A team from the Egypt's Mummies Conservation Project has finished restoring a group of seven mummies in the El-Muzawaa necropolis in Dakhla oasis, completing the first phase of the project, Gharib Sonbol, head of Ancient Egyptian restoration projects at the Ministry of Antiquities, told Ahram Online.

Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities

The restoration of Al-Muzawaa necropolis mummies came within the framework of the project, which launched three years ago by the ministry to preserve and maintain all mummies stored in Egyptian storehouses.

Aymen Ashmawi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities sector at the ministry, explains that the project started with the conservation of mummies in the Mostafa Kamel gallery storehouses in Alexandria and at the Alexandria National Museum, as well as those in the Kom Ushim stores in Fayum.

Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities

According to Sonbol, the second phase of the project will begin shortly and will involve the restoration of several more mummies.

He explained that during the recently completed work, the team noted that two mummies have "screaming" faces, a term used to describe mummies with open mouths. The hands of a third mummy were bound with rope.

Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities

“This is not the typical form of mummification, but it indicates that those people were cursed by the god or the priests during their lifetime,” Sonbol said.

He continued that the project offers a great opportunity for restorers to learn more about the death and life of those mummified people.

Author: Nevine El-Aref | Source: Ahram Online [March 10, 2018]

The walls of the ancient city of Termessos, which Alexander the Great besieged in 333 but failed to conquer due to its strong walls and powerful defenses, are being restored.

Credit: Hurriyet Daily News

The ancient city of Termessos was a Pisidian city built at an altitude of more than 1000 metres at the south-west side of the mountain Solymos (Turkish Güllük Dağı) in the Taurus Mountains. It is located 30 kilometers to the northwest of the southern Turkish province of Antalya.

With the support of the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Antalya Governor’s Office, the ruined walls of the ancient city, at a distance of 300-meters from the city, are set to be restored.

To aid the restoration works, a 3D map of the walls has been made. Nearly 3,000 stones were numbered individually and scanned before the restoration started.

The stones, each of which weighed two and a half tons, were lifted by crane to form the city walls.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Antalya Director of Surveying and Monuments Cemil Karabayram said the project would restore the ancient city of Termessos for the first time.

He said the project had received 1.7 million Turkish Liras in funding, thanks to the support of Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmuş, Cultural Heritage and Museums General Director Yalçın Kurt and Antalya Governor Münir Karaloğlu.

Karabayram also said the walls, which originally covered a one-kilometer area, were limited to an area of 300 meters because of the main road, and were being restored using their original material without any additions from stone pits.

The 2,300 year-old walls are being raised again, Karabayram said. “The walls will be the same as they were 2,300 years ago with 3D scans. Four towers inside the walls will also be restored. This is one of the biggest and most important projects for Antalya. It is also very important in terms of tourism. We believe tourists will take more interest once the work is complete,” he added.

Karabayram said the height of the walls would come to six meters.

He said they had found arrow heads, pieces of ceramic and coins during the works.

“Lots of historical nails were found on the ancient roads around the walls. After the work is done, we will invite people here. Lovers may declare their love for each other on these walls, which have spiritual value,” he added.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [March 06, 2018]

Archaeological excavations that have been continuing sporadically on Giresun (Greek Aretias) island since 2011 will restart soon. The island is the only inhabited island in the Eastern Black Sea region.

Credit: Hurriyet Daily News

Ancient Greek stories said the island was used by Amazons, the warrior women of legend, for fertility ceremonies and features in the tale of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece. Archaeological excavations were undertaken in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016.

The examinations on the Byzantine-era tombs, walls, the ruins of a monastery and a chapel that have been unearthed during excavations show that the island served as a religious center for many years.

Giresun Museum Director Hulusi Güleç said only 10 percent of the island has been excavated so far but they aim to work in every part of the island starting from this year.

Güleç said excavations are planned to start in the last week of June and the Special Provincial Administration had provided the allocation.

He said the earliest ruins on the island date back to the 4th century B.C. but the team has unearthed traces of life from 2,000 B.C.

“We have not reached concrete evidence about it yet. Now we plan to find them during the next excavations on the whole island. We aim to find out whether people lived on Giresun island thousands of years ago,” Güleç added.

Amazons and the Golden Fleece

“Many mythological sources refer to the fact that the Amazon women lived on an island in the Black Sea. Especially, the existence of the Amazons in the Balck Sea is known. Mythological resources document that the Amazons left for the Trojan War over the Black Sea and lived on an island. The only island in the Eastern Black Sea region is in Giresun. It proves that the Amazons lived on the Giresun Island,” Güleç said.

