Saturday Trivia
The New KonTiki
Some scientists will go to amazing lengths to prove a theory. Botanist and archaeologist Dominique Görlitz is no exception. He's setting sail to cross the Atlantic -- against the wind -- in a reed boat.
Long before Columbus or the Vikings ever set foot on American soil, Stone-Age man made regular trans-Atlantic trips in reed-hulled sailboats, according to Görlitz' theory. The ancient mariners could have established trade routes between the Americas, Europe and Africa by making use of the Gulf Stream and prevailing winds as many as 14,000 years ago. To test his theory, the 40-year-old German, accompanied by 11 volunteers, will attempt the journey of over 6,000 kilometers, setting sail in the Abora 3, a 41-foot-long (12.5-meter), 12-foot-wide (3.7-meter) boat made completely out of reeds and rope, from New York on July 11 and hoping to land in Spain within 65 days. . . .
Görlitz said he believes the discovery of tobacco beetles and cocaine -- native to the Americas -- in the Egyptian tombs of Ramses II and Tutankhamen, both of whom lived around 1300 B.C., along with the Stone-Age cave drawings of boats and ocean currents founds near Gibraltar strongly support the idea that trans-Atlantic trade occurred long before Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492.
Illuminated 4 ft mummy
You have to love it:
This visible day and night illuminated 4 foot mummy has a special silk screened surface of highly-reflective material that fills-out the frame, making it visible day or night. This mummy is outlined by 100 clear white lights that are crafted from bulbs rated for 3,000 hours of use, and are securely attached to the rust- and weatherproof frame.This 4 foot mummy will fold flat for storage.
Fiction Book Review: Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
Nefertiti tells the story of a powerful woman's rise and fall in Ancient Egypt. Through the eyes of her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, we are introduced to a young Nefertiti, destined to one day become a powerful ruler. Beautiful beyond compare and power-hungry, Nefertiti is a fascinating character. As the pages turn her actions become more outrageous and you begin to realize that power is everything and whoever controls the throne has the power.
Nefertiti marries Prince Akhenaten, who has come into line for the throne with the suspicious death of his older brother. Akhenaten is a reckless unstable young man and Nefertiti is chosen by his mother to sway Akhenaten away from some of his more disastrous views. He believes that there should only be one god in Egypt and that the Pharaoh should be his only voice, not some priests in a temple. Suspicious of
everyone, including his parents, Akhenaten is determined to alter Egypt’s destiny.
See the above pages for more.
- Tv Review: King Tut Unwrapped
King Tut Unwrapped Discovery Channel Always late in receiving the Discovery Channel documentaries it is great when someone reviews one of the ancient Egypt focused ones that have aired in the US. On this occasion I went crawling to Alice Gaylor (Florida,...
- New Book: Amarna Sunset
American University in Cairo Press Amarna Sunset. Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation Aidan Dodson This new study, drawing on the latest research, tells the story of the decline and fall of the pharaoh Akhenaten’s...
- The Truth In The Search For Nefertiti
In a very flawed article from the Archaeology News Network, the former head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass disputes Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves theory that the tomb of Nefertiti will be found behind the painted walls...
- After Nefertiti
With the recent release of the data from the DNA and CT scanning of the eighteenth dynasty mummies in particular the mummies believed related to king Tutankhamen some new questions have been raised. The results show that the Kv55 man found in a coffin...
- The Search For Nefertiti
Joann Fletcher Hodder & Stoughton 2004 London ISBN 0 340 83304 1 This book and television show caused quite a scandal five years ago when Egypt's antiquities Majordomo Dr. Zahi Hawass felt that Ms. Joanne Fletcher had deceived him in drawing conclusions...