Thursday, April 15, 2010

Egyptian Archeological Bonanza!

Indiana "Pharaoh" Jones amidst his pride and joy

Let's hear it for Dr. Zawi Hawass! Not only has he personally recovered thousands of Egyptian artifacts languishing in museums all over the world and brought them back home - there's this - a resurgence of Egyptology the world has never ever known!

Since December 2009 alone there have been numerous press releases directly from Dr. Hawass outlining discovery after discovery. It is a most fabulous time the archaeologists are having in Egypt right now. It's literally a field day.

Here are some highlights:

Dec. 2009 - A stash of golden coins is recovered in Naqlun, dating to 750 AD

Jan. 2010 - 2 large tombs discovered at Saqqara

Jan. 2010 - Tombs discovered at GIZA

Jan. 2010 - Temple discovered along with a cachette of 600 Ptolemaic statues

March 2010 - A colossal red granite head of King Amenhotep III (circa 1390-1352 BC) was discovered

March 2010 - The burial chamber of Queen Behenu discovered

March 2010 - Two red granite statues of King Amenhotep III and of the god Thoth, were unearthed near the Pharaoh’s funerary temple at Kom el-Hettan on Luxor’s west bank.

March 2010 - A large red granite false door belonging to the tomb of Queen Hatshepsut’s vizier User and his wife Toy has been unearthed in front of Karnak Temple.

April 2010 - A collection of 14 Graeco-Roman tombs dating to the third century BC have been found in a cemetery in the Ain El-Zawya area of the town of Bawiti, in Bahariya Oasis.

April 2010 - A new tomb was discovered at Tell el-Maskhuta

April 2010 - The elaborate tomb of an ancient royal scribe has been discovered

Dr. Hawass

Dr. Hawass's Press Releases

Many people make the mistake of thinking that dreams cannot come true, but they can. You have to believe, and know that they are more than just imagination.
Zahi Hawass

Update: Dr. Hawass has retrieved even more artifacts!
Egypt signed an agreement with Switzerland on Wednesday establishing the return of stolen artifacts to Egypt. HAHA!

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