Güleç said a number of spearheads and arrow heads have been found during excavations that may be linked to the Amazons.

According to the Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius the Argonauts arrived on Aretias Island early in their quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Fierce birds using arrow-like feathers fought against the troops but were frightened away with the sound of swords clanging on shields.

Güleç added that the upcoming excavations will hopefully verify the myths with new findings during further excavations.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [March 05, 2018]

The construction of an andesite quarry in Turkey’s Black Sea province of Ordu has gone ahead despite a court ruling in 2011 that said the area’s historical value made the site inappropriate for such works.

Credit: Hurriyet Daily News

In 2016, excavations revealed a 2,100-year-old marble mother goddess sculpture of Kybele in the Kurul Castle, one of the first archaeological digs in the region.

Now, in that same area, dynamites are blowing up historic sepulchers, or rock tombs, further threatening the remaining areas, including the ancient Kurul Castle.

“We don’t know who to complain to, or what to do,” local environmentalists said.

“Every day, those responsible for the stone quarry destroy the historic castle’s foothills with dynamites. We are anxiously waiting to see if the castle will crumble,” they added.

The locals are also anxious, partly because the Ordu Museum and Kurul Castle Scientific Excavations Directorate remains silent in the face of the destruction.

“The stone quarry is not on an archeological site, we cannot intervene,” museum authorities said, responding to worries.

An Ordu court in March 2017 had ruled that a quarry could not be constructed in the vicinity of the Kurul Castle, which features a unique sculpture of the mother goddess Kybele, following concerns that explosions could damage the artifact.

In 1996, the Samsun Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board declared the castle a first-degree archaeological and natural site after requesting an environmental impact report (ÇED), prompting a court to cancel a license for the quarry, which had been opened inside the protected site.

In 2011, the board once again ruled that the area was unsuitable for the quarry. But Kırca Engineering, which operates the quarry, filed a claim at the Ordu Administrative Court, stating that the quarry and the castle were located on different rock masses and duly requested that the size of the protected site be reduced.

Although an expert report stated that the quarry could completely destroy the castle, the Ordu Museum made a different report, stating that the quarry area could be excluded from the archaeological site. The court then approved the request to exempt the quarry area from the archaeologically protected zone and canceled the board’s decision.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry subsequently appealed the court decision that gave permission for the quarry to continue operations at the site.

Finally, the Council of State reversed the decision on grounds that the quarry area was in a first-degree archaeological site and that it would harm the region.

The Ordu Administrative Court revived the suit following applications from the quarry company, even though the ministry stated that “the [historical] remains would be damaged by quakes that would be created by the explosions and that Kurul Castle was in an archaeologically rare region and should be protected.”

With this court ruling, the initial decision by the Samsun Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board to deny permission for the quarry was put back into force.

Kurul Castle is located at the peak of the Kurul Rocks in Ordu’s Bayadı village and dates back to the age of King Mithridates VI, who ruled over Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia from about 120 to 63 B.C.

Author: Ömer Erbil | Source: Hurriyet Daily News [March 04, 2018]

Dating to between 3351 to 3017 BC, tattoos of animals and motifs have been discovered on two naturally mummified bodies from Egypt. Using infrared technology, figural tattoos of a wild bull and a sheep were identified on the upper arm of a male mummy, while linear and S-shaped motifs have been identified on the upper arm and shoulder of a female mummy; these are the oldest tattoos ever found on a female individual.

Under regular light, the details are less prominent. When first found in 1900, the tattoo was mistaken for a smudge [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum]

“The use of the latest scientific methods, including CT scanning, radiocarbon dating and infrared imaging, has transformed our understanding of the Gebelein mummies. Only now are we gaining new insights into the lives of these remarkably preserved individuals. Incredibly, at over 5,000 years of age, they push back the evidence for tattooing in Africa by a millennium,” Daniel Antoine, Curator of Physical Anthropology, said.

These naturally mummified individuals are from Egypt’s Predynastic period, the era preceding the country’s unification by the first pharaoh at around 3100 BC. All visible skin on these mummified individuals was examined for signs of body modification as part of a new programme of conservation and research.

This infrared image shows the male mummy known as Gebelein Man. On his arm, you can see his tattoos [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum]

Under infrared light, the details of the tattoo on his 5,000-year-old skin become visible [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum]

The male mummy, known as ‘Gebelein Man A’ has been on display in the British Museum almost continuously since his discovery around 100 years ago. Previous CT scans showed that Gebelein Man A was a young man (18–21 years of age) when he died from a stab wound to the back.

