Near the ruins of Memphis, this country's ancient capitol, and the necropolis where the first man-made stone building still stands, an ancient art is being preserved by 21st century Egyptians.

Boys and girls as young as age 10 are learning carpet maker's skills at some 200 carpet schools around Egypt.

With confounding speed, they tie threads of silk and wool into millions of knots in intricate patterns that become coveted Persian rugs, known now as Oriental carpets.

"The difference between carpet schools and factories is that children here also are taught to read and write." says Eid Faid, assistant manager at Oriental Carpet School, one of about 10 such schools in this agricultural area an hour from Cairo...

Carpet schools keep ancient Egyptian art alive, Toni Reinhold, Reuters, UK, September 29, 2006.

Still on its global tour, “Mummy: The Inside Story” manages to unwrap some of the mysteries surrounding Nesperennub, a 2,800-year-old Egyptian priest without touching a single bandage. Though he lies in his mummy case, undisturbed for nearly three millennia, computerized tomography scanning gives us an intimate 3-D look into his history, from his bad teeth to the bowl the embalmers managed to get stuck to his head and just left there.

The exhibition, with this and other mummies, mummy cases, a 20-minute 3-D film and other exhibits from the British Museum in London, will be on display from Oct. 7 to Feb. 18 [2007] at the National Science Museum in Tokyo's Ueno Park.

Launched by the British Museum, “Mummy: The Inside Story” has won acclaim around the world. I saw the 3-D film in May in Madrid.

The 3-D images that seem to bring the ancient mummy to life are the fruits of a cooperative undertaking by the British Museum and the British branch of the California-based computer graphics firm Silicon Graphics Inc...

CT-scan film reveals mummy mysteries, Keiichiro Inoue, Asahi Shimbun, Japan, September 29, 2006.

The Village Community Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago will offer a program Friday, Sept. 29 [2006], at the Hinsdale Public Library, 20 E. Maple St. Coffee will be served at 9:45 a.m. followed by the seminar.

The lecture, presented by Thomas F. Mudloff with The Field Museum in the Egyptology / Biblical Studies Department, will focus on the magic of ancient Egypt and King Tutankhamen. In an effort to better understand this period and to enhance the appreciation of the objects displayed in the Tut exhibit, this program will be presented in a multimedia format...

Lecture explores King Tut exhibit, Liberty Suburban Life, Illinois, USA, September 27, 2006.

Throughout the holy month of Ramadan the historic sites of Al-Ghouri complex, Beit Al-Harrawi, Al-Seheimi and Taz Palace, as well as Talaat Harb Library in Al-Sayeda Nafisa district, Al-Manesterli Palace in Al-Rowda Island and the Alexandria Creativity Centre will host several cultural activities, concerts and dance performances to celebrate Ramadan nights. Sponsored by the Cultural Development Fund, all performance are free of charge except at Al-Manesterli Palace...

Lively cultural nights, Nevine El-Aref, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 814, September 28 - October 04, 2006.

When Douglas Brewer ventured deep into the Egyptian desert this year, he expected to find possibly 100 examples of “rock art” — evidence of ancient civilization. What he actually found were well over 1,000 examples — a treasure trove of rock art.

The desert art, which was pecked or sometimes incised into large rock faces, depicted elephants, ostriches, giraffes, and many hunting scenes. But perhaps strangest of all was the abundance of boats depicted in the art. After all, this area was far from any body of water, says Brewer, a University of Illinois professor of archaeology and director of the Spurlock Museum in Urbana.

According to Brewer, this find may have raised more questions than it answered. “I went out to demonstrate the existence of the desert culture in ancient Egypt,” he says. But after preliminary evaluation of the rock art, it is hard to tell whether it is the work of an independent desert culture...

See also the works of Arthur Weigall and Hans Winkler in the Eastern desert. More recently the work of and with their Eastern Destert Rock Art Survey. A review of Toby's excellent book is reproduced from Ancient Egypt Magazine (Volume 3, Issue 6, May / June 2003) here.

