Temple Images Show Pharaohs and Gods

Here are two photos released this week related to the significant discovery in the Sinai peninsula of four ancient Egyptian temples. Archaeologists believe the four and a brick fortified wall were a religious center at the eastern gateway to Egypt around 1500 BC.

The top photo shows Pharaonic King Tuthmosis II (left) in front of the god Raa Hoor Akhti carved on a wall at one of the temples. The lower photo shows Pharaonic King Ramses II (right) and Geb, god of earth, carved on a wall at another one of the temples.

Click here for my previous post, based on a Reuters article.
Click here for the Associated Press article.

Tomb May Have Held Ramses' Granddaughter

Remnants of the noblewoman's sarcaphagus displays hieroglyphics.

A 3,000-year-old tomb uncovered recently has been identified as belonging to a woman named Isisnofret, possibly the granddaughter of Pharaoh Ramses II, who reigned during the 13th century B.C.

The tomb was found in a burial complex long buried by sand and rubble on a rocky outcrop on the outskirts the ancient royal burial city of Saqqara. The complex includes the base of a pyramid, a monumental gateway, a colonnaded courtyard, and an antechamber with three cult chapels.

Though Isisnofret's chapels are in ruins, partly due to looting, archaeologists have found fragments decorated with hieroglyphics. In general, cult chapels were painted with scenes of daily life and offerings—in case the family failed to provide the real thing.

Inside Isisnofret's tomb building, a limestone sarcophagus was found holding three skeletons—degraded mummies whose ages and sexes have yet to be determined.

Archaeologists at the site are unsure why the sarcophagus holds three bodies, or even what the original state was. The sarcophagus is missing its internal, wooden coffin—perhaps stolen during the ancient pillaging that seems to have stripped the tomb of funerary objects.

Click here for the complete article.

Egypt Seeks Return of Pharaoh's Stolen Coffin

Egypt expects U.S. authorities to return a 3,000-year-old wooden coffin illegally smuggled out of Egypt more than a century ago. Zahi Hawass, head of Egyptian Antiquities, said the nearly 5-foot-long coffin was stolen in 1884 from a tomb in Luxor, an ancient pharaonic capital in southern Egypt.

The ornamented coffin belonged to Pharaoh Ames of the 21st Dynasty, which ruled over Egypt from 1081-931 B.C.

According to the Associated Press, the coffin is currently in the hands of customs authorities in Miami, who confiscated it after it was shipped to the United States from Spain. Egypt has launched a drive to recover its antiquities taken abroad, including some residing in famous museums.

Statues of Amenhotep III are Unearthed

Egyptian and European archaeologists have discovered two statues of King Amenhotep III, who ruled Egypt 3,400 years ago, the Supreme Council for Antiquities said yesterday. Chief Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawaas said the first statute was made of black granite, while the second depicts the king in the shape of a Sphinx.

Amenhotep III presided over an era that saw a renaissance in Egyptian art, according to the Reuters report. His son, Akhenaten, was the sun-worshipping pharaoh credited with starting the world's first known monotheistic religion.