Dark smudges on his arm, appearing as faint markings under natural light, had  remained unexamined. Infrared photography recently revealed that these smudges were in fact tattoos of two slightly overlapping horned animals. The horned animals have been tentatively identified as a wild bull (long tail, elaborate horns) and a Barbary sheep (curving horns, humped shoulder). Both animals are well known in Predynastic Egyptian art. The designs are not superficial and have been applied to the dermis layer of the skin, the pigment was carbon-based, possibly some kind of soot.

The female Gebelein woman was also examined under infrared light [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum]

The female mummy, known as ‘Gebelein Woman’, has several tattoos; a series of four small ‘S’ shaped motifs can be seen running vertically over her right shoulder. Below them on the right arm is a linear motif which is similar to objects held by figures participating in ceremonial activities on painted ceramics of the same period.

It may represent a crooked stave, a symbol of power and status, or a throw-stick or baton/clappers used in ritual dance. The ‘S’ motif also appears on Predynastic pottery decoration, always in multiples.

Her shoulder bone bears four "S"-shaped lines. The pattern has been found on other pieces of art from this time period [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum]

On her abdomen, the Gebelein woman has a tattoo of a stave, or staff. One theory archaeologists have about their meaning is that the "S" shapes point to or emphasize the stave [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum]

The application of tattoos to the human body enjoyed a long and diverse history in many ancient cultures. At present the oldest surviving examples are the mainly geometric tattoos on the Alpine mummy known as Ötzi (4th millennium BC) whose skin was preserved by the ice of the Tyrolean Alps. Based on the radiocarbon dates, the Gebelein tattoos are approximately contemporary with Ötzi (3370–3100 BC), and can therefore be considered among the earliest surviving tattoos in the world.

These finds demonstrate conclusively that tattooing was practised during Egypt’s Predynastic period (c. 4000–3100 BC) by both men and women. As the oldest known tattooed figural motifs, they add to our understanding of the range of potential uses of tattoos at the dawn of ancient Egyptian civilisation and expand our view of the practice of tattooing in prehistoric times.

The full findings have been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Source: British Museum [March 02, 2018]

A rare and impressive intact bronze ring from the Middle Ages, bearing the image of St. Nicholas, was discovered by chance during recent landscaping work in the garden of a home in the Jezreel Valley community of Moshav Hayogev. St. Nicholas is best known as the source of the beloved, gift-giving Christmas figure of Santa Claus. To date, there is no comparable ring in the Israel Antiquities Authority National Treasure Department.

The ring bearing the image of St. Nicholas [Credit: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority]

Gardener Dekel Ben-Shitrit, 26, was weeding on Thursday when his eye caught an object among the plants. He picked it up and noticed it had a human figure on it. “I rubbed it slightly and I saw it was carved with a human image inside a frame.” Ben-Shitrit, who lives in Kibbutz Hazorea, posted a photograph of the ring on Facebook, hoping to get some information about it. His neighbor on the kibbutz, Dr. Dror Ben-Yosef, director of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority’s Lower Galilee Education Center, saw it and connected Ben-Shitrit with the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The ring, dating from the 12th–15th centuries, was examined by Dr. Yana Tchekhanovetz, Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist specializing in the Byzantine period. “This special ring is amazingly well preserved and will contribute a great deal to science. On the ring is the image of a bald man with a staff next to him. On preliminary examination, this seems to be St. Nicholas holding a bishop’s crook – his hallmark. In the Eastern Christian world, St. Nicholas is considered the patron saint of travelers, including pilgrims and sailors. And so Christian pilgrims to the Land of Israel from all over the Byzantine Empire (Turkey, the Balkans, Greece and present-day Russia) would carry his icon to protect them from harm. It is probable that the ring belonged to a pilgrim who sought the protection of St. Nicholas on his travels.” St. Nicholas, Tchekhanovetz added, was believed to be a miracle worker and to give gifts in secret. In the Western Christian world, his image evolved into white-bearded Santa Claus, the gift-giver of Christmas Eve.


Moshav Hayogev is located in the eastern Jezreel Valley, east of Tel Megiddo and settlements from the Roman and Byzantine period at nearby Legio. According to Dr. Yotam Tepper, Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist and expert on Roman roads: “We know that the main Roman road from Legio to Mount Tabor passed next to Moshav Yogev, and the road must also have been used throughout the centuries by Christian pilgrims on their way to the sites on Mount Tabor, Nazareth and around the Sea of Galilee.”

