Dra Abu el-Naga is a sort of suburb, if you will, of the Valley of the Kings where some tombs belonging to Seventeenth Dynasty royalty (such as Queen Ahhotep I, to the left) have been discovered, along with the tombs of Theban priests and officials.
Zahi Hawass has released a new video, which premiered at Heritage Key, with some of the recent discoveries at Dra Abu el-Naga, including some details about the tomb of Amun-Em-Opet, the Supervisor of Hunters.
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Tags: Ahhotep I, Amun-Em-Opet, Dra Abu el-Naga, Eighteenth Dynasty, New Kingdom Period, Tombs, Valley of the Kings, Zahi Hawass
This is the story of two architects, separated by 4,500 years, both trying to solve the same problem—how to build a pyramid measuring 756 feet on each side of the base, 480 feet high, and consisting of 5.5 million tons of stone.
Our master builders have different goals, however. The first, Hemiunu, was determined to build the greatest pyramid ever, and the second, Jean-Pierre Houdin, was equally determined to figure out how he did it.
Jean-Pierre Houdin and Bob Brier wrote a book—The Secret of the Great Pyramid—about this very subject in 2008 and the paperback edition is due to hit bookstores October 6, 2009. Ahead of the paperback, Em Hotep! is providing you with a multi-part primer to Houdin’s work, to be followed with an interview with the man himself.
But first, who are these two architects?
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Tags: Bob Brier, Dassault Systemes, Grand Gallery, Henri Houdin, Imhotep, Internal Ramp, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu, Khufu's Pyramid, King's Chamber, Nefermaat, Snefru, The Great Pyramid, The Secret of the Great Pyramid, William M. Flinders Petrie, old
The bad new is, her remains still are.
One of the advantages of a newspaper over a blog-type situation is that embarassing corrections can be hidden discretely away on page 11, Section D. With a blog, they pretty much roll right under the masthead.
I implied in a previous entry regarding Queen Mutnodjmet (Genetic Testing of Queen Mutnodjmet on Hold While Queen is AWOL) that her mummy had been lost, and in one instance, went so far as to actually refer to her remains as a mummy on Heritage Key (Queen Mutnodjmet: Another Branch in Tutankhamun’s Genetic Line Found (and Lost)?).
This is incorrect.
As Kate Phizackerley correctly points out on News from the Valley of the Kings (Queen Mutnodjmet’s Missing Mummy), what was misplaced are her skeletal remains. No mummy was ever found, so no mummy was ever lost. Everything else in the post on Heritage Key is an accurate representation of the originating article from Al-Ahram, but the mistake is not a minor thing.
Having instant access to a worldwide audience carries some heavy responsibilities which are all-too-often shirked on the Weird Wild Web. My implication that a mummy had been misplaced unfairly maligned the work of other professionals and misled my readers. While that was not my intent, intentions are not the same as results, and I duly apologize.
All thanks and credit to Kate for keeping the standard high.
-Keith Payne, aka Shemsu Sesen
Tags: Mutnodjmet
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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
Comments Off on The Swiss Mummy Project Puts its Best Foot Forward
