Egypt says village found in Nile Delta predated pharaohs

Egypt says archeologists have unearthed one of the oldest villages ever found in the Nile Delta, with remains dating back to before the pharaohs.

The Antiquities Ministry said Sunday the Neolithic site was discovered in Tell el-Samara, about 140 kilometres (87 miles) north of Cairo. Chief archaeologist Frederic Gio says his team found silos containing animal bones and food, indicating human habitation as early as 5,000 B.C.

That would be some 2,500 years before the Giza pyramids were built.

In recent years, Egypt has touted discoveries in the hopes of reviving tourism after the unrest that followed its 2011 popular uprising.

Egypt says village found in Nile Delta predated pharaohs

World's oldest cheese confirmed in Egyptian tomb

The cheese was found as a white mass in a broken jar. (Supplied: University of Catania and Cairo University)

Forget vintage, extra mature or barrel-aged — scientists believe they have found the world's oldest cheese in an Egyptian tomb...and it dates back to the 13th century BC.

According to a study published in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry, ​the cheese was found in the tomb of Ptahmes, which was rediscovered in 2010.

The tomb of the former mayor of Memphis in Egypt was initially unearthed in 1885. After being lost under drifting sands, it was rediscovered eight years ago and archeologists found broken jars at the site a few years later.

One jar contained a solidified whitish mass, as well as canvas fabric that might have covered the jar or been used to preserve its contents. 

After dissolving the sample, the researchers purified its protein constituents and analyzed them with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.

The peptides detected by these techniques show the sample was a dairy product made from cow milk and sheep or goat milk. The characteristics of the canvas fabric, which indicate it was suitable for containing a solid rather than a liquid, and the absence of other specific markers, support the conclusion that the dairy product was a solid cheese.

Dairy danger

However, eating may not have been advisable, even back then. Other peptides in the food sample suggest it was contaminated with Brucella melitensis​, a bacterium that causes brucellosis. This potentially deadly disease spreads from animals to people, typically from eating unpasteurized dairy products. If the team's preliminary analysis is confirmed, the sample would represent the earliest reported biomolecular evidence of the disease.

Prior to this, the earliest evidence of cheese-making in the archaeological record dates back to 5500 BC, in what is now Kujawy, Poland, where strainers with milk fats molecules have been found. Cheesemaking may have begun independently of this by the pressing and salting of curdled milk to preserve it.

The research was supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research​, the University of Catania​ and Cairo University​.

World's oldest cheese confirmed in Egyptian tomb

Archaeological team uncovers Ptolemaic cemetery west of Alexandria

Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry announced that an Egyptian archaeological mission on Sunday has uncovered a Ptolemaic dynasty cemetery west of Alexandria.

Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri said that the ministry is conducting excavation work in the region through an archaeological mission, supervised by the Director General for Alexandria Antiquities Khaled Abu al-Hamd.

Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Waziri said that the cemetery dates back to the third century BC, around 2,270 years ago.

Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector Ayman Ashmawy said that the mass graves carved in the rock were uncovered by the mission during excavation work. These graves are separate architectural units, each consisting of stairs leading to a small hall that may have been used as a rest for visitors, which leads into an open yard surrounded by the burial holes.

He added that it was likely that the tombs were belonged to poor people of the time, as the cemetery features layers of simple mortar with no fanciful decorations giving away high status.

According to Ashmaway, preliminary examinations revealed that architectural plans for some tombs were modified later, with certain burial holes being closed up, confirming that multiple generations used the cemetery.

Tableware used by the families of the dead during their visits was found alongside decorated lamps, Ashmaway said. Glass and pottery were also found, which were offerings for the deceased.

Archaeological team uncovers Ptolemaic cemetery west of Alexandria

Egypt's second sphinx found: Ancient statue discovered during road works

A second sphinx from the time of ancient Egypt has been discovered, after workers accidentally dug up the renowned artefact during road works.

Engineers came to a halt after stumbling upon the a large statue, which they described as having a "lion's body with a human head".

They soon realised they retrieved the world's second Egyptian sphinx, which originated as far as 2500 BC during the reign of the Pharoah Kafre in Egypt.

Mohamed Abel Aziz, the Director General of Antiquities, said the structure has yet to be removed from the ground, and remains embedded in soil until it can be properly excavated.

Members of the public can now visit the site where the sphinx was found, Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani said.

The Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt is the largest and most famous sphinx in the world, and is situated at the Giza Plateau, on the west bank of the Nile River in Egypt.

It was carved from the bedrock of Giza plateau, made out of limestone, and is said to be one of the world's largest single-stone statues.

The ancient Egyptians regarded the sphinx as a symbol of royalty, and pharaohs would have their heads carved into stone which are then placed on their tombs.

This was known as a way to mark their relationships with Sekhmet, the solar deity, which was believed to be a lioness.

In late 2017, historians believed the Great Sphinx of Giza was an entrance to a secret underground city, which was concealed by Egyptian authorities.

Archaeologists also believe the sphinx sits on top of a complex network of tunnels with passages which leads to a massive underground metropolis.

Historian Gerry Cannon previously told Express.co.uk: “It was as if every living Egyptologist had lost interest in this wonderful underground metropolis, for all their articles during the ensuing years are centred more on tombs of queens and shafts that had been sunk deep into the ground to burial tombs.”

“Nobody knows what’s under there, no one has been able to investigate.

Egypt's second sphinx found: Ancient statue discovered during road works

Burial chambers of 2 ancient officials discovered in Upper Egypt's Minya

An Egyptian-Australian mission from Macquarie University discovered the burial chambers of Middle Kingdom's two top officials in Upper Egypt's province of Minya, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said Tuesday.

