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Who was Menes? That is the question...     (15 Oct. 1998)

 
Who was Menes? Can anyone answer this? The other day we were discussing in class the different possibilities, i.e., he being a purely fictitious character, being a composite name involving several early kings, Narmer or Aha, when I felt that a very very well-known and important document, the Narmer Palette, has been usually underestimated in this regard. I think it proves that Namer is the king who can most likely be identified with Menes, I won't dwell on the reasons why that are very well known (wearing both crowns, etc.), but the views against it mainly because he didn't have a tomb in the north (that we know about, really) clash with the discovery (if I remember right) of objects bearing his name in Palestine, showing that his influence (through trade most likely) reached at least that far. Although it's always wise to be cautious I think the weight of the evidence is in favour of Narmer, but I'd like to hear other views if any (before I embarrass myself in class ignoring some pretty obvious new data...). Over to you, pals.

Ramtis (ramtis@my-dejanews.com)



Re: Who was Menes? That is the question...            (20 Nov. 1998)  

I don't think you'll be embarrassed because I quite agree with you, Narmer stands a very good chance of being Menes (if he was indeed a real king), mainly because of recent German discoveries at Abydos where an inscription was found naming the first kings of the First Dynasty in which Narmer apparently appears as the first king (Spencer, "Early Egypt", 64).

Zoser (zoser8@my-dejanews.com)



Hell and Repentance           (16 Oct. 1998)

It's interesting to note that ancient Egyptian religion apparently had no concept of hell, as we know it, or of repentance, two basic ideas that are linked to the Christian religion and to very few others.
The wrongdoer was destroyed if found guilty in the hall of justice and no repentance would do him any good, the sinner was responsible for his deeds and could not so easily erase their often damaging consequences just by changing the way he felt about it.

I think there is a case for the moral superiority of ancient Egyptian ideas in this field because people had to live knowing that they should be careful about what they did since nothing could erase it afterwards and would weigh against him and the consequence of evil was not an endless torture in hell where he/she would burn forever but they simply faced instant destruction without unbearable eternal suffering.
Moral responsibility was based in ancient Egypt on dire consequences for the sinner but in Christian beliefs there was a way out of it and if there wasn't, well unbearable torture was in store for them...
When we hear so many sanctimonious people (let's not forget that Egyptology was born and developed because of an interest in biblical matters and what the ancient Egyptians could contribute to them) speak of the lack of morality in many Egyptian conceptions, these thoughts perhaps help to put things more in perspective.

I guess this is part of what we are constantly told by our professors, that we have to see things through the eyes of the people we are studying and not through modern eyes, which some people find so difficult to do.

Duart (duart@my-dejanews.com)



New Age and other charlatans, what to do about them?       (18 Oct. 1998)

There has been a great increase in the last few decades of various kinds of charlatans who get involved with ancient Egypt trying to rub off unto themselves some of the academic prestige of Egyptology, so that they look more 'scientific'. The general attitude among egyptologists is to ignore them, hoping that the crazy wave will soon go away, but I think that is a mistake. Besides the traditional masons, Rosicrucians and other occult 'masters', the astrologers, New Age gurus in all their different shapes and misguided scientists who don't know much about ancient Egypt but still feel entitled to pontificate about difficult matters they hardly grasp, we have believers in reincarnation ('you know, I can feel I lived in Egypt...') and plain smart-alecks who try to steal the limelight in order to sell books or gain temporary fame. We could just laugh and go on our way, but the tragic side of it is that many journalists, sometimes in prestigious papers, looking for the 'different' bit of news to prop up circulation, repeat what they say and generously grant them space in newspapers, radio or TV, thus confusing many people and giving them a wrong idea of what our subject is all about.

That's why I believe we must confront those people and expose them for what they are, otherwise we will be allowing the cheapening of our discipline in the public mind. They usually benefit from our silence saying that it is due to our lack of arguments against them, which is far from the truth. 

Vignolo (vignolo@my-dejanews.com)


 
Re: New Age and other charlatans, what to do about them?         (25 Oct. 1998)

In article vignolo@my-dejanews.com wrote:

> That's why I believe we must confront those people and expose them for what they are, otherwise we >will be allowing the cheapening of our discipline in the public mind. They usually benefit from our >silence saying that it is due to our lack of arguments against them, which is far from the truth.

Unfortunately, Vignolo, the closer we get to Y2K or as they say "The Millennium", the new agers, Crystaltwinkies, and fruitloops, et al, will continue to come out of the woodwork, the floorboards and any other crevice that happens to be handy.

These people are absolutely convinced Egyptologists are trying to keep them from their "Human Birthright", or trying to prevent the "New paradigm" from occurring. The best thing to do, I have found, since having dealt with them for a good many years, is to do a combination of both not aknowledging them *unless* they do come onto our forums, et. in a futile attempt to enlighten we poor misguided, dogmatic Egyptologists as to the error of our ways. 99.9% of the time you can then dispel each and every one of their chosen mythos and pet-theories about Egypt, - which usually has some nonsense in it about Atlantis and extraterrestrials, etc. However, even when you have given them a good solid historical case, they will more oftentimes than not choose to ignore you, to throw aside the proof that you can demonstrate. And they will just write you off as a dogmatic fool, and one that is completely cut off from your "higher being".

To many of the participants in the new age movement, their ignorance is their bliss, and while they are busy following that bliss, they are not going to listen to you simply because you aren't wearing a simpleton's smile and nodding in agreement with them.

My question then becomes, why expend the energy on the willfully ignorant?