Nir Distelfeld, Israel Antiquities Authority anti-theft inspector, who received the ring from Ben-Shitrit to place it in the National Treasures Collection, had high praise for the gardener: “We thank Ben-Shitrit for handing over this special artifact to the Israel Antiquities Authority, and we encourage others to do the same, When they do, they enrich and deepen archaeological understanding of the past that belongs to all of us. The Israel Antiquities Authority will be awarding Ben-Shitrit a good citizenship certificate in thanks for his action.”

Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs [February 28, 2018]

A Roman-era sarcophagus, believed to date back 2000 years, has been unearthed during a construction work in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district, daily Habertürk has reported.

Credit: Hurriyet Daily News

Officials at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum Directorate found human bones inside the sarcophagus after conducting an examination in the area. The lid of the sarcophagus was found in a different place.

The tomb was later taken under protection by the Kadıköy police headquarters for 24 hours.

 According to a report by the Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board, the tomb and bones inside are expected to be transferred to a museum.

It has also been reported that archaeological excavations could start in the construction field.

The bones inside the tomb will be examined and undergo DNA tests, officials said. The examinations will provide information about the residents of Kadıköy, now a culture hotspot in Istanbul, 2,000 years ago.

Speaking about the finding found in the Kuşdili Çayırı area, archaeologist Murar Sav said: “Kuşdili Çayırı and its vicinity are close to or inside the ancient city of Khalkedon. There was a settlement in Khalkedon in seventh century BC, when the ancient Greek city of Byzantion was founded. On the left side of Kurbağalıdere Stream is the necropolis of the ancient Khalkedon and the tomb was found on the right side of the stream. It is also believed that there was an old harbor at the spot where the stream meets the sea.”

Sav said that the tomb dated back to the Roman era, adding: “There is no relief or writing on the tomb. Had there been engravings, we could’ve said the tomb belonged to a rich person, but it didn’t belong to an ordinary person either. There was no gift in the tomb. The excavation area should be expanded to find other tombs around.”

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [february 28, 2018]

Egypt says archaeologists have discovered parts of a statue of one of its most famous pharaohs in the southern city of Aswan.

The head of a statue of one of the most famous pharaohs, Ramses II, that was discovered along with other parts of a statue in the Temple of Kom Ombo, in Aswan, 940 kilometres south of Cairo [Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities via AP]

The Antiquities Ministry said Tuesday the head and chest of the statue of Ramses II were found in the Temple of Kom Ombo during a project to protect the site from groundwater.

Egypt hopes the find, along with other recent discoveries, will help revive its tourism sector, which has been battered by years of unrest since the 2011 uprising.

Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC. He is credited with expanding Egypt's reach as far as modern Syria to the east and Sudan to the south.

Source: The Associated Press [February 28, 2018]

A sunken marine port structure in the Gulf of Aqaba was unveiled on Monday as findings of Jordan’s first underwater archaeological expedition tracing ruins of the Islamic city of Ayla were announced.

Jordan’s first underwater archaeological expedition traced ruins of the Islamic city of Ayla in the Gulf of Aqaba [Credit: JREDS]

The unearthed port dates back to the Umayyad period towards the end of the Fatimid period (650-1116 AD), according to the findings of the survey, which also unveiled a 50-metre-long and eight-metre-wide barrier.

“The barrier is connected to a solid mud floor which extends outside the coast. The solid mud floor was found to be interspersed with a two-lane corridor which connects the port and the sea gate to the city and its stores. It is suggested that the lane was used for the transport of the port’s imports and exports,” the survey’s results, which were made available to The Jordan Times, read.

The Royal Marine Conservation Society of Jordan (JREDS), which implemented the survey project in partnership with different stakeholders, announced the results during a conference in Aqaba.

JREDS implemented the survey in partnership with the USAID-funded project  "Sustainable Cultural Heritage Through Engagement of Local Communities", and in cooperation with the Department of Antiquities.

HRH Princess Basma, president of JREDS, said on Monday at the conference that the society seeks to protect the marine environment while also ensuring sustainable development.

“Understanding our cultural and historical values is a tool to increase our commitment towards Jordan and the conservation of its heritage and values,” a press statement issued by JREDS quoted Princess Basma as saying.

Ehab Eid, JREDS' executive director, said that experts involved in the survey expect that the marine port discovered in the Gulf of Aqaba to include other components to be unveiled, such as a furnace for the production of pottery, and spaces for the maintenance and manufacture of ships and sails among other facilities.

“The stone mortar found at the site is likely to have been produced there. Work is under way to identify the extent of the activity of the port of Ayla, which links the commercial road from the Levant, Hijaz, Egypt and the Maghreb with the maritime navigational route that reaches India, east and south Asia and Africa,” Eid told The Jordan Times.

