Shehrayar & Shehrazad nile cruises
Shehrayar & Shehrazad are sister boats built and operated to the exacting standards of Germanisher Lloyd.
Shehrayar & Shehrazad two identical sister ships. Built in 1986 they were among the first of the new generation of deluxe Nile cruisers.
2 guest suites
Each suite features king, two private bathrooms with shower, wardrobe, radio, air-conditioning, telephone, mini-bar, safe deposit box, television with satellite transmission. Suites are situated on the third deck. Approximately 28 square meters.
29 deluxe cabins
Each cabin has the same features as the guest suite. Cabins are situated on first, second and third decks. Approximately 23 square meters.
9 standard cabins
Each cabin features twin beds, private bathroom with shower, wardrobe, radio, air-conditioning, telephone, mini-bar, safe deposit box, television with satellite transmission. Cabins are situated on second and third deck. Approximately 11 square meters
Main dining room got Nile View, serving Continental and Egyptian cuisine. Diet and vegetarian menu available on request.
The sundeck and the pool is a good place to both relax and enjoy the Nile landscape from. Billiard and Table Tennis are available on both ships.
The Lounge Bar serves cocktails, soft and alcoholic beverages.
Each standard cabin offer two twin beds while deluxe cabins offer twin or king bed. All cabins have air-conditioning, telephone, mini-bar, safe deposit box and television with satellite transmission.
For Package Price: contact us at egypt@osorios.com
On October 14, 2010 the SCA will hold a conference entitled: Medinet Madi: The Past, the Present and the Future --Shedding Light on the Scientific Work in the Archaeological Site of Medinet Madi at the Ahmed Pasha Kamel Hall at the Supreme Council of Antiquities. The event will be hosted by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the Italian Embassy and the UTL Office in Cairo. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and Vice Minister of Culture, and HE Claudio Pacifico, Ambassador of Italy, will give opening speeches.
This conference is being organized under the ISSEMM Project (Institutional Support to Supreme Council of Antiquities for Environmental Monitoring and Management of the Cultural Heritage Sites). The ISSEMM project aims to improve the management of archaeological sites in Egypt and its efforts have been applied on the case studies of North Saqqara Necropolis and Fayoum Oasis. This conference will focus on the project’s efforts at the site of Medinet Madi in the Fayoum Oasis.
The ISSEMM Project began in 2005 and expanded to include training courses and on site administration in January 2009. It is acting withinn the framework of the Egyptian-Italian Environmental Cooperation Program Phase II, which is one of the international channels through which the Government of Egypt implements policies and actions to support and enhance cultural and environmental national heritage.
The ISSEMM Project is entirely funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs-Directorate General for the Development Cooperation, who have allotted €3,500,000 to the budget. The Project is directed by His Excellency, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass, and the Scientific Committee is chaired by Prof. Edda Bresciani, Accademica dei Lincei, and Prof. Ali Radwan. The Scientific Committee is supported by a Technical Director, as well as an Egyptian – Italian team of technical managers. The University of Pisa, Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche del Mondo Antico, has been appointed with the task of technical and scientific assistance to the Supreme Council of Antiquities, which is the Implementing Agency of the project.
The site of Medinet Madi:
The ruins of Medinet Madi contain a considerable number of monuments, including the only temple of the Middle Kingdom - with texts and engraved scenes – still remaining in Egypt. Achille Vogliano discovered this temple (Temple A) and the Greco-Roman additions, dated to the 4th-5th century, in 1935.
Medinet Madi was founded in the Middle Kingdom as an agricultural village called Dja. The temple was constructed during the reigns of Amenemaht III and Amenemaht IV, and was dedicated to the cobra goddess, Renenutet, and the crocodile god “Sobek of Scedet” - patron of the entire region and the capitol, Scedet. During the Ptolemaic period, Dja became known as Narmouthis, a Greek name meaning “the city of Renenutet-Hermouthis.” Its temple flourished and more monuments were built north and south of the 12th Dynasty temple.
Medinet Madi saw intense settlement during the Coptic period and life continued on the site into the 9th century. The Arabs called it Medinet Madi “the city of the past” and this is the name that still identifies the archaeological site today.
The University of Pisa has carried out exploration of Medinet Madi since 1978. They have focused their work in the southern or Coptic area and to date have identified ten churches dating to the 5th – 7th century. These finds have been extremely important in understanding the history of Fayoum’s ecclesiastical architecture. Thanks to a contribution from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2004, the Pisa mission was able to rescue blocks containing four Greek hymns to Isis. They were fully restored and are now on display at the Museum of Karanis.
Archaeological expeditions conducted between 1997 and 2004, in collaboration with the University of Messina, uncovered a new Ptolemaic temple (Temple C) dedicated to the worship of two crocodiles. A unique feature of the temple is a barrel-vaulted structure adjoining the temple, which was used for the incubation of crocodile eggs.
In recent years, methodical topographical survey, photo-interpretation of the site and geophysical exploration has contributed to an understanding of the urban tissue of the ancient village. These surveys also created a chronological stratification of the site from the Middle Kingdom to the Late Byzantine Period. 
This image depicts the ceiling of the Church of St. George in Coptic Cairo. The church is Greek Orthodox and is located next to a monastery. St. George, or Mar Girgis in Arabic, is a very highly venerated saint in Egypt, particularly because he was martyred in Palestine in 303AD. A church has been dedicated to St. George in Coptic Cairo since the 10th century, but the modern building dates to 1909. (Photo: Meghan E. Strong)
Meeting with Queen Sophia of Spain
During a recent visit to Spain, Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), met Queen Sophia of Spain at the royal palace in Madrid. Dr. Hawass brought a special edition copy of his latest book, A Secret Voyage, as a gift for Queen Sophia, which was engraved with a special plaque to commemorate the occasion. Queen Sophia was so delighted that she decided to display it as a piece of art for the palace’s visitors.
Dr. Hawass signs a limited edition copy of A Secret Voyage for Queen Sophia (Photo: Courtesy of the Spanish Royal House photographer/Borja)
Dr. Hawass offered the first copy of A Secret Voyage to President Hosni Mubarak for his many contributions to Egypt and the Egyptian people. The second copy will be given to the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. Dr. Hawass will also offer copies to a few select international figures.
In addition to meeting with Queen Sophia, Dr. Hawass presented his first lecture in Spain entitled “My Discoveries” at the Palacio de Congresos in Madrid. The 1,700 seat venue was completely sold out for the event.
