The Zahi Hawass Fan Club (& General Egypt Discussion)

[timhau]

Pics posted in a separate thread. More to come once I sort out my Luxor pics.

[Orphia Nay]

Juicy new story on Zahi's blog for skeptics!

http://www.drhawass.com/blog/radar-s...new%3F+Feed%29

Quote:

Radar Survey at the Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx at Giza is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. Perhaps this is one reason why it has attracted so much attention from both scholarly and non-scholarly researchers. Many people have always tried to find mysteries surrounding the Sphinx.

Last year, we drilled several holes around the Sphinx in order to measure the level of the groundwater, and we sent cameras down into the drill holes. One went underneath the left paw of the Sphinx, 80 feet under and through to the other side, and the camera saw nothing there. We showed to everyone that there is nothing underneath the Sphinx, certainly no lost civilization hidden there.

[...]

There are four large boxes around the Great Sphinx, two on each of the north and south sides, that are joined to the side of the Sphinx, and many people have been trying to find a mystery connected to them.

[...]

Recently, we conducted a radar survey of one of the boxes in order to see what was really there. The box behind the left rear paw of the Sphinx is the only one that remains fully intact from antiquity, so we chose to use radar to examine the top and sides of this box. The radar showed that the boxes are made of solid rock, with nothing hidden inside.

[...]

Ha! Don't say Zahi never does anything for you, woo-woos!

[Audible Click]

Here is an interesting new find.

A bejeweled mummy dressed in Roman robes has emerged from the sands of Egypt's Bahariya Oasis, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said Monday.

Entombed in a decorated gypsum sarcophagus, the 38-inch tall mummy belonged to a woman or girl who died in the Greco-Roman period about 2,300 years ago.

http://news.discovery.com/archaeolog...ypt-oasis.html

I think the picture is fascinating, the sarcophagus is very different from what we normally see.

[Orphia Nay]

Originally Posted by Audible Click

Here is an interesting new find.

A bejeweled mummy dressed in Roman robes has emerged from the sands of Egypt's Bahariya Oasis, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said Monday.

Entombed in a decorated gypsum sarcophagus, the 38-inch tall mummy belonged to a woman or girl who died in the Greco-Roman period about 2,300 years ago.

http://news.discovery.com/archaeolog...ypt-oasis.html

I think the picture is fascinating, the sarcophagus is very different from what we normally see.

Thanks for that, Audible Click. No, I don't think I've ever seen a sarcophagus like that before. Very interesting.

[Akhenaten]

Originally Posted by Audible Click

Here is an interesting new find.

<reckon!>

Great find, AC. Things from the Greco-Roman period of Ancient Egypt are often overlooked in favour of the older things, but this is a wonderful disvovery and I'm really looking forward to them finding some amazing things at Bahariya.

That sarcophagus is a beautiful piece, and while I've not seen its like before, the first thing it reminded me of was Alexandria, one of my favourite bits of Egypt.

More! More!



In another story, also from news.discovery.com, comes this amazing revelation:

Quote:

A toe belonging to King Tutankhamun’s father has been finally returned to Egypt, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said on Wednesday.

The bone piece belonged to mummy KV55, which was identified as Akhenaton during a recent major genetic investigation into King Tut's family.

Linkh


Zahi and genetic testing notwithstanding, I reckon it's a fake.

I have disputable evidence from a peccable source:

Photo: Probably not from Howard Carter's private collection.

[Audible Click]

[Akhenaten]

.

Foreign types with the hookah pipes say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like an Egyptian . . .

[Checkmite]

The figure on the sarcophagus is still holding a knot!

It's fascinating how the Romans who lived in Egypt were happy to adopt Egyptian ways of life and customs, but expressed these in their own Roman art forms.

For instance, check out this Roman-period statue of Anubis, currently residing in the Vatican Museum:

[Audible Click]

Anubis in a toga, interesting.

[Akhenaten]

Akhenaten approves of toga parties.

[Cleon]

TO-GA! TO-GA! TO-GA!

(Sorry, it was kind of required.)

[Akhenaten]

Absolutely.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

[Audible Click]

Originally Posted by Akhenaten

Absolutely.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

http://forums.randi.org/imagehosting...bb91e6c88e.gif

This article has some gorgeous pictures of the tomb of Ken-Amun, a royal scribe. The article describes the beautifully decorated tomb and Dr. Hawass states that 35 other Roman-period tombs have been uncovered nearby.

http://news.discovery.com/archaeolog...-in-egypt.html

[Checkmite]

Originally Posted by Audible Click

Anubis in a toga, interesting.

