Pharaonic rule traced back to 5,000 years ago in stunning discovery in Southern Egypt

'The beginning of history': Oldest known depictions of a Pharaoh dating back more than 5,000 years found in southern Egypt

• Carvings on rock faces are the earliest indication of royal power in Egypt
• They show Pharaoh riding boats in what is thought to be tax-collecting tour
• First found in the 1890s, they were rediscovered in 2008 and have just been described in a scientific journal for the first time

By DAMIEN GAYLE
DAILYMAIL
December 12, 2012

The oldest known representations of a Pharaoh dating back as far as 3200BC have been found carved on rocks near the Nile River in southern Egypt, a new study claims.

Researchers say the engravings on rock faces in the desert four miles north of the Aswan Dam are the earliest found indication of royal power in the country.

The images of a Pharaoh riding boats with attendant prisoners and animals offer a window on Dynasty 0, they say, and show the moment pre-Dynastic Egypt was first captured by the rule of a single monarch.


The royal boat procession: This image, heavily damaged in recent times, shows the earliest known image of a ruler wearing the 'White Crown', one of the earliest symbols of Egyptian dynastic power


Traced: The researchers copy of the carving shows the detail of the picture more clearly

'It's really the end of pre-history and the beginning of history,' study researcher Maria Gatto, of Yale University, told LiveScience.

Researchers found seven carvings around the area, many of which are tableaux of boats flanked by prisoners.

On of the most extensive shows the earliest known image of a ruler wearing the 'White Crown', one of the earliest symbols of Egyptian dynastic power, as he travels in ceremonial processions and on sickle-shaped boats.

Falcon and bull insignia on the Pharaoh's boat indicate royalty, which is emphasized by by the four men standing alongside it holding ropes - most likely to tow it along the Nile.

The cycle of images is said to be the first with hieroglyphic annotation, with one on this particular scene labeling it a 'nautical following'.

This the researchers say, is likely related to the royal and ritual event known as the 'Following of Horus', a biennial tax-collection tour made by the royal court to stamp its authority on the country.


Symbolism: These are animal representations, with mythological animals on the right


The same picture as it appears after being traced by the researchers


A general view of both tableaux: The site was discovered in the southern Egyptian desert, 4km north of the Aswan High Dam

Other carvings include pastoral scenes of cattle herding and a cluster of animals, two of which appear to be mythical part-lion creatures.

'The theme of catching and bringing up wild animals is most important for pre-Dynastic times,' the researchers said.

'Although archaeozoological studies show that hunting was only of marginal economic importance during pre-Dynastic times hunting was part of the elite lifestyle, and slaughtering wild animals on the occasion of religious festivals or elite burials allowed the upper echelons of society to show their importance in real life.'

Other animals shown are familiar native African species, including ostriches, an ibex and a bull - the latter of which is shown 'dominating' the animals around it and is said to be a royal symbol.

Another tableau shows people brewing and drinking beer, perhaps in reference to some kind of festival.


This carving shows a boat with three men, probably prisoners, behind and slightly below the stern: Researchers found seven carvings around the area, many of which are tableaux of boats flanked by prisoners

First recorded in the 1890s by the archaeologist Archibald Sayce, the carvings were lost to Egyptologists until the Sixties, when Egyptian archaeologist Labib Habachi found and photographed them, but never published his work.

It was after seeing one of these pictures that Ms Gatto led a team of international researchers that rediscovered them in 2008, despite fears they had been destroyed in the interim

The study published in the most recent issue of Antiquity is the first to offer a detailed description of the carvings.

Ms Gatto told LiveScience that the style of the carvings and the kinds of hieroglyphics dated the images to between 3200BC and 3100BC, around the time of the reign of Narmer who was the first Pharaoh to unify Upper and Lower Egypt.

'It seems that for Narmer it was important first to settle the situation in the South, to control the South, and then apparently move to the North, and at that time he unified Egypt and we have the first dynasty,' she said.

Read more:
Oldest Pharaoh Carvings Discovered in Egypt | LiveScience

Examining the Curse of Tutankhamun

wysinger.homestead

Much Ado About Nothing: Examining the Curse of Tutankhamun

By SUJAY KULSHRESTHA

(June 10, 2012)
2012, VOL. 4 NO. 06
STUDENT PULSE

In the early part of the 20th century, the world experienced tumultuous change. At the turn of the century, advances in technology linked humans around the world like never before, political borders changed in the aftermath of one of the deadliest wars known, and the world began to settle into a period of prosperity. In the Valley of the Kings, the early part of the 1920’s brought immeasurable fame with the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Howard Carter’s opening of a nearly intact tomb in 1922 revived the popular appeal of ancient Egypt and the history it contained. However, with this fame came notoriety; within four months, Lord Carnarvon, one of the benefactors of the excavations, passed away. News of his death instigated rumors and discussion of a possible curse on the tomb, and subsequent deaths of those involved in the project, whether explained or not, became fodder for curse enthusiasts. Popular depictions of ancient Egypt only added fuel to the fire, with the relationship between ancient Egypt and the occult becoming cemented in the eye of public opinion.

