When considering the great landmarks or monuments of the past that represented pivotal moments or periods of change in the course of human history, very few will be as familiar to us as the Great Pyramid at Giza, and it is to this greatest of all stone constructions, in both the ancient and modern world, that we travel in the company of independent historian, John Romer.

Romer is a historian of the traditional school, and as such this book is a reflection of that. It assumes that the Pyramid was built as a tomb for King Khufu, son of Sneferu in Old Kingdom Egypt, some 4,500 years ago, and that its design and construction were achieved by conventional means and ordinary tools with which we would be familiar today. By staying within the parameters of accepted chronology for Old Kingdom Egypt, he is able to offer a holistic model in which coherent time-tables and phases of development all accord with each other...

In this book, the author claims for the first time to have discovered the original plan of the Great Pyramid, and how it was part of a design tradition which had preceded it for hundreds of years — moreover, he also proposes to have understood exactly how the Pyramid was constructed, from sourcing the raw materials, transporting them to the Giza cliff-top, as well as how the Pyramid was built piece by piece by the assembled work-force. In this latter respect he is quick to emphasise that modern portrayals of a slave army labouring to the constant thwack of multifarious bull-whips are but banal portrayals of a reality that didn't exist...

In conclusion, I found this book to be an immensely compelling, enjoyable and thought-provoking read — sometimes after putting it down, it felt almost that I needed to shake the dust from my hair and the sand from my boots — it really does take you there, such are the descriptions and impressions of the sites and locations in which the narrative is set. In that regard it's very much a boots-on-the-ground tour of Egypt, and clearly demonstrates that when researching an opus such as this, there is no substitute for actually visiting the setting in person...

, John Romer, Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp. 586.

Book Review: The Great Pyramid - Ancient Egypt Revisited - John Romer, Tim Jones, Remote Central, UK, February 20, 2007.

Thousands of tourists have been flooding to the great temple at Abu Simbel in Egypt to watch the sunrise illuminate the temple's inner sanctum and with it the statue of the Pharaoh, Rameses the second. But all is not quite as it seems with this apparently timeless phenomenon.

The twice yearly festivities in Abu Simbel, in southern Egypt close to the Sudanese border, begin, as is traditional, with performances by Nubian dancers and musicians.

Around 6,000 tourists visit Abu Simbel during the festival, with just a lucky few getting inside for the fleeting 20 minutes that the statues are illuminated...

There is a video that accompanies this article but I have only managed to get it to play a couple of seconds of the clip. Good luck!

Egypt festival: Illuminate ancient Pharaoh, China Central Television, China, February 28, 2007.

The white grapes used to make wines like chardonnay, Riesling and sauvignon blanc evolved because of a lucky genetic coincidence more than 3,000 years ago, Australian scientists have found.

Dr Mandy Walker from CSIRO Plant Industry laboratories in Adelaide and her colleagues studied the genetics of Vitis vinifera, the grapevine species used to produce almost all the white and red wine varieties sold today...

Specifically, Dr Walker and her team showed that the colour of grape skins is controlled by two genes, VvMYBA1 and VvMYBA2...

In white grapes, both the genes are mutated, meaning both ways for producing a red colour were switched off...

Exactly when and where the switch might have happened isn't clear, Dr Walker says.

"It most likely occurred before the time of Tutankhamen," she says.

White wine residue was found in flasks within the ancient Egyptian king's tomb, she says...

First white wine was a happy accident, CSIRO says, Stephen Pincock, ABC News, Australia, March 01, 2007.

Related:

Tutankhamen liked his wine white, February 16, 2006.

White wine turns up in King Tutankhamen's tomb, May 31, 2006.

"Feeling irregular?" might have been a common question in ancient Egypt, since laxatives appear to have dominated their pharmaceuticals, suggests ongoing research on medicine in the time of the Pharaohs.

The investigation — one of the largest studies of its kind — represents a partnership between England's University of Manchester [KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology] and the Egyptian Medicinal Plant Conservation Project in St. Katherine's, Sinai.

Although findings are preliminary, it appears that treating constipation preoccupied early doctors.

"The ancient Egyptians used a diverse range of plants for an equally diverse range of medical conditions," lead researcher Ryan Metcalfe told Discovery News. "Laxatives dominated the field, with bulk laxatives, such as figs, bran and dates in common use..."

Ancient Egypt Meds: Prayer, Laxatives, Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News, USA, February 28, 2007.

Previously:

Discovering the pharmacy of the pharaohs, January 30, 2007.

Mummies unravel the Pharaohs' secrets, February 02, 2007.

Ancient Egypt will come alive this week in a new exhibition at Bolton Museum.

"From a Modern Land. Ancient Egyptian textiles: Contemporary Paintings" will include ancient artefacts alongside contemporary art inspired by them.

Bolton's valuable collection of archaeological textiles, the fruit of British excavations in Egypt, is one of the most significant in Europe.

But because they are so delicate the items are rarely displayed. The exhibition will give people the chance to the items alongside paintings by artist Ros Ford...

Ms Ford, whose work is based on images of contemporary life, ancient icons and Coptic textiles, has lived in Egypt...

Old and new at Egyptian display, The Bolton News, UK, February 27, 2007.

Three people arrested over the sale of a fake £1 million statue to Bolton Museum have had their bail extended by police for the fifth time.

A man, aged 83, and his 46-year-old son, both of Bromley Cross, and an a woman, aged 82, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering in connection with the sale of the Amarna Princess statue. The three have been bailed until April.

The 20-inch statue was thought to date back to 1350BC and depicts a daughter of Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, who was the mother of the legendary boy-king, Tutankhamun.

Bolton Council bought the Amarna Princess for £440,000 in 2003, claiming its actual worth was nearer £1 million. It was discovered to be a fake last year.

Fake £1m statue: Bail extended for trio, The Bolton News, UK, March 01, 2007.

Previously:

Egyptian statue in forgery claim, March 20, 2006.

Two held as '£1m Egyptian statue' is found to be a fake, March 21, 2006.

More on £500,000 statue in police 'fake' probe, March 21, 2006.

The ancient Egypt statue from Bolton (circa 2003), March 28, 2006.

Archive:

Museum secures rare Egyptian sculpture, BBC News, UK, September 30, 2003.