site embedded in the most gorgeous setting with cenotaphs and stelae casting their reflections on the Nile? Of course we agreed to go ashore! [more…]
Edition - April, 2013
The goddess Neith in the Early Dynastic period
The goddess Neith was one of Egypt’s oldest deities, very well documented from the Early Dynastic period, when Egypt was first brought together as a unified country. She is very familiar from later periods, particularly in the New Kingdom and Third Intermediate periods (figure 1). Over the millennia she was endowed with numerous attributes: a creation goddess, a sky goddess, a protector of the king (with Isis, Nephthy and Serket), protector of one of the Four Sons of Horus, the mother of Sobek, and the consort of Seth, occasionally associated with snake, cow and pig. So where did this great deity come from? The earliest evidence to allow the formation of a coherent picture is Early Dynastic. [more…]
Edition - December, 2012
Discussion: King Apophis and Hippos?
I’ve been tearing through every book I have, pouring over websites, and I can’t seem to find a satisfactory explaination as to the meaning of King Apophis’ message to Pharaoh Seqenenre, wherein Apophis complains about the noise of the hippos in a canal in east Thebes. It has been suggested that the hippos are metaphorical, […] [more…]
Egyptians – The Inventors of Modern Mathematics?
Published in Egyptological In Brief, November 2012. By Kate Phizackerley Those who know me will be unsurprised that when I reveal I have been intending to write something about Egyptian mathematics for some time. Barbara O’Neill kindly sent me a link to an open learning section on the Open University website, drawing on material prepared […] [more…]
Edition - November, 2012
TV Review of “Find My Past: Tutankhamun”
The two main themes of the show Find My Past: Tutankhamun are the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), and the curiosity of descendents of three of the individuals who attended the opening of the tomb about their ancestors. [more…]