He noted that the society has deployed local experts to document the history of the Islamic city of Ayla, underlining that it also sought the support of experts from the Egyptian Department of Antiquities, who are specialised in underwater archaeology.

Also on Monday, the society and Jordan’s Department of Antiquities signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation in the areas of field research, educational and environmental awareness, protection of archaeological sites and organising events that are consistent with the protection of natural and cultural heritage.

Author: Hana Namrouqa | Source: The Jordan Times [February 27, 2018]

The ancient theatre in Perge, which is believed to date back to the second century and had a capacity of 13,000 people, will undergo restoration for the first time in its history.

DHA Photo

Located in the ancient city of Perge, which was the capital of many civilizations especially in the Pamphylia era, the ancient amphitheatre in the southern province of Antalya’s Aksu district is as magnificent as the theatres in Ephesus and Aspendos.

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums provided 3 million Turkish Liras for the restoration project to be carried out by the Antalya Directorate of Surveying and Monuments.

Antalya Director of Surveying and Monuments Cemil Karabayram said the ancient theatre had not been restored so far, adding that excavations started in the 1980s under the leadership of Professor Jale İnan and continued until 1990s. He said lots of old sculptures and historic artifacts had been unearthed in the theatre since then and were being displayed at the Antalya Archaeology Museum.

Karabayram said 2018 was declared “Perge’s year” in Antalya and the idea for its restoration came up during visits by the Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmuş to the ancient city. “With the initiative of the Surveying and Monuments director Yalçın Kurt, the problem of allocation for the restoration project has been solved,” he added.

Karabayram said work had begun on the restoration project.

“This is a very important development because the ancient Perge theatre has never been considered for restoration. All original materials of the structure still remain. It will be restored with its original materials. The Perge theatre was closed to tourism for some time due to security reasons. As a result of works, some fields were taken under protection with safety lines and the rest was open to visitors. Tourists can visit the theatre at the moment,” he said.

The director said once the project was done, operations would start by the end of the year.

“The ancient Perge theatre will regain its magnificence at the end of this restoration. Also, an academic committee is being formed for the project and the application,” he added.

The ancient theatre is made up of three main sections, the cavea (seating sections), the orchestra and the stage. The area for the cavea and orchestra is a bit wider than a half circle. It is known that gladiator and wild animal fights were organized in the orchestra pit.

The lower part of the theatre has 19 tiers and the upper part has 23 tiers for seats. The orchestra pit surrounded with rails shows us that gladiator shows were organized there. Relievos featuring the life of Dionysos, the goddess of wine, are seen on the stage, which has five doors that lead to the backstage.

Even though most of these relievos were damaged when the stage collapsed, the parts depicting the life of Dionysos have survived until today.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [February 24, 2018]

In the middle of the desert, six kilometres south of Tuna Al-Gabal archaeological site, Egyptian and international media gathered to witness the announcement of a new discovery.

Credit: Reuters

Five showcases displaying the artefacts uncovered from burial sites in the cemetery were guarded by inspectors. Minister of Antiquities Kaled El-Enany, who was on site, announced the discovery of a 26th Dynasty cemetery that consists of a large number of burial shafts.

Credit: Reuters

The discovery was made out by an Egyptian mission led by Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), who started excavations at end of 2017.

Credit: Reuters

“Excavation work is scheduled to last for five years in an attempt to uncover all the burials of the cemetery,” El-Enany told Ahram Online. He explained that the discovery is still fresh, and many more are to come as excavation continues.

Credit: Reuters

Waziri said that in the last three months the mission has discovered a group of tombs and burials that belong to priests of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth, the main deity of the 15th nome and its capital Al-Ashmounein.


One the discovered tombs belongs to a high-priest of god Thoth, “Hersa-Essei”. The tomb houses 13 burials in which was found a large number of ushabti figurines carved in faience. A collection of 1,000 figurines are in a very good state of conservation while other statuettes were found broken in pieces.


“Restorers are now busy collecting all of the parts for restoration,” Waziri pointed out. He continued that four canopic jars made of alabaster with lids bearing the faces of the four sons of the god Horus were also unearthed.

Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

They are in a very good state of conservation and still contain the mummified inner organs of the deceased. The jars are decorated with hieroglyphic texts showing the name and titles of its respective owner.

Credit: Reuters

The mummy of high-priest “Djehuty-Irdy-Es” was also found. The mummy is decorated with a bronze collar depicting the god Nut stretching her wings to protect the deceased according to ancient Egyptian belief. It is also decorated with a collection of blue and red precious beads as well as bronze gilded sheets, two eyes carved in bronze and ornamented with ivory and crystal beads.

