Saturday, June 16, 2007

The most interesting bits of news from the world of Egyptology over the last couple of days are as follows.

Very sadly, Professor Peter Ucko, a long-time director of the Institute of Archaeology at UCL died during Thursday night at home. I have written an informal and ridiculously brief note about his career and contribution to archaeology on my blog. I will update my site again when someone has published details that does him far more justice.

If you are interested in the identification of mummies, and of Royal personages in particular, then you might be interested in the news, announced by Zahi Hawass of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, that DNA testing might be used to identify whether or not the mummy of Hatshepsut, the female Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, has actually been located.

A detailed book review by Stephen Gregory of David Wengrow's book The Archaeology of Early Egypt: Social Transformations in North-East Africa, c.10,000 to 2,650 BC has appeared in the newly issued online journal Rosetta.

Finally, the threat to the unique prehistoric rock art found near Qurta, and reported recently in Antiquity, has been highlighted in an article on the Al Ahram Weekly website.