British Museum Book of the dead exhibition

Exhibition information here

stay tuned for more details

NORWAY

For Ms O'Neill, I thought I would put up some safety issues to be considered when travelling in Norway,

•  There is an underlying threat from terrorism . Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers
• You should be aware that drugs and drink driving laws are stricter in Norway
• There are few safety concerns in Norway, but you should be aware of the dangers of theft, particularly in the airports and railway stations in and around Oslo.
• Norway is very expensive - bring or have electronic access to plenty of money, especially if you intend to eat and drink in restaurants and bars. 
• If you intend to visit forest, lake and mountainous regions you should bring plenty of insect repellent as mosquitoes and midges can be a problem. 
•  You should bring warm clothes and practical footwear to cope with icy roads and pavements. 
• When travelling by air, it is important to avoid deep vein thrombosis, which is a blood clot that develops in deep veins. It's a potentially deadly condition that can be caused by sitting in cramped conditions for too long. 
 

 Stay safe Ms O'Neill!

This is Norway...

A little history lesson for Ms O'Neill so that you are up to date on all that is Norway.
Hopefully you gain some very useful knowledge for you trip :)

so

ancient test. hard.

IT IS HERE!

THE FIRST INSTALMENT OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN QUIZ COUPLET!

KE$HA

so

i was listening to the radio

(as you do in the car)

and 'take it off' came on by the coolest person ever.

and i thought that good ol' kesha (does she even have a real name) was singing "there's a place downtown where the priests of amun re punch a hole in the wall, it's a dirty free for all"

imagine my disappointment...

Tutankamun Exhibition

Museum to unveil treasures from King Tut's tomb
Kylie Northover and Michelle Griffin
October 29, 2010


The coffinette for the viscera of Tutankhamun is displayed at the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of Pharaohs exhibition in Los Angeles last year.
Treasures from the tomb of King Tutankhamun will be seen in Australia for the first time when the Tutankhamun and The Golden Age of The Pharaohs exhibition opens at the Melbourne Museum in April next year.

The exhibition, part of the museum's Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, will feature more than 130 artefacts from Tut's tomb and the tombs and temples of his ancestors from Egypt's 200-year “Golden Age”.

Billed as “the greatest exhibition of all time," more than seven million people across the US and in London have seen the artefacts since its debut in 2005.

Egypt's Ministry of Culture has spiked interest by vowing that this is the last time the boy king's tomb treasures will ever leave his homeland.

Only last December, the director of Sydney's Australian Museum, Frank Howarth, said the show's $10 million price tag and its size were too big for Australian institutions to handle.

But in a coup for Victoria, the Melbourne Museum entered a partnership with sports and entertainment management company IMG to bring the king to Melbourne. Victorian Major Events Company and the State Government also helped to underwrite the bill.

"We looked at bringing it out ourselves and the answer was no," said Dr Patrick Greene, the director of the Melbourne Museum. "It needed IMG to take on the risk."

One of the last kings of Egypt's 18th Dynasty, Tutankhamun was believed to have been a minor monarch, yet he lives large in both modern archaeology and mythology.

Among the treasures that will go on display in April is Tut's diadem, the golden headpiece found around Tut's head when Howard Carter opened the royal coffin in the 1930s, 3000 years after the king was entombed.

The exhibition also features several ritual figures of kings and deities; the Falcon Collar found on Tut's mummy; and golden daggers and jewellery.

Not since the 1970s has King Tut fever been so high, with the exhibition attracting record crowds in the US and garnering rave reviews.

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/museum-to-unveil-treasures-from-king-tuts-tomb-20101029-176xv.html

i have a friend...

he looks like akhenaten.

Akhenaten: THE COMIC!

Akhenaten the comic book character first featured in the Icredible Hulk #457 and is referred to as the mutant apocalypse. Akhenaten asks the god Aten for aid, which is where his evil powers derive from. He is kidnapped by aliens known as the "CELESTIAL ORDER" (Ma'at anybody?), who imbibe him with the power of the Heart of the Infinate. Akhenaten returns to earth after a millenia of gathering his power in order to smite mythological heroes. He is finally usurped by Titan Thanos who travelled back in time to stop Akhenaten from attacking Doctor Doom.