An Oasis of Art in the Egyptian Desert, Doug Peterson, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois, Illinois, USA, September 2006.

Thirty years of archaeological photography in Egypt, including pictures from a recent discovery, will go on display Saturday in “Ancient Places — Ancient Faces” at the Hocking County Historical Society, 64 N. Culver St., Logan.

The exhibit of photographs by George B. Johnson, director of Hocking College’s Archaeology Documentation Centre, includes scenes of KV63, a tomb examined earlier this year in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.

An opening reception will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, with the exhibit continuing through Oct. 22 [2006]...

Logan centre to show shots from Egypt, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio, USA, September 28, 2006.

The great pyramids at Giza were used as waterworks for pumping water from the Nile to the vast fields, while the Cheops (Khufu) pyramid was the largest waterworks of ancient Egypt. In short, that is the essence of a theory put forth by Mikhail Volgin, an engineer from Kiev, Ukraine. Volgin believes he has unravelled the mystery of the pyramids that dates back to 26th century B.C. Well, the Kiev engineer is not the first one to generate similar theories...

Scientists and researchers produced lots of theories in an attempt to learn the purpose of the pyramids. Some theories claimed the pyramids were used as a tomb for the rulers of ancient Egypt. Others maintained the gigantic structures were used as observatories or equipment for marking water levels during the flooding of the Nile. According to a number of other theories, the pyramids were built for landing alien spaceships, storing grain, and damping vibrations in the earth’s crust during earthquakes.

Using the pyramids as waterworks is a novelty of sorts. Volgin lists the following arguments in proof of his theory...

Ahem, Pravda strikes again!

Egyptians used their pyramids as waterworks to pump water from Nile, Pravda, Russia, September 28, 2006.

"More than 500,000 Chinese visited the Egyptian exhibition of photography that was held here on September 5-25 [2006]," said Egypt's tourism counsellor to China Naser Abdel-Aal on Tuesday 26/09/2006.

The exhibition was held among activities marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Egyptian-Chinese relations, he said.

He added that the exhibition included attractive photos taken by Chinese photographers during their visits to Egypt over the past years.

He hoped the exhibition would help lure more Chinese tourists to Egypt.

Around 30,000 Chinese tourists visited Egypt during the period from January to July of 2006, according to official tourism statistics.

500,000 Chinese visit Egyptian photography exhibition, Egypt State Information Service, Egypt, September 27, 2006.

A convicted antiquities smuggler has offered to return a previously unknown ancient masterpiece known as “Object X” to Italy in exchange for reducing the jail time and fines he faces for supplying loot to U.S. museums.

A famous artist from the ancient world whose work compares to that of Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci created Object X, says the convicted art dealer, Giacomo Medici, who is free while awaiting appeal. The object, which may be a statue, vase, or something else — he's not saying — is worth millions, he says.

“It’s something they can only dream about,” Medici, 68, says of the Italian officials with whom he’s negotiating to cut his 10-year prison sentence and 10-million Euro ($12.8 million, [£6.8 million]) fine. “And only I can bring it to them.”

Medici’s case is part of a broader prosecution that includes Marion True, the former antiquities curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, who is on trial in Rome for conspiracy and receiving smuggled art...

Art Smuggler Offers Italy Mystery Masterpiece ‘X’ to End Trial, Vernon Silver, Bloomberg, New York, USA, September 25, 2006.

Legend has it Cleopatra was not just a seductive schemer playing a dangerous power game to keep her Egyptian kingdom out of Roman hands.

Apparently, she also invented the pastime of cruising.

Thousands of years before companies such as P&O turned water transport into resort-style fun, Cleo was using her womanly wiles to keep the Romans at bay.

After seducing Roman general Julius Caesar in her quest for power, the pair set off on a leisurely two-month cruise down the Nile, gathering popular support for the union and having a fine old time.

