October has come and gone and it’s time to review our checklist of things Dr. Zahi Hawass had “promised, hinted, and suggested” would occur during—if not before—last month. So how did he do?
It is kind of hard to say someone had a bad month when they successfully reclaimed five artifacts from the Louvre and were appointed Vice Minister of Culture. So call me a taskmaster, but those two things were not on the list…
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Tags: Alexandria, Ankhesenamun, Bust of Nefertiti, Carter House, Cleopatra VII, Forensic Mummy Studies, Genetic Mapping, Howard Carter, KV64, Louvre, Ludwig Borchardt, Queen Tiye, Ramesses VIII, Repatriation, Tetaki, Tombs of the Nobles, TT15, Tutankhamun, Zahi Hawass
We have a status report on the effort to repatriate Nefertiti, thanks to an interview with Dr. Zahi Hawass published in Spiegel Online International this morning. The prognosis looks dim. In fact, the goal seems to have moved somewhat. When asked if he really wanted to remove Nefertiti from her new home, Dr. Hawass replied “Not by any means.”
What could this portent for our October Checklist? With eleven days to go, maybe it’s time we reviewed.
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Tags: Bust of Nefertiti, Cleopatra VII, Forensic Mummy Studies, Genetic Mapping, Kathleen Martinez, KV64, Ludwig Borchardt, Tutankhamun, Zahi Hawass
The University of Zurich’s Swiss Mummy Project, headed by anatomist and paleopathologist Dr. Frank Ruhli , has succeeded in mummifying a human leg. Well, two legs, actually. Ok, to be honest, the test subject didn’t go so well, so I guess it was one leg after all.
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Tags: Bob Brier, Forensic Mummy Studies, Frank Ruhli, Genetic Mapping, Mummification, Natron, Ronald Wade, Swiss Mummy Project, Tutankhamun, Zahi Hawass
October just got busier for Egypt’s prize fighter, Zahi Hawass, as another contender steps forward. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has taken up the cause of one of his subordinates at the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), charging Hawass with using his position to muzzle dissenting opinions.
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Tags: Ahmed Saleh, Forensic Mummy Studies, Mummies, Ramesses I, Supreme Council of Antiquities, Tutankhamun, Zahi Hawass
For obvious reasons, the primary source for what is going on in Egyptology is the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and the voice of the SCA is Dr. Zahi Hawass. Some exciting things have been promised (or at least dangled before us!) for the 2009/10 excavation season, but not everything on the radar is being dug out of the ground. There are mummy forensic studies, DNA tests, and the repatriation of artifacts, all of which play a role in Egyptology.
Dr. Hawass has promised, hinted, and suggested that October 2009 is going to be a particularly active month. Just for fun, let’s make a checklist…
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Tags: Altes Museum, Bust of Nefertiti, Forensic Mummy Studies, Genetic Mapping, KV64, Repatriation, Tombs, Tutankhamun, Zahi Hawass
For weeks now you have been reading here at Em Hotep! about the genetic testing done on two fetuses found in the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter in 1922, and the implications this may have for the genetic mapping of the Eighteenth Dynasty.
“And they’re about to become newsworthy,” Hawass’ spokesperson, Jill Lynch, told The Sacramento Bee today, “This fall, Dr. Zahi Hawass is going to announce the results of a DNA study that will determine the parenthood of the two fetuses…”
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Tags: Ankhesenamun, Forensic Mummy Studies, Genetic Mapping, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Zahi Hawass
Ancient Egyptian medicinal practices, excavations in Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, book reviews, and your weekly dose of forensic mummy studies…
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Tags: Andrew Collins, Forensic Mummy Studies, Great Sphinx, Karnak Temple, Luxor, Magic, Medical Practices, Sandro Vannini, Tutankhamun, Valley of the Kings, Zahi Hawass
It has been nearly a month now since Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced that in one month he would reveal “the exact reason why King Tut died.”
The title of the lecture was Mysteries of Tutankhamun Revealed. I was in attendance, and among the most exciting revelations were promises to reveal more revelations in the very near future.
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Tags: Forensic Mummy Studies, Genetic Mapping, Howard Carter, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu's Pyramid, Supreme Council of Antiquities, The Great Pyramid, Tutankhamun, Tutankhamun Exhibition, Zahi Hawass
Kate Phizackerley of News from the Valley of the Kings has raised a few questions of her own regarding DNA Testing Limitations. It is the most accessible treatment of the subject that I have seen so far, and if you really want to have a thorough understanding of this very interesting story as it unfolds, you owe it to yourself to give it a read.
Tags: Eighteenth Dynasty, Forensic Mummy Studies, Genetic Mapping
Care for a peek inside the mysteries of mumification?
Swiss mummy makers have sent a human leg into the afterlife, but it hasn’t exactly gone like clockwork. Plus, will their analysis of the degrading effects of mummi-fication on DNA prove more bitter than sweet for the genetic mapping of Tutankhamun’s family?
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Tags: Forensic Mummy Studies, Genetic Mapping, Mummies, Mummification, Swiss Mummy Project, Tutankhamun
If I were a stockbroker and Nefertiti was a commodity, I would be advising my clients to buy. Dr. Zahi Hawass’ last year with the Supreme Council of Antiquities promises to be an interesting one, with robots crawling the Great Pyramid, mummies in CT scanners, and rumors of KV64.
But somehow Nefertiti seems to keep slipping back into the story.
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Tags: Altes Museum, Ankhesenamun, Bust of Nefertiti, Eighteenth Dynasty, Forensic Mummy Studies, Internal Ramp, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu's Pyramid, KV64, Mummies, Mutnodjmet, Nefertiti, New Kingdom, Repatriation, Secret Doors, Supreme Council of Antiquities, The Great Pyramid, Tutankhamun, Zahi Hawass
King Tut’s ET jewelry, News from the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Ramesses II in the Quran, Seti I, more mummy forensics, museum coming attractions…
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Tags: Arkansas Art Center, Church of St. Mary, Cincinnati Museum Center, Coptic Cairo, Forensic Mummy Studies, Hanging Church, Islamic Egypt, Islamic History, Khufu's Pyramid, Louvre, Mummies, Qurna Temple, Ramesses II, Seti I, Supreme Council of Antiquities, The British Museum, The Great Pyramid, Tutankhamun
It’s 4 am, do you know where your mummy is?
Zahi Hawass is ready to do his next mummy DNA study, this time on Queen Mutnodjmet. Unfortunately, Her Majesty is MIA. This is actually a pretty big deal because as the DNA study of the Eighteenth Dynasty continues cross referencing may prove that Mutnodjmet and Nefertiti are actually sisters.
I blog about this under my daytime name, Keith Payne, over at Heritage Key. Check out Queen Mutnodjmet: Another Branch in Tutankhamun’s Genetic Line Found (and Lost)?
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Tags: Egyptian Tombs, Eighteenth Dynasty, Forensic Mummy Studies, Horemheb, Mummies, Mutnodjmet, Nefertiti, Zahi Hawass
More than two thousand Egyptophiliacs lined up outside Clowes Memorial Hall for what Director of Operations Karen Steele informed me was a sold-out house.
It would not be too much of an exaggeration to say the event had the feel of a rock concert. We were there to see a star. What secrets would he reveal tonight? What announcements would he make?
Shemsu scoops the news for Heritage Key.
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Tags: Archaeology, Egyptian Tombs, Eighteenth Dynasty, Forensic Mummy Studies, Giza Plateau, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Children's Museum, Khufu's Pyramid, Mummies, Nefertiti, Osiris Shaft, Queen Tiye, Secret Doors, Valley of the Kings, Zahi Hawass
