When Egyptologists entered the tomb for the first time more than four decades ago, they expected to be surprised. Explorers of newly exposed tombs always expect that, and this time they were not disappointed – they were confounded.

It was back in 1964, outside Cairo, near the famous Step Pyramid in the necropolis of Saqqara and a short drive from the Sphinx and the breathtaking pyramids at Giza. The newfound tomb yielded no royal mummies or dazzling jewels. But the explorers stopped in their tracks when the light of their kerosene lamp shined on the wall art in the most sacred chamber.

There, carved in stone, were the images of two men embracing. Their names were inscribed above: Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. Though not of the nobility, they were highly esteemed in the palace as the chief manicurists of the king, sometime from 2380 to 2320 B.C., in the time known as the fifth dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Grooming the king was an honoured occupation.

Archaeologists were taken aback. It was extremely rare in ancient Egypt for an elite tomb to be shared by two men of apparently equal standing...

... David O'Connor, a professor of ancient Egyptian art at the [New York University] Institute of Fine Arts, said: "My suggestion is that Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep were indeed twins, but of a very special sort. They were conjoined twins, and it was this physical peculiarity that prompted the many depictions of them hand-holding or embracing in their tomb-chapel."

Dr. O'Connor elaborated on his hypothesis in a recent lecture and in an interview in New York. He is describing and defending the idea before scholarly peers at a conference, "Sex and Gender in Ancient Egypt," this week at the University of Wales in Swansea...

A Mystery, Locked in Timeless Embrace, John Noble Wilford, The New York Times, New York, USA, December 20, 2005.

Plans have been announced for the $550 million Grand Egyptian Museum, to be established near the Pyramids near Cairo. It will be among the world’s largest museums, and is by far the biggest to be built from scratch. The venture is expected to attract up to five million visitors a year, slightly more than the British Museum in London, which is the world leader. There will be some 100,000 Egyptian artefacts on show (compared with the British Museum’s 80,000 displayed objects, covering all major cultures).

Project director Dr Yasser Mansour told The Art Newspaper that the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will open in 2010. He was in London, for the Museums Association conference last month, to unveil the plans. The new museum will become the home for most of the huge collection housed at the present Egyptian Museum, in the centre of Cairo, in Tahrir Square.

The existing Cairo museum was opened in 1902, for 10,000 antiquities, but it rapidly filled up, as discoveries were made, and there are now 120,000 objects on display, with many tens of thousands in the basement store...

Plans unveiled for $550 million museum near the Pyramids, The Art Newspaper, London, UK, December 19, 2005.

The latest scientific technologies were employed to re-examine Tutankhamen's wine goblets which had been found in his graveyard. The Spanish nutrition and Egyptology team discovered that the goblets had a residue of poison in them, leading them to conclude that Tutankhamen was poisoned while drinking his red wine. (From Al Ahram)

Hmmm. Either this is new or refers back to the Red Wine articles from last month which do not mention poison.

Only in Egypt! King Tut poisoned, Middle East Times, Cyprus, December 19, 2005.