After giving birth to Caesar's son, and after Caesar's murder, she cast her potent charms on Roman general Mark Antony.

It was a rather cunning move, but rival Roman general Octavian defeated Mark Antony in battle, Cleopatra committed suicide and Rome took Egypt.

I can't vouch for the historical accuracy of the cruising tale, but it made a great yarn when told by our Egyptologist guide Sherif during a three-night cruise down the Nile...

Nile cruise to past glories, Brad Crouch, News Corporation, Australia, September 24, 2006.

Even if you can't see mummies on display, area institutions are offering plenty of fascinating activities, events and exhibits related to ancient Egypt.

From an exhibit at the Flint Institute of Arts on the excavations of the world's first archaeologist to films, music, planetarium and family programs, the public will get a bird's eye view of Egypt. The events are organized by the FIA, the American Arab Heritage Council and a host of other organizations.

You can experience a chariot ride, courtesy of Kettering University students' engineering skills, and help construct a 6-foot mummy at the Children's Museum of Flint.

"Over the last several years, the FIA (Flint Institute of Arts) has organized collaborations with other cultural institutions on topics of mutual interest," said FIA director John Henry. The FIA is collaborating with nine other institutions over the next few months "to enrich the public's understanding of Egypt from the past to the present," he added...

Walk like an Egytian, Carol Azizian, The Flint Journal, Michigan, USA, September 24, 2006.

A tomb full of treasures

Before Sir William Flinders Petrie entered the scene, there were a lot of treasure hunters but no archaeologists.

In a way, Petrie was the prototype for Indiana Jones - the first archaeologist "anywhere in the world," according to Peter Lacovara, curator of ancient art at Emory University's Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta.

"He's often called the father of scientific archaeology, having invented techniques that are still used today..."

A tomb full of treasures, Carol Azizian, The Flint Journal, Michigan, USA, September 24, 2006.

For more than 50 years, the 85-ton granite statue of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II has ruled over a congested square in downtown Cairo. But with the help of Dow’s VORACOR rigid polyurethane system, the 3,200 year old statue recently left behind all the noise, car and bus exhaust, and subway vibrations and was safely transported to a more serene setting at the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Egypt.

To protect the statue from damage during its 10-hour journey to its new home near the Great Pyramids in Giza, the statue was wrapped in VORACOR, a tailor-made rigid foam formulation suitable for spray and injection technologies developed by Dow Polyurethane Systems. VORACOR was selected because it met the specific flow properties, cell structure, compressive strength and density required for the safe transportation of the heavy statue.

“We were thrilled to be involved in helping to protect a historical treasure like King Ramses II that holds such great significance for the Egyptian culture and to the world,” said Juan Antonio Merino, general manager of Dow Polyurethane Systems. “While this application is quite unusual, it exemplifies our ability to develop polyurethane systems that solve individual customer challenges no matter what they are or where they are located around the world...”

Dow VORACOR Protects Ramses II On Its Journey To The Great Pyramids, Chemical Online, USA, September 22, 2006.

Science often brings us a startling new way of looking at the world, above and beyond the practical fruits of the laboratory. From the "Earthrise" photos taken after the Apollo moon landings to the first microscopic views of germs, research has a powerful potential for producing striking images.

To celebrate the phenomena, Science magazine and the National Science Foundation have named the winners of the 2006 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, a bevy of striking images capturing new views of the natural world and the workings of science and technology. "The science community needs to discuss the enormous contribution good visual translations can bring to both communication and advancing the thinking behind the science," said contest judge Felice Frankel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a commentary accompanying the winners in the current Science.

— In photography, first place honours went to an image of the interior of a child mummy residing at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California. Putting together some 60,000 computer-assisted tomography (CAT) images, a Stanford University team revealed that the unopened 2,000-year-old mummy case contained the remains of a 4 or 5-year-old girl. "The Rosicrucian museum has since named her Sherit, ancient Egyptian for "Little One." Her body showed no telltale signs of trauma or long-term disease, and so the researchers believe Sherit died unexpectedly," notes the commentary...