Interesting indeed; however, I must confess that - through no fault of the toga, mind - the Romans seem to have wussified Anubis in some indefinable but readily apparent way. The Middle Egyptian Anubis, with its creepy eyes, jet black skin, and high pointed ears, looked mysterious and vaguely malevolent, if not nightmarish. A figure worthy of leading the dead into the afterlife. The Romans with their minute attention to lifelike detail - a thing which serves their art so well so much of the time - manages in this case to make a "man with a dog's head" seem like nothing really special.

[Audible Click]

Originally Posted by Checkmite

Interesting indeed; however, I must confess that - through no fault of the toga, mind - the Romans seem to have wussified Anubis in some indefinable but readily apparent way. The Middle Egyptian Anubis, with its creepy eyes, jet black skin, and high pointed ears, looked mysterious and vaguely malevolent, if not nightmarish. A figure worthy of leading the dead into the afterlife. The Romans with their minute attention to lifelike detail - a thing which serves their art so well so much of the time - manages in this case to make a "man with a dog's head" seem like nothing really special.

Your post made me go back and really look at that picture and you're right. Anubis' face has that adoring, sweet, dog look. He's definitely not the stuff of nightmares in that particular statue. I do wonder if carving his face in that manner was because the Romans preferred to think of him as a bit less intimidating than the Egyptians did.

[Akhenaten]

Originally Posted by Audible Click

Your post made me go back and really look at that picture and you're right. Anubis' face has that adoring, sweet, dog look. He's definitely not the stuff of nightmares in that particular statue. I do wonder if carving his face in that manner was because the Romans preferred to think of him as a bit less intimidating than the Egyptians did.

Like this, you mean?

[Cleon]

Originally Posted by Audible Click

Your post made me go back and really look at that picture and you're right. Anubis' face has that adoring, sweet, dog look. He's definitely not the stuff of nightmares in that particular statue. I do wonder if carving his face in that manner was because the Romans preferred to think of him as a bit less intimidating than the Egyptians did.

Yeah, I kind of want to scritch him behind the ears. He looks a bit like Scooby Doo.

"Anubeedubeedoo!!!"

[Akhenaten]

Originally Posted by Cleon

Yeah, I kind of want to scritch him behind the ears. He looks a bit like Scooby Doo.

"Anubeedubeedoo!!!"

Nomen-atened

[Cleon]

*bow* Thankye, Pharoah.

[timhau]

Scratch him behind the ears, and you'll be going to the underworld in an express package but without your hands.

[Orphia Nay]

Originally Posted by Cleon

Yeah, I kind of want to scritch him behind the ears. He looks a bit like Scooby Doo.

"Anubeedubeedoo!!!"

Originally Posted by timhau

http://www.alicia-logic.com/capsimag...myOfAnubis.jpg

Scratch him behind the ears, and you'll be going to the underworld in an express package but without your hands.

Eeeek! The Pharoah's pic was bad enough, but that's enough to give even a skeptic nightmares!

[Audible Click]

Originally Posted by orphia nay

Eeeek! The Pharoah's pic was bad enough, but that's enough to give even a skeptic nightmares!

He's got some nice abs, though.

[Orphia Nay]

http://www.drhawass.com/photoblog/za...mummy-king-tut

Quote:

When I travelled to New York last week to open the King Tut exhibit, I was very impressed by the replica mummy of Tutankhamun.

[...]

This photo shows myself and my dear friend Andy Numhauser, who is the senior Vice President of the Arts and Exhibitions company that helped create the exhibit. Here we are discussing this incredible replica mummy. We decided that after the exhibit is over, we will take this replica and display it in the Akhenaten Museum that we have finished building in Minya, near the ancient site of Tell el-Amarna. Inside the museum, we will have one room dedicated to the family of Akhenaten and show the family relationships.

An Akhenaten Museum! Cool!

[Audible Click]

The Pharaoh will be pleased.

[Akhenaten]

Originally Posted by orphia nay

An Akhenaten Museum! Cool!

Originally Posted by Audible Click

The Pharaoh will be pleased.

I'm not dead yet!!!