Christina (xina@netins.net)


 
Re: New Age and other charlatans, what to do about them?       (3 Nov. 1998)
 
In article vignolo@my-dejanews.com wrote:

> There has been a great increase in the last few decades of various kinds of charlatans who get involved with ancient Egypt trying to rub off unto themselves some of the academic prestige of Egyptology, so that they look more 'scientific'. The general attitude among egyptologists is to ignore them, hoping that the crazy wave will soon go away, but I think that is a mistake. Besides the traditional masons, Rosicrucians and other occult 'masters', the astrologers, New Age gurus in all their different shapes and misguided scientists who don't know much about ancient Egypt but still feel entitled to pontificate about difficult matters they hardly grasp, we have believers in reincarnation ('you know, I can feel I lived in Egypt...') and plain smart-alecks who try to steal the limelight in order to sell books or gain temporary fame. We could just laugh and go on our way, but the tragic side of it is that many journalists, sometimes in prestigious papers, looking for the 'different' bit of news to prop up circulation, repeat what they say and generously grant them space in newspapers, radio or TV, thus confusing many people and giving them a wrong idea of what our subject is all about.

> That's why I believe we must confront those people and expose them for what they are, otherwise we will be allowing the cheapening of our discipline in the public mind. They usually benefit from our silence saying that it is due to our lack of arguments against them, which is far from the truth.


All of these "charlatans" should be imprisoned for the rest of their lives for attempting to contradict that which cannot be contradicted, like Galileo. 

Seriously, I don't think everyone with opposing views and, in a few cases, with well documented evidence, should be dismissed out of hand. I believe we should carefully examine ABSOLUTELY ALL documented evidence, not just the evidence uncovered and interpreted by credentialed individuals or groups. Of course, a lot of junk must be sifted through to get anything important, just as the archaeologist must sift.

Michael Hughbank (michaelhughbank@my-dejanews.com)




Re: New Age and other charlatans, what to do about them?          (11 Nov. 1998)

Well, Michael, I can assure you that serious scholars do read everything that is printed on their subject and if they don't accept something is because they are honestly convinced that it is wrong. They don't want to suppress anything, my point was just that when crackpots jump into the fray, we have the duty to alert the public who doesn't necessarily know what is serious scholarship and what is sheer speculation that they try to pass as scientific research.

Vignolo (vignolo@my-dejanews.com)

   


Erman's "Wrterbuch"             (6 Dec. 1998)

A friend of mine needs a copy of Erman and Grapow's "Wrterbuch" at a reasonable price and he asked me to post this in case there are any positive responses.

If so, please reply indicating where and approximate price for the whole set. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Jimmy (jimmyspa@my-dejanews.com)
 



FREE ANCIENT FONTS                  (15 Dec. 1998)

I would like to share with you some of the results of my search in Internet for free ancient and non-Roman fonts (Egyptian hieroglyphs, Cuneiform, Maya glyphs, Linear B, Sanskrit, Meroitic, Coptic, Chinese characters, Eskimo, etc., etc.) and all sorts of other modern fonts such as Assyrian, Armenian, Korean, etc. etc. which are available free of charge as zip files which can be unzipped and installed into your computer (Windows 3.1 or 95). For the purpose you may visit the following sites (which I hope are still in operation):

http://sil.org.computing/fonts/nrf.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9145/
http://hopi.dtcc.edu/~berlin/fonts.html
http://www.imultimedia/museuvirtpress/ing/alfa.html
http://www.fontpool.com
http://195.38.142.236/user/will/ousia/Palaeographer.html
http://babel.uoregon.edu/yamada/altfonts.html
http://www.osirisweb.com/egypt/download.htm
http://copan.bioz.unibas.ch/meso.html
http://www.cgrl.cs.mcgill.ca/~luc/freefonts.html
http://www.worldlanguage.com/

If you want more, you can use the SEARCH option in Yahoo and Altavista writing "free + fonts" or "free + ancient + fonts" and with patience, you will find more than you bargained for !

Good luck and I hope this information turns out to be useful to you all.

J. J. Castillos (juancast@yahoo.com)

 



The many forms of the god Horus              (8 Dec. 1998)

Many Egyptian gods had different aspects, perhaps the result of the evolution of ancient Egyptian religious thought that brought together different deities as one single god (Amun-Ra, Osiris-Andjty, etc.) or that distinguished among different aspects of one single god.

In the case of Horus I could get together quite a number of forms, such as:

Egyptian....................English ...........................Greek

-Hr s3 Ast...........Horus, son of his mother .....Harsiese

-Hr s3 Wsir.........Horus, son of Osiris 

-Hr s3 Ast 

......s3 Wsir.........Horus son of Isis & Osiris

-Hr p3 Hrd..........Horus the Child...............Harpochrates

-Hr Wr.................Horus the Great

-Hr mhnty irty=.... Horus with Eyes on

-Hr mrty.................his Forehead

-Hr mhnty n irty....Horus without Eyes

...............................on his Forehead

-Hr Hr(w)..............Horus of the Horuses

-Hr sm3 t3wy........Horus who unites..............Harsomtus

...............................the two lands

-Hr hknw...............Horus the hekenw

-Hr s3ty.................Horus of s3ty

-Hr bhdty..............Horus of behedt

-Hr hnty................Horus presiding at Letopolis

-Hr htp..................Horus at peace

-Hr nht..................Horus victorious

-Hr smsw..............Horus the first born

-Hr ndty it.f...........Horus saviour of his father

-Hr imy snwt.........Horus on the shrine

-Hr hnty ht............Horus presiding over the body

I'd like to hear comments on this list, perhaps there are more I overlooked or any other useful feedback. I'm trying to study the origin and evolution of this important god that most likely goes back well into prehistory (Hierakonpolis, etc.).

