SHEMU
The official newsletter of
The Egyptian Society of South Africa
issued in January, April, July & October
This page was last edited on 22 January, 2008

The current issue of SHEMU
Volume 12, No. 1  January 2008
contains news, Society discounts,information
& details of monthly meetings
(see Diary) in Cape Town

IN MEMORIAM  

Angus McBride
Founding Committee Member

b. 12 May 1931 - d. 15 May 2007  

It is with deep sadness that I record the sudden death of Angus McBride at his home in Kilmacthomas in the Republic of Ireland .  As an old friend Angus was one of the first people I approached to assist me on the Founding Committee of The Egyptian Society of South Africa over ten years ago.  He accepted with alacrity and his ideas, enthusiasm for all things Egyptian and his wide knowledge of Egyptology were to the advantage of the new society.  As an internationally recognised artist and illustrator he designed the society’s logo which has graced all our publications and he designed our bookcases which have proved to be a great asset for the society.  But it was his lectures to the membership for which he will be best remembered by so many people when, gently voiced, he would disarmingly entice us to enter his thinking, understanding and appreciation of his subject. His persuasive style of speaking was supported by his sound knowledge and surprising instinct which endeared him to all.

Angus McBride was well-known for his illustrations and in particular for his illustrations of the book  “The Lord of the Rings” where his vivid imagination to interpreted Tolkien’’s fantasy tale in superb illustrations.  He was acclaimed as one of the world’s most respected illustrators. A rich representation of his work can be seen on the internet.

Whilst he illustrated just about every period of military history covering many countries he was at his happiest when he had a commission to illustrate ancient Egypt - scenes in which he excelled and some members of this society have been fortunate to acquire a McBride picture from our fund-raising auctions when Angus generously donated some of his works.  

I remember with enormous affection the time we visited Egypt together in 1993.  Surprisingly for a man with his intimate knowledge of every corner and turn of temples and monuments this was the first time he had ever been in Egypt – he had absorbed every detail from books until this time. His first experience of seeing the reality of ancient Egypt was as thrilling for me as it was for him.  I shall never forget his almost speechless (hard to imagine) reaction to his first sighting of Karnak early on a slightly misty morning and later one evening when we witnessed the Karnak Sound & Light show and saw a full moon precisely in the centre of the axis of the great temple – something that Angus frequently spoke of when reminiscing about his Egyptian tour.  There were so many memories and his enthusiasm was matched by his energy in his zest in enjoying Egypt to the full.  I recall, he climbed the mountain alongside Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el Bahri while I remained at a lower level and sung out with all his might from an opera (he was a member of the Cape Town Opera Chorus with Pat, his wife) and his voice echoed across the ancient space.  A few years later in March 2001 Pat accompanied Angus on one of my tours together with several personal friends of theirs and enjoyed a leisurely Nile cruise which was the perfect romantic combination for a very romantic man.  Poor Pat who patiently had endured Angus talking of Egypt all her married life was unsure whether she would appreciate Egypt in any way close to his enthusiasm – but to Angus’ delight and possibly Pat’s relief she was genuinely in raptures about Egypt and all it had to offer.

Unfortunately the time came not long ago for Angus and Pat to go to Ireland and join their emigrated daughter, son-in-law, son and grand-children.  I personally lost the frequent company of two very good friends and a greatly missed Egyptophile companion.

In 1995 Angus presented me with a poem from ancient Egypt which he inscribed intricately in hieroglyphs together with the translation.  It is now especially poignant.  

He’ll know our worth, and know how the balance falls;
And as he writes our names upon the leaves
Of that forever-flow’ring Ashet Tree,
They’ll seal the door; the mourning chants will fade,
Until at last we’ll be alone with God.
The land we loved, our children and our kin
Will soon forget, and go about their fields;
Our planted crops will ripen in the sun, -
And none will care whose seed it was that grew;
The Northern wind will fill the sails of boats
On which we once speared fish and hunted fowl;
Asleep in darkness our slow breath will match
The River’s joyful flood, the River’s fall,
For thrice a thousand years……..
We’ll meet again,
And in the dust, before the ancient gates
We’ll gaze upon the ruined walls, where, carved
In stone, the god with upraised palette stands
Inscribing still our names upon the leaves
Of an eternal limestone Ashet Tree……..

Keith Grenville

ZAHI HAWASS 
IN CAPE TOWN & JOHANNESBURG
AS THE GUEST OF 
THE EGYPTIAN SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA
MARKING THE SOCIETY’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY

The Society hosted Dr. Zahi Hawass,  Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme    Council of Antiquities in South Africa on a short lecture tour - visiting Johannesburg where he gave a lecture on Monday 14th August 2006 at the Great Hall of  the University of the Witwatersrand with Egyptian Ambassador Mona Omar in attendance.  Unfortunately problems with publicity resulted in a smaller attendance at Wits than expected.  The subject of the lecture was  The Mysteries of the Pyramids.  Dr. Hawass also gave a question and answer session to students at Wits University who took advantage of this unique opportunity of meeting the most famous Egyptologist in the world today.

Accompanied by Acting Chairman Jean Smith and Peter Mulder, Dr. Zahi Hawass arrived in Cape Town on Tuesday 15th August where he stayed at the Cape Grace Hotel at the Waterfront.  Two lectures were given at the Baxter Concert Hall on 16th and 17th August with Cape Town City Mayor, Helen Zille as guest of honour.  On both occasions the Concert Hall was sold out with many people turned away.  Following the first lecture a “Meet & Greet” event was arranged for guests and TESSA members.  Many took the opportunity to have books by him duly autographed.

During his Cape Town stay, Dr. Hawass visited the University of Stellenbosch where he talked to students and enjoyed the hospitality of the university and that of Professors Sakkie Cornelius and Johann Cook.  The TESSA Committee ensured that Dr. Hawass saw as much as possible of Cape Town during his short visit.  He visited Cape Point, ascended Table Mountain by the cable car and was well entertained at various dinners where his exuberance and enthusiasm for Cape Town were well noted.  Dr. Hawass suggested that he would like to return to Cape Town and there is the hope and expectation that he will indeed do so.  We truly look forward to that.

