By : Hassan Saadallah

Manifestations of ancient Egyptian civilisations have dazzled people across the world. Egyptian Coptic art, dating from Roman rule until the Islamic conquest, has proved no less attractive.

Upon request from the Hungarian Cultural Counsellor to Cairo, samples of Coptic art will be flown to Budapest this month to be displayed in a two-month exhibition, beginning 15th March.

The exhibition will display some l29 Egyptian pieces - insured at US$20 million - of which 90 will be borrowed from Cairo's Coptic Museum and 39 from Alexandria's Graeco-Roman Museum.

Among the items displayed, there will be 28 wooden artefacts, pottery artefacts bearing inscriptions of birds and crosses, in addition to stone artefacts, icons, lamps, bronze pots and l3 pieces of cloth bearing drawings of crosses and other Coptic symbols.

The exhibition is expected to be a major tourist attraction for East European tourists.

[Source]   The Egyptian Gazette, Egypt, 4 March 2005.

By : Hassan Saadallah

Al Farama Church, lying northwest of Al Qantara Sharq in Sinai, is one of the area's major tourist attractions. Local Bedouins know the church as Tel Makhzan - Hill of Storehouses - due to the large number of storerooms the building embraces.

History books mention a great deal about this area at the beginning of Christianity in Egypt. A manuscript records the martyrdom of a saint in the early fourth century who was famous for his writings and wise opinions about social and religious matters. In fact, the area is rich in the number of churches unearthed over the years. The largest of these churches is the Basilica whose alter and columns have now been restored. A large water reservoir and water distribution canals were among the important finds of the church.

The southern church is made up of several smaller chapels, built one above the other and dating back to the fourth century AD. The northern church needed substantial restoration, especially to the walls which had to be reinforced in order to prevent collapse. In the church's vicinity, tombs were found, along with a well and a furnace, possibly used for glass making.

A team of SCA excavators engaged on Moses Mountain in Sinai has uncovered large quantities of pottery that date back to Roman, Byzantine, early Coptic period and Islamic ages. They have also found engraved stones, some bearing Latin text and others Arabic script, dating to the tenth century AD (the fourth Hijra century).

On the same site, they have found remains of glassware and pieces of marble bearing black writing. Unfortunately the script is unreadable due to weathering. Small bronze and copper coins have also been unearthed, yet their age is hard to determine due to their corrosion.

[Source]   The Egyptian Gazette, Egypt, 4 March 2005.

Yet more on the Australian team's mummy discoveries.

Australian archaeologists digging near the Saqqara pyramids, 15 miles south of Cairo, have discovered some of the best-preserved Egyptian mummies, dating from about 2,600 years ago, Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities has announced.

The Australian team, headed by Macquarie University Professor of Ancient History Naguib Kanawati, unearthed the mummies by accident last week, while exploring a much older tomb...

[More]   The Discovery Channel, USA, March 3, 2005.

By Zahi Hawass

Four Egyptian individuals objected to the recent examination of King Tut.   Their objection was not based on scientific evidence.   Rather, one of the objectors wanted his name in the media and used his objection as an excuse to be in the newspapers.   The second was upset because in the past he had wanted to do DNA testing on the mummy but the minister of culture, Farouk Hosni, refused his request because DNA testing had not been found to be accurate when dealing with mummies.   He was therefore upset that another team was being allowed to do an examination of the mummy.   This person acted like the devil.   When he was on TV, his face was filled with fire, jealousy and hatred.   It was a case of sour grapes.   The third was a young archaeologist who believes he is an expert in mummies when in fact he is a novice who has the knowledge in archaeology of a recent graduate from university.   The fourth, however, is a good friend of mine whom I respect.   He was the one who first initiated the project, but resigned because of a disagreement we had.   He wanted to control the reading of the CT-scan, and I wanted experts to read it to ensure it was read accurately without any speculation...

[More]   Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 732, 3 - 9 March 2005.

Saqqara's recently unearthed graves shed new light on the area's significance as a sacred necropolis.   Nevine El-Aref visits the site.

Coincidence often plays a major role in discoveries in Egypt. This is evident from the unearthing of Tutankhamun's tomb in Luxor, the royal treasures of Tanis in Delta and Khufu's solar boats in Giza, to mention but a few examples.

This time, archaeologists digging in Saqqara -- which is perhaps more commonly known by its Ancient Egyptian name Memphis* -- came quite unexpectedly upon four remarkable troves: three anthropoid sarcophagi and two painted statuettes of the renowned Saqqara's god Ptah-Sokar dating back to the late Pharaonic period, as well as a Naos and a false door from the Fifth Dynasty.

The story of this discovery began early this month when a team of Australian archaeologists of Macquarie University [were] clearing the debris located at the northern side of Teti's pyramid in Saqqara in an attempt to discover the northern and western limits of the necropolis...

[More]   Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 732, 3 - 9 March 2005.

*Memphis is the Ancient Greek name.   The ancient Egyptian name was 'Inbw-hedj', which means 'White Walls' or 'White Fortress'.