It is claimed that the character is based on the 18th Dynasty pharaoh, however, I'm going to assume that it's very LOOSELY based.

Michael & Nefertiti!!!

Michael Jackson did a video clip for his song "Remember the Time" back in the 90's.

The stars of the clip were Eddie Murphy and a model named Iman who played a pharaoh and his queen.

Iman is wearing the same crown as the famous bust of Nefertiti found by the German archaeologist back in the early 1900's

AKHENATEN'S MUMMY

YES, I KNOW WE DO NOT HAVE HIM.

I was having a read of the "interesting reading but do not write about this on your test" page, and it says (and I quote):
"Such study of his [Akhenaten's] personality could never be fulfilled without noticing his characteristic physical features. His mummy, statues and reliefs were meticulously studied..."

Ah, excuse me - "his mummy"?
"His mummy?"

Ah...

The article never refers to the mummy again, but we have to wonder. "Sameh M. Arab", who is not holding a Ph D, but is, like, a literal doctor (the MD kind), wrote this. And failed. The end.

The 101 - Hat'z BabyDaddy!

According to Wikipedia, Senenmut was an architect and government official in 18th century Egypt who claimed to be the chief architect of Deir el Bahri, Hatshepsut's mortuary temple.

Strictly business?

Also according to Wikipedia, some Egyptologists believe that Hatshepsut and Senenmut were lovers. Two pieces of evidence that they use to support this are that:

1) Hatshepsut let him carve his name and likeness behind one of the doors at Djeseru-Djeseru (not sure where that is ...)

2) Some graffiti in an unfinished tomb, supposedly a rest house for workers, depicting a man and hermaphrodite pharaoh having 'intimate relations'.

Apart from these two, Wikipedia says that Hatshepsut seemed to have favoured the construction of Senenmut's tomb.

Was Senenmut a spunk?

Patricia O'Neill is a historical fiction writer who seems to have expended an inordinate amount of time pondering this very question.

http://www.hermajestytheking.com/senenmut.htm

In other news ...

These are statues of Neferure, Hatshepsut's daughter, with Senenmut, who was her tutor. Of the twenty or more so statues found of Senenmut, eight of them show Senenmut and Neferure together ... I'm not really sure why.

What a funnt moment in class today!

Media and communication in Ancient Egypt

This was another one of Ms O'Neill's homework questions ...
How did people in Ancient Egypt get information around?

Newspapers?
The first Egyptian newspaper began in 1828, so there weren't any newspapers (or more appropriately, newspapyruses) in Hatshepsut's time. Instead, heralds would give oral reports to pharaohs and town criers would make important announcements in public areas.


A papyrus scroll

Pigeon post
The first known use of pigeons as couriers was in Egypt, where incoming ships of important people would release pigeons to announce their arrival.


This is 'Cher Ami',a celebrated carrier pigeon from World War 1. Carrier pigeons can actually carry up to 75g when they're trained.

Scribes
It was most commonly males who became scribes. After being educated at a scribe school, their skill was used in various civic activities, from recording the yields of harveset to writing protective spells on the walls of the pharaoh's tomb. Military leaders like Thutmosis III would have been initially trained as scribes so that they could read messages sent to them. In the government, scribes recorded taxes and could be promoted to government officials. In the religious sphere, priests were scribes so that they could read instructions for sacred rituals.


Here's the equipment used for carving wall reliefs

Sources:
http://www.egyptgiftshop.com/egyptguide/egyptian_newspapers.html
http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/archive/PigeonPost.html
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/explore/main.html

Hatshepsut Question

Did Hatshepsut have to legitimate her throne to overcompensate for her being a female pharaoh?

