Appetitive: Update

Wow, it's been a long time! I've been incredibly busy with school and friends. I am going to try to get back to posting some things more regularly. For the moment, I have posted a few more verbs on my Principle Parts page.

Also, two Egyptology News article grabbed my attention this morning. The first is that a statue of Cleopatra and Marc Antony's children has been discovered. The second is about the recovery of fragments from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Interestingly enough, both of these "discoveries" were actually found years ago, but scholars didn't realize what they were until recently. It shows that there are still new things to be discovered, even in museum archives.

Appeitive: Follow-up on New Mummy

I mentioned a while ago that a team of scientists discovered a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Egyptology News sent out a video about  the new mummy within the tomb. My German isn't good enough to understand more than about 15% of it, but for anyone who speaks German, this is probably a useful resource.

Appetitive: New Ancient Roman Palace Found in Egypt

A new Roman palace has been discovered in Egypt. Apparently there is great erosion on the ruins, but archaeologists have already been able to translate some inscriptions which relate to cultural activities in the region. I received the news from Egyptology News and the full article is here (with a picture).

Appetitive: Follow Up on Giza

Apparently, according to one mathematician, the markings on the secret room of the Great Pyramid at Giza  are numbers. I could not get to the original article, but the report is on Egyptology News. The numbers combine to be 121.

Appetitive: More Secrets from Giza

The Great Pyramid at Giza is the only remaining of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Recently, robots using cameras have ventured into a small chamber hidden by a cover stone and revealed writing in red. Apparently, masons and work-gangs often left marks on the rock to indicate the origin of the workmanship in the same way that Roman roof tiles sometimes bear the marks of those who made them. I found this story on Egyptology News and New Scientist.

Appetitive: Plato and Egypt

In the Laws, Plato presents Egyptian art and music as a static set of arts rigidly regulated by custom. In the Laws, the Athenian Stranger presents Egypt as a potential model for proper regulation of the arts. This lead me to believe there was strict regulation of the arts. However, an Egyptology News article lead me to a New York Times article that explained that this impression of Egyptian art is false: there was a move toward the greater characterization of humans as humans rather than rigid forms following an specified pattern.

Appetitive: Rock Art

I have always liked cave drawings and rock carvings. I remember studying petroglyphs with my second grade teacher and hiking through mountains covered with drawings with my eighth grade class. Consequently, I was excited yesterday to see an Egyptology News post about new rock art found in Sudan from about 5,000 years ago. This was especially intriguing when the article mentioned that there were scenes that scientists cannot explain. Unfortunately, Egyptology News often does not include pictures to go along with the news story, so I followed the link to Live Science to investigate. I was disappointed to discover that the scenes were extremely simplistic and that (as it appeared to me) archaeologists were providing much more specific meanings to drawings than I could possibly imagine e.g. a semi-circle around a dot was equated to a crescent moon and an orb rather than the plethora of possibilities for that symbol. The slideshow of some of the drawings from 1,500-5,000 years ago can be found here.

This was especially disappointing as I recently learned about the Lascaux caves in France, which contain some of the most incredible cave drawings I have ever seen-- mostly paleolithic drawings of horses.

The one redeeming factor in the Sudan rock drawings are the "rock gongs," a set of rocks that make sounds when hit, and soemtiems make multiple sounds. On the other hand, the archaeologists might be exaggerating this too...

Reasoning: Constructs of Ethnic Identity in the Ancient World

Instead of what I was supposed to be doing today (reading Medea), I spent a lovely cool spring day on the porch reading the Landmark Herodotus and the Iliad (which I do have to read in preparation for reading book 14 in Greek with Propertius II). Much of Herodotus, in my mind, is a combination of political science and a quest to understanding ethnic identity. The way that the Greeks defined themselves and others is a fascinating question int he ancient world and one i would like ot expore more thoroughly.

In the last few days, both AWOL and Egyptology News have recommended a new open-access journal and magazine called Egyptological. I decided to browse around and read an article on Ancient Egyptian perceptions of Ethnic identities that sounded intriguing. The article was a comparison between two different books on ethnic identity in ancient Egypt which each take a different anthropological view of the way that Egyptians perceived foreigners.

Appetitive: Archaeologists on Strike?

I had no idea we lived in a world where archaeologists could go on strike. Apparently, this is actually something that can happen in Egypt. According to Egyptology News, in responses to a mass of looting, archaeologists might be striking in protest against the failure of the new government to appoint a minister to handle archaeological affairs. I think it's great that archaeologists have this power (although, obviously the looting is unfortunate).

More to come. I have a great old friend in town and I still have a lot of Medea to read...

Appetitive: One of the Good Stories

Unfortunately, the public loses access to many archaeological marvels every year when they are looted and sold on the black market to private collectors. A combination of tomb-raiding and vandalism has marred many of the vestiges of the ancient world. In a previous blogpost, I mentioned that the Getty has created a prototype computer system with satellite imaging (MEGA) to help monitor monuments and share archaeological information in Jordan. Even in Greek and Roman times, people vandalized and raided tombs for rich grave goods. The Phaedrus on whom Plato's Phaedrus is based could not have been in Athens during the dramatic date of the conversation because he had been exiled for vandalizing religious statues. In my favorite Horace poem, 2.13, Horace describes the man who planted the evil tree as having "sacreliga manu" or profane hands. However, the word does not just mean "profane;" the first defintion of sacreligus,-a,-um (adj) is one "that steals sacred things, that robs a temple" (see the Lewis & Short entry on Perseus). And certainly since antiquity civilizations have  been robbing the monuments of their forefathers for valuable materials in for building and making money or war.

The story I read this morning, however, has a happy ending. According to Egyptology News, a group of security forces and archaeologists apprehended a some thieves trying to steal the King Ramses II Colossus. I can see now a whole new generational of children wanting to become crime-fighting archaeologists.

Appetitive: Egyptology News

I am not much of an Egyptology person, but I find it interesting as a non-scholarly observer. When I was looking for some information on Egyptology recently I happened across a prolific blog called Egyptology News that posts updates on everything Egyptology related. Recently, the site has posted pictures of the Ptolomaic Temple, as well as a lot of information on the looting that took place in Egypt during the recent protests.