Intact child burials reveal new clues discovered at Gebel el-Silsila

Dr. Mostafa Waziry (Secretary-General of the supreme Council of Antiquities) announced that during their ongoing excavations, the Swedish-Egyptian archaeological mission (Lund University), headed by Dr. Maria Nilsson and John Ward in co-operation with the Ministry of Antiquities represented by Mr. Abdel Manem Saed (Director of Aswan Antiquities), discovered several intact child burials as well as crypts and chambers for adults in the 18th Dynasty Necropolis at Gebel el-Silsila in the Aswan region. 

The best-preserved child burials include: 1) An eroded wooden sarcophagus/coffin, partially sealed with mud, containing inhumation of a child (ST63), c. 6-9 years, oriented with head in the east, facing north. Poorly preserved coffin, heavily eroded by annual flooding, salt, and destroyed by beetles. 

 The grave contained several burial goods, including 10 ceramic items (intact beer jars, wine vessels, plates, and bowls), bronze bracelets, a bronze razor, four scarabs attached to the child’s left wrist, and a nefer-amulet found in the chest-area (moved from its original location by beetles).

 2) A rock cut crypt (ST59) containing young child (2-3 years), wrapped in linen and surrounded by organic material (possibly wooden coffin) destroyed by termites, covered with poorly preserved, crumbled sandstone lid, once sealed with plaster. Head in the south, facing west. Preliminary osteological studies show no obvious cause of death. No associated burial goods. 

3) Inhumation of a child (ST64), c. 5-8 years, oriented with head in the east, unknown facial direction due to later disturbance of the head, possibly caused when burying the child of ST63. Body wrapped in linen and laid on reed matting. Burial goods included three scarabs, one of which contained a royal name of Thutmosid period, and a single ceramic vessel not in its original location.

4) Inhumation of child (ST69), c-5-8 years, oriented with head to the north, facing east. Buried without any obvious care in quarried area, and covered with quarry spoil. No immediate relation with surrounding tombs. Several intriguing pathological indications of sickness. Further studies required. In addition to the intact child burials, the team has discovered several new crypts and burial chambers, mainly looted during or since antiquity. 

The archaeological material includes bones, ceramic vessels, jewellery, textile, ‘plaster’, and wood.  The intact child burials – some unique and others first of their kind at Gebel el-Silsila with their burial goods in situ, adds important insights into the local and contemporaneous funerary customs, pathological information (general health and injuries of the entombed) and add clues into the social and economic organisation of the site during the Thutmosid period, supporting the theory of individuals and entire families involved with quarry work states assistant director John Ward. 

Mission Director, Dr. Maria Nilsson adds that the finds follow a line of recent discoveries made by the team, all which date to the Thutmosid period, including

1) An usurped relief scene in the Speos of Horemheb, showing a large ship carrying an obelisk, comparable with the scene of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari;

2) six statues and relief scenes within shrines 30-31 from the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III; and 3) decoration and architectural details in limestone from the initial building activity of the Temple of Sobek on the East Bank. Together with the most recent discoveries in the Necropolis, all these finds reveal the importance of Gebel el-Silsila during the Thutmosid period, blooming with socio-political and religious activity.

Funding for this fieldwork has been provided by a grant from the National Geographic Society (grant # HJ-103R-17), Gerda Henkel Stiftung, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. 

#Egypt #Egyptology #Archaeology #LundUniversity #Friendsofsilsila #Discovery #Aswan #Mummies 

The heretic King's head moved to GEM for 2017 opening

Today, GEM (Grand Egyptian Museum) receives a group of 850 objects from the Egyptian museum in Cairo in preparation for the partial opening of the GEM by the end of 2017.

The collection includes objects dated to the Middle and New Kingdom as well as a number of objects of King Tutankhamon's collection.

Dr. Essa Zidan said that some objects need restoration work which could take months due to their current condition.

The objects transferred include a sandstone head of statue of Akhnaten in a good preservation state and two granite statues of Amenhotep II and Thotmosis III.

#Egypt #Cairo #EgyptianMuseum #GEM #Antiquities #Egyptology #Archaeology #AncientEgypt #ThisisEgypt

6 rock-cut statues discovered in Gebel Silsila

During the current season of Lund university mission in Gebel el Silsila, near edfu- north of Aswan, directed by Dr. Maria Nilsson, the mission discovered 6 rock-cut statues inside shrines number 30 and 31.

Egyptologists Ricardo Caminos worked 9 seasons at the sites between 1955 to 1982 but he described shrine No. 30 as totally destroyed due to earthquakes in ancient times and erosion which covered the site with large stone blocks.

Gebel El Silsila survey project managed to uncover and clean the shrines which led to discover the rock-cut statues. 

Statues are all dated to New Kingdom, two of them are in shrine No. 30 and they represent the shrine owner in Osirian position with his arms crossed on his chest and wearing a shoulder length wig, sitting next to his wife who puts her left arm on her husband' shoulder while her right arm on her chest.

The other 4 statues were found in shrine No. 31. The statues are of the shrine owner "Neferkhewe" who held he title of "overseer of the foreign lands" during the time of Thutmosis III and his family.

The four figures of "Neferkhewe", his wife, daughter and son show them all seated next to each other. 

#Egypt #Archaeology #Egyptology #Aswan #Friendsofsilsila #History #Discovery

 

The remains of Egypt liberation battles against Hyksos were found plus remains of Santorini Volcano in North Sinai

 

 The Ministry of Antiquities mission discovered the remains of massive administrative structures dated back to the Hyksos era about 3 kilometers east of the Suez Canal at Tell El Huba, Qantara in North Sinai.  The mud brick structures consist of two floors and several halls.

Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of Antiquities, said that there are burials of human and animals were found inside those buildings dated back to the Hyksos time. Many of the human skeletons were stabbed with spears referring to the fierce battles that were fought at the site between the Egyptian army led by Ahmos I and the invaders from the east till they were defeated and chased out of Egypt. 

Dr. Ibrahim also said that the mission found a number of magazines belong to the Egyptian army as well as granaries, some of them are 4m diameter circular and the others are rectangular of 30 meters by 4 meters dimensions dated back to Thutmosis III and Ramses II. The estimated capacity of the granaries is 280 tons which gives an idea on the large number of the Egyptian army members in the time of the New Kingdom.

The Minister pointed out that a project to preserve and protect the discovered structures and fortresses in the site as the oldest defense system. The site will be prepared to be an open air museum of military history expanding over 1000 acres as a part of the Suez Canal touristic development projects.

Dr. Mohamed Abd El Maqsoud, the head of the mission said that the remains and traces of a massive fire caught up in many of the building in the town during the battles which confirms what’s in Rhind papyrus in the British Museum that Ahmose I attacked the castle of Tharo or Tjaru in Tell El Huba and conquered the town then constricted the Hyksos capital in Avaris.

The mission also found volcanic remains belongs to Santorini volcano in the Mediterranean Sea which caused the first Tsunami in the old world about 3500 years ago, resulting submerging a large part of Sinai coast, Delta and some of the sites including Tell El Huba.