If it [the discovery of the mummy of Hatshepsut] is ever confirmed, this is one of the biggest announcements in the history of archaeology.

If.

See, there's this tooth.

But before we get to the tooth, let's look at the hype. When the King Tut exhibit opened in February at the Franklin Institute, special guest Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, gave a stirring speech, predicting stunning Egyptological finds soon, including the identification of:

The mummy of Maatkare Hatshepsut, one of the first female rulers in history.

Antony and Cleopatra's tombs.

Either one, if confirmed, would be a wow with exclamation points...

Hawass likes TV. He's been helping the Discovery Channel make a documentary about the search for Hatshepsut... Oh, hey — We found her! We have proof! Just in time!

Maybe they have found The Bearded Queen. But it's no sure thing. This announcement is premature...

Editorial: A Mummy's ID, The Philadelphia Daily News, Pennsylvania, USA, July 02, 2007.

I'm going to make an entire web page with these explaining what they are, but here's [a picture] of me in the bottom of KV-20, Hatshepsut's original tomb.

Several things to note: First, the respirator: At the time (1993) the tomb was open, so it was an absolute heaven for bats. The ground next to the walls on the way down is littered with bat skeletons. And, of course, their leavings. So it absolutely reeked. Hence, the breathing apparatus.

Second, it's very long and deep... And it curves, so once you get to the bottom there is no light at all. This is probably the first time I experienced true lack of light. You open your eyes and there isn't even a smidgen of light. Until you've experienced it, it's hard to explain...

Field photos, Tony Cagle, ArchaeoBlog, USA, July 04, 2007.

The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) decided to conduct laboratory tests on one of the unknown mummies in the tomb of King "Seti I" with the purpose of determining whether it belongs to the King Tuthmosis I or not. This came after the mummy believed to be of King Tuthmosis I withdrawn from the Royal Mummies Hall in the Egyptian Museum as archaeologists discovered that it is not his mummy.

Dr. Zahi Hawass, SCA Secretary General, said on 03/07/2007 that the DNA analyses on the unknown mummy will be compared to the analyses made on the members of the family of the king including Hatshepsut, Tuthmosis II and Tuthmosis III. Hawass added that after archaeologists have confirmed that the mummy of King "Tuthmosis I" is not for him following the DNA analyses, the mummy withdrawn from the Royal Mummies Hall in the Egyptian Museum and a specialized Egyptian team of archaeologists and technicians will start search for the mummy of King Tuthmosis I.

It is noteworthy that upon Tuthmosis I's death, the throne passed to his son Tuthmosis II who married his sister Hatshepsut, daughter of the main wife of King Tuthmosis I, in order to support his right in the throne but Hatshepsut, who gave birth to only one female baby namely Nefro Ra, took over the throne instead of Tuthmosis III, son of his husband, who was a little child (boy) and had herself crowned pharaoh "Queen" and took male titles and appearance.

Tuthmosis I, to be or not to be, Egypt State Information Service, Egypt, July 04, 2007.

Ever since the mysteries and myths and the Ancient Egyptian civilisation have once again been brought into life, they fascinated countless generations, from kids to adults. The once mighty Egypt is nowadays a source of awe, stories and inspirations for Western audiences, for the Egyptian way of life seems so strange and complicated.

The Auckland Museum, New Zealand, is trying to present one of the most important and interesting chapter in the history of the Egyptian religion — the journey to the Afterlife, with it's rituals and complicate rites. The mummies have always been an enigma to modern public. How did the Egyptian priests made them, what techniques and materials were used, what were the rituals? Even if most of this details are nowadays known, the rites of death of the ancient Egyptians are still fascinating.

The exhibition is focused on the 2700 year old mummy of a woman called Keku, who was discovered, perfectly preserved, in her beautifully decorated sarcophagus, alongside over 200 various artefacts, burial treasures, tools used for the mummification process. With great care and patience, researchers have recreated Keku's story, from the few clues left behind...

Egypt Beyond the Tomb at the Auckland Museum, Art Line, Romania, July 04, 2007.

Our guide was leaning on a walking stick and limping, yet he patiently led a couple of friends and me through more than 100 panels at an exhibition on Islam, held in Chennai (Madras). Suave and gentle, he explained skilfully how science vindicates Islam. Modern discoveries that the prophet of Islam could not have known in early medieval Arabia were described in the Koran, he said. One panel described the phenomenon of internal waves in the ocean — a modern discovery that is mentioned in the Koran.