 Corporate member Egypt Today CC, plus EgyptAir and Marcus Brewster Publicity sponsored part of the costs and kind donations were  received from Mike & Shirley  Beaumont, Debbie Blinkhorn, Anlen Boshoff, Dr. Rob Brown, Colin & Marian Cohen and Norma Harris.
The entire project was co-ordinated  meticulously by Jane Mulder, assisted by her sub-committee - Peter Mulder, Nerine & Thomas Dorman and Robin Hammond.  Well done everyone and especially Jane Mulder. -  Brava!

  The Society has completed its first decade having achieved national and international visibility in line with the objectives of the Society to foster an  appreciation and understanding of ancient Egypt.  There are few societies in Cape Town, perhaps even in South Africa, that are as active as ours -  with a strong membership and attendance at meetings, financially secure and with excellent  facilities.  Members have   access to a superb free specialised    lending and reference library, regular meetings and lectures, national and   international visibility with an unsurpassable record of world-ranking lecturers like Dr. Kent Weeks, Prof. Mostafa el Abbadi and the redoubtable Dr. Zahi Hawass. TESSA also has the benefit of superb local lecturers and some are shown in photographs in the special commemorative edition of SHEMU.

 

 
INK ON MY FINGERS
(Anonymous)

 Gazing in awe at the monumental geometry of the Giza   pyramids, one cannot avoid pondering the fundamental     questions. By whom, when, how and why were these enormous stone structures built? We know that the traditional or mainstream response from the hallowed halls of academia is that pharaohs of the fourth Dynasty built the pyramids of Giza around 2,500BC.  Conventional thinking suggests that the  ancient Egyptians used ramps to build the pyramids that were destined to be the tombs of their kings. At the opposite end of the supposition spectrum, the new-age esoteric paradigm proposes that the pyramids were built in some remote pre-history by aliens using  technology now lost to us. Their purpose was to provide a signpost for the future of mankind.   So what do you think?
    Consider first the identity of the builders. Most visitors, staring at the amazing structures, believe that the Giza Pyramids sprang up spontaneously in a bronze-age agrarian culture that did not appear to possess the necessary construction technology. They contend that the archaeologists are erroneous in crediting the pharaohs of the fourth Dynasty with such wonders. Furthermore, they argue there are no inscriptions, no historic records and no dating techniques to support the Egyptologists’ contention that Khufu (2551-2528BC), Khafra (2520-2494BC) and Menkaura (2494-2472BC) built these colossal stone structures. And if the small satellite pyramids were for the Kings’ wives or daughters, is it likely that Khufu and Menkaura each had three, while Khafra had none?

        But, in truth, there was no spontaneity about Giza. We can trace the development of building skills from the immensely talented Imhotep’s ground breaking construction of Djoser’s stepped pyramid (2630-2611BC), through the efforts of the architects of Sneferu (2575-2551BC) who built the Meidum, Bent and Red pyramids. Much can be learnt in a century! After all, we have progressed from the Wright Brothers to ultrasonic stealth fighters in the same time.
        I concede that there are no inscriptions, apart from some dubious daubs on a granite slab in the relieving chamber of the Great Pyramid. No foundation stone has been uncovered inscribed with the Pharaoh’s name! Such an oversight would not occur in later times! Or would it? Are the builders of the Coliseum, the Parthenon or even Westminster Abbey celebrated in sandstone or granite? No! In fact it is far more common for ancient building to be anonymous!
        What about historic records? So far, no papyri have come to light that  specifically link the pyramids to the fourth Dynasty Kings. After nearly five millennia that is no surprise! There are also no records in stone or pigment to support the  archaeologists’ claim. In place of direct evidence the Egyptologists rely on contextual evidence. There is no disputing the fact that a large construction camp once existed on the Giza plateau. Archaeologists who swelter in the pursuit of   ancient clues have found the proof. They have established the existence of sleeping quarters for many thousands of workers. They have identified the remains of refectories, of huge bakeries producing the rich bread that nourished the workers, of butcheries and of fisheries. And it is here, in the construction camp, that references have been found to the names of the working gangs including ‘The Friends of Khufu’.
        But dating techniques are difficult and often ambiguous. An effort was made to ‘carbon-date’ organic material trapped between the pyramid’s huge blocks, but the material available is minute and it cannot be proved to date from the time of the original construction. The organic material found in and around the construction site however is clearly proved to be from the period of the fourth Dynasty and firmly indicates that the construction camp and the adjacent quarry were operational at that time. Given this information one has to ask the question, if the thousands of labourers housed in the camp were not building the pyramids, what were they doing there in such numbers at that time?
        So the weight of evidence for ‘who’ seems to be firmly on the side of the conventional wisdom. For this student of Egypt however the question of ‘who?’ still has some unanswered aspects and one intrigues me more than most. It is     virtually a given fact that in Pharaonic Egypt each King tried to outdo his predecessor. He would adopt his predecessor’s works without qualm, replacing the old   cartouche with his own. He would build a larger temple, sculpt a bigger statue and generally try to get his name, rather than that of his predecessor on the lips of the living. This was to ensure his continued existence in the Afterlife by having his name spoken in the living world. ‘Speak my name that I may live!’ Why is it then that Khafra’s pyramid is slightly smaller than that of his father Khufu and Menkaura built a much smaller pyramid than Khafra? Shouldn’t it have been the other way round?
        But what if the Giza Pyramids already existed in pre-dynastic times? Then Djoser and Sneferu could be  accused of trying to copy the ancient structures! Khufu might have decided to grab an existing pyramid and having first claim, would have chosen the biggest. Khafra had next choice and poor Menkaura was left with the little one. And if by chance the pyramids were in need of some repair and maintenance, perhaps a new cladding of limestone and a paint job, Khufu would have called in the workers and set up a construction camp…perhaps?  In the next issue of Shemu I will dip the quill into the ink to discuss ‘how?’ and ‘why?’