Originally Posted by Zahi Hawass

Akhenaten is remembered as the world’s first monotheist. He and his beautiful wife Nefertiti abandoned the pantheon previously worshiped by Egyptians in favor of the disk of the sun, the Aten, closed the great state temples and moved the ceremonial capital of the country from Thebes in southern Egypt to the remote Middle Egyptian site now known as El-Amarna.

It was supposed to be atheism but those damned Osirists were giving away steak knives so I had to come up with a gimmick.

Quote:

The end of Akhenaten’s life is shrouded in mystery, but either immediately or within a few years after his death, Tutankhamun had taken the throne. By the second year of his reign, he had begun to move the court back to the traditional religious capital of Thebes and reinstate the old religion.

Bolded by Eye, the Fan Bearer on the Right of the King


Mwahahahahaha!

Originally Posted by Scurrilous Gossip

Another important result from the DNA analysis is that the 'Younger Lady' from KV 35 has been positively identified as Tutankhamun’s mother. The project is not yet able to identify her by name, although the DNA studies also show that she was the daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye and thus Akhenaten’s full sister. Thus Tutankhamun’s only grandparents, on both his paternal and maternal sides, were Amenhotep III and Tiye.

Umm . . .

Above quotes are from this Press Release by Dr Hawass

[Checkmite]

Quote:

Akhenaten is remembered as the world’s first monotheist. He and his beautiful wife Nefertiti abandoned the pantheon previously worshiped by Egyptians in favor of the disk of the sun, the Aten, closed the great state temples and moved the ceremonial capital of the country from Thebes in southern Egypt to the remote Middle Egyptian site now known as El-Amarna.

See, this quote demonstrates what a tactful and polite fellow Dr. Hawass can be. A lesser-skilled diplomat would've referred to Akhenaten as "that damn hippie".

[chopendoz]

I am a newcomer to the forum and have read most of the posts on this subject with some interest. It seems to me that Mr Hawass operates from a position of self interest. As an important member of the Egyptian government, he must above all, protect the tourist trade and the dollar/yen/euro/ whatever, that is generated each year. It is in his best interests to promote the ancient Egyptian culture and the textbook version of the building of the pyramids. At the same time he must repudiate any claims that someone else, other than Egyptians, were involved. So much so, he has in the past refused research that may be contrary to the accepted ‘truth’. If some foreign researchers wanted to dig/drill/X-ray in the Great Pyramid (for example) and the result may prove the textbooks to be wrong, would Mr Hawass give his permission? If it were proved that the ancient Egyptians were only the labour force involved in the building of the Great Pyramid, and not the architects, wouldn’t that reflect badly on the ‘experts’ ? It seems to me that Mr Hawass is fighting a losing battle as it is only a matter of time before the text books are proved wrong. Lets face it, what the experts actually ‘know’ is very little. Most of the story is conjecture, inspired guesswork and impossible to verify. Our culture is such that we still argue about who killed Kennedy nearly 40 years ago (within living memory) - and are unable to prove a thing, but we ‘know’ all about people and events of 5,000 years ago.

[Orphia Nay]

Originally Posted by chopendoz

I am a newcomer to the forum and have read most of the posts on this subject with some interest. It seems to me that Mr Hawass operates from a position of self interest. As an important member of the Egyptian government, he must above all, protect the tourist trade and the dollar/yen/euro/ whatever, that is generated each year. It is in his best interests to promote the ancient Egyptian culture and the textbook version of the building of the pyramids. At the same time he must repudiate any claims that someone else, other than Egyptians, were involved. So much so, he has in the past refused research that may be contrary to the accepted ‘truth’. If some foreign researchers wanted to dig/drill/X-ray in the Great Pyramid (for example) and the result may prove the textbooks to be wrong, would Mr Hawass give his permission? If it were proved that the ancient Egyptians were only the labour force involved in the building of the Great Pyramid, and not the architects, wouldn’t that reflect badly on the ‘experts’ ? It seems to me that Mr Hawass is fighting a losing battle as it is only a matter of time before the text books are proved wrong. Lets face it, what the experts actually ‘know’ is very little. Most of the story is conjecture, inspired guesswork and impossible to verify. Our culture is such that we still argue about who killed Kennedy nearly 40 years ago (within living memory) - and are unable to prove a thing, but we ‘know’ all about people and events of 5,000 years ago.

Welcome to the forum!

If the pyramids were built by aliens (for example), and there was proof, the revenue raised in Egypt would be incredible! Zahi would be a star of intergalactic proportions, not just global!