Dr. Hawass presents his lecture, "My Discoveries," to a full audience at the Palacio de Congresos in Madrid
During the lecture, Francisco Lara, a representative of the APFOA -la Plataforma para el Fomento de los Oficios Artísticos, announced that Dr. Hawass had been chosen as the 2010 Personality of the Year for his many contributions to the field of Egyptology.
The pyramid of Djedefre is located in Abu Rawash, about eight kilometers north of Giza. Djedefre, the son of Khufu, ascended the throne after his father’s death. We know that Djedefre was Khufu’s heir because his name was found in cartouches on the limestone blocks covering the boat of Khufu. Djedefre, the first pharaoh to bear the title ‘Son of Re’, chose this location for his tomb in order to be closer to Heliopolis, the center of the Sun Cult. It has also been suggested that Djedefre’s move from the necropolis of Giza to Abu Rawash may have taken place in order to reduce the risk of destruction. Recent excavation of the site has proved that there was no destruction of the site during the Old Kingdom.
There is evidence to suggest that the original construction of Djedefre’s pyramid was for a step pyramid that was completed during his reign. The Swiss expedition that worked on the site believed that the angle of the pyramid was 52 degrees. The pyramid was surround by a wall, and its funerary temple was built using mud brick. The workmen’s shops were built on the north end of the wall, and there was a boat pit on the south side. The pyramid had a long causeway that stretched out for about 1700m. The pyramid of Djedefre is a quarter of the size of the pyramid of Khufu, but the height of the Abu Rawash plateau is 20m higher than the Giza Plateau. The Swiss expedition discovered a pyramid of a queen, located to the southeast of the main pyramid. In addition to the many excavation projects, the SCA is developing a site management plan for Abu Rawash.
An Egyptian-American expedition has found the burial chamber of a priest named Karakhamun (TT223). The tomb dates to Dynasty 25 (c. 755BC) and was uncovered during conservation and restoration work on the west bank of Luxor.
Entrance to tomb of Karakhamun
Farouk Hosny, Minister of Culture, announced this discovery today and added that the restoration work of this tomb is part of a much larger initiative, known as the South Asasif Conservation Project (ACP). The el-Asasif area is a very important site, which contains nobles’ tombs from the New Kingdom as well as the 25-26th Dynasties.Submit
Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the team found the burial chamber of Karakhamun at the bottom of an 8m deep burial shaft. The chamber is in very good condition and contains beautifully painted scenes. The entrance to the chamber is decorated with an image of Karakhamun and the ceiling is decorated with several astrological scenes, including a depiction of the
The leader of the expedition, Dr. Elena Pischikova, said that the tomb of priest Karakhamun was discovered in the 19th century in an unstable condition. It continued to deteriorate, and only parts of it were accessible to visitors in the early 1970s. It later collapsed and was buried under the sand. Dr. Pischikova’s team rediscovered the tomb in 2006 and has been carrying out conservation work since then. She believes that the tomb of Karakhamun could be one of the most beautiful tombs from Dynasty 25 because of the preservation of the color and the unique quality of the scenes.
Painted ceiling of Karakhamun's burial chamber. This scene depicts the sky goddess, Nut.
sky goddess, Nut
Painted astrological scenes from the ceiling of Karakhamun's burial chamber)
Lecture by Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and Vice Minister of Culture of Egypt, will present…
My Adventures in Archaeology on September 10, 2010 at 7PM
at the Hotel InterContinental in Frankfurt, Germany
In a 90-minute multimedia lecture, Dr. Zahi Hawass will address the focus of his research,
including the mysteries of Tutankhamun, the search for the grave of Queen Nefertiti, new findings in the Valley of the Kings and the search for the tombs of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. Dr. Hawass will also discuss his work on the pyramid complex of Sahure at Abusir. Biographical anecdotes and personal experiences from many years of his scientific activities will also be included.
Zahi Hawass was born in 1947 in Al-Ubaydiyah, Egypt. In 1967 he completed his study of Greek and Roman Archaeology in Alexandria with a Bachelor. He received his diploma in Egyptology from Cairo University in 1980. With the help of a Fulbright scholarship, studied Egyptology and Zahi Hawass Syro-Palestinian Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he received his doctorate in 1987th Since 1988, informed Hawass Egyptian archeology, history and culture, primarily at the American University in Cairo and the University of California at Los Angeles. In 1998 he was appointed undersecretary for the monuments at Giza. Since 2002, Hawass Secretary General of the Egyptian Antiquities Service (Supreme Council of Antiquities, SCA). In addition to his duties as Secretary General, he currently serves as director of excavations for different projects - it is dedicated to the third pyramid at Giza (Pyramid of Menkaure), the Valley Temple of Chephren at Giza and the tombs of the superintendent southeast of the Sphinx. In recent years he has, among other intensively with Pharaoh Tutankhamun. To determine the cause of death of the Pharaoh, he was on 6 January 2005 whose mummy computed tomography study. Hawass in 2010 by the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appointed as Vice-Minister of Culture.
Cost: Free
Meeting point: Hotel InterContinental, Frankfurt Wilhelm-Leuschner-Straße 43
To reserve a seat please call: 069-650049-110 or visit: liebieghaus.de 
New settlement discovered in Kharga Oasis
The American-Egyptian mission from Yale University has stumbled upon what appears to be the remains of a substantial settlement. The city is a thousand years earlier than the major surviving ancient remains at the Umm Mawagir area in Kharga Oasis.
View of an excavated bakery at the settlement.
Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny, announced that the settlement is dated to the Second Intermediate Period (ca.1650-1550 BC) and was discovered during excavation work as part of the Theban Desert Road Survey. This project serves to investigate and map the ancient desert routes in the Western desert.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the newly discovered settlement is 1km long from north to south and 250m wide from east to west. It lies along the bustling caravan routes connecting the Nile Valley of Egypt and the western oasis with points as far as Darfur in western Sudan. Hawass continued that archaeological evidence at the site indicated that its inhabitants were part of an administrative center and they were engaged in baking on a massive scale.
Dr. John Coleman Darnell, head of the Yale mission, said that during excavations remains of large administrative mudbrick structures were found. These buildings consisted of rooms and halls similar to administrative buildings previously found in several sites in the Nile Valley. These sites may have been used as a lookout post as part of the administrative center of the settlement. Part of an ancient bakery was also found with two ovens and a potter’s wheel, used to make the ceramic bread molds in which the bread was baked. The amount of remains from the debris dumps outside the bakery suggest that the settlement produced a food surplus and may have even been feeding an army.
