Friday, June 11, 2004

Interesting things Egyptologists talk about

This couple of posts came across the EEF listserv today.

I have wondered for some time whether the square object, divided into
three sections, that hung by a chain from the waists of the high priests
of Amun, was not some type of key that could be slid into a narrow
slot and, by some mechanism, opened a bolt.
But I am not mechanical minded enough to figure out how it could be
done. I had read that in Palestine, at the turn of the 20th Century,
people unbolted their doors with the aid of an item that resembled
a wooden comb with three teeth. Anyway, it seems there were
locks in ancient Egypt, according to this webpage, which
addressed the earliest locks. A pity the illustrations are so
small.
http://www.chubblocks.co.uk/historyoflocks.html


[reply]

The earliest locks in ancient Egypt were apparently what we
call tumblers and utilized your "wooden comb with three teeth":

http://www.smith.edu/hsc/museum/ancient_inventions/hsc09b.htm


[Update] Another small email exchange on a different subject:

I have read a passage from Herodotus (II. 129-132) in which he
said that after the pharaoh Mykerinos had lost his daughter, he made
out of wood the figure of a gold-gilded cow "in which he closed
his dead daughter". The cow represented the goddess Neith from
Sais (the same one with Isis-Hathor?!). Finally, Herodotus said
the statue was taken out of the temple once a year "when the
Egyptians hit their chests with the fists for the god they do not
name in such circumstances" (II. 132) (the quotes are not exactly
as those from Herodotus because they are translated from
Romanian). Is it possible that the god, whose name was not
said, was Osiris?


[reply]

**Yes, it was. Several other Classical authors also describe
how a wooden cow was used to carry the corpse (or body
parts) of Osiris; see Diodorus Siculus I, 85 and Plutarch 39, 52.

The notion goes back to the Celestial Cow as Divine Mother,
The Heavenly Cow (Methyr/Ihet), depicted as a reclining cow
[just as in the story of Herodotus] with a solar disk between her
horns (cp. Hathor), gave birth to the Sun and raised it on its
horns to heaven. Likewise she could give rebirth to the dead.
Besides, the Skygoddess Nut was in the Pyramid Texts called
mother of Osiris in her name of 'Sarcophagus' (PT par. 616).
So: the coffin as womb of the Skygoddess/Heavenly Cow. A
coffin in the form of a wooden cow is then even more symbollic.
In Sais, it was of course Neith who was identified with that
Divine Mother.
During the feasts for Osiris, the god's mummy was in the cow's
body for some time (theologically for 7 months, apparantly;
practically symbolized in several ways, e.g. 7 days), during
which time people mourned for it.




Behold, the humble potato Volcanic soils yield new clues about the emergence of powerful chiefdoms in Hawaii

But one question has long troubled anthropologists, ecologists and historians alike: Why was large-scale sweet potato farming confined to just a few areas of Maui and Hawaii? After all, the Polynesians first arrived in the Hawaiian archipelago around 800 A.D., so they had hundreds of years to develop potato fields throughout the islands.

The answer, according to an international research team, may lie in the soil. Writing in the June 11 edition of the journal Science, the researchers conclude that relatively recent volcanic eruptions on Maui and the island of Hawai'i produced a handful of sites with soil nutritionally rich enough to raise large quantities of sweet potatoes. What's remarkable, say the authors, is that early Polynesian settlers found these fertile farmlands, which were originally covered by thick tropical forest, and successfully exploited them for hundreds of years.



"What should we do with these old paint pots?" "Oh, I dunno, Just stick 'em in the wall there. No one will ever find out." STONEMASONS UNCOVER MEDIAEVAL MYSTERY

Mediaeval pots dating from the 14th to 16th centuries have been discovered in one of Aberdeen's most historic buildings.

They were found by masons repointing the west wall of one of Aberdeen University's oldest buildings. The four broken pottery jugs were carefully placed behind stones which, in two cases, had been trimmed away at the rear to accommodate them.

The pots were found in King's College Chapel. They had all had their rims and handles removed and were on their sides, with the bases facing the interior of the wall.

Elsewhere in the building, gaps in joints are filled with chips of slate, so the pots had clearly been hidden deliberately. Archaeologists and historians are puzzled about why the jugs are there and would like to know if similar examples have been found elsewhere.


Greatness eclipsed by magnitude

He was one of the most stately figures ever to sit upon the throne of Egypt. The son of an army officer, Seti I achieved more for his country politically and culturally than did his much more famous son Ramses II -- who even falls under suspicion of stealing one of Luxor's most famous monuments from him. According to K A Kitchen in Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life of Ramses II, when Seti took over leadership after the brief rule his father Ramses I, founder of the XIXth Dynasty, he indulged a twin ambition, "to be the new Tuthmosis III (greatest conqueror) and a new Amenophis (Amenhotep) III (finest builder) all in one".

To this end Seti I (1294-1279 BC) wasted no time. First he rallied his army to fight the Libyans, Syrians and Hittites in an effort to win back the empire of Tuthmosis III. He succeeded in re-conquering extensive territory, effectively securing Egypt's sphere of influence in North Africa and the Near East; compare this with Ramses II's single battle of Kadesh against the Hittites which he claims to have won single-handed.


Another excellent article by Jill Kamil.