 
From previous issues of SHEMU
‘Egypt is the gift of the Nile’
Egypt in London 2003
Thoughts on a woodcarving ...Steve Coe's poem "Ka"
Egyptian Museum Centenary
Alexandria in Cape Town -  a review
"Derby Day" in the desert - what the press said in 1923
Egyptian Museum - new director
Tutankhamun in the news - what the press said in 1923
The Mystery of KV55 continues
Ships & Boats of Ancient Egypt
Kent Weeks in South Africa
A Modern Mystery in Luxor
A Modern Mystery in Luxor
Akhenaten's Appearance
Dapper Tutankhamun's imported wardrobe
Names to Conjure With
The Sphinx Enigma
Bibliotheca Alexandrina - the new library

‘Egypt is the gift of the Nile’, 
        wrote Greek historian Herodotus

The Nile’s gift is a layer of fertile soil, replenished annually at the time of the inundation. The Blue Nile conveys the rich silt from the huge catchment area of Ethiopia; an enormous amphitheatre defined by 4,000 metre high mountain peaks. The turbid water churns through canyons and gorges, collecting tributes from the Rihad and Dinder Rivers. Urged northwards by heavy rains and melting snow it cascades over the cataracts of eastern Sudan. On reaching Khartoum the Blue Nile joins its big sister, the White Nile that flows deeply and powerfully northwards from Lake Victoria. The White Nile has travelled nearly 2,000 kilometres to keep its rendezvous at this great confluence, accepting the donation of millions of tons of suspended loam from its tributaries, the Bahr el Ghazal and the Sobat Rivers that drain the swamps of Uganda and southern Sudan. The Blue and White Niles meet and embrace, each surrendering its identity to the single river simply called ‘the Nile’. Pregnant with its riches, the Nile flows resolutely northwards bearing its annual gift to the ancient land of Egypt.

It is 650kms as the falcon flies from the confluence of the two Niles to the Egyptian border, but the Nile inscribes a gigantic ‘S’ on the Sudanese landscape, taking 1,300kms to cover the distance. The river surges through valleys carved by millennia into the lands once called Kush and Wawat, flooding the fields as it flows forward until it confronts and overcomes its final hurdle, the cataract at Aswan. Freed from the constraints of steep banks, the waters relax and spread across the fields of one of the planet’s great fertile valleys. The water level rises daily, monitored and recorded by Priests in dank shafts and dark tunnels built to measure the quantity of each year’s gift. The word goes out and offerings are made to pagan deities to increase their beneficence, for without the flood Egypt will starve. Hapi, the Nile deity responsible for collecting the tears of Isis, responds to the supplications and the dark waters reach further across the fields, lapping at the very steps of great stone temples along its course.

The Nile is unlike the other great rivers of the Northern Hemisphere whose floods are unpredictable and at times devastating. When the bright star Sirius reappears after seventy days of exile below the horizon, the Nile flood arrives. Not if, when or maybe! But right then and there, with the only variable being the strength of the flood. Properties are valued in proportion to their propensity to be flooded and if insurance companies had existed in ancient Egypt, they would have written policies to cover the non-appearance of the flood! Imagine submitting a claim because there was no ‘Act of God’!

The muddy waters inundate the agricultural land and cover it with an opaque blanket. The width of the flooded Nile is measured in tens of kilometres. The river’s forward momentum moderates and the waters lose their ability to carry the massive load of silt. The black mud precipitates to the riverbed, trapping the finely dispersed organic detritus that has been its travelling companion for 4,000 kilometres. Then gradually, almost imperceptibly but with ever increasing rapidity the floodwaters begin to subside. The river draws the water back from the land. Like a guest at a wedding it quietly leaves its gift as it departs. The water is still dark with particles that remain in suspension, but the immense filtration system called the Nile Delta ensures that very little of the rich silt is lost to the Mediterranean Sea.

The subsiding water reveals the first mound of glistening black mud! Its organic stench is quickly reduced as the hot sun bakes a thin crust on its surface. Birds arrive to peck at the crust and uncover the delectable small creatures that believed they had found refuge in the mud. It is the beginning of a new cycle of life. The ancient Egyptians, ever cognisant of its importance, chose the appearance of the primeval mound as the first image in their creation myth.

The water has subsided and the river has contracted to its normal width. The dark fertile ribbon along Egypt’s main artery gives rise to the name of this ancient place, Kemet - the Black Land. Farmers scatter seeds of barley and wheat on the munificent mud. No need to plough or to fertilise. The Nile has done the hard work. All that remains is to watch and wait while the crops grow and ripen under the golden sun. And so it was for more than five thousand years until concrete barriers were built to challenge the natural order and man spurned the gift of the Nile. But that is another story.
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EGYPT IN LONDON
SUMMER 2003
by Anthony Holmes

