An article about the CT scan exhibition of the mummy of the priest Anchhor at Het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities) in Leiden, Netherlands.

A Mummy: Eternal Living , Algemeen Dagblad, Netherlands, January 12, 2006, via ArcheoNet.

Treasures from the grave of Tutankhamun — the Egyptian boy king whose name still carries magical public allure 3,000 years after his death — will come to the Field Museum of Natural History, which is hoping to re-create the "Tutmania" that accompanied a similar exhibit in 1977.

The new show, scheduled to arrive in Chicago in May 2006, will contain different artefacts from those that toured almost three decades ago — and will be decidedly more expensive to view.

The earlier exhibit had 55 artefacts, including the magnificent gold coffin mask that bears Tut's likeness. The new exhibit will have 50 different artefacts from Tut's tomb, plus another 80 items unearthed in tombs of other royal personages in the Valley of the Kings along the Nile River.

The Field Museum has not decided what it will charge visitors to see "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," but it will be more than the normal $1.50 museum admission fee that got one into Tut in 1977...

City to get another taste of Tut, Chicago Tribune, Illinois, USA, January 16, 2006.

The Albany Institute of History & Art, with GE as a sponsor, will host a world-class travelling exhibition, beginning Jan. 21, showcasing important Egyptian treasures from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London. Many of the artefacts in the exhibit's North American tour have never been seen by the public.

"GE Presents Excavating Egypt" tells the story of archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) and his exploration of ancient Egyptian civilization. Petrie worked in Egypt for over half a century and is considered the "Father of Egyptian Archaeology" for his innovations and contributions to the field. He also was the inspiration for the film hero Indiana Jones.

The exhibit features 221 of Petrie's most significant finds. These artefacts tell the story of the earliest Egyptians and are part of a remarkable collection of "firsts," including: a fragment of mankind's first calendar (2900 BC); the earliest examples of metalwork in Egypt; the earliest examples of glazing; the oldest wills, written on papyrus; the first worked iron beads; the oldest bead-net dress; the earliest "cylinder seal" in Egypt (3500 BC); and ancient Egyptian masons' models for pyramids...

Take a day trip to Egypt Albany museum has rarely seen items, Binghampton Press and Sun-Bulletin, New York, USA, January 13, 2006.

More than 100,000 visitors mobbed the show in the first two weeks after its Dec. 15 [2005] opening, and there are still one-hour waits in line, even for those with timed tickets.

Weekends are nearly sold out, although some tickets remain through April 23, when the exhibit closes. Michiganders will have another chance when Tut comes to Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History from May 26 [2006] to Jan. 1, 2007. Tickets go on sale Jan. 24 [2006].

What's all the fuss? ...

Florida goes nuts for Tut, Detroit Free Press, Michigan, USA, January 15, 2006.

cf. All hail King Tut, Florida Today, Florida, USA, January 14, 2006.

cf. Crowds flock to Tut's tomb, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Florida, USA, January 17, 2006.

After months of planning, assemblage and a media blitz fit for a king, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs ticked past the 125,000 visitors mark last weekend at Fort Lauderdale's Museum of Art. But big numbers have brought complaints from patrons and a museum staff hustling to address them.

"Our tickets were for 5 p.m., and at ten till 7 p.m. we were still under the tent outside the building," says Alan Kent, a 50-year-old psychologist from Seattle visiting Fort Lauderdale for the holidays. "People were wound around in circles, like Disneyland, and there were no places to sit."

Ron Hilmeblau, a retired coal broker from Delray Beach, experienced similar waits. "We purchased tickets for a 4 p.m. entry and were admitted at 5:15 pm," he says of his Dec. 29 visit to the exhibit. "I can only imagine how long the people on the street were waiting. They oversold the tickets. There's no other explanation..."

Long lines frustrate some patrons as King Tut exhibit draws big crowds, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Florida, USA, January 16, 2006.

cf. Crowds delay Tut viewing, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Florida, USA, January 15, 2006.

There has long been a fascination in Britain with the world of ancient Egypt. What is it about this mysterious civilisation that so catches the imagination?

Five thousand years ago the chain of independent city-states lining the River Nile united to form one long, thin country ruled by one king, or pharaoh. Almost instantly a highly distinctive culture developed. For almost 30 centuries Egypt remained the foremost nation in the Mediterranean world. Then, in 332 BC, the arrival of Alexander the Great heralded the end of the Egyptian way of life.

The unique culture was quickly buried beneath successive layers of Greek, Roman and Arabic tradition, and all knowledge of Egypt's glorious past was lost. Only the decaying stone monuments, their hieroglyphic texts now unreadable, survived as silent witnesses to a long lost civilisation...

As you can see from the date below, this seven page article has been on the BBC History website for some time but this is the first time I have seen it so I thought I'd post it here anyway.

Ancient Egypt and the Modern World, Dr Joyce Tyldesley BBC, UK, September 06, 2005.

They built more pyramids than the Egyptians, invented the world's first "rock" music, and were as bloodthirsty as the Aztecs when it came to human sacrifices.

Yet ever since their demise at the hands of a vengeful pharaoh, the pre-Christian civilisations of ancient Sudan have been overshadowed by their Egyptian northern neighbours. Now, the race is on to excavate black Africa's first great kingdoms - before some of their heartlands are submerged for ever.

In a highly controversial move, the Sudanese government is planning to flood a vast stretch of the southern Nile valley as part of plans for a big hydro-electric dam at Meroe, near what was once the ancient city of Napata...

Race to save first kingdoms in Africa from dam waters, The Daily Telegraph, UK, January 08, 2006, via Archaeologist at Large.