Credit: Reuters

Four amulets of semi-precious stones were also found on the mummy. It is decorated with hieroglyphic texts, one of which is engraved with a phrase saying: "Happy New Year.”

Credit: Reuters

The mission has also unearthed 40 limestone sarcophagi of different shapes and sizes, some of them with anthropoid lids decorated with the names and different titles of their owners.

Credit: Reuters

Another family tomb was uncovered in the cemetery, Waziri said. It houses a collection of gigantic sarcophagi of different shapes and sizes, ushabti figurines bearing the names of their owners who were priests of the gods during their time. Other funerary collections showing the skills and art tastes of the ancient Egyptians were also found.

Credit: Reuters

Al-Gurifa site was subject to an attempt at illegal excavation in 2002, a matter that led the SCA at the time to start comprehensive excavation work on site in 2002 and 2004 under the supervision of archaeologist Atta Makram.

Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

In 2004, the site was declared an archaeological site under the guard of the SCA. In 2017, excavation work resumed to uncover the part of the cemetery of the New Kingdom and Late Period.

Credit: Reuters

The cemeteries of the Old Kingdom, First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom were on the east bank of the Nile in Al-Sheikh Saad and Eeir Al-Barsha area.

Credit: Reuters

The Ptolemaic period of the cemetery was on the west bank of the Nile at Tuna Al-Gabal.

Author: Nevine El-Aref | Source: Ahram Online [February 24, 2018]

The ancient Greek site known as "Gate to Hell," located in modern-day Turkey's western Denizli province, really did kill those who got too close – but instead of an angry god's breath, noxious gas claimed victims, scientists have found.

In ancient times, the Greeks and Romans believed this grotto was the gateway to hell [Credit: Daily Sabah]

Legends of "Hades Gate," named after the Greek god of death, say anyone who approached the deadly breath-filled grotto dropped dead and was immediately taken away to the underworld – a tale considered hyperbole, until now.

A team of researchers from Germany's University of Duisburg-Essen who has been studying the site in the ancient city of Hierapolis uncovered a geomorphic explanation for the dramatic deaths.

The plutonium at Hierapolis [Credit: Carole Raddato/Flickr]

The grotto sits directly above the Babadağ fault line, from which carbon dioxide escapes Earth's crust and fills the cave, at levels that may have been lethal to humans in ancient times.

A digital reconstruction of the site [Credit: Francesco D’Andria]

​"In a grotto below the temple of Pluto, CO2 was found to be at deadly concentrations of up to 91 percent," the study, published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, said.

During the rites, priests sacrificed bulls to Pluto.The ceremony included leading the animals into the cave, and dragging them out dead [Credit: Francesco D’Andria]

"Astonishingly, these vapours are still emitted in concentrations that nowadays kill insects, birds and mammals."

The fault line had another formative effect on the city, one that instead fought back against death's approach and kept it a popular spot for visitors. Colourful mineral hot springs cascade down the hill near the ruins of Hierapolis, the place known as Pamukkale in modern Turkey. The site has been used as a healing spa since the second century BC under the Greek Seleucid Empire.

Source: Daily Sabah [February 23, 2018]

A 2,200-year-old crown and silver bowl have been seized by police in Istanbul during a hotel raid against historical artifact smugglers.

Credit: Hurriyet Daily News

The police’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch pushed the button for the operation on Feb. 20 after finding that suspects had tried to sell a number of historical artifacts.

Undercover police initially got in touch with the suspects by pretending to be interested in buying the artifacts, representing themselves as antique dealers. The suspects attempted to sell the bowl and the golden crown for $1 million, finally making a deal for 500,000 liras.

Police teams organized a meeting with the suspects at a hotel in Fatih and seized the four suspects during the operation.

The golden crown, which dates back to the Hellenistic era, a broken silver bowl and a golden ring were seized in a bag in the raid.

The artifacts have been sent to the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums for further examinations.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [February 22, 2018]

Four kilometers of a 2,300-year-old stone road, which connects the ancient cities of Alinda and Herakleia (Latmos) in the western province of Aydın’s Söke district, have been destroyed by villagers to make way for their olive groves.

Credit: DHA

The Association of Ecosystem Protection and Nature Lovers (EKODOSD) has initiated work for the registration and protection of the road by the Aydın Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board.

Villagers have bulldozed four kilometers of the road in an attempt to make room for their olive groves in Söke’s Tekeler neighbourhood. Upon complaints, members of the EKODOSD have examined the area with environmental engineer Haydar Coşar from the protection board, archaeologist Süleyman Özgen and Aydın Archaeology Museum’s archaeologist Songül Erbay.