A sceptic, I am a bit too well aware that faith can twist facts to its convenience. Satellite pictures of coral reef formations can become "incontrovertible proof" for the existence of an artificial bridge built an incredible 17 million years ago by the legendary Hindu king Rama. Otherwise sane people can argue that the abbreviation of World Wide Web, www, is actually 666 — the number of the beast — fulfilling a Biblical revelation. Fortunately, in the mainstream Hindu culture in which I am nurtured, myths are internalized rather than taken literally. That is a civilisational blessing. If you disagree, just look at the way creationists pester science educators in a developed country like the United States.

Our host stopped before a panel depicting a mummy, and explained that it was not a mummy but a miraculously preserved body of the pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea during the legendary episode of Exodus. In the last moment this pharaoh declared his belief in the God of Musa (i.e. Moses). As a reward God preserved his body as a sign for the people to believe the revealed truth, our guide said. However, the panel depicted a rather well-known mummy — a Google search later revealed it was that of Rameses II.

To cut a long story short, after five hours I emerged from the exhibition more a sceptic than a believer. And I decided to check certain claims...

Commentary: Preserved pharaohs and fantasies of prophecy, S. Aravindan Neelakandan, UPI, Asia Online, India, July 05, 2007.

More than 4,500 years after she died, a mummified daughter of the VIth Pharaoh of Egypt cries for attention at the A.P. State Museum at Public Gardens here.

With no experts available in the country to help preserve and waiting for assistance from outside, the Mummy appears to have started giving into the pressures of time.

Though the Mummy, one of the six Egyptian Mummies preserved at museums in the country, has recently been shifted to a better enclosure, the need for immediate steps towards conservation is showing. The wrapping has started to peel and the outer crust is fragmenting at several places and the cracks are very conspicuous at several places.

The Mummy here is believed to be that of a young girl aged between 16 years to 18 years and daughter of the Pharaoh dated to 2,500 B.C. It was brought by Nazeer Nawaz Jung, son-in-law of Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, the VIth Nizam of erstwhile Hyderabad in 1920s. It was said to have been taken for a price of 1,000 pounds and gifted to the VIIth Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. The same was donated to the Hyderabad Museum which was opened in the year 1930 and since then has been on display...

Mummy in need of preservation, The Siasat Daily, India, July 03, 2007.

Priceless Egyptian treasures at the forthcoming Tutankhamun exhibition will be subject to unprecedented security against the threat of robbery or even terrorist strikes.

The show, which opens on November 15 at the O2 Centre, will feature 42 artefacts never seen before in the UK and organisers are determined that nothing will go wrong.

Airport style X-ray machines will be used to screen every visitor, CCTV will cover every angle and sniffer dogs will be present to seek out explosives and biological agents such as anthrax.

It is the first time the treasures, including the Egyptian king's crown, have travelled to Britain in 35 years, but this may be the last chance to view them...

Unprecedented Security At Tutankhamun Exhibition, Life Style Extra, UK, July 05, 2007.

On Saturday evening [that's 07/07/07 if you hadn't spotted it], in a star-studded ceremony in Lisbon, the New 7 Wonders of the world will be revealed.

Tickets to the event, to be staged at Benfica's Stadium of Light, will cost up to £75 and Christiano Ronaldo, Jose Carreras, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Kingsley will be among the guests.

The "winners" of the Wonders poll will be those voted for my millions of online people worldwide.

But the process is far from perfect, with governments helping skew the votes, and punters being encouraged to vote by text — and even invited to buy additional votes for $2.

UNESCO, which awards World Heritage status to historical sites worldwide and oversees their maintenance, has snubbed the awards as have some governments, including Egypt...

Dr Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) in Cairo, wrote to the Swiss embassy to complain and "informed the event organizers that Egypt will not participate in this campaign nor cooperate with them in any way..."

Controversial 'New 7 Wonders' campaign reaches its climax, Gareth Scurlock, The Times, UK, July 05, 2007.

cf. 7 wonders winners to be announced 7/7/07, Eliane Engeler and Alexander G. Higgins, AP via Yahoo! News, USA, July 05, 2007.