The discovery was accidently made while the team was cleaning the interior of a tomb at Beni Hassan necropolis in Minya, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The burial chambers of the two top officials Ramushenty and Baqet II date back to 4,000 years ago, as the Middle Kingdom in ancient Egypt's history covers the period between 2055 BC and 1650 BC.

Ayman Ashmawi, head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department at the Ministry of Antiquities, said no funerary collection was found inside Ramushenty's main burial chamber, pointing out that it might have been removed by British Egyptologist Percy E. Newberry, who worked in Beni Hassan necropolis between 1893 and 1900.

Baqet II's burial chamber has the same design as that of Ramushenty's and its walls are decorated with well-preserved colored drawings.

A collection of food clay pots was found in two side burial chambers located to the east and west of Ramushenty's main chamber. Another collection of clay vessels was also found in Baqet II's chamber.

The Egyptian-Australian mission has been working in Beni Hassan necropolis in Minya since 2009.

Over the past couple of years, Egypt has witnessed several big archeological discoveries, including Pharaonic tombs, statues, coffins, mummies and burial sites, remains of a Roman-style Hellenistic gymnasium, ruins of a funerary garden, a pyramid's burial chamber and a huge statue believed to be of ancient King Ramses II.

Burial chambers of 2 ancient officials discovered in Upper Egypt's Minya

INCREDIBLE ELECTROMAGNETIC DISCOVERY IN GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA'S HIDDEN CHAMBERS

The Great Pyramid of Giza is steeped in history and mythology, and as such fascinates researchers from various fields who all want to unravel its many secrets.

Now, an international team of physicists has found that, under the right conditions, the Great Pyramid can concentrate electromagnetic energy in its internal chambers and under its base.

The results, which are published in the Journal of Applied Physics, could help scientists to create new nanoparticles—particles between 1 and 100 nanometers in size—that could be used, for example, to develop highly efficient solar cells or tiny sensors.

The team from ITMO University in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and the Laser Zentrum in Hannover, Germany, applied theoretical physics methods to investigate how the Great Pyramid responded to electromagnetic radiation—which includes radio waves, microwaves and infrared, visible light, ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma rays.

INCREDIBLE ELECTROMAGNETIC DISCOVERY IN GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA'S HIDDEN CHAMBERS

Scientists identify mystery liquid in Egyptian sarcophagus

The unsettling red liquid pooled around three decomposed mummies found inside a 2000-year-old burial chamber in the historic port city of Alexandria in Egypt has taken on a life of its own.

Horrifying images of a trio of skeletons floating in the murky soup led to rumours the “mummy juice” contained medicinal or supernatural properties, with locals anxious to bottle the stuff.

Others feared its odd colouring signified the presence of a metal such as mercury.

The large, black granite sarcophagus was unearthed in the Sidi Gaber district earlier this month and cracked open despite fears that doing so would unleash an ancient curse.

The General Secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr Moustafa Waziri dismissed early speculation the tomb could contain the remains of Alexander the Great, saying instead it may have belonged to a priest.

However, the discovery of possible arrow damage to one of the skulls means the bones probably belonged to military officials, according to a statement released by Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities yesterday.

Authorities also revealed the liquid was neither “juice for mummies that contains an elixir of life” nor “red mercury” but something far more pedestrian — sewage water.

But the ugly — or in this case — smelly truth has failed to scare off the believers, even inspiring an online campaign.

A change.org petition entitled “let the people drink the red liquid from the dark sarcophagus” has attracted more than 16,000 signatures.

“We need to drink the red liquid from the cursed dark sarcophagus in the form of some sort of carbonated energy drink so we can assume its powers and finally die,” petition founder Innes McKendrick wrote by way of explanation.

Workmen found the black granite tomb five metres underground during construction of an apartment building in the historic Mediterranean port city.

Scientists identify mystery liquid in Egyptian sarcophagus

Newly unearthed ancient tomb with mummies unveiled in Egypt

The tomb of a royal goldsmith containing the mummies of a woman and her two children was recently discovered in Egypt. It is believed that the tomb is over 3,000 years old.

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Researchers in Egypt recently unearthed the over 3,000-year-old tomb of a royal goldsmith containing the mummies of a woman and her two children. It is estimated that the ancient tomb located near the city of Luxor dates back to the 16th to 11th centuries BC. The local authorities believe that the tomb belonged to Amenemhat, who was a goldsmith for the god Amun.

According to the Egyptian mythology, Amun was the most powerful god during the same period. It is believed that the discovery of the royal goldsmith’s tomb could lead to additional discoveries in the area.

Archaeologists have estimated that the woman died when she was in her 50s after suffering from a bacterial bone disease. Her children were in their 20s and 30s at the time of their deaths. “We found a lot of equipment buried inside and around the tomb including mummies, coffins, death masks, jewelry and a statue,” Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities Khaled el-Enany said. “Our work is not finished yet.”

“I believe, with the help of God, that we will soon start the required digs in the area,” he added. “And if we are lucky, we will find four more tombs.”

Newly unearthed ancient tomb with mummies unveiled in Egypt

Polish archaeologists discover latrines and valuable ornaments in ancient Marea, Egypt

Stone latrines, a ring and a bracelet are the most interesting discoveries made by a team of Kraków archaeologists in the ruins of a huge basilica dating back 1.5 thousand years in Marea, northern Egypt.

Marea was a city near ancient Alexandria. It is known that it functioned in the Roman and Byzantine periods, but the researchers have not yet established when exactly it was founded. The town was famous, among other things, for its fine wines distributed in the Mediterranean basin.

Seal-ring with an image of a saint. Photo by D. Majchrzak

The importance of Marea as a key port is demonstrated by four long piers, the longest of which measures over 120 meters and was built with solid stone blocks joined with waterproof mortar.