Serbino (serbino@my-dejanews.com)




Smenkare                (22 Dec. 1998)

What is the latest thinking on Smenkare? Some while ago, it was noted that he did not actually exist, but was a misinterpretation of one of Nefertiti's titles. What is the latest thinking?

saraswati patel (saraswat@vossnet.co.uk)




 Re: smenkare (or rather Smenkhkare)           (3 January 1999) 

The latest bibliography I got hold of still recognizes a king Smenkhkare, corregent of Akhenaten and who probably survived him briefly before Tutankhamun, who was probably a cousin or nephew of Akhenaten, others say his son by another wife (Kiya), apparently it all depends on how long was the corregency between Amenophis III and Akhenaten. His was most likely the body found in KV 55 with that of queen Teye and when studied, presented great resemblance with Tutankhamun's indicating probable close genetic links. You can consult among the latest books for instance Nicolas Grimal, "A History of Ancient Egypt" (1995) or Angela Thomas, "Akhenaten's Egypt" (1996).

I hope nevertheless that these comments help.

Duart (duart@my-dejanews.com)





Pyramid Texts - Up-to-date bibliography          (11 Jan. 1999)

To whoever can answer this,

I'm currently working on a study of late occurrences of Pyramid Texts and besides the already rather old book by Allen, I think, on the subject, I know of no other recent study. Does anyone know and can refer me to more recent bibliography, I will appreciate any tip you can give me.

Bye now,

Alfredo Garcia (alfie5198@my-dejanews.com)




THE CONSTRUCTION AT GIZEH             (15 Jan. 1999)

I have been studying the building aspect of the engineering work at Pharaoh Kheops' pyramid. After an in-depth study of the building itself, taking a special interest to the time limitation and the current scientific thought about it, I have developed a thesis on the subject.

I am a Uruguayan, a professional engineer and I work for the Uruguayan government. I have published an article on the subject in the Journal of the Uruguayan Society of Egyptology (RSUE 11, 1994, pages 14-18).

I agree with the idea that ramps were used for the construction of the pyramids and it is logical to think that the straight ramp developed into more convenient shapes which made it possible to reach higher positions and reduce the amount of accumulated material. There is no evidence whether these ramps were used to build the whole pyramid.

Since the matter has not been clarified yet, in my opinion, the study of alternative solutions should not be discarded. The method I am considering is applicable to the last stretch of Pharao Kheops' pyramid, where the use of ramps became more difficult. This procedure does not replace the use of ramps, it confirms their use but only to a certain height.

The construction techniques applied for carrying out this work and the explanation for the unique inner layout of this pyramid are both vast and debatable matters. In this study I refer to two issues that attracted the attention of archaeologists since Borchardt's time to our own day, namely:

a) the method used for lifting the stone blocks

b) the purpose of the Grand Gallery

Traditionally, the two questions have been analyzed separately without ever gathering enough evidence to convincingly answer any of them. My approach is different and its uniqueness is based on the fact that the two are assumed to be related. The demonstration of my thesis requires some field research in Egypt in which archaeologists working there might help. It is impossible for me to explain the whole point here, but if you are interested, you can read the whole article in the following site:

http://www.egiptologia.com/metodo/metodo.html

If you don't read Spanish, you can email me your request at:

dgerardo@my-dejanews.com   or   danielgerardo@hotmail.com 

and I will email you a copy of the English version of this article. I will appreciate any comments from egyptologists so as to exchange opinions on the subject. This hospitable International Egyptology Forum could be the ideal vehicle for such a dialogue.

Daniel Gerardo (danielgerardo@hotmail.com)



 

Re: THE CONSTRUCTION AT GIZEH: rather unlikely, I'd say...        (20 Jan. 1999) 

I think your theory resembles so many others by engineers, architects and other scientists who claim to have found ingenious methods the ancient Egyptians used to solve certain technological problems, but unfortunately they all fail to provide convincing proof that not only it was a FEASIBLE method but also that the ancient Egyptians actually USED IT. It seems thus to be a 4,500 year too late ingenuity which often ignores the practical aspect of ancient Egyptian mentality which avoided unnecessarily complex solutions to their problems. For instance we find in many books and newspaper articles that the stone blocks were moved by means of wooden rollers instead of the actual sleds used, probably because it's such a neat way to move heavy things... but they never inquire before holding their pens (or keyboards), did the Egyptians use this?

Besides, if your solution to the main purpose of the Great Gallery in Kheops' pyramid is correct, why didn't the architects working in nearby Khefren's pyramid, of approximately the same size, use the same method? When a practical solution to a big problem is found, you expect it to be used afterwards, but this is not the case, as you know.

In 1988 at the Fifth International Cairo Egyptology Congress, some speakers who managed to be admitted said (and thought that they could prove) that the ancient Egyptians had used concrete instead of stone to make the blocks for the pyramids (Davidovits) or that in ancient Egypt complex pigments which could only be made using advanced chemistry procedures, were known (el-Goresy), which in my opinion, implies that they thought that on such flimsy evidence we should change our whole view of ancient technology ! That unrealistic posture is not science to me but rather amateurish speculation.

In your case your views seem to me more rational and realistic than many of those others, but too elaborate and on the whole, unconvincing. I feel there are other fields of archaeological research where your skills could be put to better use.

