How was the scientific understanding of the ancients so advanced? A team of experts answers this and other questions in this fascinating series. Learn how humans were able to erect massive pyramids and other hulking monoliths. (more questions than answers, but the theories here are thought-provoking)

Staff and Faculty Members in Egyptology and the Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford.

Vincent Brown on Google+

'Digital Egyptology' is a term that includes any use of technology to aid Egyptology.

Kate Taylor’s front page article for the New York Times suggests that Dr. Hawass, the controversial Egyptian antiquities minister, is on the way out. I know more than a few people who think it’s more than past due:

Until recently Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s antiquities minister, was a global symbol of Egyptian national pride. A famous archaeologist in an Indiana Jones hat, he was virtually unassailable in the old Egypt, protected by his success in boosting tourism, his efforts to reclaim lost artifacts and his closeness to the country’s first lady, Suzanne Mubarak.

But the revolution changed all that.

Now demonstrators in Cairo are calling for his resignation as the interim government faces disaffected crowds in Tahrir Square.

Their primary complaint is his association with the Mubaraks, whom he defended in the early days of the revolution. But the upheaval has also drawn attention to the ways he has increased his profile over the years, often with the help of organizations and companies with which he has done business as a government official.

He receives, for example, an honorarium each year of as much as $200,000 from National Geographic to be an explorer-in-residence even as he controls access to the ancient sites it often features in its reports.

He has relationships — albeit ones he says he does not profit from — with two American companies that do business in Egypt.

One, Arts and Exhibitions International, secured Mr. Hawass’s permission several years ago to take some of the country’s most precious treasures, the artifacts of King Tut, on a world tour; its top executives recently started a separate venture to market a Zahi Hawass line of clothing.

A second company, Exhibit Merchandising, has been selling replicas of Mr. Hawass’s hat for several years. Last year that company was hired to operate a new store in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Mr. Hawass says his share of the profits from those products goes directly to Egyptian charities. But the fact that both charities, a children’s cancer hospital and a children’s museum, were overseen by Ms. Mubarak before the revolution has angered some critics…

[continues in the New York Times ]

The IV-th International Congress for Young Egyptologists: Cult and Belief in Ancient Egypt will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria in September 2012. The Congress is organized by the Bulgarian Institute of Egyptology and New Bulgarian University.

"More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements were also revealed by looking at infra-red images which show up underground buildings."

There's only one Zahi Hawass.

This new website, serving Egyptologists and Egyptological enthusiasts throughout the north of Britain, has been created in order to serve as a hub for the many institutions, museums and societies based in the north. The calendar shows all upcoming events that we’re aware of – obviously this crucial aspect of the site will only be as good as the flow of information allows, so please email information concerning any upcoming events (e.g. lectures, dayschools and exhibitions) to ishaw@liv.ac.uk.

A couple days, weeks, months ago we read about the different theories regarding the transportation of England’s famous Stonehenge. Today we’re going to look at similar topic, albeit one that takes fewer guesses and more, what you call those things? Oh yeah, facts. During the 1800s Egypt gifted 3 different nations with obelisks dating back to 1,500 BC. The logistics of shipping them became some of the greatest engineering feats of their time.

Paris, London and New York each received a Cleopatra Needle of their own, two of them a matching pair, the other leaving its twin back home in Egypt. During the 19th century, the Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali – possibly the boxer, I haven’t confirmed his time travel abilities yet – gave each of the countries one for different commemorations: The United States for not meddling in its politics, England for the Battle of the Nile and France for being French.

While all three nations graciously accepted the gift, the question of how to actually receive them raised a lot of concerns. So daunting was the task that England even flat-out refused to pay for the transportation out of their pocket. Luckily, a wealthy scientist contributed £10,000 to fund the project, but there was still the problem of actually doing it. A typical ship in those days couldn’t hold a 250+ tonne stone, so some creativity was in order. After digging the obelisk out of the sand and moving it to the beach, construction began on a specially designed vessel around the rock. A large steel cylinder was wrapped around it and encased with wood, transforming it into an easily tow-able barge.

Although the barge worked like a charm, the transportation didn’t go as smoothly as it could have. A storm hit while it cruised through the Bay of Biscay, killing 6 volunteers who attempted to rescue the sinking ship. The barge was lost and presumed to be sitting on the bottom of the sea. Miraculously, it turned up 4 days later on the shores of Northwestern Spain where it was repaired and successfully moved to the shores of the Thames, where it sits today.

If you laugh at the word erecting, we have something in common.

After becoming jealous of the Brits, New Yorkers cried out for an obelisk of their own. In 1880, Egypt complied and William Vanderbilt contributed $100,000 to the project. Since we couldn’t possibly do things the same way as those cloud-infested tea drinkers, we had to come up with our own plan. Henry Gorringe, a Navy lieutenant commander, took charge. He recruited the SS Dessoug, one of the only steam ships in the world that could hold the immense weight. Cleopatra’s Needle was placed in the hold and was the guest of honor on the fortunately uneventful voyage. 32 horses dragged it up Fifth Avenue to its final resting place in Central Park.

60 years prior to this, the French received their obelisk. Other than a claim that it was ‘no easy feat’, hardly any information exists as to how this first one was transported. There is only this engraving below which seems to show the obelisk moving along a railroad, but this remains doubtful as France only introduced a locomotive system the year before. But since France is just short(ish) journey across the Mediterranean, transportation for this obelisk may have been a little easier. If you have any ideas what the engraving means or have information on how the French moved their gift, feel free to comment below!

Seriously, what s going on here?

Enjoyed what you read? Check out all whole compendium of Historical Thursdays!

Pictures and Information courtesy of: Make Magazine and the ever faithful Wikipedia.

As always, if YOU have an idea for a Historical Thursday, let me know at thereifixedit@gmail.com

Essential Egyptology Resources from Nigel Strudwick and the Fitzwilliam Museum.

At the International Congress of Egyptologists in Rhodes, May 2008, Rita Lucarelli, Panagiotis Kousoulis and Kasia Szpakowska found ourselves all working on topics related to the study of demons in Ancient Egypt. The idea of an Ancient Egyptian Demonology Project was born. Since then, we have continued to invite other scholars interested in this subject. At the heart of this ambitious transdisciplinary project is the systematic study of those demonic entities that seem to have the capability of being both malevolent and benevolent in Ancient Egypt, from the 3rd Millennium BCE through the Roman Period.<br />
This site will grow with our project. As more collaborators, research students and scholars get involved we’ll keep you updated. 

This website is one of wikis, in other words, WE can edit and update the pages like Wikipedia. Editing this site is easier than it: we do not have to know HTML or other special syntax. All you have to do is just type as you like, the same way you always do when you use MS WORD or other tools. 

The ancient Egyptian city of Tell el-Amarna (or simply Amarna) was the short-lived capital built by the ‘heretic’ Pharaoh Akhenaten and abandoned shortly after his death (c. 1332 BCE). It was here that he pursued his vision of a society dedicated to the cult of one god, the power of the sun (the Aten). As well as this historic interest Amarna remains the largest readily accessible living-site from ancient Egypt. It is thus simultaneously the key to a chapter in the history of religious experience and to a fuller understanding of what it was like to be an ancient Egyptian. There is no other site like it.

RT @JenniferLockett: King Tut's Tomb to Remain Open - #history #egyptology