The Children’s Museum, which just bid farewell to the Tutankhamun:  The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs travelling exhibit last week, has a special relationship with Egypt so it should come as no surprise that they would continue to deliver Egypt to the region, an easy drive from the Louisville and Kentuckiana area.

The tomb of Seti I (KV17) is the largest tomb discovered in the Valley of the Kings to date.  The tomb was discovered in 1817 by Giovanni Battista Belzoni and was originally believed to be about 328 feet long.  More recent excavations have shown the tomb to be at least 446 feet long, and there is reason to believe that more remains to be discovered.  The tomb of Seti I is one of the most exciting digs currently underway in Egypt.

The tomb of Seti I (KV17) is the largest discovered in the Valley of the Kings to date (Photo by Jean-Pierre Dalbera)

Painted hieroglyphs in bas-relief from the wall of KV17 (Photo by Jon Bodsworth)

In addition to being the largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings, KV17 is also one of the most richly decorated.  Every wall of every passageway and room is adorned with intricate raised reliefs and vividly colored hieroglyphs and paintings.  The second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty, and father of Ramesses the Great, Seti I ruled Egypt during one of its most culturally and artistically productive periods, and his tomb reflects this sophistication.

The work to stabilize and preserve the tomb of Seti I is a continual process (Photo by Jean-Pierre Dalbera)

As part of an exhibit called National Geographic Treasures of the Earth, the Seti I section will be a partial replica that will teach kids about hieroglyphics, archaeology, and site conservation.

Heroic efforts have been made to stabilize and preserve KV17, and young future archaeologists will gain an appreciation for the kind and amount of work that goes into protecting these heritage sites for generations to come.  Due to open in late 2011, Dr. Patchen will be making a more detailed announcement about the exhibit in the next few months.

Anubis guarding the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis skywalk (Photo by Meredith Hayden)

Young people (and the young at heart alike) will have an opportunity to enjoy the next best thing to standing within the tomb of Seti I.  The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis has a reputation for transporting its visitors to distant locations on a grand scale.  In a current exhibit called Take Me There: Egypt, kids can board a two minute simulated Egypt Air flight that lets out in a 13,000 square feet reproduction of Egyptian urban and rural settings where they can interact with “locals” and participate in cultural events.

To learn more about Take Me There: Egypt, and to learn what other archaeological sites wil be featured in the National Geographic Treasures of the Earth exhibit, be sure to read the full interview with Dr. Jeffrey Patchen, which will premiere on Monday, November 9, 2009, on Em Hotep!  We will be talking about how the Tutankhamun travelling exhibit came to Indianapolis, Dr. Patchen’s involvement with the Suzanne Mubarak Children’s Museum in Cairo, and a number of other issues of interest to local and international readers.

Copyright by Keith Payne, 2009.  All rights reserved.

Photo “La tombe de Sethi 1er (KV.17) (Vallée des Rois, Thèbes ouest) – 2.jpg” by Jean-Pierre Dalbera, “Image-La tombe de Sethi 1er (KV.17) (Vallée des Rois, Thèbes ouest) -3.jpg” by Jean-Pierre Dalbera, “Hieroglyphs from the tomb of Seti I.jpg” by Jon Bodsworth, are provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons  and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of those files under the conditions that you appropriately attribute them, and that you distribute them only under a license identical to this one. Official license 

Nineteenth Dynasty

Might Makes Right—The Ramesside Period Pt. 1

1295 to 1186 BC

Toward the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty the Hittites managed to gain a foothold in Syria and Palestine, and conflict with the Hittites would become one of the defining features of the Nineteenth Dynasty.  Founded by Ramesses I, Horemheb’s vizier and appointed heir, the Nineteenth Dynasty saw both glory and prosperity—Ramesses II would practically invent the concept of branding by stamping his name on anything that wasn’t moving—but extended warfare would take a toll on the treasury with long-reaching consequences.  In the end, the dynasty would succumb to intrigues resulting from infighting between Merneptah’s sons, Amenmesse and Seti II.