Credit: DHA

The team has detected some parts of the road have been completely destroyed and some parts have been filled. Works have been initiated to bring the ancient road under protection.

EKODOSD president Bahattin Sürücü said the construction of the stone road was at a great expense by the ancient city of Herakleia’s founder Pleistarkhos. The road connects the ancient cities of Myus, Alinda, Alabanda, Tralleis to each other, as well as the Menderes Valley to the Marsyas Valley.

Credit: DHA

“Locals and trekking aficionados still use the stone paved roads that can be seen from almost everywhere on the Latmos Mountains. These roads, which have served for centuries, have been damaged by natural causes due to rains. It was used as a border wall in some regions. The best and most striking part of the ancient road is in the Kazıkaya Tunnel, located between Bozalan and Herakleia. It is really sad that a road that has survived for 2,300 years has been damaged in the last six months,” he said.

Sürücü said the ancient road should be protected for future generations.

Credit: DHA

“This type of stone road should not be damaged; its stones should not be removed and vehicles should not be driven on these roads. This way, they can be protected for future generations. Ancient roads are a very important part of our cultural heritage. It should be everyone’s mission to protect them. Thousands of years for a road in an ancient city is a big richness for eco-tourism activities in this region. A true project will contribute to the economic development of locals, Aydın’s tourism and the protection of the road,” he said.

Credit: DHA

“The ancient era roads in our region have been detected by Dr. Anneliese Peschlow during research in and around Herakleia. Thanks to the stone road from the western part of Herakleia to the top of the mountain, Peschlow has made many discoveries and has made a great effort to reveal the oldest stone road in Anatolia. Along with geographer and cartographer Volker Höhfeld, they were able to measure the historic 300-kilometer road even before the existence of GPS,” said the EKODOSD president.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [February 22, 2018]

About 1,000 Dead Sea Scrolls discovered just over 70 years ago near Khirbet Qumran on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea have been officially published since the turn of the millennium. But in the case of some, all that was left were poorly preserved remains of texts written in a cryptic script – and all that had been released to the world were photos of small pieces of manuscript, in a preliminary order. There have been previous attempts to decipher them, though we were left with substantial gaps in our understanding of what they contained.

Puzzle: fragments of 2,000-year-old scrolls before reassembly [Credit: Shay Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority, The Leon Levy Library of the Dead Sea Scrolls]

So the recent story of the publication in the US-based Journal of Biblical Literature of a reconstruction of one of these scrolls by a team of scholars from the University of Haifa, Eshbal Ratzon and Jonathan Ben-Dov, has provoked intense public interest around the world.

The text in question is actually a collection of around 60 poorly preserved pieces, known in the trade as “fragments” – which can be seen in detail here. These fragments, at most, contain parts of three words and often fewer. The text contains parts of a calendar based on a 364-day solar year, which has the benefit of the annual festivals never falling on a Saturday, which would have clashed with the Jewish Sabbath.

This calendar is promoted in a number of Dead Sea Scrolls and was probably used instead of the more widespread approximately 354-day lunar calendar. The Hebrew Bible does not present a clear and complete calendar, which is why ancient Jewish groups debated the issue. The Babylonian calendar was luni-solar comprising 12 lunar months. But the Dead Sea Scrolls also provide evidence of a number of texts that attempt to incorporate both the movements of the sun and the moon into more complex calendars.

The document as reconstructed here also includes a group of fragments that list the names of priestly families to serve in rotating cycles of duty in the Temple at Jerusalem – a practice that is described in the Biblical book of 1 Chronicles 24. We think Chronicles was probably composed in the 4th century BC. Cycles of priestly shifts in the Temple are also referred to in a number of the Dead Sea Scrolls. As there were too many priests to serve concurrently in the sanctuary, Chronicles is the first source that sets out a rota system allowing different priestly families to serve for a week at a time.

What the scroll ‘puzzle’ looks like when assembled [Credit: University of Haifa. Images by Shay Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority, The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library (This is an open access archive.), Author provided]

A considerable challenge facing scholars working on this particular broken up calendar text is that it is written in a cryptic script. This script was deciphered in the 1970s by the brilliant Polish Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Jozef Milik. The alphabetic code draws on a more ancient form of the Hebrew script (paleo-Hebrew) from that predominantly used in the Scrolls – as well as other symbols such as Greek letters.

By far the most substantial challenges faced by Ratzon and Ben-Dov was working out which particular tiny pieces belong to which manuscript and in what sequence. Imagine a jigsaw puzzle with tiny broken pieces, most of them missing, without the benefit of the picture on the box for guidance. In short, Ratzon and Ben-Dov deserve great credit for making rapid progress with this very demanding work.