                On 21 June 2003, the Egypt Exploration Society held a Study Day at the School of Oriental and African Studies, situated close to the British Museum, entitled The Lord of the Two Lands: Aspects of Egyptian Kingship. Members were invited to attend four intriguing topics: The Man in the God, Symbols of Egyptian Kingship, Lord of Bow-Land and The Gods’ Wives of Amun. An array of four Doctors of Archaeology and Ancient History made the presentations. Although the subjects were of interest, I found the presentations dry and academic. I was reminded of the maxim that a lecturer talks to his subject while a speaker talks to his audience. These were lectures! Comparison to TESSA’s Day School was inevitable and TESSA won hands down.
            Readers of SHEMU will know that the painting "The Subsiding of the Nile" by Frederick Goodall, R.A. painted in 1872, has been the subject of recent research by TESSA. The 4m x 2m painting that hung for years in our City Hall was taken down, loaned to the South African Cultural History Museum where it has remained crated, pending a decision on its future. I visited the Guildhall Art Gallery in the City of London where hangs a painting by Goodall under the same title. This beautiful painting, which the Guildhall Gallery considered to be the only original until recently, is about one third of the size of the Cape Town work. The Guildhall version was painted by Goodall in 1873, a year after he completed the larger one. The Gallery is now aware of the existence of the earlier painting and the notice describing their painting refers to the larger and earlier original work in Cape Town.
            In the course of further research I found that a third later version exists in the Russell Coates Gallery in Bournemouth. The Guildhall Gallery curator said that prior to printed reproductions, artists themselves painted smaller copies of their works to be hung in homes. The curator thought that the large original was still on show in Cape Town and she was saddened to hear that such an important painting is currently in a crate. More work
needs to be done to get the Cape Town painting displayed.
              The Petrie Museum was on our list of places to visit in London this trip and duly protected against the vagaries of the English summer (sun lotion and umbrella) my friend and I arrived on the doorstep on a Monday morning to find that the Museum is closed on Mondays! Students and archaeologists were working with the collection, but with great understanding the guard let us in and for two hours we were the only visitors to one of the richest Egyptian archaeological collections in the world. The 70,000 items, still categorised according to Petrie’s own and slightly obscure method will soon be moved to a new home where we were assured both the display and the system will be improved. It is a fascinating collection of mostly small pieces.
            Previous visits to London always included the British Museum, and this visit was no exception. 2003 marks the 250th Anniversary of the Museum and one of the celebratory activities was a two-day colloquium on ancient Egypt plus an evening lecture on recent developments delivered by Dr. Zahi Hawass. It was a must for an Egyptophile! The first morning of the colloquium presented information about beautiful artwork in the tomb-chapel of Nebamun (c.1390BC), the conservation of the art and an analysis of pigments used involving new methodology. We then were given a more light-hearted look at Egyptian haircuts! In the afternoon we saw the most amazing interactive three-dimensional study of the mummy of Nesperennub, still undisturbed in his coffin. The final presentation of the day showed pictures of items in the British Museum’s loan exhibition currently touring the USA.
            The evening of day one featured the Hawass lecture. I would like to relate the good fortune we had to obtain tickets for the Hawass lecture that was oversold weeks before I applied, but it would take too much space in SHEMU. Suffice to say that we ended up sitting on the steps of the lecture hall about two metres from arguably the most famous Egyptologist extant, and even managed to have a few words with the man. He is a charismatic speaker and his 90-minute talk was wide ranging, covering many matters not yet in the public domain. We were spellbound by the latest finds at Giza and Saqqara and the programme of exploration envisaged for next season. The evening reception was held in the Egyptian Hall where we had cocktails under the stern gazes of Amunhotep and Rameses.
            The second day’s colloquium was equally fascinating, particularly the work on the tomb of Sobeknakht, a governor of Elkab in the latter part of the XVIIth Dynasty (c.1550 BC).
        Cleaning has revealed previously undocumented information about an incursion into Egypt by the Kushites, supported by Wawat, Punt and Medjaw that extended as far north as Elkab (just south of Thebes). We were then treated to a video on the rescue of the Taharqa wall painting from Qasr Ibrim. The excavation of Theban Tomb 99 concluded the programme.

EDITOR’S COMMENT: Thanks Tony, for your efforts as TESSA’s Ambassador in London, and for an interesting article. Also, your kind remark about the TESSA Day Schools is greatly appreciated.
    It was in June 1997 that I pointed out to the Royal Academy of Arts in London, that they were mistaken in thinking the original painting "The Subsiding of the Nile" was held in London. Even Frederick Goodall’s nephew in Canada considered the Guildhall copy to be the original.

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Click here for the famous painting
"The Subsiding of the Nile"
by Frederick Goodall, R.A.
held in Cape Town

  
TESSA members at Saqqara September 2002

Thoughts on a woodcarving
of a minor official
& his wife proto-dynastic Memphis
- Exhibit in Hall 17, Louvre

These two tranquil figures moved me greatly, when I first saw them in the Louvre, over 30 years ago. They looked vulnerable, but yet somehow strong in their togetherness. With a sense of wonder, it suddenly struck me that they had already been immensely old when mighty Rome was yet a dusty village straddling an unimportant river crossing. The museum was full of the greatest works of man, but neither the wealth and power of the kings and pharaohs on display, nor the beauty of the magnificent art treasures, impressed me ever so much as this very ordinary couple, who had left nothing but themselves. Their fundamental humanity, decency, and the love that they had once shared for each other was still so very apparent.. Back then, I was young and also in love, myself. However for those of us, who still walk this earth, life goes on, and gradually takes its insidious toll on our bodies, our affections and the commitments that go with them. We get over our losses, eventually even the most poignant memories are just excess baggage to be put aside .... But then I saw the photograph of these two old friends of my youth in a recent book. Half a lifetime had passed for me and I was a different person now, "something lost and something gained, by living every day" - but for them nothing had changed. The experiences of all those long years, since my joyful days in Paris, were but the blinking of an eye compared to the immense passage of time, since that distant Egyptian day, when the statues were taken west of the Nile to be prepared by the priests for the "opening of the mouth" ceremony. The ritual that would guarantee that the "ka", or life force, of each of the lovers would live forever in the statues and that they would be close to their chosen one for all eternity. Old feelings came flooding back to me and I wrote my poem.

"Ka"
by Steve Coe

It seems long, long ago,
That wet, grey-wintered Paris day,
When I first saw the two of you,
Standing all alone in the silence of the shadows.
|Two lovers, safe within a private peace,
Calm, content to remain forever,
Amidst dreams once shared,
As lovers often are.

What ancient, ever-living dreams,
Running like threads of silver through the fabric of time,
Have nourished and sustained you gentle dreamers,
Throughout all your long, abundant feast of infinity?
While my own poor portion,
My brief rind of time,
Has already dimmed my eyes
And all but slipped away.

Yesterday,
Before the clamour grew,
Before first pharaoh dawned
To shake his fist and wear the double crown,
Standing together beside living mother Nile,
You watched your golden father of the sky
Tease rich azure,
From the home of crocodiles.

An artist, who loved you both,
Shared your spirits with an ancient log.
A gift of the river,
Brought downstream from the forests of eternity,
And with caresses of copper and strokes of flint
He left you wooded in togetherness,
Arm in arm,
To await the ends of time.