Excavating bakery complex at Umm Mawagir
Dr. Deborah Darnell, co-director of the mission, said that early studies on the site revealed that the settlement began during the Middle Kingdom (2134-1569 BC) and lasted to the beginning of the New Kingdom (1569-1081 BC). However the site was at its peak from the late Middle Kingdom (1786-1665 BC) to the Second Intermediate Period (1600-1569 BC).
The Hibis temple is oriented along an east-west axis and consists of a pylon, open court, pillared hall and sanctuary. The temple would have originally also had a lake and boat quay along its eastern side. The lake would have allowed access to the temple for festival purposes. Today the first thing a visitor encounters at the temple is the outer or Roman gate that contains several Greek inscriptions. The most important one is the decree that was by the Roman governor, Tiberius Julius Alexander during the second year of the reign of Emperor Galba (69AD). The decree outlines the raising of taxes, the state of Kharga’s economy and the oasis’ system of administration. It was this gate that was moved from the old location to the new location.
After the outer gate is a sphinx avenue, then a Ptolemaic gate, then a Persian gate that dates to the reign of King Darius I. The Persian gate is followed by the open court, which dates to the Thirtieth Dynasty during the reigns of Nectanbeo I and II. The court bears inscriptions and offerings scenes dedicated to different gods and goddesses. After the open court is the pillared hall that contains 12 pillars from the reign of Achoris (Twenty-ninth Dynasty). At the back of the pillared hall is a smaller rectangular room that leads to the sanctuary. Inside the sanctuary is a small open court supported by four pillars. Surrounding this court is a series of small rooms, which would have been used for storage of the implements used in the daily temple ritual. The sanctuary of the temple is the oldest and most important part and is decorated with 569 different gods and goddesses. On the northern wall of the sanctuary are the gods and goddesses of Lower Egypt, while the deities of Upper Egypt are depicted on the southern wall. The western wall has a group of deities from Thebes and Heliopolis, including Osiris, Isis and Horus, as well as the Theban triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu to which the temple is dedicated. A small chapel on the roof is also dedicated to the god Osiris and to the southwest side of the temple is a mammisi, or birth house.
Beginning in 1909, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was responsible for excavations at the Hibis temple. Their work resulted in three important volumes, which included translations of the inscriptions on the walls. After the Metropolitan Museum left the site, an Egyptian team continued to uncover and record buried parts of the temple until 1986.
The reason that I went for the first time to visit Kharga oasis was because the SCA decided that the Hibis temple had to be moved from its current location, because the soil composition of the land was very weak and the temple was in danger of collapse. Because of this, the SCA began to organize a salvage program that would move the temple to another location 2km away from the original site.
Aerial view of Kharga Oasis (Photo: Kenneth Garrett)
From the first time I visited the site I could see that if the temple was moved it would be destroyed. The reliefs and the stone blocks were badly restored in the past and were very fragile. I sat down with the architects and engineers who wanted to move the temple and they explained to me two main reasons why they wanted to move the temple:
1. In order to keep the temple in its current location, the area would need extensive work to be consolidated.
2. They were afraid that the surrounding agricultural area would continue to encroach on the temple and it would be ruined.
However, several other engineers believed that the temple could be restored in its current location and that to prevent far more extensive damage it should definitely not be moved. Unfortunately, the first gate of the temple had already been cut and moved! We immediately wrote to the Minister of Culture and stopped the work under his decree. I still think that this is one of the best decisions I ever made as Secretary General. Today the temple is beautifully restored and remains in its original location. To avoid problems from the surrounding agricultural fields, the SCA bought all the land around the temple to provide a safe zoning area. We are in the process of lighting
The Egyptian Museum, Cairo opened a new temporary exhibit entitled: Coins Through the Ages on August 10. Over the past eight years the Egyptian Museum has hosted a series of temporary exhibitions, the most recent of which focused on five artifacts which were repatriated to Egypt. The temporary exhibition space (Hall 44) has also hosted a series of exhibits on excavations under the direction of foreign teams. This includes teams from America, France, Poland and the Netherlands. This exhibition was curated by Sayed Hassan, who did an excellent job and will be working with the new Egyptian Museum in Rome. I'm including here the text from the brochure that will be handed out during the exhibit.
Before the invention of money, people bartered their surplus crops and cattle amongst themselves to obtain necessary commodities. The invention of coins provided the means to transition from a barter system to a monetary system. Metal coins are divisible, variable in form, convenient for trade with foreign markets and can be saved for use at a later time.
The first people to invent a coinage-system were the Lydians of Asia Minor in the second half of the 7th century B.C. The rich Greek merchants int he city-states on the western coast of Asia Minor adopted the Lydians' weight-system and began to issue oval ingots, stamped with seals to guarantee weight and purity. After ca. 600 B.C. coinage rapidly spread to Greece, and there, owing to improved techniques, coins developed into a splendid quality. Croesus, king of Lydia (560-546 B.C.) was the first to strike coins in gold and silver.
During the pharaonic period, gold, silver and bronze rings and large bronze ingots were sometimes used in the barter system. When the Persians first came to Egypt (525 B.C.) they brought their coins with them. The Egyptians treated these coins as ingots, valuing them based on their weight in metal and sometimes melting the coins for other uses. In the 30th dynasty, the Egyptians revolted against the Persians, and Nectanebo and his son Tachos, struck Athenian coins to pay the Greek soldiers who helped fight the Persians. The coins were also used in transactions with Asian merchants. These famous coins were called the nwb-nfr coins based on the two hieroglyphic signs on the obverse (or front surface), meaning "fine gold." These rare coins, which bore a picture of a horse on the revers (or back surface), are now representative of the transition from barter to coinage in Egypt. The nwb-nfr coins were still likely to have been used in the barter system as well as in a monetary fashion with foreigners since the ancient Egyptians had not yet adopted a monetary trade system.
When Alexander the Great came to Egypt in 332 B.C. he considered himself a successor to the pharaohs. During his reign, the typical coin bore depictions of deities or religious symbols. Alexander's image appeared on coins after his death in 323 B.C. In this image he was portrayed as a deity or a hero on the obverse, while Zeus was represented on the reverse.
In approximately 306 B.C. the Governor became an independent ruler and shortly thereafter the first coinage of an independent Egypt was created. When Ptolemy I proclaimed himself to be the king of Egypt, he struck his own coins of gold, silver and bronze. On the obverse was the head of Ptolemy I and on the reverse was an eagle on a thunderbolt, both symbols of Zeus. Around the edge of this scene appeared the king's name in Greek characters.