Cracking the code

The idea of an esoteric code invariably indulges the imagination about secret and potentially explosive knowledge – it’s the stuff blockbusting novels are made of. But, as Ratzon and Ben-Dov rightly point out, the kind of material written in this code – including the calendar system in this recently reconstructed text – is well-known from texts written in regular Hebrew script.

The team’s explanation for why anyone would pen freely available material in an esoteric script is convincing – they believe it is a means of indicating the prestige of certain scribes. Thus far, the only attestation of this cryptic script outside of Qumran is an inscription on a stone cup discovered during excavations of the priestly quarter in the Old City in Jerusalem in 2009. This led another expert on the cryptic Dead Sea Scrolls, Stephen Pfann, the editor of a number of cryptic texts from Qumran, to associate the script with priestly learning. Priestly concerns such as ritual purity – a striving to separate the holy from the profane rather than conventional cleanliness – are prominent also in the Scrolls and the archaeological remains from the site of Khirbet Qumran.

Caves at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered [Credit: Lux Moundi via Flickr]

Given Ratzon and Ben-Dov’s expertise in the matter of the technical ancient Jewish calendars – and the fact that the Dead Sea Scrolls included two further documents that preserve traces of a comparable calendar system – have allowed them to make excellent progress on the ordering of these fragments over the course of a year.

While the details of calendrical systems are an acquired taste, these calendars have, once cracked, a habit of being helpfully repetitive. A key piece in the puzzle was the team’s recognition that a scribe added additional text in the empty space on the edge of the writing block (the margin) and as he (less likely, she) ran out of space turned the scroll by 90 degrees and continued to write at the bottom of the column with letters that now appear upside down.

Ratzon and Ben-Dov also draw attention to a large number of corrections that address gaps in the text. It seems possible that these “corrections” – a term that implies there was a “correct” text – are, in fact, indications of how ancient scribes drafted texts in sometimes messy ways. So what we may have here is a working copy of calendric material as it was being composed. A first draft of history, in other words.

Author: Charlotte Hempel | Source: The Conversation [February 21, 2018]

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article here.

An invaluable ancient altar from the Roman period discovered in western Turkey's Afyonkarahisar province during sewage works last year has been stolen, reports said Monday.

Credit: HaberTürk

Authorities have issued warnings for museums and border crossings to prevent the smuggling of the artifact, HaberTürk daily reported.

The 1,700-year-old altar had been discovered in November 2017, when municipal workers were carrying out sewage works near the Organized Industrial Site and was covered afterward.

When archaeologists arrived at the site to unearth the altar, they carried out an excavation but were unable to find the artifact, which had been stolen.

The provincial cultural and tourism directorate immediately took action and warned museums and auctions regarding the incident.

Border officials have also been notified, reports said.

Source: Daily Sabah [February 19, 2018]

The Egyptian Excavation Field School at Kom Al- Rasras archaeological site in Aswan has uncovered the remains of a Roman sandstone temple dating back to the 2nd century of the Roman era.

Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

The temple bears the cartouches of a number of Roman emperors such as Domitian (81-96 CE), Hadrian (117-138 CE) and Antonius Pius (138-161 CE).

Head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities at the Ministry of Antiquities Dr. Aymen Ashmawi explained that the excavation work has also discovered the temple's sanctuary, which consists of three chambers leading to a cross-sectional hall connected to another hall with a sand stone worked access ramp, inside it was found the remains of stone engraving with stars representing the sky. This could be part of the temple's ceiling.

Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

Dr. Ashmawi added that the temple might be connected to Gebel Al-Silsila area and was most probably part of the residential area of the quarry workers because the name of the site Khenu was engraved on one of the discovered blocks.

Further excavations may lead to the discovery of the residential area of Al-Silsila quarries.

Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

Dr. Bassem Gehad, Assistant to the Minister of Antiquities for Human Resources and training said that this is the first Egyptian excavation field school to be created. Such schools come within the framework of the Ministry of Antiquities to establish a number of Egyptian field schools in order to develop the skills of junior archaeologists in several archaeological domains among them the excavation, documentation restoration and site management, through the implementation of a number of lectures and field work.

Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

He pointed out that the Ministry has established four similar training centers in Alexandria, Upper Egypt, Giza and South-Sinai and is scheduled to establish six more schools to cover all Egypt.

The Al-Rasras field school started its training work in January 2018 where 16 archaeologists from Sohag, Qena, Luxor and Aswan have been trained.

Source: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities [February 14, 2018]