Science gets image conscious, Dan Vergano, USA Today, New York, USA, September 25, 2006.

cf. Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge 2006, Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, District of Columbia, USA, 2006.

Egypt has agreed that Bahrain can host a roaming exhibition of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in April. Egyptian Ambassador Dr Azmi Khalifa said Bahrain will be the first Arab country in Middle East and North Africa to host this exhibition which mirrors the golden era of the pharaohs.

The exhibition is currently in the US and will move to South Africa then to Bahrain and will stay here for six months.

Dr Khalifa said that assistant under-secretary for culture and heritage Shaikha May bint Mohammed Al Khalifa will visit Egypt to be briefed on the conditions of hosting such an exhibition.

Erm, this can't be the same exhibition — unless they are talking about 2008 — as it is in Philadelphia in April and then moves to London in November 2007.

'King Tut' set for Bahrain, Gulf Daily News, Bahrain, Vol XXIX, No. 191, September 27, 2006.

Two international consortiums are now waiting for the final answer as to who will be responsible for the management of the construction and operation of the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).

The museum administration reviewed the presentations of the two companies on Wednesday and will announce the winner soon. According to a museum official, the project manager should be on board by the end of this year.

The Ministry of Culture announced the project management and construction bid to qualified project management firms in August 2003. In mid-October 2003, tender documents were submitted by 15 project management firms. Following a pause initiated by the Ministry of Culture in May 2004 to study the founding proposal, the bid was resumed. Then the applicants were narrowed to a field of two: The Japan-based Pacific Consultants International (PCI) and the EHAF-led consortium...

Museum project to be awarded soon, Sarah El Sirgany, The Daily Star, Egypt, September 16, 2006.

After a 2,000-year lapse, Egypt is looking to again acquire a gold-mining industry by revisiting ancient deposits of the precious mineral that symbolised the glory of the Pharaohs...

In the early 1990s, [Josef al-Raghy's] father Sami ... was inspired to look into the Red Sea Hills' mining potential when he saw an old papyrus map dating back to 1,200 BC in a Turin museum.

The ancient document, believed to be the oldest geological map in the world, showed the locations of ancient pharaonic mines in the inauspicious desert which stretches from the Nile south of Luxor to the Red Sea...

In Pharaohs' footsteps, Egypt eyes new gold-mining era, AFP via Turkish Press, Turkey, September 24, 2006.

cf. previously on this blog: Pharaonic Goldmine.

An Egyptian mummy dating back thousands of years is to go on display at Frankie Howerd's former home.

The mummy and other Egyptian artefacts were presented to the comedy legend in the 1970s after he appeared in a tourism advertising campaign.

Priceless gifts from the Italian Government which include paintings and statues will also be on display at Wavering Down House in Cross at the Up Pompeii show on September 23 [2006].

The artefacts used to be kept in a bomb shelter in the grounds of the house until they were valued and sent to London to be stored...

Frankie's Roman relics revealed, Weston & Somerset Mercury, UK, September 21, 2006.

Frankie Howerd website.

While carrying out a survey on the archaeological valleys and hills on Luxor's West Bank, in an attempt to locate sites used by the Copts, an archaeological mission of the French Institute for Oriental Studies has unearthed a significant number of clay sherds dating back to the Coptic era (451 - 641 AD).

The survey also aimed at drawing an archaeological map for these Coptic sites by using the GPS technique as well as documenting and studying all inscriptions and potteries found. The General Director of Antiquities in Upper Egypt, said that the team also found several objects, dating back to the ancient Egyptian, Greco-Roman and Coptic eras.

In Haggag Valley Aspaniya, the team succeeded in locating six Coptic archaeological sites, one of which includes a cave with bent corridors covered with gypsum and bearing Coptic inscriptions...

Coptic artefacts found in Luxor, Egypt State Information Service, Egypt, September 24, 2006.