During the Roman era, beginning with the reign of Augustus, Egypt had special coins, known as Alexandrian coins. These coins were named after the city in which they were minted and they were restricted to use within Egypt only. These Roman coins also had Greek inscriptions. The obverse showed a depiction of the emperor's head; the revers, beginning in the 3rd century A.D., bore representations of various Egyptian, Greek and Roman deities. After the Arab conquest of Egypt in 641 A.D., the name of the minting location was changed into Arabic script on the coins.
Howard Carter's House and Luxor Howard Carter’s house is located on the west bank of Luxor just before you enter the Valley of the Kings. Unfortunately, it was neglected for a long time and was not being used for anything except collecting dust. Dr. Zahi Hawass decided that this was unacceptable and that the house of Howard Carter should be returned to its former glory
Dr. Zahi Hawass designated a team to develop this area to think of how it could be used in the future as a valuable asset for the Valley of the Kings. Dr. Zahi Hawass hired an excellent architect who has transformed the run-down house into a beautiful museum. Tourists can now walk through Carter’s kitchen, dining room, bedroom, office and photography studio. The most impressive thing is a film with a real Howard Carter lecturing you. This 20 minute film is presented by a holographic Howard Carter who transports you back to the time of the discovery and shares the excitement of the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Around the same time that the Carter House project started, Dr. Zahi Hawass began a very important project with a foreign team to make laser scanning of three tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. The three tombs are: Seti I, Tutankhamun and Nefertari.
Dr. Zahi Hawass chose these tombs because they are unique and can never be repeated again. Therefore we have to preserve them. Currently the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Queens are visited by thousands of tourists each year. If this situation is not changed the tombs will be
Office of Howard Carter with his original paperwork from the excavation of Tutankhamen's tomb irreversibly damaged and eventually completely destroyed
Dr. Zahi Hawass plan then is to finish the laser scanning and make a replica valley to the north-west of Howard Carter’s house. This replica valley will have the three tombs of Seti, Tutankhamun and Nefertari and we will be closing the original three tombs to the public (Nefertari and Seti’s tombs have been closed off to the public for several years now). Some visitors might think that this is denying them the chance to see these tombs. However, this is the only away of preserving the tombs for humanity. As of right now visitors cannot see Nefertari or Seti’s tomb at all, so in fact the replica valley will provide access to these tombs that have been closed off completely.
The other important thing that Dr. Zahi Hawass team are doing is lighting the mountain of Qurna in the west bank from the Valley of the Kings to Deir el Bahari. This lighting will help make the west bank accessible to visitors at three times of the day: morning, afternoon and evening. By breaking the visitors into three time periods we will stop the habit of hordes of tourists pouring into the west bank every morning and overcrowding the monuments. Because of the large number of tourists it is impossible for the guards to keep a close eye on everyone, making sure that they don’t take pictures with their cameras.
The west bank of Luxor with the tombs of the nobles scrape their bags across the fragile walls of the tombs. Therefore it is very important to break the overwhelming number of tourists into three separate, more manageable groups. This will be of great benefit to the monuments and will also provide tourists with a more enjoyable and less crowded experience. Dr. Zahi Hawass team hope to have this in place by October 1, 2010.
As part of this new plan for the west bank of Luxor, Dr. Zahi Hawass team are building a tourist center next to Howard Carter’s house. This center will not only serve as the hub for tourist activity with a nice cafeteria, ticket office, restroom facilities and gift shops, but will also serve as the offices for site management of the west bank. Through this center Dr. Zahi Hawass team can control tourist activity, plan restoration and conservation projects, and plan for the future of tombs and temples in Luxor.
Dr. Zahi Hawass plan then is to finish the laser scanning and make a replica valley to the north-west of Howard Carter’s house. This replica valley will have the three tombs of Seti, Tutankhamun and Nefertari and we will be closing the original three tombs to the public (Nefertari and Seti’s tombs have been closed off to the public for several years now). Some visitors might think that this is denying them the chance to see these tombs. However, this is the only away of preserving the tombs for humanity. As of right now visitors cannot see Nefertari or Seti’s tomb at all, so in fact the replica valley will provide access to these tombs that have been closed off completely.
In History Channel's hit reality series "Chasing Mummies," cameras follow closely as legendary Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass and his cadre of fellows unearth astonishing finds and tackle some of the world's greatest archaeological challenges. David Cheetham, archaeologist and star of Chasing Mummies, will be on hand for a brief lecture and Q&A with the audience.
"Chasing Mummies," Episode 5: SUNKEN. Zahi has finally permitted archaeologists from the Hellenic Institute to dive into the Mediterranean Sea and bring up a relic confirmed to be part of Cleopatra’s historic shrine. But with the persistent problems of permits and an impending storm approaching, Zahi's fury is felt by all the incompetent people working to get this 2000-year-old pylon out of Alexandria's Eastern Harbor.
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY: THE MUMMY, 1932, Universal, Dir. Karl Freund. Boris Karloff gives one of his finest performances as the 3000-year-old Egyptian who returns from the dead to reclaim reincarnated love Zita Johann, in cinematographer-turned-director Karl Freund’s marvelously atmospheric chiller - easily the best of many mummy films to come. Lecture and discussion between films with archaeologist David Cheetham.
TICKETS AVAILABLE at Fandango.com and the Aero Theater Box Office.
$12 general / $8 students and Cinematheque members.
Further information: New Discoveries at Taposiris Magna
The American-Egyptian mission from Yale University has stumbled upon what appears to be the remains of a substantial settlement. The city is a thousand years earlier than the major surviving ancient remains at the Umm Mawagir area in Kharga Oasis.
View of an excavated bakery at the settlement.
Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny, announced that the settlement is dated to the Second Intermediate Period (ca.1650-1550 BC) and was discovered during excavation work as part of the Theban Desert Road Survey. This project serves to investigate and map the ancient desert routes in the Western desert.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the newly discovered settlement is 1km long from north to south and 250m wide from east to west. It lies along the bustling caravan routes connecting the Nile Valley of Egypt and the western oasis with points as far as Darfur in western Sudan. Hawass continued that archaeological evidence at the site indicated that its inhabitants were part of an administrative center and they were engaged in baking on a massive scale.