Liz Archer (archer44@my-dejanews.com)



 

Re: Construction at Gizeh (rather unlikely, I'd say...)           (26 Jan. 1999)


>I think your theory resembles so many others by engineers, architects and
>other scientists who claim to have found ingenious methods the ancient
>Egyptians used to solve certain technological problems, but unfortunately
>they all fail to provide convincing proof thhat not only it was a FEASIBL
>method but also that the ancient Egyptians actually USED IT.

I think that over this subject have discussed many and demonstrated little. By this motive I am presenting this theory, because it has the peculiarity of being demonstrated. It WAS TRIED by means of experience, that utilizing this method it is possible to elevate the blocks until you reach the height of this pyramid. Also explained in the same article is the investigation that there is to carry out to verify if this method was UTILIZED OR NOT.

Do you know another theory that satisfies these conditions ? 

>It seems thus to be a 4,500 year too late ingenuity which often ignores the practical aspect
>of ancient Egyptian mentality which avoided unnecessarily complex solutions
>to their problems. 

I utilized elements that were known by ancient egyptians, according to the archaeologists. The employment of counterweights, has been suggested by prestigious archaeologists, to facilitate the elevation of the heavy blocks . For example, in Congress realized in Cairo in 1988 ( that you make reference ), J F Lauer, proposed the employment of counterweight loaded hampers of sand, that lowering over the north face of the pyramid, permits to rise on ramps the blocks that form the roof of the King Chamber.

I thought that to construct the work of engineering so important in antiquity much ingenuity was required. Inside of it rational, I would not underestimate the ingenuity of ancient egyptians, without which these works would not have been possible.

You thought that the proposed method by me is a solution unnecessarily complex for the problems that presented this construction.

Do you know which were those problems, and which is the simple solution to the same?

In my opinion unnecessary is to construct ramps of 147 meters of height. If there is something we could affirm, because archaeological evidence exists, is that the brick and earth ramps were utilized in these constructions. Nevertheless, the quantity of material to accumulate in the ramp increases exponentially with the height, to elevate a quantity every time minor of blocks. With the height also increases the falling down by the inconsistency of the materials. 

Is it possible to construct a ramp of brick and earth until reached the height in this pyramid ? 
In this time different opinions exist, but when ancient egyptians planned to construct a pyramid so high, they were not knowing the response.

If the only method known to elevate the blocks was the ramps, it was risky to increase so the height ( 44 meters ) respect to the pyramid formerly was constructing, without knowing if they could achieve it?
Seems but logical to think that they developed a complementary method, what prevents you to realize that increment in the height, that has not precedent?

A method that could be put to the test before, that guarantees you that carries out the work, and which avoids the work and the uncertainty of constructing ramps so high?

I thought that the employment of a complementary method, was necessary and indispensable for the planning and carrying out of this work.

>For instance we find in many books and newspaper articles
>that the stone blocks were moved by means of wooden rollers instead of the
>actual sleds used, probably because it's such a neat way to move heavy
>things... but they never inquire before holding their pens (or keyboards),
>did the Egyptians use this?

In the last century, when they had to move the head of a statue of Ramesses II that weighed many tons to be embarked to the British Museum, they had to refer to an amateur as Batiste Belzoni to do the work. Belzoni, moved the head, skidded over gnawing, which gave origin to the theory to that you refer.

>Besides, if your solution to the main purpose of the Great Gallery in Kheops'
>pyramid is correct, why didn't the architects working in nearby Khefren's
>pyramid, of approximately the same size, use the same method? When a
>practical solution to a big problem is found, you expect it to be used
>afterwards, but this is not the case, as you know.

I try also this subject in the article. You affirm that there is nothing more to discover in the pyramid of Kefren ?

If we know about the Great Gallery in the pyramid of Keops, it is due to the fact that when they could not find the entrance, they made a perforation that carried to the rising corridor, and from there to the Great Gallery. If they might have entered by the entrance, today only we would know the underground chamber, something similar to what we know in the pyramid of Kefren.

In the last century, the specialists were thinking that the pyramid of Kefren was solid, until Batiste Belzoni discovers the entrance and the only chambers that we know of now.

Using your reasoning, if the prior pyramids have chambers in the building, it is logical to think that this also, and if the method of construction that we proposed was utilized, would have to have a gallery also.

>In 1988 at the Fifth International Cairo Egyptology Congress, some speakers
>who managed to be admitted said (and thought that they could prove) that the
>ancient Egyptians had used concrete instead of stone to make the blocks for
>the pyramids (Davidovits) or that in ancient Egypt complex pigments which
>could only be made using advanced chemistry procedures, were known
>(el-Goresy), which in my opinion, implies that they thought that on such
>flimsy evidence we should change our whole view of ancient technology ! That
>unrealistic posture is not science to me but rather amateurish speculation.
>In your case your views seem to me more rational and realistic than many of
>those others, but too elaborate and on the whole, unconvincing. I feel there
>are other fields of archaeological research where your skills could be put to
>better use.

The speculations that lack scientific rigour, as controversies between the specialists, are as ancient as egyptology.

Also it is certain that many valuable ideas arrived from outside egyptology.

This situation will be resolved as new discoveries are made.

I perceive also that some egyptologists have much skepticism toward those who have another training.
They seem to ignore that it is a thematic multidiciplinary science and that the formation of egyptologists by itself alone is not sufficient to issue opinions with confidence over these subjects.

