Gold cartouches

of Thutmose III

Conserving a painting in
the tomb of Anen

A “new” coffin
for Menkaura
AEPrelim37.qxd 13/02/1950 19:25 Page 3

CONTENTS

features ANCIENT EGYPT

www.ancientegyptmagazine.com

August/September 2006
Hedgehogs in ancient Egyptian art VOLUME 7, NO 1: ISSUE NO. 37
17 Magda van Ryneveld explains why the humble
hedgehog features so often in ancient Egyptian art. EDITOR:
Robert B. Partridge, 6 Branden Drive
Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 8EJ, UK
Harvesting a pharaoh Tel. 01565 754450
An unexpected discovery in the Eighteenth Dynasty Email [email protected]
20 tomb of Anen at Thebes brought a lost painting back
to life. Lyla Pinch-Brock describes how. ASSISTANT EDITOR:
Peter Phillips
CONSULTANT EDITOR:
Clothing culture: dress in Egypt in the
Professor Rosalie David, OBE
25 first millennium AD EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS:
Frances Pritchard reports on a new exhibition at
the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester. Victor Blunden, Peter Robinson,
Hilary Wilson
EGYPT CORRESPONDENT
Menkaura’s anthropid coffin Ayman Wahby Taher
30 A wooden coffin found in the pyramid of Menkaura
bears the king’s name. But was it really his? PUBLISHED BY:
Paul Broughton investigates. Empire Publications, 1 Newton Street,
Manchester, M1 1HW, UK
Tel: 0161 872 3319
Vivant Denon’s “mysterious cache” Fax: 0161 872 4721
Marriane Luban reports on the activities of one of
33 the first collectors of Egyptian antiquities, at the end
of the eighteenth century.
ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER:
Michael Massey
Tel. 0161 928 2997
The New Tomb
in the Valley of the Kings PRODUCTION EDITOR:
38 Another update from Roxanne Wilson, a member of Ashley Shaw
the excavation team, on the recent discovery and the
progress made in clearing the small chamber.
PRINTED BY:
Warners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings,
Friends of Nekhen News Manor Lane, BOURNE, Lincolnshire,
Renée Friedman looks at the decorated tombs at
45 Hierakonpolis, whose inscriptions and decoration can
PE10 9PH, UK
tell us so much about life in the city in Dynastic times.
DESIGN AND SETTING:
Peartree Publishing and Design,
56 Albert St, Manchester M11 3SU, UK
Two Sphinxes of Amenhotep III
53 in St Petersburg FRONT COVER DESIGNED BY:
David Soper
Main image: The obelisk of Queen
Hatshepsut in the temple of Amun at Karnak.
Photo: R. Partridge
regulars TRADE DISTRIBUTION THROUGH:
Diamond Magazine Distribution Ltd.
From the Editor 4 Subscribers’ Competition Winners 55 Rye Wharf Road, Harbour Road,
Maps of Egypt 4, 5 Subscribe 56
Rye, East Sussex TN31 7TE, UK
Timeline 5 Back Issues 57
Bits and Pieces 6 Book Reviews 58
Tel: 01797 225229
Readers’ Letters 9 Egyptology Society Details 62 Fax: 01797 225657
From Our Egypt Correspondent 10 Events Diary 64
Per Mesut 54 Netfishing 67 ISSN: 1470 9990

ANCIENT EGYPT August/September 2006 3

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From the EDITOR

any AE readers will be familiar with the series ing the clock she wears on her wrist”. Mmm, a wrist