The Hatshesput DVD that we watched at the start of the unit emphasised that the Egyptian theology (i.e. Ma'at) found female pharaohs to be an aberration to the cosmic order. In light of this, the documentary attributes her need to dress and depict herself as a male to maintain her power in a patriarchal society. The defacement of Hatshepsut's likeness after her death is also attributed to her disruption of the natural order.

However Gae Callender, an eminent Egyptologist, is wary of solidifying any hypothesis for the defacement of Hatshepsut's images after her death. In her article "A Critical Examination of the Reign of Hatshepsut", she addresses the ambiguity surrounding the accession of female pharaohs in particular to the throne. However, in light of the little evidence that is available, she concludes that there were "no legal impediment[s] to Hatshepsut's rule" - rather, she says, an edict passed in the Second Dynasty decreed that women could be recognised as legitimate monarchs. She points out that two queens had ruled prior to Hatshepsut, and had ascended the throne under the same conditions as Hatshepsut had done - upon the death of the pharaoh/ brother. She doesn't believe that there is substantial evidence to conclude that people did not approve of her because of her gender.

The Priests of Amun

Today at parent-teacher interviews, I was lucky enough to get Ancient History homework. I was not entirely sure whether I should take it seriously or not, then, realising I had Ms. O'Neill as a teacher, I decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

So, here is some information regarding the Priests of Amun from the text Antiquity 2:

The elevated status of the Amun priesthood in the early 18th Dynasty reflected the position of the

Amun cult as state cult of the new dynasty. The high priests of the Amun cult were appointed by the

pharaoh. This provided a means for the pharaoh to connect his family with Amun, as in the case of

Ahmose’s purchase of the ‘second prophet of Amun’ priesthood for his wife, Ahmose-Nefertari. It also

contributed to a growing interdependence between king and Amun priesthood.

The high-ranking priests—the first, second, third and fourth ‘prophets of Amun’—exercised

significant political and economic, as well as religious, power. This power appears to have increased

in direct proportion to the increasing wealth derived from military conquest, subsequently directed

to the Amun cult. It is possible that by the beginning of the reign of the young Thutmose III, the

Amun priesthood was powerful enough to play ‘kingmaker’. They supported Hatshepsut in her claim

to the throne, enabling her to take the unusual step of assuming the kingship herself.

The power of the ‘first prophet of Amun’ was significantly increased when he also held the title

‘overseer of prophets of Upper and Lower Egypt’. This gave him authority over all other religious

cults. Such a man was Hapuseneb, who held both titles in the reign of Hatshepsut. As one of

Hatshepsut’s most important officials, he was responsible for her building works at Karnak. Other

high priests of the Amun cult combined this role with other official duties that increased their

influence. Menkheperraseneb, ‘first prophet of Amun’ under Thutmose III, was a new appointee, not

inherited from Hatshepsut’s reign. He combined his priestly role with those of chief architect and

‘overseer of the houses of gold and silver’ or treasurer. He thus carried out both secular and religious

duties. Menkheperraseneb was able to pass his office briefly to his nephew before the role was taken

on by Amenemhet, the last high priest of Amun in Thutmose III’s reign.

New statue of Akhenaten's dad found yesterday!

I was hanging out at Dr Zahi Hawass' website, www.drhawass.com - you might remember him as the super enthusiastic egyptologist who was in the Hatshepsut dvd we watched last term.

The granite statue is in the process of being uncovered, and depicts Amenhotep III (Akhenaten's father) wearing the double crown, seated on a throne alongside the god Amun.

I was under the impression that Egyptian artifacts were rarely discovered, but according to Dr Hawass we know a lot about Amenhotep III thanks to the "overwhelming amount of statuary" that has been uncovered, generally featuring the pharaoh seated with other deities such as Bastet, Sobek and Thoth.

The newly found statue in the process of being uncovered.

In other news, Dr Hawass' website is worth a look- he's got his own fan club and everything, which I think is really cute. As the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, he's quite authoritative on the field and writes articles about what's hip and happening in the world of Egyptology.