Dr. John Coleman Darnell, head of the Yale mission, said that during excavations remains of large administrative mudbrick structures were found. These buildings consisted of rooms and halls similar to administrative buildings previously found in several sites in the Nile Valley. These sites may have been used as a lookout post as part of the administrative center of the settlement. Part of an ancient bakery was also found with two ovens and a potter’s wheel, used to make the ceramic bread molds in which the bread was baked. The amount of remains from the debris dumps outside the bakery suggest that the settlement produced a food surplus and may have even been feeding an army.
Excavating bakery complex at Umm Mawagir
Dr. Deborah Darnell, co-director of the mission, said that early studies on the site revealed that the settlement began during the Middle Kingdom (2134-1569 BC) and lasted to the beginning of the New Kingdom (1569-1081 BC). However the site was at its peak from the late Middle Kingdom (1786-1665 BC) to the Second Intermediate Period (1600-1569 BC).
The Hibis temple is oriented along an east-west axis and consists of a pylon, open court, pillared hall and sanctuary. The temple would have originally also had a lake and boat quay along its eastern side. The lake would have allowed access to the temple for festival purposes. Today the first thing a visitor encounters at the temple is the outer or Roman gate that contains several Greek inscriptions. The most important one is the decree that was by the Roman governor, Tiberius Julius Alexander during the second year of the reign of Emperor Galba (69AD). The decree outlines the raising of taxes, the state of Kharga’s economy and the oasis’ system of administration. It was this gate that was moved from the old location to the new location.
After the outer gate is a sphinx avenue, then a Ptolemaic gate, then a Persian gate that dates to the reign of King Darius I. The Persian gate is followed by the open court, which dates to the Thirtieth Dynasty during the reigns of Nectanbeo I and II. The court bears inscriptions and offerings scenes dedicated to different gods and goddesses. After the open court is the pillared hall that contains 12 pillars from the reign of Achoris (Twenty-ninth Dynasty). At the back of the pillared hall is a smaller rectangular room that leads to the sanctuary. Inside the sanctuary is a small open court supported by four pillars. Surrounding this court is a series of small rooms, which would have been used for storage of the implements used in the daily temple ritual. The sanctuary of the temple is the oldest and most important part and is decorated with 569 different gods and goddesses. On the northern wall of the sanctuary are the gods and goddesses of Lower Egypt, while the deities of Upper Egypt are depicted on the southern wall. The western wall has a group of deities from Thebes and Heliopolis, including Osiris, Isis and Horus, as well as the Theban triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu to which the temple is dedicated. A small chapel on the roof is also dedicated to the god Osiris and to the southwest side of the temple is a mammisi, or birth house.
Beginning in 1909, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was responsible for excavations at the Hibis temple. Their work resulted in three important volumes, which included translations of the inscriptions on the walls. After the Metropolitan Museum left the site, an Egyptian team continued to uncover and record buried parts of the temple until 1986.
The reason that I went for the first time to visit Kharga oasis was because the SCA decided that the Hibis temple had to be moved from its current location, because the soil composition of the land was very weak and the temple was in danger of collapse. Because of this, the SCA began to organize a salvage program that would move the temple to another location 2km away from the original site.
Aerial view of Kharga Oasis (Photo: Kenneth Garrett)
From the first time I visited the site I could see that if the temple was moved it would be destroyed. The reliefs and the stone blocks were badly restored in the past and were very fragile. I sat down with the architects and engineers who wanted to move the temple and they explained to me two main reasons why they wanted to move the temple:
1. In order to keep the temple in its current location, the area would need extensive work to be consolidated.
2. They were afraid that the surrounding agricultural area would continue to encroach on the temple and it would be ruined.
However, several other engineers believed that the temple could be restored in its current location and that to prevent far more extensive damage it should definitely not be moved. Unfortunately, the first gate of the temple had already been cut and moved! We immediately wrote to the Minister of Culture and stopped the work under his decree. I still think that this is one of the best decisions I ever made as Secretary General. Today the temple is beautifully restored and remains in its original location. To avoid problems from the surrounding agricultural fields, the SCA bought all the land around the temple to provide a safe zoning area. We are in the process of lighting
The Egyptian Museum, Cairo opened a new temporary exhibit entitled: Coins Through the Ages on August 10. Over the past eight years the Egyptian Museum has hosted a series of temporary exhibitions, the most recent of which focused on five artifacts which were repatriated to Egypt. The temporary exhibition space (Hall 44) has also hosted a series of exhibits on excavations under the direction of foreign teams. This includes teams from America, France, Poland and the Netherlands. This exhibition was curated by Sayed Hassan, who did an excellent job and will be working with the new Egyptian Museum in Rome. I'm including here the text from the brochure that will be handed out during the exhibit.
Before the invention of money, people bartered their surplus crops and cattle amongst themselves to obtain necessary commodities. The invention of coins provided the means to transition from a barter system to a monetary system. Metal coins are divisible, variable in form, convenient for trade with foreign markets and can be saved for use at a later time.
The first people to invent a coinage-system were the Lydians of Asia Minor in the second half of the 7th century B.C. The rich Greek merchants int he city-states on the western coast of Asia Minor adopted the Lydians' weight-system and began to issue oval ingots, stamped with seals to guarantee weight and purity. After ca. 600 B.C. coinage rapidly spread to Greece, and there, owing to improved techniques, coins developed into a splendid quality. Croesus, king of Lydia (560-546 B.C.) was the first to strike coins in gold and silver.
During the pharaonic period, gold, silver and bronze rings and large bronze ingots were sometimes used in the barter system. When the Persians first came to Egypt (525 B.C.) they brought their coins with them. The Egyptians treated these coins as ingots, valuing them based on their weight in metal and sometimes melting the coins for other uses. In the 30th dynasty, the Egyptians revolted against the Persians, and Nectanebo and his son Tachos, struck Athenian coins to pay the Greek soldiers who helped fight the Persians. The coins were also used in transactions with Asian merchants. These famous coins were called the nwb-nfr coins based on the two hieroglyphic signs on the obverse (or front surface), meaning "fine gold." These rare coins, which bore a picture of a horse on the revers (or back surface), are now representative of the transition from barter to coinage in Egypt. The nwb-nfr coins were still likely to have been used in the barter system as well as in a monetary fashion with foreigners since the ancient Egyptians had not yet adopted a monetary trade system.
When Alexander the Great came to Egypt in 332 B.C. he considered himself a successor to the pharaohs. During his reign, the typical coin bore depictions of deities or religious symbols. Alexander's image appeared on coins after his death in 323 B.C. In this image he was portrayed as a deity or a hero on the obverse, while Zeus was represented on the reverse.