Excavations in the ruins of the Byzantine basilica have been conducted by Polish archaeologists since 2003. "This is the second largest known structure of this type in Egypt" told PAP head of the mission, Dr. Krzysztof Babraj. 

The artefacts discovered inside come from the late V to the early VIII century, from the time of the city's greatest splendour.

During the last research season, the researchers found a room with stone latrines. According to the researchers, they come from the times when masses were celebrated in the temple.

Bracelet with apotropaic symbol. Photo by D. Majchrzak

"We believe that they were available to the believers - from the inside of the basilica, and to the pilgrims - from the outer walls of the building" - said Dr. Babraj. According to the scientist, the discovery is not a surprise for researchers, because the latrines were a standard facility in ancient churches. there probably were separate rooms for women and separate for men.

"Interestingly, the priest had a private latrine in one of the side chapels of the basilica" - added the archaeologist.

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Other elements discovered by Polish researchers also indicate that the basilica was partly self-sufficient - including a few meters deep well located between the two naves of the church.

In the rooms adjacent to the latrines, archaeologists discovered spectacular artefacts made of metal. The first is a bronze ring with a visible figure of a saint. "There were no similar finds in northern Egypt until now" - said Dr. Babraj.

Scientists assume that the ring belonged to a bishop, who used it to stamp his correspondence. This type of ring imprint was equivalent to a signature.

During the last research season archaeologists also discovered a small bracelet that had been worn on the hand. Its diameter indicates that it was used by a child, researchers believe. "It was an apotropaic object, its purpose was to deter evil" - added Dr. Babraj.

Recent research shows that the liturgy was celebrated in the basilica until the 8th century.

"I think that this was not caused by the Arabs taking control of Egypt, but rather by the fact that the surrounding areas that had been used as crop fields were neglected. The locals stopped cleaning the channels that supplied sweet water from the lake" - explained Dr. Babraj. The researcher also pointed out that the basilica was not a construction masterpiece - after several hundred years of use the walls of the temple began to crack due to errors made by the builders.

"When the priests left the temple, from time to time it served as a temporary shelter for Bedouins, tribes living in the desert" - the researcher added.

Scientists believe in the near future they will determine the exact history of the temple. All because of a huge collection of Greek records concerning the functioning of the basilica, which Polish archaeologists have discovered in one of the rooms. Translation work is underway and it is already known that most of the documents were written by one person. These include information about the construction of the Marea basilica describing the work done, the workers, their functions and remuneration they received.

Excavations in Marea are conducted by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology UW and the Archaeological Museum of Krakow. Hélèn Zaleski has been supporting them financially for several years.

Polish archaeologists discover latrines and valuable ornaments in ancient Marea, Egypt

Scientists find languages not used since Dark Ages among ancient manuscripts recovered from monastery

Languages not seen since the Dark Ages have come to light after scientists used a new method to inspect a trove of ancient manuscripts found in a monastery in Egypt.

They turned up extremely rare tongues, including Caucasian Albanian, on documents they found in Saint Catherine’s monastery on the Sinai peninsula that date back 1,500 years.

Monks originally wrote their texts down on parchments which were later scrubbed off and used to write the Bible by future generations who spoke in more modern languages.

But a new technique developed by researchers allows them to see the original text hidden from the naked eye in a development hailed as “new golden age of discovery”.

Researchers took photographs of the material using different parts of the light spectrum and put the electronic images through a computer algorithm.

The method allows them to see the first writing laid down on the parchments, which at the time were highly valuable, before they were re-used in later years.

It comes as the chances of finding further ancient documents in St Catherine’s monastery comes under threat by Muslim extremists, including Isis, who are known to destroy Christian sites.

“The age of discovery is not over,” Michael Phelps from the Early Manuscripts Electronic Library in California told The Times.

“In the 20th century new manuscripts were discovered in caves. In the 21st century, we will apply new techniques to manuscripts that have been under our noses. We will recover lost voices from our history.”

The site beneath the mountain where God is said to have revealed the Ten Commandments to Moses has collected thousands of manuscripts since it was built in the 6th century.

“I don’t know of any library in the world that parallels it,” said Mr Phelps. “The monastery is an institution from the Roman Empire that continues operating according to its original mission.”

He added that although the site stored ancient knowledge for future generations the practice by monks of re-using parchments meant they were also to blame for erasing it.

“At some point the material the manuscript was on became more valuable than what was written on it,” Mr Phelps said. “So it was deemed worthy of being recycled.”

But scientists are now busy digging out the original texts found in the recent trove of manuscripts discovered in St Catherine’s, which was announced by the Ministry of Antiquities in Cairo.

The find includes the first-known copy of the gospels in Arabic and the earliest examples of known works from the Greek physician Hippocrates.

Scientists find languages not used since Dark Ages among ancient manuscripts recovered from monastery

Assassin's Creed Origins recreates Ancient Egypt's most famous landmark "almost 100%"

With history as its playground, Assassin's Creed has always revelled in the perfect recreations of time periods long lost. From the spires of the Italian Renaissance to the grim gargoyles of Notre Dame, Ubi loves its true slices of history and Assassin's Creed Origins is no different. Ancient Egypt positively hums with history and creative director Ashraf Ismail  is proud that Egypt's most famous landmarks across the Giza Plateau have been recreated block by sandy block for Bayek to explore.  

"The pyramids took a long time. The Giza plateau had lots of iteration," he tells us at Gamescom. "We needed to nail the balance. Making sure that we actually respected the architecture. The architecture is respected almost 100%. All the chambers, all the corridors are the exact same ones. Same angles, we’ve added our own hidden chambers that have not been found yet and it’s where we infuse our lore and why would we be interested in going to the great pyramid."

