Pyramid in Argos, Greece

Pyramid in Argos, Greece

And the hunt begins

Official says Egypt approves radar for Nefertiti tomb quest

By MARAM MAZEN 10 hours ago

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CAIRO (AP) — The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry granted preliminary approval for the use of a non-invasive radar to verify a theory that Queen Nefertiti's crypt may be hidden behind King Tutankhamun's 3,300-year-old tomb in the famous Valley of the Kings, a ministry official said Tuesday.

A security clearance for the radar's use will probably be obtained within a month, said Mouchira Moussa, media consultant to Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty.

"It's not going to cause any damage to the monument," Moussa said.

Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves recently published his theory, but it has yet to be peer-reviewed. He believes that Tutankhamun, who died at the age of 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally the tomb of Nefertiti, which has never been found.
British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered Tut's tomb in Luxor's Valley of the Kings in 1922 — intact and packed with antiquities including Tut's world-famous golden mask.

In his paper, Reeves claims high-resolution images of King Tut's tomb include lines underneath plastered surfaces of painted walls, showing there could be two unexplored doorways, one of which could potentially lead to Nefertiti's tomb. He also argues that the design of King Tut's tomb suggests it was built for a queen, rather than a king.

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FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015, file photo, the gold mask of King Tutankhamun is seen in its …

The Japanese radar, which will be operated by an expert who will accompany the equipment from Japan for the inspection once the final approval is granted, will look beyond the walls that Reeves says may be leading into the suspected tomb and the other chamber, Moussa said.

Reeves, who has been in contact with the minister, arrives in Cairo Saturday, Moussa said, and he and el-Damaty will travel to Luxor to inspect the tomb.

"We're very excited... It may not be a tomb belonging to Nefertiti, but it could be a tomb belonging to one of the nobles," said Moussa. "If it is Nefertiti's, this would be very massive."

Already, there's a mummy at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo that has strong DNA evidence of being Tut's mother. DNA testing also has provided strong evidence suggesting that Tut's father likely was the Pharaoh Akhenaten, the first pharaoh to try switching Egypt to monotheism. The DNA testing also brought a new discovery: that Tut's mother was Akhenaten's sister.

Still, some archaeologists believe the two were probably cousins and that this DNA result could be the product of three generations of marriages between first cousins — and that Nefertiti, Akhenaten's chief wife, may in fact have been Tut's mother.

Many Egyptologists believe there were probably one or two co-pharaohs between Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. Some, including Reeves, believe at least one of them may have been Nefertiti, who may have even ruled Egypt by herself even for just a few months. Finding her tomb could provide further insight into a period still largely obscured, despite intense worldwide interest in ancient Egypt.

If the Mediterranean Sea were in the United States.

Re-posting...reminder-always begin blog from the bottom and scroll forward/up in time.

Some important art historical terms...

secondary color
perspective
plan
value
mass
line
volume
contour
elevation
section
texture
proportion
chiaroscuro
bas-relief
iconography
subtractive sculpture
additive sculpture
primary colors
conceptual approach
perceptual approach
in situ
provenance
subject matter
content

“Amum…He made me rule…No one rebels against me in all lands. All foreign lands are my subjects. He placed my border at the limits of heaven.” -Section from the obelisk inscriptions of Hatshepsut, Karnak (trans. Lichtheim). Hatshepsut here emphasises her destined, god-given right to rule Egypt. In which and beyond, she is all-powerful. A quick look at: Hatshepsut (r. c. 1479–1458 BC), king of Egypt. When talking about aspects of ancient Egyptian history, I find that people are often surprised to hear that Egypt had female rulers aside from Cleopatra. Perhaps one of the most significant of these was Hatshepsut of Dynasty 18, some 1400 years before Cleopatra. Her life deserves far more recognition that it has typically received. Hatshepsut was the daughter of king Thutmose I and his wife Ahmose. She had a younger half-brother: Thutmose II, who succeeded his father as king. She married her half-brother, an act that seems strange to us today, but it was not unusual for Egyptian royalty to marry family members. With the title “God’s wife”, Hatshepsut was extremely prominent during the reign of Thutmose II. Her husband had a son (Thutmose III) by another woman, who became king upon his father’s death. At this time Thutmose III was still a young child, and so Hatshepsut took care of Egypt, acting as regent. About 7 years into the regency, things started to change. Hatshepsut began using royal names and titles, which she made into feminine form. She was crowned king of Egypt. Her reign was accepted by a flourishing Egypt. As far as we know, there does not seem to have been foul play in her rise to kingship; there is no evidence for social trauma or bloodshed. Some Egyptologists have argued that she already held the strings of power during the reign of her husband. As king, she also acknowledged the kingship of Thutmose III -he is, for example, often depicted alongside her on monuments (although his inferior status is made clear by being placed behind her). Her reign as king was prosperous, and included trade expeditions (such as to Punt), and some military action, such as in Nubia. Her reign introduced a period of particularly outstanding artistic creativity, and her mortuary temple Deir el-Bahari is now one of the most visited monuments in Egypt. Hatshepsut ruled as king for about 15 years. After this she seemingly disappears, and Thutmose III becomes sole king. It is not clear what happened to her; we do not know whether she died naturally, or was removed. Whatever occurred, her memory was wiped from Egyptian history. Thutmose III had her images and names removed from many of her monuments, and her statues at Deir el-Bahari were smashed. In addition, she was left out of later Egyptian king lists. Why this happened is much debated and not straight-forward, although the unconventional nature of her rule probably at least played a part in this. Manetho, however, much later during the Ptolemaic era, recognises her reign as king in his famous History of Egypt. Much of this write-up draws from the work and interpretations of Egyptologist Marc Van De Mieroop. His publication ‘A History of Ancient Egypt’ (2010) is recommended. The shown sculpture of Hatshepsut is courtesy of & can be viewed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Via their online collections: 29.3.2.

INEFFABLE

(adjective) In the list of one of the most 100 beautiful words in the English language, ineffable’s beauty lies in its flowing sound and meaning. Ineffable describes the sentiment of being unable to express something in words because it is too extreme to communicate; words cannot possibly do justice at this particular moment. 

Easter Island moai 'walked'

Grand Illusion

Workshop of Dirk Bouts: Christ crowned with Thorns (Detail) c.1470