Tutankhamun, more popularly known as King Tut, represents one of the most sensational archaeological finds of the 20th century. The discovery and subsequent research into the tomb’s origins and background have fascinated many, electrified the field of Egyptian Archaeology, and provided as many questions as answers. Tutankhamun’s tomb was unique in that it was unlike any other discovery; the archetypal Egyptian tomb is, of course, the noble Pyramid. Carter’s discovery of a tomb underneath the level of the desert baffled even him.

[...]

Before delving directly into the curse of Tutankhamun’s tomb, one needs to understand the origin and basic guidelines for a curse. Many believe that the curse on King Tutankhamun’s tomb remains the definitive curse of Egyptology and fewer believe that the curse represents the capitalization of charlatans on the public imagination. However, one should note that the curse has some basis in fact and goes back further than the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

The idea of Tutankhamun’s curse, however, grasped the public imagination as a literal warning to avoid disturbance of the tombs of the pharaohs. Dominic Montserrat, a prominent Egyptologist, determined while studying the curse that one of the earliest references to a Mummy’s curse exists in an English children’s book published in 1827. The book, written by Jane Loudon Webb, seems to have been inspired by the author’s firsthand observation of a mummy unwrapping.6 Further references exist, this time at the British Museum, where the museum supposedly possessed a cursed Mummy Board after a number of related individuals were injured or died shortly after its acquisition.7 More recently, an Internet search will turn up a conspiracy involving a mummy on the RMS Titanic, which supposedly led to its tragic sinking; an examination of the ship’s cargo manifest has yielded these claims to be entirely untrue, though the legend lingers.8 Curses related to Egyptian archaeology seem to invent themselves from circumstantial evidence−deaths, injuries, illnesses that may accompany an excavation−the tomb of Tutankhamun is no exception.

The idea of the curse of King Tutankhamun’s tomb originates with the death of its financial backer, George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon. As an aristocrat, Lord Carnarvon possessed a considerable amount of wealth with which he chose to spearhead Howard Carter’s excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Upon Carter’s discovery and opening of the tomb, Carnarvon immediately decided to depart for Egypt to handle press relations at the site.9 Carnarvon died within four months in April 1923. His death is the central event that led to the establishment of a Mummy’s Curse at Tutankhamun’s tomb, setting off a curse frenzy,...

(click here to read the full article)

Top 10 Ancient Egyptian Myths and Misconceptions

by Ancient Art Podcast
Lucas Livingston

[click here to view the playlist]

Visit http://www.ancientartpodcast.org/top10 for the complete Top 10 list. 

Explore more episodes, image galleries, credits, transcripts, and additional resources at http://ancientartpodcast.org. 

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Glass Faience and Pottery Making at Amarna (Egypt)

AWT Conference 2011 Review: Glass Faience and Pottery Making at Amarna (Paul Nicholson)
Published on Egyptological, Magazine Reviews, Edition 3, 7th December 2011
Review by Kate Phizackerley.

[O45.1: An Ancient Industrial Estate]

Image: Egyptian Glass and Faience (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

Introduction

As described in the overview of the 2011 AWT Conference which I co-authored with Andrea Byrnes (see bottom of this review), Dr Paul Nicholson spoke about his excavation of the Amarna site designated O45.1, which was, for a time, used for the production of pottery, faience and glass. Previously the site had been a cemetery and by the end of the Amarna period had changed usage again to become what Nicholson described as a “casemate” site, although he didn’t say what this meant. [Andrea heard “casement” instead, although this is no clearer.] Nicholson mentioned these earlier and later usages in passing but spoke in detail only about the industrial phase.

O45.1

The site O45.1 lies in the main city alongside the main thoroughfare, about 200m SW of the Small Aten Temple, placing it a similar distance SSW of the Great Palace. Questioned about the closeness of a potentially noisy and smelly facility so close to the palace, Nicholson said it was probably a deliberate wish to keep a strategic resource under close oversight and Barry Kemp interjected to add that the prevailing wind would blow smoke and odours away from the palace.

Excavations by Nicholson revealed a number of small kilns and two larger furnaces. The area had been excavated previously by Flinders Petrie so Nicholson drew upon Petrie’s notes to supplement his findings. Nicholson showed some of the moulds found on the site, but Petrie had found very large numbers which he reburied in a cache which, in spite of a search, has not yet been relocated. No large workshop buildings were discovered but Nicholson reminded the room that the Egyptian climate is suited to working outside, so workshops may not have been required.

Pottery

Unsurprisingly, Nicholson talked first about the kilns that he identified as used for firing pottery, although he reported difficulty in precisely differentiating between kilns that had been used for firing pottery and those that had been used for the manufacture of faience. The kilns have clay floors overlying mud brick and walls consisting of a single layer of mud bricks, which he believed had come from an earlier demolished kiln. It is likely that kilns had a limited useful lifespan before replacement was necessary.

The evidence for pottery making is provided by finds of unfired pottery and some clay waste marked with scratchings from having been shaped on a wheel. Nicholson described how there has been some academic debate whether an Egyptian wheel was fast enough to throw pots (rather than being merely a turntable), but he reported...

(click here to read the full article)