D. Gerardo (danielgerardo@hotmail.com) 


 


Mummy assemblages                  (13 Feb. 1999)

There is an Egyptian mummy in Montevideo museum that was dated on epigraphic and typological grounds to 26th to 30th Dynasty (RdE 42, 1976). Nevertheless, some of us here suspect that the objects associated to that mummy are not necessarily contemporary, mainly because the mask resembles Ptolemaic ones, something that incidentally, J. R. Ogdon also pointed out some time ago.It could be an example of a package made for the tourists of the XIX Century in which different items were possibly assembled to make the whole more attractive. In order to verify this, we would like to hear from anyone who can provide more examples, if any, of this kind of procedure in Egypt many years ago, when those objects could freely leave the country. This mummy was bought in Cairo around 1890 although it came originally from Akhmim, as the inscriptions revealed. We are aware that all sorts of tricks were performed by the ancient embalmers, but we do not have references on the frequency of this particular one by their modern descendants. Any information will be appreciated.

Luis (luis-suarez@bigfoot.com)
 

 

FREE AND EQUAL OR RELEGATED AND SUBMISSIVE ?          (19 Feb. 1999)

In many books on ancient Egypt the authors speak of ancient Egyptian women as relatively liberated, entitled to many rights which other Near Eastern, Greek and Roman women would have envied, to the point of being even accepted as queens on their own right, legitimately ruling the land alone, without a male partner, already from the First Dynasty. But the question that comes naturally is, was this situation the same at all times in ancient Egypt and in all parts of the country and for all sorts of women?

Here is where some words of caution would come handy. It is beyond dispute that ancient Egyptian women as an average enjoyed a better position than in other contemporary societies but whenever the political situation deteriorated, during the periods of anarchy and social strife, those rights suffered and were cut down and women became more dependant and submissive. During periods of splendour and strong centralized rule, the situation of women improved and approached what is currently considered as their typical status in the country.

I believe that in everything, and especially in history, we should be very cautious and avoid undue generalizations which will be more often than not, clearly mistaken. Given that ancient Egypt treated women better for rather obscure reasons which nobody has identified yet, the ancient Egyptians were in contact with other peoples and were not immune to some of the situations and realities that drove other women elsewhere to be in quite a different situation.

Of course that ancient Egyptian women come very handy to modern feminists as an example of how things should be even many thousands of years ago, but because a bad example can be more harmful than good, it's advisable to look more closely at the matter before passing judgement.

Liz (archer44@my-dejanews.com)


 


 Trade or gift exchange?               (25 de Feb. 1999)

I'm interested in trade patterns in the ancient world. In the case of Egypt and its neighbors, we have many examples of exchange of goods among rulers which was masked for political reasons as 'tribute' or 'gift exchange' and the Amarna Letters I think are a good example of this. I think that it was trade of luxury items among rulers that was presented in a different light in order to enhance the prestige and power of each individual king, highly complex, it's true and which is read in a different way by others, but as I said, the balance of the evidence seems to the best of my knowledge, point to trade, leaving the other considerations as marginal or side-effects of the primary intention which was procuring special goods by whatever means necessary. I don't get much feedback around me and I wonder if any of you there has any ideas on this that you would like to share.

Ramtis2 (ramtis2@my-dejanews.com)





Automatic translation of Ancient Egyptian            (25 Feb. 1999)

As you probably know, I am currently finishing a program to translate automatically ancient Egyptian texts. I'm posting this message for anyone who is interested in this line of research and would like to exchange views and information on the subject. Just send me an email and we'll surely both benefit from such an exchange. 

Carlos Galucci  (cgalucci@adinet.com.uy)





Dear Sir !               (3 March 1999)

It was nice to find your page. I'm 5th-year student of egyptology department in St-Peterburgh State University, Russia, this year I'm writing my diploma research and my point is Maat and everything concerning the concept please, if you ever had any research on the topic in your Institute, I would be pleased to have information from you. Thank you in advance. 

Natalia Velikaja     (hakunamatata@goplay.com) 



 


   Ancient Pyramid Texts              (19 March 1999

Hello,

I heard something about some new discoveries in the Egyptian tombs, regarding some texts that explain history in their time. I don't claim to know any facts on this, but I am interested in any further information I can obtain on these texts, if they exist. Have you heard of any such texts or information on a recent discovery such as this? I like your website! Have a wonderful day!

    Joseph Gallagher    (josephg@macromedia.com)

Moderator's note - We haven't heard of any recent dramatic discovery such as the one you mention, and we would certainly have got to know about it, so to the best of our knowledge, important discoveries have been made in Giza about the workers who built the pyramids and how they lived, but no significant new texts. Perhaps you would like to join one of the many Email Lists on ancient Egypt that will keep you up-to-date. The ones perhaps more suitable would be:

Egyptologists' Electronic Forum

Lista Seshat -  barahona@lander.es    (in Spanish)

Sending an email or clicking in for information will get you on the way to join them and receive up-to-date information. 






    DYNAMICS OF HISTORY              (March 28, 1999)

Dear Professor Castillos,
Dear Professor Bianchi,

I am a research student at Bronx Science engaged in a semester-long research project which examines, in part, the hypotheses of T.H Von Laue and Arnold Toynbee with regard to the dynamics of history. More specifically, I am looking at the Egyptian Middle Kingdom ( The Feudal Age) and asking the following general questions:

How important a role did the forces of circumstance (e.g. geography) play in the formation and accomplishments of that society?

What, in your opinion, was the greatest challenge faced by that society and successfully did it meet this challenge?

Your opinion on these and related questions would be greatly valued. In addition to your comments, the receipt of the titles of any written materials which you feel I should reference are welcomed as are the addresses of any on-line resources which you find particularly useful.