So many Jewish cultic practices come from ancient Egypt that it's not surprising to see Egyptian monuments showing the Pharaoh wearing a headdress that looks like the tefillin — phylacteries — worn during prayer by observant Jews.

In many depictions, Pharaoh is shown wearing a snake crown from which there projects above his brow a sacred asp or viper and a cobra in aggressive attitudes. They represent the Pharaoh's power of protecting his land by means of serpents that can both defend the land and attack the enemy when necessary.

Such powers were essential to the rulers of Egypt, whose rich but extended land was always in danger of invasion from the less fortunate peoples of the surrounding deserts.

The deities that supported the Pharaoh also wore appropriate headgear, but in their case not on the brow but further up on the head, above the hairline. In many cases this headgear was in the form of an animal's head, such as the jackal or the ibis-bird; but in some cases it was just a small black box on a black plate.

Was this a form of tefillin..?

Essay: Tefillin - made in Egypt?, Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg, Jerusalem Post, Israel, August 31, 2006.

From September 22 until January 21 [2007], a spectacular exhibition at Basel's Antiquities Museum looks at burial rituals in old Egypt. The highlight of the exhibition is the burial chamber of Tuthmosis III, one of the most important pharaohs of the 18th dynasty. A facsimile of the burial chamber has been built in the museum and supplemented with original objects, giving visitors the chance to take a breathtaking trip back in time.

A pharaoh's grave in Basel, SwissInfo, Switzerland, September 21, 2006.

An electronic scan of a 2,000-year-old mummy has allowed researchers to examine its insides while leaving the body intact.

The mummy, in the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San José, California, is that of a four or five-year-old girl who has been nicknamed Sherit, meaning Little One in Ancient Egyptian. The project, led by a team from Stanford University, was named a winner in the Science and Engineering Visualisation Challenge awards this week.

That's the entire article but there is a picture on The Times website.

Scan reveals mummy's tummy, The Times, UK, September 22, 2006.

Spanish Egyptologists were in La Laguna last week to attend a congress hosted by the university, one of the few in Spain which boasts a department of Egyptology.

And it was the university’s plain-speaking professor of archaeology, Antonio Tejera Gaspar who grabbed the headlines when he took the opportunity to once again call into question the origins of the pyramids at Güímar.

And though he discounted any direct linkage between the aboriginal inhabitants of the Canary Islands and the ancient Egyptians, a theory based on their love of mummifying their dead and which has gained ground in recent years, the professor admitted that an indirect relationship was possible.

“There is no doubt about the north African origins of the inhabitants of these islands,” he said...

Egyptologists meet in La Laguna, Tenerife News, Tenerife, Spain, September 22, 2006.

Egypt has lured tourists via the Pharaoh’s route. Holding on to three thousand years of ancient civilization, Egyptian tourism leaders promote campaigns to heighten popularity of ancient history to bolster culture tourism. The ministries of tourism and culture have put antiquities high on the agenda. Together today, they speed up projects for expanding museums to preserve heritage, at the same time, raise archaeological awareness among locals and tourists.

More visitors are thrust upon Pharaonic ruins, medieval architecture, Islamic and Holy Family landmarks, even millennia-old Coptic monasteries on both sides of the Red Sea. Classic tours continue to lure guests despite Upper Egypt’s sweltering heat in the summer months.

In Luxor, meaningful discoveries have been made of late much to the industry’s delight. Latest finds have done well in tantalizing huge audiences and captivating media attention. 2006 has been an incredible year for a nation whose ancient treasures are still buried in the sand — some 75 percent remains unearthed until today. Although while some are still off-limits to tourists, they nevertheless create enough sensation as they line previously-excavated sites long open to the public.

For instance, just across famous Boy King Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Qena in Luxor is KV63. It revealed itself early this year...

Deep in the Valleys of Pharaonic Egypt, Hazel Heyer, TravelVideo.TV, Ontario, Canada, September 21, 2006.