In approximately 306 B.C. the Governor became an independent ruler and shortly thereafter the first coinage of an independent Egypt was created. When Ptolemy I proclaimed himself to be the king of Egypt, he struck his own coins of gold, silver and bronze. On the obverse was the head of Ptolemy I and on the reverse was an eagle on a thunderbolt, both symbols of Zeus. Around the edge of this scene appeared the king's name in Greek characters.
During the Roman era, beginning with the reign of Augustus, Egypt had special coins, known as Alexandrian coins. These coins were named after the city in which they were minted and they were restricted to use within Egypt only. These Roman coins also had Greek inscriptions. The obverse showed a depiction of the emperor's head; the revers, beginning in the 3rd century A.D., bore representations of various Egyptian, Greek and Roman deities. After the Arab conquest of Egypt in 641 A.D., the name of the minting location was changed into Arabic script on the coins.
Howard Carter's House and Luxor Howard Carter’s house is located on the west bank of Luxor just before you enter the Valley of the Kings. Unfortunately, it was neglected for a long time and was not being used for anything except collecting dust. Dr. Zahi Hawass decided that this was unacceptable and that the house of Howard Carter should be returned to its former glory
Dr. Zahi Hawass designated a team to develop this area to think of how it could be used in the future as a valuable asset for the Valley of the Kings. Dr. Zahi Hawass hired an excellent architect who has transformed the run-down house into a beautiful museum. Tourists can now walk through Carter’s kitchen, dining room, bedroom, office and photography studio. The most impressive thing is a film with a real Howard Carter lecturing you. This 20 minute film is presented by a holographic Howard Carter who transports you back to the time of the discovery and shares the excitement of the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Around the same time that the Carter House project started, Dr. Zahi Hawass began a very important project with a foreign team to make laser scanning of three tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. The three tombs are: Seti I, Tutankhamun and Nefertari.
Dr. Zahi Hawass chose these tombs because they are unique and can never be repeated again. Therefore we have to preserve them. Currently the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Queens are visited by thousands of tourists each year. If this situation is not changed the tombs will be
Office of Howard Carter with his original paperwork from the excavation of Tutankhamen's tomb irreversibly damaged and eventually completely destroyed
Dr. Zahi Hawass plan then is to finish the laser scanning and make a replica valley to the north-west of Howard Carter’s house. This replica valley will have the three tombs of Seti, Tutankhamun and Nefertari and we will be closing the original three tombs to the public (Nefertari and Seti’s tombs have been closed off to the public for several years now). Some visitors might think that this is denying them the chance to see these tombs. However, this is the only away of preserving the tombs for humanity. As of right now visitors cannot see Nefertari or Seti’s tomb at all, so in fact the replica valley will provide access to these tombs that have been closed off completely.
The other important thing that Dr. Zahi Hawass team are doing is lighting the mountain of Qurna in the west bank from the Valley of the Kings to Deir el Bahari. This lighting will help make the west bank accessible to visitors at three times of the day: morning, afternoon and evening. By breaking the visitors into three time periods we will stop the habit of hordes of tourists pouring into the west bank every morning and overcrowding the monuments. Because of the large number of tourists it is impossible for the guards to keep a close eye on everyone, making sure that they don’t take pictures with their cameras.
The west bank of Luxor with the tombs of the nobles scrape their bags across the fragile walls of the tombs. Therefore it is very important to break the overwhelming number of tourists into three separate, more manageable groups. This will be of great benefit to the monuments and will also provide tourists with a more enjoyable and less crowded experience. Dr. Zahi Hawass team hope to have this in place by October 1, 2010.
As part of this new plan for the west bank of Luxor, Dr. Zahi Hawass team are building a tourist center next to Howard Carter’s house. This center will not only serve as the hub for tourist activity with a nice cafeteria, ticket office, restroom facilities and gift shops, but will also serve as the offices for site management of the west bank. Through this center Dr. Zahi Hawass team can control tourist activity, plan restoration and conservation projects, and plan for the future of tombs and temples in Luxor.
Dr. Zahi Hawass plan then is to finish the laser scanning and make a replica valley to the north-west of Howard Carter’s house. This replica valley will have the three tombs of Seti, Tutankhamun and Nefertari and we will be closing the original three tombs to the public (Nefertari and Seti’s tombs have been closed off to the public for several years now). Some visitors might think that this is denying them the chance to see these tombs. However, this is the only away of preserving the tombs for humanity. As of right now visitors cannot see Nefertari or Seti’s tomb at all, so in fact the replica valley will provide access to these tombs that have been closed off completely.
Museum of Islamic Art to open soon!
Yesterday the Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni and I went on a tour of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) at Bab El-Khalq area, to inspect the progress of the latest restoration projects.
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Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, and Dr. Hawass examining one of the exhibition cases at the newly renovated Museum of Islamic Art (Photo: Meghan E. Strong)
Several years ago the MIA was closed for comprehensive rehabilitation, not only of its building and interior design, but also of its exhibition design and displays. Over the last six years, massive renovation work has been completed to the tune of LE90 million.
The MIA first opened in 1881 in the arcades of the mosque of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim, displaying 111 objects gathered from mosques and mausoleums across Egypt.
Due to the rapid increase in size of the collection, a new building was constructed in the courtyard of the mosque in 1883. In 1899, the government began the construction on the present building at Bab El-Khalq, and in 1903 the Islamic Museum opened with a collection of 3,154 objects originating from Egypt and other countries.
Since its inception, the museum had never once been renovated, except for an attempt to clean the walls and renovate the displays in 1983. Attempts at a more comprehensive renovation were frustrated in part by the building's upper floor being occupied by a separate institution, the Dar Al-Kotob Al-Masreya.
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One of the new exhibition halls
In 2003, the Ministry of Culture launched a major restoration project with the goal of returning the museum to its former glory. The master plan for the renovation work and the new exhibition design was drawn up by French designer and museographer, Adrien Gardère, in cooperation with the Islamic Department of the Louvre Museum in Paris, which has advised on the re-organization of the museum's collections.
The museum's main entrance, located on Port Said Street, includes an introductory gallery that discusses Islamic art and the Middle East through a mixed media display of panels, maps and objects from the collection. The geography of historic Cairo and the early Islamic city of Fustat, the oldest Islamic settlement in Egypt, is also discussed here.