© Steve Coe - February 1998

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EGYPTIAN MUSEUM CENTENARY
Hidden treasures exhibition & improvements
by Keith Grenville

The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, Cairo is being prepared for a grand celebration of its centenary. Since the museum was inaugurated on 15th November 1902, millions of people from kings, queens and emperors to commoners have walked the galleries of this treasure house viewing the world’s most famous collection of Egyptian antiquities. The Foundation Stone was laid on 1st April 1897 in the presence of Prince Abbas Hilmi and Gaston Maspéro.

A three-day festival from 9th to 11 December will mark the 100 years which will include a conference in the Cairo Opera House to be attended by museum directors and researchers from leading museums around the world. The highlight of the celebrations will be a special exhibition in the basement of the museum entitled "The Hidden Treasures of the Egyptian Museum" in which 300 objects which have been in storage for many years, will be displayed for the first time including 40 objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun comprising 30 gold amulets and items of jewellery which have never been seen before as well as Old Kingdom statuary, a limestone sphinx figure of Ramesses II and a 22nd Dynasty gold crown in the form of a cobra. Among the exhibits will be objects recovered from other countries.

The basement area, only used for storage is receiving attention for the first time. It is not only the fabric of the basement structure which requires restoration but the accumulated 30,000 artefacts, covered in 100 years of dust and cobwebs, are being moved, while some are being cleaned and prepared for display. Mr. Hussein Ahmed Hussein, in charge of the basement restoration said, "It was so filled with antiquities that it was difficult for our workers to get in at all . . . The place was swept, all the cracks had to be treated, and the walls were consolidated."

It is hoped that the fibre-optic lighting and display techniques to be installed will be more efficient than those used in the first floor jewellery rooms including the Tutankhamun gold room. In these areas, recent "improvements" have had a reverse effect and rendered many of the objects difficult to be viewed properly. It is reported that an Italian museologist has been contracted to reorganise and improve the main museum collection which will hopefully include positive re-assessment and improvement of lighting.

As part of the celebrations, a centenary logo is being designed, and a 40-minute film will document the history of the museum, also a set of postage stamps and special gold and silver coins will be minted. A long overdue visitor’s annexe to include a new shop and a conference facility is being planned as well as air-conditioning for the museum.

Recently, the Egyptian authorities advertised an international architectural competition for a new museum building. This, together with the proposed improvements to the present museum and with the adventurous and seminal Norwegian designed Bibliotheca Alexandrina would indicate that the Egyptian authorities are entering the third millennium with progressive attitudes and thinking. We greatly look forward to the results.

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ALEXANDRIA IN CAPE TOWN
MARKING THE REVIVAL OF
THE BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA
A review by Eucalyptus

In the words of H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, wife of the President of Egypt and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Bibliotheca Alexandrina: "The goal of this enormous project is to honour the past, to celebrate the present and to invent the Future . . . The role of the library is to promote dialogue of cultures specifically in the fields of knowledge, science, culture, art . . . a centre of excellence in research and documentation, and a source of pride for Egypt and the entire world".

With these words ringing through the halls of the resurrected Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Dr. Peter Lor, National Librarian, National Library of South Africa, presented the opening address of ALEXANDRIA IN CAPE TOWN in the Baxter Concert Hall on Friday 12 April 2002.

Dr. Lor pointed out the positive cultural relationship established between South Africa and Egypt since the 1990's and that the new library would serve to close the gaps created between peoples and their cultures over a span of many centuries. Chief guest speaker Professor Mostafa El Abbadi from the University of Alexandria was introduced by Dr. Lor and then presented the first paper of the five he was due to deliver over the two days. For convenience, the five papers presented by Professor El Abbadi will be covered first in this review..

Alexandria - "The Greatest Emporium in the Inhabited World"
Professor Dr. El Abbadi, an impeccable figure of elegance and charm, the moving "spirit" behind the re-establishing of the great library, told his audience that when first approached by the TESSA Chairman, Keith Grenville, to visit Cape Town, the prospect of such a journey appeared to be "an attempt of the impossible". However, thanks to the persistent enterprise of Keith and his team, the "impossible" became the "possible". The lecture covered the very beginnings of the harbour on the pre-Alexandrian site; the founding of this great city in 326 B.C. as an international centre and how it became the greatest trading centre of the world by 26 BC, when under Roman dominance, it controlled the sea route to India.

On the Transmittance of Egyptian Learning into Greek: 2nd Lecture.
Dr. Mostafa divided this huge dimension of learning between these two great peoples through the evolution of time into three phases: the first phase covered the significance of the ancient Nile flow - "the giver of life". The second phase gave rise to uncovering the mysteries of the heavens which lead to the science of Astronomy and Time Measurement. The third phase uncovered the instruments of astronomy - technology. At this point, we as modern-day man of the 21st century, could only agree that whatever seems "amazing" in our world today, we owe to the incredible thirst for knowledge about our universe by the men of these ancient nations.

Alexander, the Egyptian Pharaoh: Lecture 3
What inspires greatness in man? Is it his own natural vision or an insatiable drive; or is it a birthright? According to the legend of the Alexander Romance, Alexander’s mother, Queen Olympias, consorted with an Egyptian magician/priest who appeared to her as the god Amun. She gave birth to a son who was to become one of the greatest Greek leaders of ancient time and was proclaimed "divine" pharaoh. His legacy of vision and courage has remained part of Greek/Egyptian history since his death in 324 BC.

The Alexandria Library, Past and Present: Lecture 4.
Professor El Abbadi modestly and briefly mentioned how he conceived the idea exactly thirty years ago of daring to imagine that the great ancient Library of Alexandria should be revived in modern times with similar aims and objectives.

It was the most inspiring and enriching lecture for me. The ancient library, established by Ptolemy I (Soter) in 288 BC, came alive and before me appeared the scholars from all over the known world speaking in their many different tongues on so many diverse subjects. Over 700,000 scrolls to pour over! Literary giants such as Plato and Aristotle, Aristarchus - the first to proclaim that the earth revolves around the sun; Hipparchus - the first to measure the solar year; Euclid - the father of geometry; Archimedes - the greatest mathematician; Callimachus - poet and the father of "Library Science" - the methodical cataloguing of books by topic and author. There was also the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek making it accessible to all learned people. This was the greatness of the Hellenistic culture and civilization with the city of Alexandria as its centre. The inevitable question remains: was Alexandrian culture and scholarship Greek or Egyptian? There is no doubt that both peoples should be proud of this timeless legacy.