Slightly more relevant than Akhenaten's dad to our study is this article http://www.drhawass.com/events/quest-hatshepsut-discovering-mummy-egypts-greatest-female-pharaoh where he writes about his 'Quest for Hatshepsut'. His penchant for narrative comes across strongly here as it did in the dvd, although this story-like structure makes for an engaging read that would do well to raise awareness and increase interest in Egyptology. Plus it's illustrated with plenty of full-colour photos!

A image from Dr Hawass' article, "The Quest for Hatshepsut"

I am a viking... my DNA says so.....

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Viking/article-2615568-detail/article.html

This is part of ongoing DNA studies in small towns in England.

Hatshepsut's mummy

Hapshepsut and Thutmosis: A Royal Feud?

Hey guys,

Since we were all contemplating the situations between Hapshepsut and Thutmosis last period (and Ms. O'Neill decided to give me homework), I have located an article on the BBC website written by esteemed egyptologyst Joyce Tyldesley, a professor at Manchester University and Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Archaeology at Liverpool University. The article details her veiws on the Hapshepsut and Thutmosis and whether he was responsible for the aradication of her name from the world of the living.

Enjoy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/hatshepsut_01.shtml

Egypt

So I was on the New York Times website and found this article on the discovery of a Egyptian settlement revealing "extensive remains of a settlement - apparently an administrative, economic and military center — that flourished more than 3,500 years ago in the western desert 110 miles west of Luxor and 300 miles south of Cairo. No such urban center so early in history had ever been found in the forbidding desert."

Have a read of the article and look at the pictures

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/science/07archeo.html?_r=1&hp

assignment work

Ladies

Please begin (if you haven't already) to organise your reflections. To start with, you need to read through all the information you have recorded and make note of any examples of corroboration between sources. You needs to ensure you have credentialed the authors of the sources you have used. This all goes in your reflections column. It is critical that you read through the requirements of the research criteria (and read the criteria explained document that I sent you last week!) so you understand what is required of you in the criterion on research. Today would be a good day to do this so you have a good idea of where you are up to in your research.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/young_explorers/play/time_explorer.aspx

This is an awesome exploring game :) You have to go back in time and save the priceless artifacts and answer questions on the ancient cities, beliefs etc

enjoy :)

Epic of Gigamesh

This is an animated version of the Epic, as well as the text version. Well worth a look. What similarities and differences exit between the Old Testament and the Epic?

http://gilgamesh.psnc.pl/

Weird article

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-489653/Human-race-split-different-species.html

this reminded me of what we were talking about the other day in class - the whole bigger breasts due to plastic surgery/evolution thing

except i think they got a bit carried away by science fiction.

Just doing some background reading...

... On the Neanderthal and apparently they had the genes that would lead them to be fair skinned and red haired.

Sophie might not be such a dinosaur after all.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7062415.stm

Lambayeque

Hey everyone!

In the holidays I saw a very interesting documentary on the Lambayeque people of Peru. These people built over two hundred pyramids and burned and abandoned at least three major cities.

For those of you wishing to so a mesoamerican society, the Lambayeque could be an interestingly different topic than what others in the class are doing. Towards the end of their society, they did have an Inca governor however the Lambayeque Valley lay untouched by the Spaniards. A temple of the Lambayeque was found to be located near numerous grave sites that indicate human sacrifice so it could be a very interesting assignment topic.

I'm pretty sure I want to study a site in Ancient Russia so I hope that at least someone will do this site.

(Those random looking mounds are what remains of the Lambayeque pyramids.)

Enjoy!

Uh - Oh!

http://historyoftheancientworld.com/2010/05/damage-to-romes-colosseum-causes-concern/

It seems some renovation will be needed at the Colosseum!

illuminating the wall

to celebrate 2000 years of Roman history in Britain, residents illuminated the wall from coast to coast. Check it out:

http://www.illuminatinghadrianswall.com/site/

Another joke for Sophie

How did the ancient Romans cut their hair?
................
.................

...............................