Lore wise, that might be something to do with his explanation of the Assassin's Creed Origins giant snake but it'll be fascinating to see what's hiding inside these tombs. Let's hope it's not just scarab beetles - case in point, you have to follow these pesky critters to find secret rooms... "We put a lot of effort to make sure that first it worked with gameplay but it was also what is very respectful of what is known and what is there in that whole area of Giza with the Sphinx, the great pyramids, the smaller pyramids," Ismail confirms. "It took a lot of time to get right". I'm already counting down to Animus time. Two months and counting.... 

Assassin's Creed Origins recreates Ancient Egypt's most famous landmark "almost 100%"

Archaeologists discover tombs from ancient 'great cemetery' in Egypt's Nile Valley

One tomb from Ptolemaic-era burial shaft carved into the bedrock, another a child's grave: This was not an army camp

Three tombs dated to the Ptolemaic Period, more than 2,000 years ago, have been discovered in the Nile Valley, the Egyptian antiquities ministry said on Wednesday. The discovery was made in an area called al-Kamin al-Sahrawi, south of Cairo.

The discovery of sarcophagi and clay fragments suggests that the archaeologists found a major necropolis used over generations. It was evidently used sometime between the 27th Dynasty (when ancient Egypt was under Persian control, from 525 B.C.E. to 404 B.C.E.) and the subsequent Ptolemaic period.

A burial shaft carved out of the bedrock in one of the tombs leads to a chamber where four sarcophagi with anthropoid lids, containing two women and two men, were found.

Another tomb contains two chambers, one with six burial holes, including one for a child. Excavation on a third tomb is still underway, the ministry stated.

Since women and children were buried there, the necropolis is unlikely to be part of an ancient military site, as had been previously suggested, postulate the archaeologists.

Sarcophagi in cemetery dating back about 2,000 years in the al-Kamin al-Sahrawi area in Minya province, south of Cairo.AFP Photo / Egyptian Antiquities Ministry

The 27th Dynasty had been founded by the Persian emperor Cambyses II, son of Cyrus the Great. Cambyses II conquered Egypt in 525 B.C.E., wresting control from the unfortunate and short-lived pharaoh Psamtik III. He tried to continue onto Libya, to no avail. 

The Greco-Roman Ptolemaic period began in 305 B.C.E. when the Roman general Ptolemy assumed the title of King, dubbing himself Ptolemy I Soter, i.e., the Savior. His dynasty would rule Egypt for over three centuries: male rulers took the soubriquet Ptolemy, while the queens tended to be named Arsinoe, Berenice and, famously, Cleopatra.

Archaeologists discover tombs from ancient 'great cemetery' in Egypt's Nile Valley

Ancient Egyptians may have given cats the personality to conquer the world

A cat in a domestic setting—eating under a dining table—sometime after 1500 B.C.E. 

Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford/Bridgeman Images

Ancient Egyptians may have given cats the personality to conquer the world

Around 1950 B.C.E., someone painted an unusual creature on the back wall of a limestone tomb some 250 kilometers south of Cairo. With its long front legs, upright tail, and triangular head staring down an approaching field rat, it is unmistakably a domestic cat—the first appearance in the art of ancient Egypt. In the centuries that followed, cats became a fixture of Egyptian paintings and sculptures, and were even immortalized as mummies, as they rose in status from rodent killer to pet to god. Historians took all this as evidence that the ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate the feline. That is, until 2004, when researchers discovered a 9500-year-old cat buried with a human on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, revealing that cats had been living with people thousands of years before Egypt even existed.

A new study could put Egypt back in the limelight. A genetic analysis of more than 200 ancient cats suggests that, even if the animals were domesticated outside Egypt, it was the Egyptians who turned them into the lovable fur balls we know today. It’s even possible they domesticated cats a second time.

“It’s a very nice piece of work,” says Salima Ikram, an expert on ancient Egyptian animals and cat mummies at American University in Cairo. The idea that the Egyptians helped shape the modern cat, she says, “makes perfect sense.”

The study has its roots in an ancient graveyard on the west bank of the Nile River in southern Egypt. In 2008, archaeozoologist Wim Van Neer of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels unearthed the remains of six cats—a male, a female, and four kittens—that appear to have been cared for by people nearly 6000 years ago. Although younger than the Cyprus cat, the discovery made Van Neer wonder whether prehistoric Egyptians could have independently domesticated the modern feline. “Scientists more or less forgot about Egypt after the Cyprus find,” he says.

He gathered hundreds of cat specimens—bones, teeth, and mummies from across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East dating from about 7000 B.C.E. to the 19th century C.E. Then, he teamed up with more than two dozen researchers who drilled into the remains for mitochondrial DNA, genetic material inherited solely from the mother and found in the cell’s energy-generating machinery. In 2007, other researchers had analyzed the DNA of modern cats to show that all living domestic cats trace their ancestry to the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica)—a small, sandy-colored feline that looks like a Mackerel tabby. This subspecies contains felines with five unique genetic signatures in their mitochondrial DNA. “We mapped what we knew about the age and location of our ancient cats onto these signatures to figure out how the earliest cats spread out over time,” says University of Oslo postdoc Claudio Ottoni, who carried out the genetic analysis in the new study.

The world’s first cats all appear to sport the same lybica subtype, mitochondrial type A. This genetic signature pops up at least 9000 years ago in what is now Turkey, the team reports today in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Archaeologists think that, perhaps about 10,000 years ago, wildcats in this region—with a southern coast just a few dozen kilometers from Cyprus—slunk into early farming villages to hunt rodents and eventually self-domesticated into modern cats. By 6500 years ago, these type A cats began appearing in southeastern Europe, the team found, possibly following migrating farmers. After that, cats infiltrated the rest of Europe, Africa, and Asia.