Underwater Archaeology in Alexandria and Abou-Kir: Lecture 5.
The exciting underwater discoveries originated by amateur enterprise has attained official recognition in Egypt. The lecture examined the explorations undertaken illustrated with photographs of sculpture, jewellery, coins and artefacts found beneath the water. The future prospects of this comparatively new branch of archaeology has enormous potential.

An Egyptian image of Alexandria: special guest lecturer Professor Azza Kararah.
Professor Kararah's mesmerising dramatic skill held us captivated as she gave a personal rendition of The Downfall of Cleopatra by Ahmed Shawqi (1869 - 1932), the "prince of poets" of the Arab world. This dramatic piece, written as a verse-play, shows the influence of Shakespeare whom the dramatist greatly admired.
The second piece, Miramar by Nobel Prize winning author Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt's most highly acclaimed novelist, is set in a pensione on the Mediterranean sea front. It captures the Neapolitan nature of Alexandria in the 1960s - a turbulent political time and the writer shows great compassion as the characters face their dilemmas.

Professor Dereck Sparks (University of Cape Town) delivered a paper Alexandria - a bridge between East and West and illustrated a wealth of scientific inventions and accomplishments enabling scientific development during a rich period of history.
Stellenbosch University was well represented. Professor Sakkie Cornelius delivered a colourful and visually exciting view of The Many Faces of Cleopatra from Alexandria to Cyberspace. This informative lecture was well received at the end of the first day.
Also from Stellenbosch University was Professor Johann Cook’s The Alexandrian Origins of the Septuagint. This fascinating account of the translation of the Hebrew Pentateuch text into Greek was punctuated with examples of the development of the language. Professor Cook, with his customary energy, returned to the platform on the second day of the seminar with some details of the creation of the Coptic language in his paper Egyptian Coptic Culture.
Professor Anthony Humphreys (University of the Western Cape) delivered a very interesting and detailed paper Cleopatra: The Woman and her World which looked beyond the mythology of this extraordinary person and at the political pressures placed on her by the Roman empire.
A fascinating demo-lecture was presented by Dr. Barry Smith on the organ in the Concert Hall. He discussed the origins of the organ which was first invented as a "Hydraulis" by the engineer Ctesibius during the 3rd century. BC.
This truly memorable and enriching symposium, moderated throughout by Society Chairman Keith Grenville, was the strongest and most authoritative academic platform focused entirely on Egypt ever presented in South Africa - a mighty feather in the cap of The Egyptian Society of South Africa.

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 "DERBY DAY" IN THE DESERT
BOAT- LOADS OF TOURISTS GO DOWN THE NILE
MR. CARTER AS "SHOWMAN"

LUXOR, Tuesday, January 25, 1923
To-day greater crowds than have ever before assembled at the treasure tomb of King Tutankhamen thronged there to witness the last removal of the antiquities from the outer chamber before the opening of the inner chamber, where it is hoped to find the body of the ancient Pharaoh.

Five excursion boats made the journey of 450 miles to Luxor from Cairo down the placid waters of the Nile and emptied their great burden of tourists upon the historic Theban Plain at dawn. But, once arrived there, there were not sufficient donkeys, carriages, or sand-carts to take the visitors across the desert to the Valley of the Kings, so camels and oxen, patient beasts of burden in Egypt from immemorial time, were pressed into service.

The scene at the tomb awakened memories of Epsom Downs on Derby Day. The road leading to the rock-enclosed ravine, where the sovereigns of a long-forgotten age are ensepulchred deep down in the heart of the hills, was packed with vehicles and animals of every conceivable variety. the guides, donkey-boys, sellers of antiquities, and hawkers of lemonade were doing a roaring trade. Fabricated photographs of King Tutankhamen, sacred scarabs, miniature sphinxes, beads of "miraculous" properties, and spurious antiquities in unending variety were offered to the tourists at extravagant prices.

The immense crowd surrounding the tomb on all sides waited patiently under the burning sun for several hours. It was noticeable that the women outnumbered the men by four to one. Every one of them had a camera, and the whole battery of instruments was levelled at Mr. Carter like an array of machine guns as, shortly before noon, he emerged from the tomb with his assistants bearing a grotesque elongated cow built on the lines of a dachshund.

A REMARKABLE COW

The inanimate beast of gold and wood formed one of the sides of Tutankhamen’s imperial couch. It was far from being one of the Guernsey or Jersey variety of cow, for the body was as slender as a wolfhound, the tail was curled up in a perfect circle, and the head had the delicate lines of a deer.

"What is it - calf, donkey, goat, deer, or rocking-horse?" ejaculated the crowd.
"It is an Egyptian cow, 3,350 years old," explained Mr. Carter, with a smile. "It has guarded King Tutankhamen throughout his 33 centuries of sleep."

The wooden effigy was then carefully laid to rest in a huge crate and carried away with all pomp and ceremony to the adjoining tomb of Seti II. A second cow was then brought out of the treasure vault, the brilliance of the gilding with which it was covered glistening in the bright sun with an iridescent light. Finally the beautifully-carved couch itself, designed especially to conform with the King's contour, was brought out. It was covered liberally with a protective solution and cotton padding, so that the crowd could but little appreciate the exquisite beauty of its design. The couch was laid like a piece of delicate bric-à-brac in a huge wooden case which it took eight men to carry.

It is probable that to-morrow will see the last removal of the reliquaries from the magic storehouse for the time being, as Mr. Carter is going to Cairo to meet Lord Carnarvon, and to make with him the final arrangements for the unsealing of the burial chamber. In the meanwhile the experts will be busy repairing, retouching, and conserving some of the more delicate antiquities in the tomb, which are beginning to show signs of disintegration after their long entombment.