Tim Reid from The Egyptians brings us up to date with the recent doings and future happenings of the SCA.  Read Plans from the Supreme Council of Antiquities.  With our weekly dose of forensic mummy studies, read CT Scan for Iret-Net-Hor-Irw.  And from the Coptic Quarter, read The Hanging Church for details on restorations of St. Marys—The Hanging Church.

Sean Williams from Heritage Key explores the extraterrestrial origins of one of Tutankhamun’s finer pieces of finery.  Balderdash, you say?  Maybe not so much.  Read Is King Tut’s Necklace from Outer Space?

Kate Phizackerley from News from the Valley of the Kings shares a video that examines the evidence that Rameses II was the unnamed pharaoh of the Exodus of Jewish tradition.  But unlike most treatments of this subject, this video draws on the Islamic tradition.  Check out Rameses II and the Quran.

Ben Morales-Correa of Egypt Then and Now brings us news of another Egyptian exhibition—fellow Louisvillians, heads up!—this time in Cincy.  On October 3^rd, the Cincinnati Museum Center will open Lost Egypt:  Ancient Secrets, Modern Science.  Ben does a fine job of providing more info at Lost Egypt coming to Museum Center.  Road trip!  Anne, Meredith, are you reading this?

Pavements of Silver has been at the Louvre this week and brings us a video blog on one of the best pieces of Pharaonic art, “Seti I before Hathor” (B7).  A wonderful photo montage is included.  Tune in at Seti I Before Hathor (B7).

For more on Seti I read Qurna Temple of Seti I, another excursion from Su Bayfield’s Reflections in the Nile.  As usual, delightful prose is accompanied by postcard-worthy photography.

Dissention amongst the ranks of Egyptologists?  Say it isn’t so!  Vincent Brown of Talking Pyramid brings us the story—Exact Date of the Great Pyramid Scorned.  Hell hath no fury like an Egyptologist scorned!  But on a more serious note, Talking Pyramids just celebrated 18 months of existence!  Jump over to Thank you and raise a toast to Vincent! 

The inexhaustible Scholar over at The Egyptian Yell brings us more museum newseum.  Find out what is Upcoming at the British Museum (with regard to Egyptology, of course).  For something coming up at the Arkansas Art Center, read Mummy’s the Word.  And if you have ever wondered “Did pharaohs suffer from Backpacker Fatigue,” the short answer is yes.  For the long answer, consult the Scholar.

Dr. Hawass’ plans for the near future..  Additional sites about to open to the public..  The secrets of the Great Pyramid..  Repatriation of stolen artifacts.. 

Read it here:  Exclusive Interview with Dr. Zahi Hawass in Indianapolis

Photograph “Zahi_Hawass.jpg” is provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons  and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. Official license

Jane Akshar of Luxor News has an update regarding the Seti I replica tomb project.  Her article on visiting Egypt during Ramadan is also an exciting read.  Sounds like a great way to combine your Egypt trip with a little food tourism…

From News from the Valley of the Kings, Kate Phizackerley has an update regarding tomb KV5.  Check it out.

Vincent Brown from Talking Pyramids relates a great story about a trip to Abusir.  Read Guards, Guns, & Geese – a Trip to Abusir to learn about the Guardian Geese of Abusir!

It’s been a busy week at The Egyptians, including two great posts about lost treasures being discovered in the Cairo Museum!  Read In the Cairo Museum’s Basement, and Buried History at the Cairo Museum.

There is a great discussion going on about Who’s Who in Amarna over at the Egyptian Dreams Forum.  If you have an interest in Akhenaten and his Grand Experiment, click over and join in!

Tim at Archaeoblog serves up some more fresh news about old stuff.  Today’s menu includes some online papers about rock art in Egypt.

Copyright 2009, all rights reserved.