But that’s only half the story. Most of the Egyptian cat mummies sport a different lybica subtype, type C, which first appears in the team’s samples around 800 B.C.E. (It’s possible that the type C cat could have been living in Egypt much earlier—the early graveyard study didn’t yield any usable DNA.) Cats with this genetic signature appear to have been incredibly popular: By the fifth century C.E., they spread through Europe and the Mediterranean. And during the first millennium C.E., they came to outnumber type A cats two to one in places like western Turkey.

The ancient Egyptians may have been responsible for this popularity. “The Egyptians were the first people to have the resources to do everything bigger and better,” says Carlos Driscoll, the World Wildlife Fund chair in conservation genetics at the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun, who led the 2007 study. That ability may have extended to breeding cats. As the Egyptians bred more and more felines, Driscoll speculates, they would have selected for the ones that were easiest to have around—more social and less territorial than their predecessors. “They turbocharged the tameness process.”

Egypt’s art reflects this dramatic transformation. The earliest representations of cats depict a working animal, like the rat hunter in the limestone tomb. But over the centuries the felines begin to appear in more domestic contexts, hunting birds with people, wearing collars, and—by 1500 B.C.E.—sitting under chairs at the dinner table. “They go from being a slaughterer of mice to a couch potato,” says Eva Maria-Geigl, an evolutionary geneticist who oversaw the study with molecular biologist Thierry Grange, both at the Jacques Monod Institute in Paris. 

Still, it’s unclear where these type C cats came from in the first place. Egyptian wildcats may carry this genetic signature, so type A cats from Turkey may have made their way to Egypt and mated with them. Or the ancient Egyptians may have independently domesticated cats from local type C wildcats.

Ikram says a dual domestication makes sense, as other animals—including dogs and pigs—may also have been domesticated more than once. But Driscoll is skeptical, noting that many plants and animals in Egypt originally came from Turkey and the rest of the Near East. “There’s no reason to believe an independent domestication in Egypt.”

Either way, type A and type C cats eventually intermingled in Europe and beyond. Today’s cats are likely a blend of both Turkish and Egyptian cats.

And they underwent another dramatic transformation: A separate analysis of the genes for coat color showed that the coat pattern of cats—which had gone unchanged from the striped sandy appearance of its wildcat ancestors for thousands of years—began to vary, with a blotched tabby look appearing around the 14th century C.E. Dogs and horses changed coat patterns much earlier in their domestication, suggesting that when it came to cats, people were more interested in how they acted than in how they looked. “The only thing they had to do was to get better at living with people,” Driscoll says. “And this paper gives clues to how that happened.”

In the meantime, Van Neer still hopes to find out whether the Egyptians independently domesticated cats. He’s already begun traveling to museums in Vienna, searching their collections for ancient cat mummies and DNA that may fill in the missing history of man’s most mysterious friend.

*Correction, 19 June, 12:30 p.m.: The map has been updated to reflect the fact that type A cats came from Turkey, and type C from Egypt. 

Source

David Grimm

http://www.sciencemag.org

Ancient Egyptians may have given cats the personality to conquer the world

Six mummies discovered in ancient tomb near Egypt's Luxor

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered six mummies, colourful wooden coffins and more than 1,000 funerary statues in a 3,500-year-old tomb near the southern city of Luxor, the antiquities ministry said Tuesday.

The tomb, discovered in the Draa Abul Nagaa necropolis near the famed Valley of the Kings, belonged to a nobleman who worked as the city judge, the ministry said in a statement.

Six mummies discovered in ancient tomb near Egypt's Luxor

2nd Pyramid Bearing Pharaoh Ameny Qemau's Name Is Found

A 3,800-year-old pyramid found with an alabaster block bearing the name of pharaoh Ameny Qemau has been discovered at the site of Dahshur in Egypt.


Another pyramid containing artifacts bearing the name of Ameny Qemau (also spelled Qemaw) was discovered in 1957 in Dahshur, a royal necropolis in the desert on the Nile River's west bank. The finding has left Egyptologists with a mystery as to why the same pharaoh seemingly has two pyramids to his name.

The remains of the pyramid's inner structure were discovered by a team of Egyptian archaeologists and announced today (April 4) by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.

This block was found within the 13th dynasty pyramid in Egypt and bears the name of pharaoh Ameny Qemau, who ruled about 3,800 years ago.

Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities

Within the inner structure, the team discovered an alabaster block containing 10 lines of hieroglyphic writing. The ministry said it had not yet deciphered the writing on the block.

 Both James Allen, a professor of Egyptology at Brown University, and Aidan Dodson, a research fellow at the University of Bristol, said  that inscribed on the block is a type of religious text used to line the walls of pyramids, and that it bears the name of the pharaoh Ameny Qemau.

"He was the fifth king of Dynasty XIII and ruled for about two years, [around] 1790 B.C.," Allen said.

Thomas Schneider, a professor of Egyptology and Near Eastern studies at the University of British Columbia, also agreed that the name of the pharaoh on the hieroglyphic inscription is Ameny Qemau. "The resolution of the photo is not very good; however, I believe I can read the name of Ameny Qemau," he said.

Dodson, who co-authored a 1998 paper on the artifacts from the Qemau pyramid discovered in 1957, noted the peculiarity of two pyramids holding the pharaoh's name.

Why both pyramids would have artifacts bearing the name of the same pharaoh is a mystery, Dodson said. Perhaps, the newly found pyramid doesn't actually belong to Ameny Qemau, but rather to one of his predecessors, he said. Along that line of thinking, perhaps upon rising to power, Qemau chiseled out the name of his predecessor on the block and inserted his own name instead, Dodson said. The hieroglyphic symbols representing the name of Ameny Qemau are of poor quality, indicating that the carver had to inscribe them over a chiseled-out area, Dodson added.

