Zahi Hawass scores the editorial quote of the day in the Binghamton Press & Sun- Bulletin, New York.

Ain't technology grand?   New computer imaging techniques and CT scans now allow "reconstructions" of faces of long-dead people from their skulls or mummified remains.   The first "reconstruction" of King Tutankhamun's face, for example, indicates that he might be an ancient ancestor of Barbra Streisand.

But Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, which is creating the facial reconstructions of King Tutankhamun, inadvertently provided the quote of the day when he proclaimed: "For the first time, we will make these dead mummies come alive."

No thanks.   Boris Karloff as Im-Ho-Tep was creepy enough.

[Source]   Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, New York, USA, May 12, 2005.

More on the facial reconstruction story.

A 100-year-old museum, home to one of the world's largest collections of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology, has won an industry award.

A panel of experts judged University College London's Petrie Museum to have remained relevant and interesting since its creation in 1892.

BBC presenter Sophie Raworth presented the award at a ceremony on Wednesday...

[More]   BBC News, UK, May 12, 2005.

More on the facial reconstruction story.

The world's most famous pharaoh has a brand-new look, thanks to forensic techniques that wouldn't be out of place on a CSI TV crime drama.

Scientists have created the first ever bust of the ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun based on 3-D CT scans of his 3,300-year-old mummy.

Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, led the effort, joined by forensic artists and physical anthropologists from Egypt, France, and the United States.   Three independent teams created busts of Tut...

[More]   National Geographic News, USA, May 11, 2005.

cf. Tutankhamen's features reconstructed, State Information Service, Egypt, May 11, 2005.

More on the gangrene story.   I'm not sure these are any different from the last one though.

Egyptian scientists have finally lifted the veil of mystery surrounding famed pharaoh Tutankhamun's death, saying he died of a swift attack of gangrene after breaking his leg.

"After consultations with Italian and Swiss experts, Egyptian scientists ... have found that a fracture in the boy king's left leg a day before his death was infected with gangrene and led to his passing," Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities said Tuesday...

[More]   AFP via Yahoo! News, USA, May 10, 2005.

cf. Gangrene Felled King Tut, AFP via Discovery Channel News, USA, May 11, 2005.

cf. Experts say King Tut died of gangrene, UPI via The Washinton Times, District of Columbia, USA, May 11, 2005.

Egyptian Ambassador in Germany Muhammad Al-Orabi opens on May 21 an exhibition displaying Egyptian artifacts.

The one-month exhibition is organized by German foundations in Potsdam.

[Source]   ArabicNews, May 12, 2005.

When Macquarie University Egyptologist Professor Naguib Kanawati went to Saqqara, Egypt, for his annual dig this year, he was not looking for mummies at all. He just wanted to find the fence outline of the Teti cemetery he has been excavating for the past 10 years. But three weeks into the dig, his team of seven archaeologists uncovered the first of three very well preserved and beautifully decorated mummies...

[More]   Macquarie University News, Macquarie University, Australia, April 2005.