A Czech archaeological team working on a site in Abusir on Monday unearthed the skeleton of a top governmental official, referred to as Nefer during studies carried out in his tomb after it was discovered last year. Nefer held several titles in the royal palace and the government during the reign of the fifth dynasty king, Nefereer-Ka-Re. He was the priest of the king's funerary complex, the supervisor of the royal documents scribes and also of the house of gold. Egypt's antiquities minister Mohamed Ibrahim said that the skeleton was found inside the deceased's sarcophagus, which was carved in limestone. A stone head rest was found under the skeleton's head. Ali El-Asfar, head of the ministry's ancient Egyptian antiquities section, told Ahram Online that the tomb – discovered last year by the Czech mission led by Mirislav Barta – is an unfinished rock-hewn tomb within a funerary complex and consists of four corridors, with the eastern one devot...

  For decades, 30 boxes lay forgotten in the storage vaults of the Brooklyn Museum’s Egyptology department. The contents had not been catalogued, or even seen, since the 1930s and 40s, when they were purchased from the New-York Historical Society. But in 2009, curatorial assistant Kathy Zurek-Doule finally opened the boxes. Lying nestled inside each one was an elaborately wrapped mummy in the shape of an animal. Ibises, hawks, cats, dogs, snakes, and even a shrew were all represented in the collection, which had been amassed by a wealthy New York businessman in the mid-nineteenth century. Faced with an unexpected trove of objects unlike any other the museum has, Egyptology curator Edward Bleiberg and his team embarked on a comprehensive study of the mummies. The rediscovered objects gave Bleiberg the chance to investigate a question that has puzzled archaeologists ever since they first realized that vast animal cemeteries along the Nile hold millions of mummies: Why ...

Tomb of 18th dynasty government official accidentally found by Spanish-Italian team on Luxor's west bank in the Sheikh Abdel-Gournah area   A Spanish-Italian team carrying out routine excavation work on Luxor's west bank has stumbled upon what is believed to be the tomb of Maayi, a top governmental official in the 18th dynasty. Egypt's antiquities minister Mohamed Ibrahim told Ahram Online that the tomb was accidentally found by the excavation team via a hole in the wall of tomb number TT109, in the Sheikh Abdel-Gournah area. Paintings on the tomb's walls show Maayi in different positions with family members, offering details on his daily life and family relations. "The tomb is very well decorated, which reflects the luxurious life of its owner," Ibrahim said, adding that one wall painting depicts a feast with men and women gathered in front of a table filled with a variety of food. Ibrahim said that the tomb is only partly discovered...

Iset, the daughter of Amenhotep III, was the aunt of Tutankhamun Archaeologists have discovered a new statue representing the daughter of King Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun’s grandfather and ruler of Egypt over 3,000 years ago. During routine excavation works at Amenhotep III's funerary temple in the Kom El-Hittan area on Luxor's west bank, a European archaeological mission uncovered the statue of the king's daughter Iset. The statue, which is 1.7m tall and 52cm wide, forms part of a huge, 14m high alabaster statute of Amenhotep III. Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim told Ahram Online that several parts of the colossal Amenhotep statue had been unearthed during previous excavation seasons. "It is a very important discovery because it is the first time to unearth a statue that shows the king with his daughter, alone without her mother, brothers or sister," Ibrahim said. There are several extant statues that show Iset with all the members of her fa...

The tomb of Ramesses IV (KV 2) in the Valley of the Kings is rather different than most other royal tombs built here. Ramesses III, had been assassinated, and when his some, Ramesses IV took the thrown, he did so in a period of economic decline in Egypt. Though large, his tomb is highly simplistic, and unique in many ways. The tomb was known early on, and was in fact used as a sort of hotel by early explorers such as Champollion and Rosellini (1829), Robert Hay, Furst Puckler, Theodore Davis and others. It was also an important Coptic Christian dwelling, and was also frequently visited in antiquity. There was considerable Coptic and Greek graffiti on the tomb walls. Interestingly, two sketched plans of this tomb are known, the most famous and complete of which is contained within the a papyrus in Turin. One unusual aspect of the tomb is that there is very little decline as one travels from the first part of the tomb through to its rear. The entrance begins with a spli...

Visite au quartier des potiers à Fustat Eau, terre et feu, font la passion du potier Les poteries sont toujours là pour parler au cœur de l'homme, lui renvoyer le geste éternel de la main qui modèle, façonne, pétrit et décore. La tradition du travail de la terre se perpétue, en Egypte, grâce à des maîtres potiers ou des céramistes, qui reprennent souvent les techniques ancestrales. Le quartier des potiers au Caire, tout près de Salah Salem (quartier de Fustat), est un centre important de production d'objets en terre cuite et en argile. Découvrez au fil d'une rapide visite des lieux, ces nombreux artisans, leurs ateliers primitifs et les salles d'exposition de leurs produits, qui ne sont que les trottoirs mi-pavés, mi-détruits. Ils créent de nouveaux pots culinaires, des objets décoratifs d'une grande variété, d'inspiration classique et résolument moderne, du même coup. Plus qu'aucune activité de l'homme, la poterie est conservatrice de la mém...

There were two different types of harps in ancient Egypt . The angular harp came from Mesopotamia. The arched harp originated in Egypt and was more popular. King Ahmose I of the 18th Dynasty owned a harp constructed of ebony, gold and silver. Dunn describes a harp built for King Tuthmosis III that was made of silver, gold, lapis lazuli, malachite and other precious stones. Egyptian stringed musical instruments date to ancient Egypt. Three types of stringed instruments were played in ancient Egypt. Relief sculptures and paintings on tomb and temple walls depict musicians playing the lute, lyre and harp. Egyptian stringed musical instruments were plucked rather than bowed. Stringed instruments played in the Old Kingdom were more complex than the percussion and wind instruments of ancient Egypt. Lutes are stringed instruments similar to mandolins. lutes were made of wood and partly covered with leather. The lute was used in Ancient Egypt around 2000 B.C. This instrument ...

Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of Antiquities announced today a new discovery in Luxor. The discovery is a tomb of an high official called "Maai" from the 18th Dynasty, it was discovered by the Spanish-Italian mission working in Sheikh Abd Qurna on the West Bank. The team found a funerary cone made of pottery shows the titles of the deceased including, The Secret Keeper of the God, the Supervisor of the cattle, Overseer of the fields, Overseer of the King's horses, the Mayor,  Distinguished of Osiris and the Prince.  The tomb was discovered during the mission's work in tomb TT109 where they made a hole in one of the walls which led to get to the newly discovered tomb. The team is still working on removing the debris from the tomb. The inscriptions and scenes found so far are important in terms of showing the details of the daily life of the deceased beside his relation with his family. It also shows the luxury were available to high officials at that time.  ...

A Japanese mission from Waseda University uncovered the tomb of Khonso-Im-Heb, who was the head of beer production for goddess Mut and the head of the galleries during the Ramesside era. The discovery occurring during routine cleaning work carried out at the frontcourt of tomb number TT47, which belongs to a top official in the reign of the New Kingdom king Amenhotep III. The tomb of Khonso-Im-Heb is T-shaped with two halls and a burial chamber. It is also connected to an unfinished tomb of an as-yet unidentified person called Houn. Jiro Kondo, head of the Japanese mission, said that the tomb is well preserved and is fully painted with scenes depicting the tomb’s owner with his family members and in front of different ancient Egyptian deities.   Scenes of the “Open Mouth” ritual also figures on one of the tomb’s wall while the ceiling is decorated with geometrical paintings with vivid colours. A solar boat is depicted at its core. Minister of State of Antiquities Moham...