"Why Ameny Qemau would have added his name is unclear, as Ameny Qemau's actual pyramid was found in 1957," Dodson said.

The antiquities ministry said in a statement that excavations of the pyramid are not yet complete and that "further excavation is to take place to reveal more parts."

2nd Pyramid Bearing Pharaoh Ameny Qemau's Name Is Found

Tomb of Ramses III (KV11)

King Ramses III was the second ruler of the Twentieth Dynasty, and the last of great pharaohs on the throne. Ramses III, son of Setnakht, ruled Egypt for 31 years. Shortly before his death, there was a conspiracy to kill him by several members of his household including one of his minor wives, Queen Tiy. 

It was essentially an attempt to ensure her son's ascending to the throne. The trial of this conspiracy is shown upon the walls of his mortuary temple at Madint Habu.

The tomb was begun by Setnakht, who then abandoned it and turned to KV14 where he was buried. Setnakht's son, Ramses III, then resumed work on KV11.

James Bruce was the first European traveler to enter this tomb in 1768. He was struck by the painted figures of the two blind harpists that he called it the Tomb of the Harpists.

Nowadays, the Tomb of Ramses III is considered one of the most visited tombs in the Valley of the Kings as there are many impressive reliefs and paintings to be seen on this tomb.

Tomb of Ramses III (KV11)

Usimare Ramesses III (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last New Kingdom king to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. His long reign saw the decline of Egyptian political and economic power, linked to a series of invasions and internal economic problems.

Ramesses III was the son of Setnakhte and Queen Tiy-Merenese. He was probably murdered by an assassin in a conspiracy led by one of his secondary wives, Tiye, and her son Pentaweret.

Ramesses' two main names transliterate as wsr-mꜢʿt-rʿ–mry-ỉmn rʿ-ms-s–ḥḳꜢ-ỉwnw. They are normally realised as Usermaatre-meryamun Ramesse-hekaiunu, meaning "The Ma'at of Ra is strong, Beloved of Amun, Born of Ra, Ruler of Heliopolis".

Ramesses III's Mortuary Temple at Medinet Habu, Egypt

Tomb of Ramses III (KV11)

Genetics: Ramses III had haplogroup E1b1a

Ascension

Ramesses III is believed to have reigned from March 1186 to April 1155 BC. This is based on his known accession date of I Shemu day 26 and his death on Year 32 III Shemu day 15, for a reign of 31 years, 1 month and 19 days. Alternate dates for his reign are 1187 to 1156 BC.

In a description of his coronation from Medinet Habu, four doves were said to be "dispatched to the four corners of the horizon to confirm that the living Horus, Ramses III, is (still) in possession of his throne, that the order of Maat prevails in the cosmos and society".

Tenure of constant war

During his long tenure in the midst of the surrounding political chaos of the Greek Dark Ages, Egypt was beset by foreign invaders (including the so-called Sea Peoples and the Libyans) and experienced the beginnings of increasing economic difficulties and internal strife which would eventually lead to the collapse of the Twentieth Dynasty. In Year 8 of his reign, the Sea Peoples, including Peleset, Denyen, Shardana, Meshwesh of the sea, and Tjekker, invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles. Although the Egyptians had a reputation as poor seamen, they fought tenaciously. Rameses lined the shores with ranks of archers who kept up a continuous volley of arrows into the enemy ships when they attempted to land on the banks of the Nile. Then, the Egyptian navy attacked using grappling hooks to haul in the enemy ships. In the brutal hand-to-hand fighting which ensued, the Sea People were utterly defeated. The Harris Papyrus states:

As for those who reached my frontier, their seed is not, their heart and their soul are finished forever and ever. As for those who came forward together on the seas, the full flame was in front of them at the Nile mouths, while a stockade of lances surrounded them on the shore, prostrated on the beach, slain, and made into heaps from head to tail.

Ramesses III claims that he incorporated the Sea Peoples as subject peoples and settled them in Southern Canaan, although there is no clear evidence to this effect; the pharaoh, unable to prevent their gradual arrival in Canaan, may have claimed that it was his idea to let them reside in this territory. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states in this region such as Philistia after the collapse of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. Ramesses III was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two major campaigns in Egypt's Western Delta in his Year 5 and Year 11 respectively.

Economic turmoil

The heavy cost of these battles slowly exhausted Egypt's treasury and contributed to the gradual decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. The severity of these difficulties is stressed by the fact that the first known labor strike in recorded history occurred during Year 29 of Ramesses III's reign, when the food rations for the favoured and elite royal tomb-builders and artisans in the village of Set Maat her imenty Waset (now known as Deir el-Medina), could not be provisioned. Something in the air (possibly the Hekla 3 eruption) prevented much sunlight from reaching the ground and also arrested global tree growth for almost two full decades until 1140 BC. The result in Egypt was a substantial increase in grain prices under the later reigns of Ramesses VI–VII, whereas the prices for fowl and slaves remained constant.Thus the cooldown affected Ramesses III's final years and impaired his ability to provide a constant supply of grain rations to the workmen of the Deir el-Medina community.

These difficult realities are completely ignored in Ramesses' official monuments, many of which seek to emulate those of his famous predecessor, Ramesses II, and which present an image of continuity and stability. He built important additions to the temples at Luxor and Karnak, and his funerary temple and administrative complex at Medinet-Habu is amongst the largest and best-preserved in Egypt; however, the uncertainty of Ramesses' times is apparent from the massive fortifications which were built to enclose the latter. No temple in the heart of Egypt prior to Ramesses' reign had ever needed to be protected in such a manner.