When the last articles had been removed from the corridor of the tomb the newspaper correspondents began a spirited dash across the desert to the banks of the Nile upon donkeys, horses, camels, and in chariot-like sand-carts in a race to be the first to reach the telegraph offices, for there is neither a telephone nor a telegraph line from the sacred precincts of the ancient Egyptian tombs to the town of Luxor. The oldest valley known to history still remains aloof from the restless developments of the outer world, and neither aeroplane nor wireless has as yet penetrated its peaceful serenity. P.A. Foreign Special.
KING TO VISIT THE TOMB
LUXOR,Wednesday
King Fuad has ordered his private train to be refitted and repainted, and it is anticipated that he will travel in state to Luxor. Unlike his ancient predecessors, who crossed the river only when upon their pilgrimage of death, King Fuad will be taken in a high-powered British motor-car across the Theban plain to the towering cliffs which form the great gorge known as the Royal Necropolis.

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EGYPTIAN MUSEUM - NEW DIRECTOR
OVERDUE IMPROVEMENTS EXPECTED

The energetic and ambitious new director-general of the Egyptian Museum, Mamdouh El-Damati, is planning to resuscitate many former museum projects which have been left on ice for the last three years. He also hopes to implement innovations of his own.
One of the first decisions taken by the new director-general after he assumed office was reviving a project to highlight a different masterpiece each month. The chosen piece is placed in a place of honour in the foyer, along with full details. El-Damati also plans to reach out to the interested public. "To develop the skills and knowledge of Egyptian archaeologists, the museum is organising a series of Sunday lectures focusing on a different aspect of ancient society each week. We shall also focus on other topics," he says.
Early in 2002 the museum should be on the Internet. This facility will enable students and scholars from all over the world to carry out research without necessarily making their way to Egypt or visiting the museum. El-Damati says the Internet catalogue will provide a photo album of every object in the museum, with full details of size, material, historical details, the site at which each piece was found and any other relevant information. "Each photo will be numbered, and it will be possible for a viewer to purchase the right to reproduce it for a small fee through the Internet. Since each object is photographed from all angles, the navigator can decide which angle is the most suitable for his or her purposes -- as a work of art, for example, or in order to read the texts. If more information is required this will be provided on request for an additional fee."

In the early 1950s, before the revolution, a general catalogue on the Egyptian Museum gave regular details of new additions. This long-neglected project will now be reactivated. "It will not be in the form of a single catalogue, but several, each devoted to a single subject. For example ushabti figures, sarcophagi, mummies, offering tables, reliefs, etc.," El-Damati says.

He says that in view of the immense popularity of the Mausoleum of the Mummies, another mummy hall is being prepared to display those mummies, some of them royal, which are still in storage. "The hall exhibiting animal mummies will be rearranged," he adds.

A hall on the upper level of the museum devoted to the exhibition of sarcophagi, closed for the last 30 years, will be reopened. El-Damati says; "The hall will be cleaned and repainted, the tiling restored, and all the sarcophagi cleaned and suitably prepared for exhibition."

These are ambitious plans, but not too ambitious for a man who has a vision of turning the Egyptian Museum into a meeting place for scholars -- while at the same time catering to the interests of children and providing facilities for the disabled. "We intend to produce a bulletin outlining museum news and giving details of the planned lecture series," the new director says. "For children, we want to produce a monthly brochure describing specific pieces which will be of special interest. As for the disabled, for the first time in the history of the museum [which was founded by Mariette nearly a century ago], plans are being made to provide some 50 to 70 replicas of masterpieces for hands-on "viewing" by the blind. "The chosen pieces will cover highlights of ancient Egyptian history. A Braille catalogue is coming out very soon," El-Damati says.

The first object chosen to become the post- revival "Piece of the Month," was a limestone dyad, or pair statue, showing Mery-Re, the overseer of god Aten, with his wife Ey-Yuya seated beside him in an embrace. The statue, in colour and with its hieroglyphic text intact, was found seven months ago by a Dutch-British team excavating in the south-western chapel of the priest's tomb in Saqqara.
The texts on the back of the statues reveal the facts. Mery-Re was, among his many titles, scribe of the temple of the Aten at Akhet-Aten (Tel Al-Amarna) and the text inscribed on his kilt reveals that he was one of the Pharaoh's most honoured officials. His double-row gold necklace was a reward presented only to the Pharaoh's favourites. His wife, Ey-Yuya, also had several titles, among them 'The Favoured One' and 'His Beloved Wife.' The right side of her hair is swept behind her back, while her robe reaches to her ankles.

Other exhibits lined up for future exhibition as "Piece of the Month" are a head of Amun-Zeus, a Graeco-Roman masterpiece in alabaster retrieved two years ago from Jordan along with a collection of ushabti figures and six papyrus texts; and the copper statue of the fifth-dynasty Pharaoh Pepi I, now restored.

Egyptian State Information Service

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TUTANKHAMUN IN THE NEWS
WHAT THE PRESS SAID IN 1923

LUXOR, Feb. 11.
After an interlude of overcast sky, with a very high wind, almost a gale,making the river like a choppy sea, greatly disturbing the sand, and veiling the landscape, we have once more most glorious sunshine and a perfect blue sky.
        Yesterday there was little activity of real interest at the tomb. Lord Carnarvon, accompanied by Lady Evelyn Herbert, arrived this morning by train from Cairo and was met by Mr. Carter with whom Lord Carnarvon went to the Valley of the Kings after lunch. During the morning, M. Pierre Lacau, Director-General of the Department of Antiquities, arrived and visited the valley. Among other visitors were Lord Leigh, Lady Juliet Trevor, Sir Phillip Sassoon, and Sir Louis Mallett. Those visiting the tomb to-day included Lord and Lady Granby, Mr. Mervyn Herbert, Mrs. Herbert, and the Sultana Malak, widow of the Sultan Hussein, who, accompanied by one of the Princesses, was paying her second visit.

A TRIUMPHAL CHARIOT
       To-day the work of removal has been resumed at the tomb in the presence of a remarkably small number of spectators. The removals included a magnificent chariot, quite the best of those which have been discovered. It is decorated with sheet gold, and inlaid in much detail with various stones and coloured glass. On the front part of the body are cartouches of the King, while on the inside, with other ornamental devices, are portraits of vassals, with the names of their conquered countries. The chariot, which was evidently the King’s triumphal chariot, is in excellent condition, the workmanship is of the finest, and the gold and stones glistened in the sunshine as it emerged from the tomb and was carried up the hill. With the chariot was a pole on which remained hanging a leopard’s skin which once covered the floor of the body of the chariot.