The "textbooks" you speak of come from hundreds of years of field work, excavation, lab work, research and cross-referencing. They were not pulled out of some delusional, money-grubbing *fantasist's nether regions.

Sadly, the idea of aliens in Egypt, or a lost civilisation aka *Hancock etc, is all conjecture.

Oh, and for your enlightenment: Kennedy Assasination Home Page

[Orphia Nay]

From Zahi's site today:

http://www.drhawass.com/blog/receivi...new%3F+Feed%29

"In the Great Pyramid of Khufu, we are using robots to explore the mysterious shafts that lead from the Queen’s Chamber into the pyramid. They are blocked by stone slabs, and soon we will know what lies beyond. Are there still hidden treasures inside Egypt’s most famous monument? We look forward to finding out."

[Akhenaten]

Originally Posted by chopendoz

I am a newcomer to the forum and have read most of the posts on this subject with some interest.

<snhip>

Some interest in what, I have to wonder.

[Audible Click]

Welcome to the forum. You're funny.

[MG1962]

Originally Posted by Orphia Nay

From Zahi's site today:

http://www.drhawass.com/blog/receivi...new%3F+Feed%29

"In the Great Pyramid of Khufu, we are using robots to explore the mysterious shafts that lead from the Queen’s Chamber into the pyramid. They are blocked by stone slabs, and soon we will know what lies beyond. Are there still hidden treasures inside Egypt’s most famous monument? We look forward to finding out."

That story kills me - a while ago they drilled through one of the slabs to see what was on the other side. Found another stone slab blocking the shaft

If nothing else, pyramid builders were predictable lol

[Orphia Nay]

Originally Posted by MG1962

That story kills me - a while ago they drilled through one of the slabs to see what was on the other side. Found another stone slab blocking the shaft

If nothing else, pyramid builders were predictable lol

Here's Zahi's page on the robot exploration:

http://www.drhawass.com/events/myste...reat-pyramid-0

[Helen]

I don't know why people need to make up things about the pyramids, I just don't understand why, when the facts are so utterly fascinating on their own!

[Akhenaten]

Geeze mate, don't stop at the Pyramids. I think that about most woo beliefs.

It seems to me that those of us who see the wonder in reality - be it in the distant stars, in the natural world, or in the rich heritage of our own past - have much more imagination than the believers in simplistic and often childlike fantasies.

[MG1962]

Originally Posted by Orphia Nay

Here's Zahi's page on the robot exploration:

http://www.drhawass.com/events/myste...reat-pyramid-0

I'm fascinated by hs observation that one of these shafts from the Queens chamber might lead to a secret burial chamber somewhere inside the structure

[MG1962]

Originally Posted by Helen

I don't know why people need to make up things about the pyramids, I just don't understand why, when the facts are so utterly fascinating on their own!

Because to admit the reality of these, and many other structures around the world is to admit these people were smart. Some modern people just cant do that.

They dont realise that if we have ever stacked two bricks on top of each other, nailed a few bits of wood together, we have a direct connection to people 5000 years ago

I would love to visit the pyramids, not to explore there mystical purpose, there intended use, there reason for being. I simply would love touch one of those stones and say "Good job guys" Because regardless of what we think of the pyramids. The reality is they stand today simply because of the blood sweat and skills of people just like you and me.

I find that concept insanely cool

[ShadowSot]

The most impressive find to me was finding that pyramids were definitely built by workers, and not slave labor.

Changed my view on the pyramids, and the Egyptians in general.

I have to say, as impressive as the pyramids are, the Egyptians created buildings that in terms of architecture and design, weee a bit more impressive than the Pyramids.

[Trantor]

In my opinion, Zahi Hawass is to Egyptology, what Carl Sagan was to Astronomy. He has a kid-like fascination with discovery and loves to teach people. He is an excellent communicator, and loves his work. Sometimes when I see Hawass speaking on a show, I am reminded of Sagan. Sagan was a bit of a showman as well, and he loved spreading the amazing discoveries in Astronomy, and science in general, to the world.

[Audible Click]

This is a fascinating article about a cache of Tutankhamun artifacts found in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here are some details:

THE GIST:
An exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art reveals leftover bandages from King Tut's funeral.

The mummy was wrapped in custom-made bandages, similar to modern first aid gauzes.

The bandages on display at the museum are actually the best-preserved lot of Tutankhamun wrappings.

The article with pictures:

http://news.discovery.com/archaeolog...ification.html