Finally, would you know of any other experts in your field with a particular interest in my research topic? Their names and affiliations would be of great assistance.

My research efforts culminate in mid-May. Any help/advice which you would be willing to share with me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Respectfully,

   Julie Shen    (Z.Shen@worldnet.att.net)




     DYNAMICS OF HISTORY            (31 March 1999)

Dear Ms. Shen,

Any time a scholar attempts to summarize what we know of the history of mankind and provide answers to the how and why of human responses to their environment over a period of thousands of years, I welcome the brave effort in the hope to find new insights but at the same time, I cringe because the time anyone could hope to be able to grasp the whole of human history so well as to provide such answers is well past and the probability of getting the wrong picture grows proportionally to the complexity we discover in the development of every ancient society. In other words, in my opinion the chances for success in such an ambitious task today increase as it involves the result of teamwork by many specialists rather than the perceptive genius of any single individual.

For instance, in Toynbee's case, other scholars (e.g. Frankfort) have criticized his misconceptions about ancient Egypt which invalidate some of his general conclusions.

The environment (geography and other aspects of it) favours or hinders human activity but I think any conscious or unconscious ideas involving determinism in history, that of the importance of the actions of strong individuals or that of economics or that of geography or others are wrong and we are at fault if we do not understand that in every case there were many factors at work simultaneously, perhaps some more strongly than others according to the specific circumstances of every society, but always acting as a combination of phenomena to which man had to find an adequate response to ensure his survival and the improvement of his living conditions.

Animals, because of their limited rational development, must adapt to the environment in order to survive and seldom introduce conscious, significant modifications. Man, on the other hand, can and as he evolves, does so in increasingly drastic ways, not always to his advantage.

In the case of ancient Egypt, I think that geography played an important role in the development of civilization rendering an arid area of Africa inhabitable and fertile, where man could generate means of sustenance with comparatively little effort. At the same time, the aridity of neighbouring areas contributed to isolate Egypt, protected it and delayed or minimized for a long time the effect of foreign concerted and disruptive intrusion.

Egypt became a power in the ancient world when it achieved unification, which brought about an administration that could tap and use all the available resources in the country appropriate to their level of technological development, for the benefit mainly of the lite, but through mechanisms of redistribution, also for most of the population most of the time. A unified Egypt could successfully resist foreign encroachment and predatory activity which came at different times from practically all sides.

But the very length and narrow width of most of the lower Nile Valley, made unification a situation that was artificial and difficult to maintain. Every time central power collapsed, the country seemed to revert to the original, natural division in nomes, or if the break-up was not so severe, in the Upper and Lower Egyptian areas.

The variability in the periodic flooding of the valley by the Nile also affected the prosperity of the country and until comparatively recent times, there was little the inhabitants could do to control it, beyond maximizing its beneficial effect during the good years so as to try to compensate for the inevitable bad ones.

In my opinion, the greatest challenge the ancient Egyptians faced was to preserve the political unification and the independence of their country. It benefitted all in many ways and in that they succeeded with brief interruptions, for 2,500 years, which I consider is one of their greatest accomplishments.

Yours sincerely,

    J. J. Castillos     (juancast@yahoo.com)

Some suggested websites:

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/nerwha/docs/von_laue.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/3640/toynbee.htm
http://www.nsu.ru/filf/pha/biblio/duikrev.htm

Some suggested readings:
 
-M. Ashley-Montagu (ed.), "Toynbee and History", 1956.
-D. Bonneau, "Le fisc et le Nil. Incidences des irregularits de la crue du Nil sur la fiscalit foncire", 1971.
-A. Bourde, "Toynbee", Universalia 1976.
-F. Braudel, "Ecrits sur lHistoire", 1969.
-K. Butzer, "Early Hydraulic Civilization in Egypt", 1976.
-E. Finkenstaedt, "Cognitive vs. Ecological Niches in Prehistoric Egypt", JARCE 32, 1985, 143-147.
-H. Frankfort, "The birth of civilization in the Near East", 1956.
-E. Gargan (ed.), "The Intent of Toynbees History", 1961.
-P. Geyl, "Debates with Historians", 1958.
-W. McNeill, "Arnold J. Toynbee, a Life", 1989.
-A. Toynbee, "A Study of History", 12 Vols., 1934-1961.
-H. de Wit, "The evolution of the Eastern Nile Delta as a factor in the development of human culture" in "Environmental change and human culture in the Nile basin and Northern Africa until the 2nd millennium B. C.", Poznan, 1993.




   Dear Professor Castillos,             (2 April 1999)

I want to thank you for taking your time out to respond to my questions. Your answers have been very helpful to me. I will be sure to look into the sources you have suggested. Once again, thank you.

   Julie Shen



 


A quien me pueda ayudar:            (10 de Mayo de 1999)

Necesito informacin sobre la poca de Amarna, en nuestro idioma y que est actualizada. Gracias desde ya por responderme.
 
Steve Alvarez    (stalv@my-deja.com)





Estimado Steve:              (16 de Mayo de 1999)


Puedes encontrar una gran cantidad de datos sobre el tema que indicas en las siguientes pginas web:

ENLACES DE EGIPTOLOGIA   (http://www.egiptologia.com/)

Espero que esto te sirva para solucionar tu problema. Hasta pronto:

J. M. Duarte     (jmduarte@i.com.uy)



 


Estimados amigos:                (10 de Junio de 1999)

Quizs alguno de Uds. conozca donde venden o se pueda bajar, algn programa parecido al WORD con jeroglficos egipcios, ya que deseo poder imprimirlos y trabajar con ellos y no he podido conseguir ninguno. Hay uno que venden, en ingls, pero es muy caro. Alguna idea? Gracias desde ya. 

