Excuse the delay in updating the diary, as events have been very hectic these last few weeks with the clearance of Coffin ‘E’ and preparations for shutting down the site for the season.

Coffin ‘D’, the infant coffin, has been removed from KV-63. The wood coffin is covered in gold, but unfortunately empty. The face and head area appear to be in good condition and elaborately ‘executed’; but the remainder of the wood is in poor condition due to termite damage. The coffin measures ca. 46 cm in length, thus a bit longer than the gilt coffinette from Coffin ‘G’.

Coffin E — Many garlands and floral collars appear to be in very good condition, including some with papyrus backing and one with gold intertwined.

Shortly, a multitude of images displaying Coffin ‘E’ and its contents of exquisite garlands and collars will be posted. In the meantime, a few images have been added on Photo Page 2. We apologize for the delay in posting new images but all photos for the website need prior approval by Dr. Zahi Hawass before posting...

KV63: Otto's Dig Diary, Dr. Otto Schaden, Amenmesse Project, University of Memphis, Tennessee, July 09, 2006.

An Egyptian archaeological expedition has discovered Greek-language engravings in Alexandria, Egypt's Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni announced on Tuesday.

The engravings, which were discovered close to the Amoud al-Sawari monument, are said to date back to the times of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (ruled 161-180 AD.)

The secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, said the engravings are six lines long and were found etched on an artefact measuring 50 centimetres long and 36 centimetres wide, which may perhaps be part of an ancient altar.

The engravings are said to be writings glorifying the supreme ancient Greek deity Zeus along with several other Greek gods...

Greek language engravings discovered in Alexandria, dpa via Monsters & Critics, UK, July 11, 2006.

After months of intense scrutiny of its collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles said today ay that it had agreed to relinquish ownership of two of four rare ancient works that the government of Greece says were illegally removed from within its borders.

The compromise accord, which was initially reached in May at a meeting in Athens between the museum’s director, Michael Brand, and the Greek culture minister, Georgios A. Voulgarakis, provides for the return to Greece of a large stele, or grave marker, acquired by the museum in 1993 and a small marble relief from the island of Thasos bought by the museum’s founder, the oil magnate J. Paul Getty, in 1955.

The Getty has not yet worked out the formal arrangement under which the stele and the relief will be repatriated, but officials said the accord might include a provision for long-term loans from Greece. Talks are continuing on the other two objects sought by the Greek government, with goal of reaching an accord by late August, officials said.

Mr. Brand said the museum decided to give up title to the stele and votive relief even though negotiations are incomplete because the Getty was eager to establish a new working relationship with Greece...

Getty Museum Will Return 2 Antiquities to Greece, Hugh Eakin, The New York Times, New York, USA, July 10, 2006.

cf. Getty Will Return 2 Greek Artefacts, Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino, The Los Angeles Times, California, USA, July 11, 2006.