In addition to its renovated exhibition space, the museum is now equipped with a state-of-the art security and lighting system, as well as a fully-equipped conservation laboratory, a children's museum and library.
Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo Egypt.
The war chariot of Tutankhamun has arrived safely in New York City! The chariot is now on display at the Discovery Center in Times Square as part of the "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" exhibit. Read more on the chariot's arrival in the New York Times.
During recent CT scans and DNA tests, Hawass and his medical team discovered that King Tutankhamun had an accident a few hours before he died, which caused a fracture in the king’s left leg. This makes the inclusion of Tutankhamun’s chariot to the New York exhibit even more interesting as the young king may have fallen from this very chariot. Hawass added, “As we discover more about Tutankhamun’s death, we may find that this very chariot is an important piece of the puzzle that we’ve been working for decades to solve.
King Tut.
King Tut's Chariot travels to New York
Press Release - King Tut's Chariot travels to New York
Mr. Farouk Hosni, Minister of Culture, made a major announcement today that one of King Tutankhamun’s chariots would travel to New York City. This is the first time that a chariot from the tomb of Tutankhamun will be allowed out of Egypt. The High Council of Culture decided to sent the chariot to be part of the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit at the Discovery Times Square Exposition. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said that the chariot will arrive in New York City on Wednesday and will be accompanied by a conservator and the Director of the Luxor Musuem, where the chariot is currently displayed.
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This hunting chariot of King Tutankhamun will travel to New York City to be part of the exhibit: Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs (Photo: Egyptian Museum)
Hawass stated, “This is the first time that the chariot will travel outside Egypt. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the people of New York to see something of such great significance from the boy king’s life.” This particular chariot is very unique and stands out among the other five chariots found among Tutankamun’s burial equipment. Howard Carter found the chariot in the south-east corner of the Antechamber along with three other chariots.
This golden plaque, found in Tutankhamun's tomb, depicts the king riding a war chariot similar to the one that will travel to New York
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decoration and has a very light, open sided construction. The tires are also extremely worn, suggesting that this chariot was used frequently in hunting expeditions by the young king. Carter described the chariot as, “of more open, lighter construction probably for hunting or exercising purposes.”
Recently the medical report detailing the testing done on Tutankhamun and members of his family was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The article, “Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun’s Family” describes how Dr. Hawass and his team uncovered the long-debated members of Tutankahmun’s family, as well as his cause of death. A research team from Hamburg’s Bernhard Noct Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNI) however have disputed the claims that King Tut died of malaria, and instead believe that sickle-cell disease is to blame for his death. While some of the symptoms between malaria and sickle-cell disease are similar, Dr. Hawass and his team, stand behind their findings and reaffirm that Tutankhamun died of complications from malaria and Kohler’s disease, an ailment that effects blood supply to the bones.
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A scene from a painted box found in Tut's tomb illustrates the great skill required in driving a chariot and shooting at a moving target at the same time. This would have been a part of royal military training and was a favorite activity of the young pharaoh.
During recent CT scans and DNA tests, Hawass and his medical team discovered that King Tutankhamun had an accident a few hours before he died, which caused a fracture in the king’s left leg. This makes the inclusion of Tutankhamun’s chariot to the New York exhibit even more interesting as the young king may have fallen from this very chariot. Hawass added, “As we discover more about Tutankhamun’s death, we may find that this very chariot is an important piece of the puzzle that we’ve been working for decades to solve.”
The Archaeology faculty at Cairo University has discovered a new tomb at Saqqara. The mission uncovered the tomb of Ptah Mes, arm leader and royal scribe, in the 19th dynasty cemetery of top governmental officials, which is located at the southern side of the ramp of king Unas’ pyramid in Saqqara.Culture minister Farouk Hosni announced the discovery today adding that the tomb can be dated to the second half of the 19th dynasty (1203-1186 BC).
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), explained that the tomb is 70m long and composed of a number of corridors and chapels. This tomb design is similar to the tomb of Ptah Im Wiya, the royal seal bearer, who lived during the reign of king Akhenaten. A Dutch mission discovered Ptah Im Wiya’s tomb at Saqqara in 2007.
Dr. Ola El-Egezi, former Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology at Cairo University, said that the owner of the tomb is a prominent figure as he was appointed to several governmental posts, including the inherited prince, the royal scribe and the supervisor of Ptah temple. She continued that excavations also revealed several stelae. Among them is an unfinished stela engraved with a scene featuring the deceased and his family before the Theban triad: Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Such a stelae, El-Egezi said, reveals that during the second half of the 19th dynasty, the cult of Amun was revived Deputy of the mission, Dr. Ahmed Saeed, said that during the excavations several fragments of a statue of the tomb’s owner and his wife were unearthed. A painted head that most probably belongs to his wife or one of his daughters has also been discovered along with a lower part of a limestone statue that belongs to the deceased. Clay vessels, shawbti figurines and amulets have also been found within the sand.
Dr. Heba Mustafa, another member of the mission, said that pillars of this tomb were reused during the Christian era to build chapels. The tomb was also subjected to robbery in the 19th century, which lead to the deterioration of some of its walls. Several pieces of the wall were found within the debris inside the tomb. Mustafa said that all of these pieces were collected in order to be restored and registered.
Excavations will continue at the tomb of Ptah Mes in an attempt to find the main shaft of the tomb, which will lead to the burial chamber where the deceased’s sarcophagus and his funerary equipment were placed.
As part of the Ministry of Culture’s initiative to refurbish and develop museums around Egypt, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) is reorganizing the layout of the Beni-Suef museum in Upper Egypt.
Cultural Minister Farouk Hosni explained that the museum refurbishment involved extending the museum’s display area and transferring the administrative offices into the basement.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, said that the whole museum is undergoing restoration. The building suffers from major water damage due to subterranean water, which has seeped into some of the walls of the museum’s galleries. New lighting and security systems are also being installed.
Dr. Sabri Abdel Aziz, Head of the Pharaonic Sector in the SCA, said that excavations at Ehnasia, an archaeological area in Beni-Sueif, recently uncovered remains of a temple that can be dated to the reign of king Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC). Inside the remains of this temple, excavators uncovered ten cartouches of Ramesses II and beneath them a relief saying that the ruler had built this temple for himself in Ehnasia. The excavation team, said Abdel Aziz, will continue excavation of the temple during the next archaeological season.
A collection of mud-brick structures dated to the fourth and fifth century AD were also found at the site. A collection of terracotta statues depicting Isis, Aphrodite and Horus were found inside along with pots and clay lamps.