M of novels written by Elizabeth Peters, featuring

the exploits of Victorian archaeologist-sleuth
Amelia Peabody. They are gripping tales, in which sound
watch, perhaps? Am I completely missing something
here? Has one of the “world’s leading Egyptologists”
made a hitherto unknown and amazingly significant dis-
Egyptological fact (Elizabeth Peters is really Egyptologist covery?
Barbara Mertz) and fiction blend seamlessly. Fact is often stranger and more interesting than fiction.
In 2003, Amelia Peabody’s Egypt: A Compendium was pub- As work progresses in clearing KV-63 in the Valley of the
lished, which is a collection of articles and features on Kings, the main question asked when the tomb was first
the real world of nineteenth/early twentieth century discovered, “Who was buried there?”, has been replaced
Egyptology, with biographies of all the real characters by “Why are there no bodies so far?”
mentioned in the books as well as all the fictional char- However, many new and possibly significant discover-
acters. It is an amusing and splendid publication, but one ies have been made: pots filled with collections of small-
where fact and fiction are so closely interwoven that at er pots and linen; a small gilded coffin; and several pil-
the time of its publication, AE’s Editorial staff did dis- lows (or cushions). Imagine, if you can, the excitement
cuss their concern that this distinction might not neces- that the team who are working in the tomb must be expe-
sarily be clear. riencing, examining objects and opening coffins and pots
So ... within the space of a week or so recently, I was that were closed by ancient Egyptians over three thou-
not unduly surprised to receive two emails enquiring if I sand years ago, and never seen again until now.
knew the exact location of “Amarna House” (Amelia Clearing the tomb has been an enormous challenge;
Peabody’s fictional home in the UK) and, if it was open making sense of the finds will be as great a one. There
to the public, its opening hours. My response, that the has already been a great deal of speculation about the
house doesn’t exist and never existed, was met with sur- tomb, but hopefully the facts will provide the answers.
prise, if not horror, and the Compendium was quoted as Novels set in ancient Egypt can sometimes be good,
the source of the confusion. and I am sure AE readers will know of many examples,
Other fictional works set in modern or ancient Egypt but the real world of Egyptology has some amazing sto-
make no specific claims to be anything other than fiction, ries to tell based on sound facts and the diligent hard
but sometimes the author’s credentials are an implied work of excavators. The story of the discovery of KV-63
reference for the accuracy of the “historical” informa- and the clearing of the tomb will, I am sure, be included
tion in the text. in future non-fiction books about the history of excava-
In the novels of French author Christian Jacques, for tions in Egypt.
example, who is described on the cover of his early nov- The work of teams of Egyptologists in many sites in
els as “one of France’s leading Egyptologists”, but in the Egypt today, at places like Hierakonpolis, the various
more recent ones as “one of the world’s leading excavations in the Delta, and even in places that have
Egyptologists”, one would expect a degree of authentic- already been excavated extensively, such as the Temple
ity. However, the novels, such as Beneath the Pyramid, fea- of Karnak, will continue to add to our knowledge and
ture such absurdities as a donkey with some kind of built- understanding, and we will continue to bring their stories
in satellite navigation system: the donkey, travelling for to you in the pages of AE.
the first time from Thebes to Memphis, is able to go RP
straight to the door of a specific house, even when the
person riding on its back doesn’t know where to go. I
have heard that some donkeys in Egypt can be trusted to Detailed Map of Thebes
make their way alone from the fields to their stables (and
evening feed), but from Thebes to Memphis?
I have read most of Christian Jacques novels and per-
haps they lose something in translation from the French;
or perhaps the French are more willing to suspend dis-
belief. Whilst Beneath the Pyramids is full of oddities and
inaccuracies, which even a novice to the subject of
ancient Egypt would spot, one description in the book is
so amazing that it actually prevented me from continu-
ing to read past that point.
The plot features a female physician, who can cure
almost all ailments (unlike her male counterparts).
Picture the scene: she is treating a patient who has been
severely injured having been attacked by a bear whilst on
a military campaign. The physician has administered a
general anaesthetic(?) and prepared an ointment, which
she has “applied locally to reduce the pain”. She then
“checks how long the substances has worked by consult-

4 ANCIENT EGYPT August/September 2006

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MAP of EGYPT Time-line

Dynasties

Pharaohs
Famous
Periods

Maps and Time-line

by Peter Robinson.