Investigation Into Babylon Damage Ordered

U.S.-led coalition leaders ordered an investigation Friday into whether the expansion of a military camp damaged archaeological sites around the ancient city of Babylon.

L. Paul Bremer and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez dispatched a team of archaeologists to assess the site at Camp Alpha, which was set up to provide security in the area 50 miles south of Baghdad, a statement issued by the coalition said.

The two leaders ordered all contractors working in or around the vicinity of the Babylon site to halt any activities that could damage archaeological sites and ordered that planning begin for the relocation of any troops in the immediate area.


Spiral ring reveals ancient complex machines

Distinctive spiral patterns carved into a small jade ring show that China was using complex machines more than 2500 years ago, says a Harvard graduate student in physics.

The ring was among the goods found in high-status graves from China's "Spring and Autumn Period" from 771 to 475 BC. Most archaeological attention has focused on larger and more spectacular jade and bronze artifacts. But Peter Lu identified the patterns on the small rings as Archimedes' spirals, which he believes are the oldest evidence of compound machines.

Simple machines that move in only one way date back at least 5000 years, to the invention of the potter's wheel. But it took much longer to invent compound machines, which precisely convert motion from one kind into another.


Controversy in North Dakota Tribal members protest planned expansion of coal mine

Allowing a mammoth expansion of North Dakota's largest coal mine would cut a devastating swath through American Indian graves and cultural symbols, tribal representatives said as they sought to stop the project.

The Public Service Commission has already granted Coteau Properties Co. a permit to add another 17,051 acres to its Freedom mine northwest of Beulah.

However, faced with subsequent protests from two Sioux Indian tribes and a South Dakota group, the three commissioners held a hearing Wednesday to listen to arguments about why they should reconsider.

The commissioners will not issue a final decision for a month.


What to mikve of this? 2nd Temple pool found

A pool that served as a main water reservoir for Jerusalem residents 2,000 years ago has been uncovered, the Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday.

The Pool of Siloam was uncovered last week by chance at the southern end of the City of David – in what today is Silwan – while the city was carrying out infrastructure work for a new sewage pipe.

Archeologist Eli Shukrun said that two millennia ago, Jewish residents would use the pool to gather water for their homes, as a meeting place, and also possibly as a mikve.


Note: Not Tennessee Megalithic findings in TN spark interest on 'non-iron age' Tamils

he ongoing excavations at Adhichanallur near Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu has revealed some interesting findings of megalithics at the site, leading to non-iron age of Tamils in the area even as efforts are on to scientifically determine the 'Sangam age'.

Disclosing this to mediamen here, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Superintending Archaeologist T Sathya Murthy said the objects excavated from the 114-acre site, apparently the largest excavation site in south India, hailed from copper age or at least to a separate age of non-utilisation of iron. ''But things could not be established just like that and still the ASI is heading towards a separate phase of history,'' he added.


Treasure! 11th Century Koryo Cargo Vessel With Treasures Salvaged

Archaeologists have salvaged a medieval cargo vessel, with a large number of celadon artifacts inside dating back to the Koryo Kingdom (918-1392), discovered last year off Kunsan on the West Coast.

The wreck, originally found by a fisherman last September, was pulled up by a crane and air bags from the 20-meter-deep seabed around Sibidongpado, a small archipelago about 30 kilometers off Kunsan, North Cholla Province during the second round of exploration between May 10 and June 3, an official at the Korean National Maritime Museum said on Thursday.


Not Chewbacca CAVEMAN STIRS BREWING ROW ON WITCH'S BONES

A Witch has cast her spell to stir up a row between two tourist attractions. Former circus owner Gerry Cottle bought Wookey Hole a year ago and said the bones of the famous witch should be restored to her original home in the caves, but a museum curator has other ideas.

Archaeologist Herbert Balch found the bones around 100 years ago. They were lying alongside a comb, a crystalline ball and the bones of two goats tethered to a stake.

He took them to the museum he had set up ten years earlier and they have been there ever since.

Wells and Mendip Museum curator Bridget Hobhouse said: "Mr Cottle's a showman. He's going to try and keep them because he's only got stalactites.


Try, try again Officials check out Native American burial site

When 400-year-old Native American bones were dug up during parking lot expansion work at the downtown public library in 1985, the project was put on hold for months.

Nearly two decades later, officials are deciding whether or not this round of parking lot work will go forward without delay.

Town Librarian Thomas Geoffino, along with Connecticut State Archaeologist Nicholas F. Bellantoni, Ph.D., and construction project architects recently did a walkover at the site of a new parking lot for the project. They discussed the nature of the work being done to be sure the project can continue without disrupting graves that may or may not still remain in the soil.


Swamp finds highlight for archaeology convention

A three-year study of Maori artefacts unearthed from North Taranaki wetlands will be one of the highlights of an archaeology convention in December.

Farmers have been finding Maori artefacts since the 1950s, and when Auckland University researchers realised the regional trend they decided to delve a little deeper.

"It was obvious that we were increasingly working on items from North Taranaki but we didn't have any idea of the context," associate professor Harry Allen, of Auckland University's Department of Anthropology, said.

At the invitation of North Taranaki iwi Ngati Mutunga, the university sought funding for a more in-depth study of the wetlands surrounding and north of the Urenui river.