Julio Rosas    (jurosas@my-deja.com)

NOTA DEL MODERADOR - Hay un programa como el que buscas, en espaol, y es gratis. Puedes bajarlo de:

PROGRAMA DE JEROGLFICOS DE AMANUENSE
(http://www.egiptologia.com/enlaces_e/enlaces_e.html)







Hello,                    (17 June 1999)

I am writing to ask for your help. I am a masters student studying applied science archaeological conservation. We look at the chemical structure of artifacts to help us work out the best way of conserving them. Conserving artifacts is of course a waste of time unless we have something to say about how these artifacts fitted into the society of their day and hopefully tell us more about that society. What I am starting to look at is ceramics. I am specifically looking at ceramic pots and technological changes in production that have taken place with their development. Can you help me, give me some references, or direction? I am very much looking forward to hearing from you, thank you for receiving this message.

Many thank

Trish Leen
Assistant Conservator
State Library of New South Wales
Sydney 2000
Australia
work email tleen@slnsw.gov.au
home email: trishnancy@ozemail.com.au

P.S.- Thank you for your webpage, it's great.



 
Dear Trish,           (17 June 1999)

Thank you for your kind comments.

Regarding ancient Egyptian pottery the standard book is Lucas and Harris, "Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries", London, 1962, but more recent publications such as Colin Hope, "Ancient Egyptian Pottery", Shire Egyptology 5, Princes Risborough, 1987, has information and a detailed bibliography that you'll probably find useful. In a wider context, I would recommend you to consult as well J. Cronyn, "The elements of archaeological conservation", London, 1990 (1996), which has an interesting chapter on Ceramics and the relevant bibliography at the end of the book.

Please get in touch again if you need any further assistance and good luck with your project.
 
J. J. Castillos     (juancast@yahoo.com)





Matemtica Egipcia           (19 de Julio de 1999)

Hace unos das vi un mensaje en una lista de matemticas que esta ciencia no estara muy desarrollada en el antiguo Egipto, excepto para fines estrictamente prcticos. En opinin de ustedes, cul sera el mayor logro de los egipcios antiguos en este terreno?

Juan Manuel   (moderator8954@my-deja.com)

NOTA DEL MODERADOR - Estimado Juan Manuel, en mi opinin, el mayor logro de ese pueblo fue el uso de un sistema numrico decimal ya desde por lo menos el 3.000 antes de nuestra era (Paleta de Narmer), me refiero al SISTEMA, pues la NOTACIN decimal es muy posterior y nos viene de la India a travs de los rabes. Pero si algn otro lector de este Foro tiene otra opinin, nos complacer oirla (e incluirla).



 

                    (26 July 1999)

My Spanish being of the only verbal variety, I apologise for writing in English. As a Basenji owner I have been searching for quite a while to find paintings, carvings, statues etc of these hounds in egyptology. The only place where I have been able to trace some is in Mereruka at Saqqara, where there is a clear drawing of a Basenji. Can you help me to locate any further? Or refer to suitable websites? Muchas gracias!

Annechien

( Clive & Annechien Smith

Clara & Lizzy Basenji
Hook, Hampshire, England
some 40 miles West of London)



 

Dear friends,             (27 July 1999)

Among recently published literature on the subject, I would suggest:

- Rosalind & Jack Janssen, "Egyptian Household animals", Shire Egyptology 12, Princes Risborough, 1989,

which I think can be easily obtained in Britain and which has a bibliography for further readings. Also, a Uruguayan colleague of mine, Dr. Alberto Bianchi who has written quite a bit on ancient Egyptian animals and dogs in particular, could be useful. You'll find his relevant publications in:

Dr. A. Bianchi's Publications

you'll be able to get his Aegyptus Antiqua article on hounds from the Argentines at:

Argentine Egyptology Webpage

and his long paper for the Spanish Bulletin from the people at:

Spanish Egyptology Webpages

I hope this can be useful, I'm sorry I can't right now spare more time on your behalf on this matter since here in the Southern Hemisphere it's full academic activity (much as January over there) and they keep me quite busy, but feel free to contact me if there's anything else I could do for you on any other matter.

Best wishes,

J. J. Castillos      (juancast@yahoo.com)



 


Hello!             (July 28, 1999)

I am a Mauritian student in egyptology and I am looking for some information I did not find on the Internet. I have found your email on egyptology resources server and I would be very pleased if you could answer my questions: 

1. what was the name of the alcaline salt used for the bath-shower in Egypt?

2. how many chapels were nearby Tutankhamun's sarcophagus?

3. In how many blocks was Abu Simbel's temple cut during its move in the 60s to prevent it to be flooded by the construction of the Aswan high dam?

4. what was the first European museum to have an Egyptian arts department?

Thanks in advance for your help on any of these questions.

Saad Leonide       (saadleo@hotmail.com)

NOTE FROM THE MODERATOR - You'll find below our answers to your questions, which I hope you'll find satisfactory:

>1. what was the name of the alcaline salt used for the bath-shower in Egypt?

The ancient Egyptians used natron, a mixture of sodium carbonate and other salts, both for washing and personal hygiene and also for the mummification process, due to its properties that helped desiccate the bodies and prevent decay.

>2. how many chapels were nearby Tutankhamun's sarcophagus?

There were four gilt shrines covering the sarcophagus and coffins, profusely decorated with religious inscriptions.