Conspiracy and death

Thanks to the discovery of papyrus trial transcripts (dated to Ramesses III), it is now known that there was a plot against his life as a result of a royal harem conspiracy during a celebration at Medinet Habu. The conspiracy was instigated by Tiye, one of his three known wives (the others being Tyti and Iset Ta-Hemdjert), over whose son would inherit the throne. Tyti's son, Ramesses Amonhirkhopshef (the future Ramesses IV), was the eldest and the successor chosen by Ramesses III in preference to Tiye's son Pentaweret.

The trial documents  show that many individuals were implicated in the plot. Chief among them were Queen Tiye and her son Pentaweret, Ramesses' chief of the chamber, Pebekkamen, seven royal butlers (a respectable state office), two Treasury overseers, two Army standard bearers, two royal scribes and a herald. There is little doubt that all of the main conspirators were executed: some of the condemned were given the option of committing suicide (possibly by poison) rather than being put to death. According to the surviving trial transcripts, a total of three separate trials were started, while 38 people were sentenced to death. The tombs of Tiye and her son Pentaweret were robbed and their names erased to prevent them from enjoying an afterlife. The Egyptians did such a thorough job of this that the only references to them are the trial documents and what remains of their tombs.

Some of the accused harem women tried to seduce the members of the judiciary who tried them but were caught in the act. Judges who were involved were severely punished.

It is not certain whether the assassination plot succeeded since Ramesses IV, the king's designated successor, assumed the throne upon his death rather than Pentaweret, who was intended to be the main beneficiary of the palace conspiracy. Moreover, Ramesses III died in his 32nd year before the summaries of the sentences were composed, but the same year that the trial documents record the trial and execution of the conspirators.

Although it was long believed that Ramesses III's body showed no obvious wounds, a recent examination of the mummy by a German forensic team, televised in the documentary Ramesses: Mummy King Mystery on the Science Channel in 2011, showed excessive bandages around the neck. A subsequent CT scan that was done in Egypt by Ashraf Selim and Sahar Saleem, professors of Radiology in Cairo University, revealed that beneath the bandages was a deep knife wound across the throat, deep enough to reach the vertebrae. According to the documentary narrator, "It was a wound no one could have survived." The December 2012 issue of the British Medical Journal quotes the conclusion of the study of the team of researchers, led by Dr Zahi Hawass, the former head of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquity, and his Egyptian team, as well as Dr Albert Zink from the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman of the European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen in Italy, which stated that conspirators murdered pharaoh Ramesses III by cutting his throat. Zink observes in an interview that:

"The cut [to Ramesses III's throat] is...very deep and quite large, it really goes down almost down to the bone (spine) - it must have been a lethal injury."

A subsequent study of the CT scan of the mummy of Ramesses III's body by Sahar Saleem revealed that the left big toe was likely chopped by a heavy sharp object like an ax. There were no signs of bone healing so this injury must have happened shortly before death. The embalmers placed a prosthesis-like object made of linen in place of the amputated toe. The embalmers placed 6 amulets around both feet and ankles for magical healing of the wound for the life after. This additional injury of the foot supports the assassination of the Pharaoh, likely by the hands of multiple assailants using different weapons. Before this discovery it had been speculated that Ramesses III had been killed by means that would not have left a mark on the body. Among the conspirators were practitioners of magic, who might well have used poison. Some had put forth a hypothesis that a snakebite from a viper was the cause of the king's death. His mummy includes an amulet to protect Ramesses III in the afterlife from snakes. The servant in charge of his food and drink were also among the listed conspirators, but there were also other conspirators who were called the snake and the lord of snakes.

The same study determined that the mummy of an unknown man buried with him was a good candidate for Ramesses's son Pentawer although it could not determine his cause of death. Both mummies shared Y chromosomal haplogroup E1b1a and 50% of their genetic material, which Zink stated "is typical of a father-son relationship."

In one respect the conspirators certainly failed. The crown passed to the king's designated successor: Ramesses IV. Ramesses III may have been doubtful as to the latter's chances of succeeding him, given that, in the Great Harris Papyrus, he implored Amun to ensure his son's rights.

Ramesses III's mummy

Legacy

The Great Harris Papyrus or Papyrus Harris I, which was commissioned by his son and chosen successor Ramesses IV, chronicles this king's vast donations of land, gold statues and monumental construction to Egypt's various temples at Piramesse, Heliopolis, Memphis, Athribis, Hermopolis, This, Abydos, Coptos, El Kab and other cities in Nubia and Syria. It also records that the king dispatched a trading expedition to the Land of Punt and quarried the copper mines of Timna in southern Canaan. Papyrus Harris I records some of Ramesses III's activities:

"I sent my emissaries to the land of Atika, [i.e., Timna] to the great copper mines which are there. Their ships carried them along and others went overland on their donkeys. It had not been heard of since the [time of any earlier] king. Their mines were found and [they] yielded copper which was loaded by tens of thousands into their ships, they being sent in their care to Egypt, and arriving safely." (P. Harris I, 78, 1-4)

Ramesses began the reconstruction of the Temple of Khonsu at Karnak from the foundations of an earlier temple of Amenhotep III and completed the Temple of Medinet Habu around his Year 12. He decorated the walls of his Medinet Habu temple with scenes of his Naval and Land battles against the Sea Peoples. This monument stands today as one of the best-preserved temples of the New Kingdom.

The mummy of Ramesses III was discovered by antiquarians in 1886 and is regarded as the prototypical Egyptian Mummy in numerous Hollywood movies. His tomb (KV11) is one of the largest in the Valley of the Kings.