With a pair of ceasers. haha :)

Shaka Zulu

So Shaka Zulu had a really hard time getting over the death of his mother:

Shaka had made enough enemies among his own people to hasten his demise. It came relatively quickly after the devastation caused by Shaka's erratic behavior after the death of his mother Nandi. According to Donald Morris in this mourning period Shaka ordered that no crops should be planted during the following year, no milk (the basis of the Zulu diet at the time) was to be used, and any woman who became pregnant was to be killed along with her husband. At least 7,000 people who were deemed to be insufficiently grief-stricken were executed, though it wasn't restricted to humans, cows were slaughtered so that their calves would know what losing a mother felt like. (ref: wikipedia)

i have a joke =]

How do you ring an Egyption doorbell?

 

Tutankhamun ..... (toot and come in) (y)

funerary practices overview

All

I found this information on a contemporary funeral home webpage. You may wish to look through and see if there is anything of interest before you launch into the endless world of 'google'

http://www.sellersfuneralhome.com/pages/services/historic.html

VIDEO: UK scientists uncover gladiator grave

VIDEO: UK scientists uncover gladiator grave

Breaking news!

check out the breaking archaeological news!

http://www.news.com.au/world/roman-gladiator-graveyard-unearthed/story-e6frfkyi-1225877048816

This is a bit random and irrelevant to gladiators, although I thought it was really cool!! They have used LiDAR lasers to reveal unknow buildings and roads of the Maya City of Caracol. You can see the road through the image above and what is very likely to be buildings in clusters.



Airborne lasers have "stripped" away thick rain forests to reveal new images of an ancient Maya metropolis that's far bigger than anyone had thought.

An April 2009 flyover of the Maya city of Caracol used Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) equipment—which bounces laser beams off the ground—to help scientists construct a 3-D map of the settlement in western Belize. The survey revealed previously unknown buildings, roads, and other features in just four days, scientists announced earlier this month at the International Symposium on Archaeometry in Tampa, Florida. (Read about the rise and fall of the Maya in National Geographic magazine.)

University of Central Florida anthropologists Arlen and Diane Chase have spent decades hacking through the tangled undergrowth that has engulfed the powerful city—which thrived between A.D. 550 and 900. So far they've uncovered only a tiny fraction of the ruins.

"It's like literally removing all of the plant growth, so that we can see down below," Arlen Chase said.

The Chases direct the University of Central Florida Caracol Archaeological Project, a collaborative effort with the Belize Institute of Archaeology. NASA funded the 2009 LiDAR survey, which was carried out by the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping.

The LiDAR images also exposed clusters of buildings, industrial sites, markets, and plazas, as well as roadways that linked these areas. Some known ancient sites not previously thought to be part of Caracol are actually integrated with the massive city, the LiDAR data have revealed.
"The LiDAR is the most effective way for us to see how dense the population was, how dense the agricultural terracing was and its relationship to the housing, and just how much these ancient people modified the landscape," said team member Arlen Chase.

—Brian Handwerk

Warrior Challenge: Gladiators

Hey everybody!

I just found this site:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/warriorchallenge/gladiators/interactive_flash.html

Which has several fun little things like an interactive zone where you can see where everybody sat in the Colosseum and what it looked like on the outside in the day of the Roman Empire. It also has profiles for the different types of gladiators and a time line of the gladiatorial games.

Also if you are interested it has some information on Romans, Knights and Vikings.

Enjoy!

MARBLE ARTISTRY - does it still exist?

Evidence would suggest that yes, it does...

SONYA MORAN, an Australian artist, does marble carving among other mediums. This image is of the original, which is hand carved but she does copies in casts.

ENCHANTED FOREST IMPORTS

http://www.enchantedforestimports.com/marble.htm

"Enchanted Forest Imports" are a company who sell hand-carved marble mantles and stuff. Since it's imported, and they aren't as expensive as I thought, there's probably some girl in a Chinese sweatshop who really knows how to use a chisel or something.

STONE CARVING APPLICATION?