>3. In how many blocks was Abu Simbel's temple cut during its move in the 60s to prevent it to be flooded by the construction of the Aswan high dam?

Since the stone of the temple weighed about 20,000 tons and the blocks into which it was cut weighed between 20 and 30 tons each, I would say about 1,000 blocks.

>4. what was the first European museum to have an Egyptian arts department?

The British Museum was created by an Act of Parliament in 1756 and some of its earliest Egyptian antiquities had previously belonged to Sir Hans Sloane. Specialized Departments of Egyptian Antiquities came much later, well into the last century. 






Hello,                (3 August 1999)

My name is Malgorzata. I am studying the ancient Egyptian art at the Warsaw University. Next year I am going to write my master's thesis but unfortunately I can hardly find something interesting on my subject which is "The role of nature in the art of the New Kingdom". If any of you know somebody who is interested in the mentioned above subject, please let me know by e-mail.

Thank you very much in advance.

Malgosia      (mszczycinska@worldbank.org)


 



For Malgosia,               (6 August 1999)

I think you have chosen a very good subject for your thesis, you'll find plenty of books to consult and also there is plenty to say on your own due to the many changes in ancient Egyptian society in this period, which also affected their perception of nature and how this was expressed by the artists. I've been told that in the latest issue of Scientific American (July '99) there is an article that deals with this subject and could be useful to you, it has up-to-date bibliography to consult afterwards. I hope these comments help you in your work.

Liz       (archer44@my-deja.com)






Dear sirs,             (7 August 1999)

http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Center/3152/

Please be so kind to add my Egypt site above to your links.

Kind Regards,

Paul van Pelt      (vanpelt@casema.net)



 



Consulta sobre AMENHOTEP       (28 de Agosto de 1999)

Deseara (si no les es impertinente), si me pudieran mandar un mensaje dicindome cul fue el SACERDOTE ms importante del faran Amenophis IV (tambin llamado Akhenatn), esposo de la emperatriz Nefertiti.

No es de mi inters, pero s de una persona que solicit mi ayuda consultndolo por uno de los medios de internet. Desde ya Muchas Gracias!

Gustavo Rodrguez Beisso      (gustavo9@netgate.com.uy)

PD: probablemente haya notado mi falta de informacin en el tema, ya que no s si el citado fue faran o emperador (digo porque s s que Nefertiti fue emperatriz)

 



Estimado amigo:          (28 de Agosto de 1999)

Es un gusto para m procurar contestar sus preguntas. El ttulo de emperador (o emperatriz) no exista en el antiguo Egipto, nos vienen de la antigua Roma, pero lo eran de hecho pues Egipto en esa poca posea un imperio.

Es muy difcil en temas histricos responder a qu fue lo ms importante en cualquier situacin por la subjetividad que tales planteos usualmente implican, pero yo dira que fue el Padre Divino Ay, ya que despus lleg hasta a ser Faran l mismo, despus de Tutankhamn. La funcin sacerdotal en el antiguo Egipto era menos mstica y contemplativa de lo que muchos piensan, implicaba una serie de responsabilidades rituales y administrativas y son variados los ttulos que los funcionarios generalmente ostentan, entre ellos, cargos sacerdotales que cumplan durante cierto lapso.

J. J. Castillos     (juancast@yahoo.com)



 

Hello,               (22 September 1999)

I would be glad if you take a look at our new site:

"Carlo Vidua and the Travellers of 1800 in Egypt"

http://www.doit.it/Egypt

Any comment is welcome !

Marco Maroccolo (Italy)     (egypt@aleph.it)



 


Thousands of mummies...             (1 October 1999)


I've read in the papers recently about the discovery of hundreds (and the possible existence of thousands, they even talked of 10,000) ancient Egyptian mummies in the desert, west of the Nile Valley. The articles made much of this discovery, as they usually do when something captures their fancy for some reason, but from the pictures they included, I don't think those mummies are in very good condition or are very good examples of mummification in ancient Egypt, they seemed very late in date. I was surprised about the numbers being the location out in the desert. I'd like to hear any opinions you may have on this subject.

Jimmy        (jimmyspa@my-deja.com)





Re: Thousands of mummies...             (3 October 1999)

From the little that can be gathered from newspapers and internet discussion lists, I agree with you that this discovery was probably blown out of proportion. However, although the mummification process was not at its best in Roman times, that's when these mummies seem to come from, the very numbers, if it's confirmed that they are many thousands, will give validity to statistical studies of physical anthropology on them, diseases, congenital conditions, etc., so I think they are a treasure from that point of view. Also, they were found in the oasis of Bahariya, northwest of Egypt, and I think that their numbers, if they don't belong to a very wide chronological range, could be due to the Roman policy of peopling the oases with colonists from the valley, after some disasters thay had there due to overcultivation. At least, this is what apparently happened in other oases such as Dakhla, where the archaeologists have found evidence of big settlements in that period and as far as I can remember, that is also the explanation thay gave for such population shifts at the time. If you want to confirm this, I advise you to read the reports by the Canadian missions in JSSEA, I hope the Egyptians will properly publish this discovery soon, but I don't hold my breath, some extremely important excavations such as Zaki Saad's, for example, at Helwan, were NEVER properly published and some people who tried to retrieve at least the excavation notebooks, reached nowhere. Many people complain about Petrie's rushed publication style because he left much out, but sometimes one wonders and wishes that a compromise could be reached so that people can get the information reliably and quickly.

 
J. M. Duarte        (jmduarte@i.com.uy)



 



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