ANCIENT EGYPT August/September 2006 5

AEEgypt News 37.qxd 13/02/1950 19:25 Page 8

bits and pieces

“New” and “Old” faces at the Also in the main
British Museum sculpture gallery is
a splendid “new
any well-known objects in the British Museum statue” of a Nubian

M
some time.
considered to be among the finest in the col-
lection have not been on view to visitors for
king (see below right).
Well over life-
sized and carved
Some were removed from display because the side gal- from grey granite, it
leries were lost when the Great Court of the museum depicts King
was developed and, since 2001, over a hundred and Anlamani. This
forty objects have been touring the United States of statue formed part
America. This tour was so popular it was extended and of the Sudanese
was followed by a reduced-scale version, to enable it to Exhibition, includ-
visit smaller venues. ing objects loaned
The situation regarding the return to the UK of the from the Sudan
objects is complex. Many are back in the UK, but some National Museum
of these are waiting to leave again for a new touring at Khartoum, held
exhibition; some are in the USA awaiting return and in the Museum in
others will go directly from the USA to new exhibitions. 2004. This exhibi-
It is, however, good to see some familiar and well- tion is currently
loved objects back in the museum. waiting to go to
The splendid gilded mummy-mask of Satdjehuty (see another venue, but
below) of the New Kingdom is back in the funerary gal- it was agreed that
leries, and, in the main sculpture gallery, a granite stat- something from the
ue of Senusret III (see right) of the Middle Kingdom is loan exhibition
back with its two companion pieces. should be placed on
A few other large pieces are yet to be returned to the display in the
main gallery and these include a large head of meantime, and the
Amenhotep III (this will be in the Great Court, where largest object was chosen.
an excellent cast currently fills its plinth), a statue of The statue was found at Gebel Barkal and dates to the
Tutankhamun/Horemheb and the Amenhotep III last quarter of the seventh century BC.
Soleb Lion. RP

8 ANCIENT EGYPT August/September 2006

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DEAR A NCIENT E GYPT

Readers’ letters
Dear AE, The entrance is marked
I thought the readers of ANCIENT EGYPT might be by an obelisk and six
interested to know that the fascination with Egypt has pharaonic statues (with
extended to the largest cruise liner in the world, Royal blue beards), painted
Caribbean Cruise Lines’ Freedom of the Seas. columns and various
I was lucky enough to spend two nights on board dur- tomb depictions includ-
ing her recent visit to Southampton at the beginning of ing a passable one from
May. the tomb of Nefertari.
At 160,000 tons, she boasts a rock-climbing wall, a Inside the lounge, the
surf park, an indoor skating rink, 1,397 crew and a décor comprises several
Pharaoh’s Palace Lounge! statues of Anubis, a car-
pet with a lotus-inspired
pattern and David
Roberts-style prints on
the wall. It seems that the
fascination with Egypt
never wanes and wherev-
er you are in the world (or
on the high seas) it can be
found.

Sue Marriott
Southampton Ancient
Egypt Society.

ANCIENT EGYPT August/September 2006 9

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From our EGYPT CORRESPONDENT

News from Egypt

New discoveries and work in and around Two deposits have been found. The first contained
the Temple of Amun at Karnak clay vessels, axes and chisels and a faience cartouche of
and in Luxor Queen Hatshepsut. The second deposit was found with-
in the foundations of the chapel of Thutmose III and
n the area between the obelisk of Hatshepsut and contained pottery and one hundred and twenty-five

I the North Shrine of Thutmose III, the Franco-

Egyptian team of archeologists has discovered
important foundation deposits.
faience cartouches of the pharaoh.
The big surprise was the discovery of nine cartouches
made of solid gold. These are inscribed with the car-
touche of Thutmose III, with his coronation name of
Men-Kheper-Ra on one side and Meri Amun (“beloved of
Amun”) on the other. Each cartouche is two centimetres
long and one centimetre wide. These finds will be
placed on display in the Luxor Museum of Ancient
Egyptian Art.
To maintain buildings for eternity the ancient
Egyptians used to bury different kinds of ritual objects

Left: the site of the discovery of the foundation deposits, just below and to the
left of the red plank. The sanctuary of the temple is to the left of the picture
and out of view. The crane in the background is the one used for the restora-
tion of the pylon of Horemheb on the south side of the temple.
Photo: John Rutherford.
Below left: one of the foundation deposits as first found.
Below: another view of the foundation deposit lying right at the base of the
foundation walls of the temple.
Photos: courtesy of the the Egyptian Supreme
Council of Antiquities (SCA).

10 ANCIENT EGYPT August/September 2006