A radar survey of the temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria, Egypt, was completed last month as part of the search for the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) expedition excavating the temple and its surrounding area is headed by Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, and Dr. Kathleen Martinez, a scholar from the Dominican Republic.
Dr. Hawass stated that the cooperation between Egypt and the Dominican Republic for the excavation of the temple has been ongoing for about three years. The recent radar survey is the most significant step taken by the team to date. It was carried out by an Egyptian radar team, with American expert Dr. Roger Vickers serving as a consultant. The radar revealed 3 possible spots of interest where a tomb may be located. The expedition has received the results of the survey, and will begin excavating each of these three spots next week.
The most important recent development at Taposiris Magna has been the discovery of a large, previously unknown cemetery outside the temple enclosure. The expedition has found 27 tombs. 20 of them shaped like vaulted sarcophagi, partly underground and partly aboveground. The remaining 7 consist of staircases leading to simple burial chambers. Inside these tombs, the team has found a total of 10 mummies, 2 of them gilded. The discovery of this cemetery indicates that an important person, likely of royal status, could be buried inside the temple. It was common for officials and other high-status individuals in Egypt to construct their tombs close to those of their rulers throughout the pharaonic period. The style of the newly discovered tombs indicates that they were constructed during the Greco-Roman period.
Dr. Martinez stated that the expedition has excavated a temple at Taposiris Magna dedicated to the goddess Isis, and discovered coins depicting the face of Alexander the Great. They have found a number of deep shafts inside the temple, three of which seem to have been used for burials. It is possible that these shafts were the tombs of important people, and the team’s leaders believe that Cleopatra and Mark Antony could have been buried in a deep shaft similar to those already discovered inside the temple.
Dr. Hawass said that the expedition has so far found a beautiful head of Cleopatra, along with 22 coins bearing her image. The statue and coins show her as a beauty, contradicting the idea recently suggested by an English museum curator that the queen was quite ugly. The finds from Taposiris reflect a charm that could have captured the hearts of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, and indicate that Cleopatra was in no way unattractive. Moreover, the features of the sculpted head show no sign of African ancestry, contradicting a recently advanced theory. The team has also found many amulets, along with a beautiful headless statue dating to the Ptolemaic Period. Among the most interesting finds is a unique mask depicting a man with a cleft chin. The face bears some similarity to known portraits of Mark Antony himself.
Archaeologists have unearthed a huge headless granite statue of an as yet unidentified Ptolemaic king at the temple of Taposiris Magna, 45 km west of Alexandria. The joint Egyptian-Dominican team is supervised by Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).
Egypt’s Culture Minister Farouk Hosni announced the find, adding that the mission has also located the original gate of the temple as well as evidence that the temple, dedicated to the god Osiris, was built according to traditional ancient Egyptian design.
Dr. Hawass said that the mission, which works in collaboration with the Dominican archaeologist Kathleen Martinez, found that the statue is very well preserved and might be one of the most beautiful statues carved in the ancient Egyptian style. The statue represents the traditional shape of an ancient Egyptian king wearing collar and kilt. Hawass believes that the statue may belong to king Ptolemy IV.
Hawass said that the temple’s original gate is located on the temple’s western side along with limestone foundation stones that once outlined the entrance. One of these foundations, explained Hawass, bears traces indicating that the entrance was lined with a series of sphinx statues similar to those of the pharaonic era.
Dr. Martinez began excavation work at Taposiris Magna five years ago in an attempt to locate the tomb of the well-known lovers, Queen Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony, as evidence implies that Queen Cleopatra was not buried inside her tomb built beside her royal palace, which is now under the eastern harbor of Alexandria.
Hawass pointed out that in the past five years, the mission has discovered a collection of headless royal statues, which may have been subjected to destruction during the Byzantine and Christian eras. A collection of heads featuring Queen Cleopatra were also uncovered along with 24 metal coins bearing Cleopatra’s face. A necropolis was also discovered behind the temple that contained many Graeco-Roman style mummies. Early investigations, said Hawass, show that the mummies were buried with their faces turned toward the temple, which means it is likely the temple contained a significant royal personality. 
Two rock-hewn painted tombs considered as two of the most distinguished tombs ever found from the Old Kingdom were discovered last week at Saqqara necropolis.
False door of the tomb of Shendwa Cultural Minister, Mr. Farouk Hosni, announced today that the tombs were found during a routine excavation carried out by an Egyptian mission at an area called “Gisr El-Mudir” located to the west of the Step Pyramid of Djoser. The team has been working in the area since 1968.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), who is also the leader of the excavation mission said that the tombs belong to a father, Shendwa, and his son, Khonsu. The father’s tomb consists of a painted false door depicting scenes of the deceased seated before an offering table. The door also bears the different titles of the tomb’s owner who was a top governmental official during the Sixth Dynasty (2374-2191 BC). He was the head of the royal scribes and the supervisor of the missions as well as other honorary titles.
The tomb’s burial shaft is located directly beneath the false door, 20 meters below the ground level. When Dr. Hawass descended into the tomb he realized that it was intact and had not previously been plundered by tomb robbers. Unfortunately Shendwas’s wooden sarcophagus had disintegrated due to humidity and erosion. Beside the sarcophagus, a collection of limestone jars was found including five offering vessels carved in the shape of a duck. Upon opening the vessels, Dr. Hawass discovered that the bones of the ducks were still intact.
False door of the tomb of Khonsu, son of Shendwa Inside the burial shaft a painted relief and a 30 cm tall obelisk made of limestone were also discovered. “This obelisk is a symbol of worshiping the sun god Re,” said Hawass pointing out that the ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom used to erect small obelisks in front of their tombs and inside the temples related to the tombs of the Queens’ pyramids.
Next to the father’s tomb, excavators discovered Shendwa’s son Khonsu. It is a beautifully painted tomb with a false door bearing Khonsu’s different titles. It appears that Khonsu inherited the same titles as his father. Excavators located an offering table just opposite to the false door as well as a stone lintel on the floor. Hawass said that the lintel is engraved with symbols that belong to the Sixth Dynasty. On top of the false door, is a small lintel depicting a colored relief of the deceased in different poses.
whose famous mortuary temple, Medinet Habu, resides on the West Bank in Luxor. This beautiful temple is one of the best preserved mortuary temples and features detailed scenes of the Beautiful Festival of the Valley, as well as the famous battle against the Sea Peoples.
The mummy of Ramesses III can be seen in the Royal Mummy Room at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo