New research suggests that oil and its by-products were valued and traded in the Mideast at least 3,000 years ago, the same region that dominates world production and export of crude oil today.

Evidence for the discovery came from surprising sources - mummies.

According to a forthcoming paper in the Journal of Geoarchaeology, scientists found tar on several ancient Egyptian mummies.   Because every batch of tar contains unique biochemicals, the researchers were able to trace the sticky substances back to their origins...

[More]   Discovery Channel News, USA, Feb. 18, 2005, via ArchaeolBlog.

cf. Use and trade of bitumen in antiquity and prehistory: molecular archaeology reveals secrets of past civilizations, J. Connan, Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, Volume 354, Number 1379, January 29 1999, pp. 33 - 50, The Royal Society.

cf. Sources of mummy bitumen in ancient Egypt and Palestine, J. A. Harrell & M. D. Lewan, Archaeometry, Volume 44, Issue 2, May 2002, p. 285.

cf. Review of the uses and modeling of bitumen from ancient to modern times, J Murali Krishnan and KR Rajagopal, Applied Mechanics Reviews, Volume 56, Issue 2, March 2003, pp. 149-214.

Egypt's southernmost city (population 150,000) and ancient frontier town has the loveliest setting on the Nile.   At ASWAN the deserts close in on the river, confining its sparkling blue between smooth amber sand and rugged extrusions of granite bedrock.

Lateen-sailed feluccas glide past the ancient ruins and gargantuan rocks of Elephantine Island, palms and tropical shrubs softening the islands and embankments till intense blue skies fade into soft-focus dusks.   The city's ambience is palpably African; its Nubian inhabitants are lither and darker than the Saiyidis, with different tastes and customs. Although its own monuments are insignificant compared to Luxor's, Aswan is the base for excursions to the temples of Philae and Kabasha, near the great dams beyond the First Cataract, and the Sun Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, far to the south.   It can also serve for day-trips to Darow Camel Market, Kom Ombo, Edfu and Esna - the main temples between here and Luxor.   But the classic approach is to travel upriver by felucca, experiencing the Nile's moods and scenery as travellers have for millennia.   However, Aswan itself is so laid-back that one could easily spend a week here simply hanging out, never mind going anywhere.   The tourism scene is much the same as in Luxor...

[More]   femalefirst.co.uk, UK, February 15, 2005, via TourEgypt.net.

The painted limestone bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti will be moved to a new permanent home in the Old National Gallery, it was announced on Friday.

The new site is on the city's Museum Island in the Spree River. The bust had been on display at Berlin's Egyptian Museum for nearly a century.

The move of the bust of the wife of heretic Pharaoh Akhenaton is part of the restoration project involving the island's five museums, which were badly damaged during World War II.   Before moving Nefertiti will be part of a special exhibition about hieroglyphics and symbolism in the arts at the Kulturforum in Berlin from March 2 to August 2...

[More]   Middle East Times, Cyprus, February 21, 2005.

Polish experts excavating in the southern city of Luxor have discovered three ancient Coptic manuscripts in a Pharaonic tomb, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities said on Saturday.

The find was the single most important Coptic discovery since 1945 when a pair of Bedouins stumbled onto the Coptic codices in Nag Hammadi in Egypt's western desert, it said.

The manuscripts date to the sixth century and were concealed in a Middle Kingdom (2000 to 1800 BC) tomb in Luxor, about 710 kilometers (440 miles) south of Cairo, the council said...

[More]   Middle East Times, Cyprus, February 21, 2005.