When British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, Egypt became the smart place to spend time on holiday.   Keen to keep up with the crowd, the Hay Seton family finally made their journey to Cairo from Edinburgh in 1936.

Sir Alexander Hay Seton was the 10th Baron of Abercorn and Armour Bearer to the Queen.   This once rich and magnificent family had lost its land and money, and for "Sandy" the title was virtually the only remnant of his wealthy past.   Still, he had enough to finance a tour of the wonders of Egypt, and Sir Alexander's colourful account is given to us in his autobiography, The Transgressions of a Baronet...

Abdul, their guide, led them to the grave, hidden in the shadow of the Pyramids.   As they descended into the dark tomb they came across the skeletal remains of a mummified young woman.   Sir Alexander whispered a short prayer over the bones, but Zeyla impulsively picked up a piece of the skeleton and put it in her pocket...

[More] The Scotsman, UK, 21 Apr 2005.   With thanks to Jim Davila for this one.

Serabit el-Khadim, the only ancient Egyptian temple in Sinai, is scheduled to appear on tourist itineraries in the coming months.

The temple, southeast of Abu Zneima city in South Sinai, was recently restored at a cost of LE 10 million.   Built in homage to Hathor (the lady of Turquoise) in the 12th dynasty, the temple juxtaposes a number of turquoise mining caves that were used in ancient times.

[Source]   Egypt Today, Volume #26, Issue 05, May 2005.

The Supreme Council for Antiquities is preparing a new antiquities law to replace the current one, Law 117 for the year 1983.

According to Zahi Hawass, the SCA's high-profile secretary-general, the old law is no longer suitable because the penalties it imposes for the crimes of antiquity trafficking are not strong enough.

The law will be presented to the People's Assembly when it reconvenes for its next legislative season after the anticipated fall parliamentary and presidential elections.

[More]   Egypt Today, Volume #26, Issue 05, May 2005.

A Professor of Egyptology is committed, through her essays, to do justice to ancient forgotten mummies - animal mummies that is.

Although practiced by other civilizations, mummification is most popularly associated with the ancient Egyptians.   Our modern fascination with the mummy is only too apparent in the crowds that flock to the Egyptian Museum to gawp at the wizened remains of long dead pharaohs, or the enduring popularity of certain B-rate horror movies of which they are the spine-tingling focus.

Apparently the human mummy is only just part of the story, for not only did the ancient Egyptians also mummify their animals, they did so in industrial quantities.   Animal cemeteries at places such as Tuna al-Gebel, Saqqara, Bubastis and numerous other sites have yielded animal mummies that number in the millions and yet have received relatively little attention.   Divine Creatures Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt, edited by American University in Cairo (AUC) Egyptology Professor Salima Ikram, does much to redress this imbalance though it remains, in the most positive sense, very much still a work in progress...

[More]   Egypt Today, Volume #26, Issue 05, May 2005.

Buy Divine Creatures by Salima Ikram, AUC Press, 2005, through Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, or Amazon.ca.