In China and Korea, 'stone carving' is still considered an 'art' or a 'craft' worthy of knowing, so I guess similar skills can be applied to marble, even though marble carving seems to be less of an art, and is mostly just used for fireplaces and gazebos, etc.

REPARES?

According to some really brilliant sources (wink, wink, not even going to reference) is done by machines or using moulds and isn't carved by hand at all.

WALTER S ARNOLD

Then again, Walter S. Arnold makes gargoyles and other pieces and claims to be 'classically trained in Italy', suggesting that the artform still exists. His website (http://www.stonecarver.com/carvtool.html) discusses how stone carving is done.

I'm guessing this is him with a gargoyle...

a new discovery

This is the sort of thing you can research next term for Funerary Practices

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8689046.stm

TOGAS

- They could only be worn by Roman Citizens and in early Ancient Rome were used to distinguish the citizens

- Some people chose to wear a tunica instead (that was adopted from the Greeks) but it was considered too effeminate so most men would only wear it inside

- Married women were allowed to wear a toga but most single women had to wear a more modest tunica. Prostitutes could not wear a toga ever.

It is now considered the most popular modern fancy dress costume.

You can even wear them online !

Roman life

This website has some really good information about daily life in Rome. It covered many of the things we have talked about in class. So, if you have a questions about life in Rome, you may find the answer here.

http://www.roman-empire.net/society/society.html

learning Latin

Want to learn more latin? Think you know how to speak English?

Check the link below and improve your langauge skills today!

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/beginners/

CAESAR SALAD NOT FROM JULIUS CAESAR!

The salad's creation is generally attributed to restaurateur Caesar Cardini ( Italian/Mexican). He invented the dish when a Fourth of July, 1924 rush depleted the kitchen's supplies. Cardini had to make do with what he had.

history buffs who reenact

Ever wondered what it might be like to dress and act as a Roman... in real life?

http://www.roman-empire.net/diverse/reenactment-corbridge-2008.html

Verus vs Priscus

vegetarian gladiators?

an interesting article...

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/04/05/1081439.htm#artBookmarks

debunked archaeological theories

If you ever thought some archaeological theory was 'dodgey' - it probably was. This site has a few myths to debunk.

http://badarchaeology.wordpress.com/

cool jobs

some internet resources to check out

http://www.archaeology.org/

http://www.australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au/index.php

http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/pompeii/index.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/

Indiana Jones....again

Last night on Channel 7 was a story about the Ark of the Covenant - a holy relic from the time of Moses. It is believed to be kept in Ethiopia...... an intrepid Aussie celebrity went to see if he could find it!

The link is below. The story is the World's Greatest Treasure - there is a video of the story.

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunday-night/#fop

shepherd or shaman?

love in the ancient world?!

Caitlin has posted some interesting information about what we were talking about in class on Friday. Check the comment below the "welcome" message I posted.

There is a book in the library "Love in the Ancient World" - it might be worth a read?

Were Antony and Cleo really lovers? What about Cleo and Julius Caesar?

footage of relocation

Abu Simbel

I have attached some sites about Abu Simbel that we discussed yesterday. One of them is from UNESCO - United Nations office for Education, Science and Culture. Use the tabs to check out the gallery as well as other information.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/88

copyright and referencing

Some important things to consider.....

If you post images, infromation or photos from the interent, you will need to include the refence with it - either the website, or the author's name and date. For obvious images, such as the pyramids, you can dispense with the referencing. If you are posting personal photos from a trip, or your own reflections, please ensure it is appropiate for view. If in doubt, just ask!

welcome

welcome to 2010, your first year in Senior Ancient History.

This blog is designed to bge a space for you to post discoveries you make about the subject you are studying. Specifically, it is a plce to include websites, course, travel ideas, conferences and other sites you find while surfing the internet. You can use it to post some of your favourite images or descriptions of the people, palces and events you are studying. In addition, it can be a place to review Hollywood's interpretation of history.

To get you started, I have posted a link to the British Museum - a font of information for the budding ancient historian.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/