Chronological dispute

There is uncertainty regarding the exact dates of the reign of Ramesses III. This uncertainty affects the dating of the Late Bronze/Iron Age transition in the Levant. This transition is defined by the appearance of Mycenaean LH IIIC:1b (Philistine) pottery in the coastal plain of Palestine, generally assumed to correspond to the settlement of Sea People there at the 8th year of Ramesses III. Radiocarbon dates and other external evidence permit this transition to be as late as 1100 BCE, compared to the conventional dating of c.1179 BCE.

Some scientists have tried to establish a chronological point for this pharaoh's reign at 1159 BC, based on a 1999 dating of the "Hekla 3 eruption" of the Hekla volcano in Iceland. Since contemporary records show that the king experienced difficulties provisioning his workmen at Deir el-Medina with supplies in his 29th Year, this dating of Hekla 3 might connect his 28th or 29th regnal year to c. 1159 BC. A minor discrepancy of 1 year is possible since Egypt's granaries could have had reserves to cope with at least a single bad year of crop harvests following the onset of the disaster. This implies that the king's reign would have ended just 3 to 4 years later around 1156 or 1155 BC. A rival date of "2900 BP" (950 BC) has since been proposed by scientists based on a re-examination of the volcanic layer. Given that no Egyptologist dates Ramesses III's reign to as late as 1000 BC, this would mean that the Hekla 3 eruption presumably occurred well after Ramesses III's reign. A 2002 study, using high-precision radiocarbon dating of a peat deposit containing ash layers, put this eruption in the range 1087-1006 BC.

Source
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Murnane, W. J., United with Eternity: A Concise Guide to the Monuments of Medinet Habu, p. 38, Oriental Institute, Chicago / American University in Cairo Press, 1980.
Wilfred G. Lambert; A. R. George; Irving L. Finkel (2000). Wisdom, Gods and Literature: Studies in Assyriology in Honour of W.G. Lambert. Eisenbrauns. pp. 384–. ISBN 978-1-57506-004-0. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
Jump up ^ Hasel, Michael G. "Merenptah's Inscription and Reliefs and the Origin of Israel" in The Near East in the Southwest: Essays in Honor of William G. Dever" edited by Beth Albprt Hakhai The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research Vol. 58 2003, quoting from Edgerton, W. F., and Wilson, John A. 1936 Historical Records of Ramses III, the Texts in Medinet Habu, Volumes I and II. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 12. Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
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King Ramesses III's throat was slit, analysis reveals. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
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 J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, pp.454-456 §246
A. J. Peden, The Reign of Ramesses IV, Aris & Phillips Ltd, 1994. p.32 Atika has long been equated with Timna, see here B. Rothenburg, Timna, Valley of the Biblical Copper Mines (1972), pp.201-203 where he also notes the probable port at Jezirat al-Faroun.
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At first, scholars tried to redate the event to "3000 BP": TOWARDS A HOLOCENE TEPHROCHRONOLOGY FOR SWEDEN, Stefan Wastegǎrd, XVI INQUA Congress, Paper No. 41-13, Saturday, July 26, 2003. Also: Late Holocene solifluction history reconstructed using tephrochronology, Martin P. Kirkbride & Andrew J. Dugmore, Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2005; v. 242; p. 145-155.
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Ramesses III

Ramesses III's Mortuary Temple at Medinet Habu, Egypt

Medinet Habu is the name commonly given to the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, an important New Kingdom period structure in the location of the same name on the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt. Aside from its intrinsic size and architectural and artistic importance, the temple is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III.

The Sea Peoples, or Peoples of the Sea, were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty. The Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah explicitly refers to them by the term "the foreign-countries (or 'peoples') of the sea" in his Great Karnak Inscription.

Description

The temple, some 150 m long, is of orthodox design, and resembles closely the nearby mortuary temple of Ramesses II (the Ramesseum). The temple precinct measures approximately 700 ft (210 m). by 1,000 ft (300 m) and contains more than 75,350 sq ft (7,000 m2) of decorated wall reliefs. Its walls are relatively well preserved and it is surrounded by a massive mudbrick enclosure, which may have been fortified. The original entrance is through a fortified gate-house, known as a migdol (a common architectural feature of Asiatic fortresses of the time).

Ramessid columns in the peristyle court

Just inside the enclosure, to the south, are chapels of Amenirdis I, Shepenupet II and Nitiqret, all of whom had the title of Divine Adoratrice of Amun.

Ceiling

Reconstruction of the Mortuary temple of  Ramesses III

The first pylon leads into an open courtyard, lined with colossal statues of Ramesses III as Osiris on one side, and uncarved columns on the other. The second pylon leads into a peristyle hall, again featuring columns in the shape of Ramesses. This leads up a ramp that leads (through a columned portico) to the third pylon and then into the large hypostyle hall (which has lost its roof). Reliefs and actual heads of foreign captives were also found placed within the temple perhaps in an attempt to symbolize the king's control over Syria and Nubia.

In Coptic times, there was a church inside the temple structure, which has since been removed. Some of the carvings in the main wall of the temple have been altered by coptic carvings.

The Royal Palace was directly connected with the first courtyard of the Temple via the "Window of Appearances".

Ramesses III

Modern identification and excavation

One of John Beasley Greene's set of the earliest photos of the temple, showing the Second Pylon

As for much of ancient Egypt, the first European to describe the temple in modern literature was Vivant Denon, who visited the temple in 1799-1801. Champollion described the temple in detail in 1829.

Initial excavation of the temple took place sporadically between 1859 and 1899, under the auspices of the Department of Antiquities. During these decades the main temple was cleared, and a large number of Coptic period buildings, including a substantial Coptic Church in the second court, were destroyed without notes or records being taken.

The further excavation, recording and conservation of the temple has been facilitated in chief part by the Architectural and Epigraphic Surveys of University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, almost continuously since 1924.

Ramesses III's Mortuary Temple at Medinet Habu, Egypt