Egypt
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref)
Tis the season to look back over the previous year's activities and discoveries.
See the above page for many more of the main highlights in the Egyptology diary from 2008.
- More Re Latest Discoveries At Karnak
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) With photograph A 250-METRE-long embankment, a quay and some Ptolemaic baths are the most recent discoveries at Karnak Temples, Nevine El-Aref reports. Coincidence always makes for important discoveries. It led to Tutankhamun's...
- Karnak To Undergo Restoration
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) The Karnak development project will soon be officially inaugurated by President Hosni Mubarak, Nevine El-Aref reports Even in ruins, Karnak Temples remain a spectacular sight. Within the temples enclosure is a cluster...
- Surprise Discoveries At Karnak
National Geographic A series of surprising discoveries has been made at the foot of Egypt's famous Temple of Amun at Karnak, archaeologists say. The new finds include ancient ceremonial baths, a pharaoh's private entry ramp, and the remains...
- Discoveries At Karnak
Egyptian Gazette (story on this URL will expire shortly) Zahi Hawass, Egypt's archaeology supremo, yesterday announced the discovery of the remains of a 4,000-year-old dam near the Karnak Temple in Luxor. Located a few metres from the ancient temple,...
- Ancient Egyptian Flood Prevention At Karnak Temple
http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6798"Remains of an ancient Egyptian wall used to prevent the leakage of the Nile flood waters from spreading over the Karnak temple in Luxor were discovered on Thursday at the temple's eastern side,...
Egypt
A fruitful archaeological year
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref)
Tis the season to look back over the previous year's activities and discoveries.
This year saw several important discoveries, the restoration of ancient Egyptian, Coptic and Islamic monuments, and the return of artefacts smuggled illegally out of Egypt.
Almost every day, excavators carrying out routine excavation or cleaning stumbled on a new discovery. It might be potsherds or decorative fragments, but it could be a major discovery leading to further understanding of Egypt's history and culture.
One of the most important discoveries of 2008 was made at the forefront of Karnak Temple in Luxor. According to archaeologists it has changed the landscape and the history of this great religious complex. Supreme Council of Antiquities' (SCA) archaeologists found a Ptolemaic ceremonial bath, a private ramp for the 25th-Dynasty Pharaoh Taharqa, a large number of bronze coins, an ancient dock and the remains of a wall that once protected the temple zone from the rising Nile flood.
SCA Secretary-General Zahi Hawass says further excavation will lead to the ancient harbour and canal that once connected the temple to the Nile. According to an old map, this canal was used to gain access to the west bank of the river in a position corresponding to Hatshepsut's Deir Al-Bahari Temple, which was built on the same axis.
The first evidence that the Nile once ran alongside the temple is found in the so-called Madrasa area, 50 metres southwest of the first pylon. It includes remains of what was a massive, sandstone embankment wall built some 3,000 years ago to reinforce the bank of the river, which has since moved.
See the above page for many more of the main highlights in the Egyptology diary from 2008.
- More Re Latest Discoveries At Karnak
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) With photograph A 250-METRE-long embankment, a quay and some Ptolemaic baths are the most recent discoveries at Karnak Temples, Nevine El-Aref reports. Coincidence always makes for important discoveries. It led to Tutankhamun's...
- Karnak To Undergo Restoration
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) The Karnak development project will soon be officially inaugurated by President Hosni Mubarak, Nevine El-Aref reports Even in ruins, Karnak Temples remain a spectacular sight. Within the temples enclosure is a cluster...
- Surprise Discoveries At Karnak
National Geographic A series of surprising discoveries has been made at the foot of Egypt's famous Temple of Amun at Karnak, archaeologists say. The new finds include ancient ceremonial baths, a pharaoh's private entry ramp, and the remains...
- Discoveries At Karnak
Egyptian Gazette (story on this URL will expire shortly) Zahi Hawass, Egypt's archaeology supremo, yesterday announced the discovery of the remains of a 4,000-year-old dam near the Karnak Temple in Luxor. Located a few metres from the ancient temple,...
- Ancient Egyptian Flood Prevention At Karnak Temple
http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6798"Remains of an ancient Egyptian wall used to prevent the leakage of the Nile flood waters from spreading over the Karnak temple in Luxor were discovered on Thursday at the temple's eastern side,...