        Finally came a tray covered with a sheet, bearing two wheels. Owing to the delicate nature of the beautiful ornamentation of these wheels, it was considered advisable to cover them completely. The wheels belong to the fourth chariot, the body of which is completely broken. It will have to be removed in parts, and will require the most delicate handling owing to its fragile condition. This broken chariot, part of the harness of the Lion ceremonial couch, and two statues of the King are all that now remain out of the 167 principal objects found in the ante-chamber.

        While the work of clearing the various chests and boxes found in the ante-chamber of the tomb is undoubtedly exacting, at the same time it has consoling features. One of these assuredly resides in the uncertainty as top what each box contains, and the possibility that its clearance may disclose new treasures.

        As has already been explained, most of the boxes found in the ante-chamber were not opened before their removal from the tomb. Even when they were opened, only the articles which lay on the top were recorded, as their fragility prevented any attempt to see what was underneath until the covering article had received in the laboratory, proper preservative treatment, and its design and all details recorded. This is what has occurred in the case of the red box, the commencement of the clearance of which was reported a few days ago.

        When it was opened, all that could be seen was a large robe of woven tapestry fabric, on which was sewn a magnificent gold scarab buckle, the details of which were given in the dispatch of February 8. This robe has now been removed, and has already disclosed several things of the greatest interest. Among the items taken out are a number of beautiful faience libation vases in imitation lapis lazuli and bearing the King’s cartouche in yellow. A unique article of alabaster has also been found. It is Greek in form and is nothing less than a wine-strainer, the first of its kind ever found in relation to the Dynastic period.

A SUPERB SPECIMEN

        But the gem of the articles so far disclosed is a large corselet in elaborate mesh of faience pennants, with gold clasps, ties, and ornamentation inlaid in glass in imitation of semi-precious stones. That corselets of this description existed was well known, as they figure among the mural decorations in the tombs of the kings and the chapels of nobles. But never before has the actual article itself been found, nor was its intricate detail or superb workmanship ever realized until the present specimen came to light.

        The advent of generally warmer weather has necessitated a slight modification of the working arrangements at the tomb. As previously mentioned, the carpenters’ shop has been set up at the cache, where also, is the staff dining—-room, just within the natural gateway to the sanctuary forming the Royal necropolis. The joinery work, however, has become so heavy that it has been found necessary to remove it to a place where there is more shade and where the operations will not disturb the staff when taking their very brief rest afforded by the midday meal. The carpenters’ shop has been transferred to the rock platform outside the tomb of Seti II, thus also greatly reducing the transport, since the cases can be made on the spot where they are wanted. What this means can be appreciated when it is mentioned that, in addition to the ten thousand feet of wood already obtained, a further large quantity has since had to be procured.

        The public should be warned not to believe some extraordinary stories which get into print purporting to emanate from Luxor. The latest of these is a tale of a wonderful papyrus, discovered in the tomb, giving the whole dramatic story of the ancient robbery of the tomb and its punishment, which is given prominence by some Egyptian newspapers. No such papyrus has been found, nor indeed, any papyrus whatever.

The original press cuttings from which these reports are drawn,
together with some early photographs, were donated by Member Jim Willcocks, and are  held in the Society’s archives.
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THE MYSTERY OF KV55
CONTINUES

An old theft and secretive dealings are the latest chapters in the history of an enigmatic Dynasty 18 (1570-1293 B.C.) royal coffin discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1907. The tomb in which the coffin was found was excavated by the English archaeologist Edward Ayrton, who worked for American financier Theodore Davis. Now known as KV55, the tomb is small, with a single chamber and side niche. It contained the coffin, in ruinous condition because of flooding, a dismantled wooden shrine that had been covered in gold foil, four canopic jars with stoppers in the form of portraits, and a scattering of other funerary objects.
The top half of the coffin, along with the gold foil that had been applied to the sides and floor of the bottom half, went to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Sometime between a restoration of the objects in 1914 and an inventory in 1931, the gold from the bottom half was stolen. It was long rumoured that the gold was in a European museum, but it was only last year that it was revealed in the Egyptian Pavilion of the Munich Museum. The revelation was made when the journal KMT published two photographs showing the restored gold decoration from the sides of the coffins' bottom half and identified its possessor as the Munich institution.
The poorly preserved mummy in the coffin was initially identified as that of Queen Tiye, the mother of pharaoh Akhenaten (c. 1350-1334). Her name could be read on a surviving portion of the gold foil on the dismantled shrine, which Akhenaten apparently had ordered built for her funeral at his capital, Akhetaten (el-Amarna). When el-Amarna was abandoned, the shrine, coffin, and other objects found in the tomb were moved to the Valley of the Kings. The identification of Tiye was soon discounted, however, when examination showed the mummy was that of a man. The mummy's identity has been debated ever since. Cartouches, possibly with Akhenaten's name, had been excised from the top of the coffin and from Tiye's shrine, on which a figure of Akhenaten was also obliterated. Many of his monuments were defaced in this way after his heretical worship of the sun disk Aten was abolished by his successor, Tutankhamen. So Akhenaten is one possibility, but against that is the fact that the mummy is of a man in his twenties, too young for Akhenaten. Yet the mummy's skull morphology and blood type are similar to Tutankhamen's. Could it be Smenkhkare, co-regent during the last years of Akhenaten's reign and possibly his brother? The missing gold from the bottom half of the coffin might provide a clue.
Now, an article in the German news magazine Der Spiegel offers an account, based on a recent lecture by Berlin Egyptian Museum scholar Rolf Krauss, of how the gold came to be in Munich. It was acquired ca. 1950 by Geneva-based antiquities dealer Nicolas Koutoulakis. After efforts to sell the gold during the 1970s proved unsuccessful, it went to the museum in Munich, then directed by Dietrich Wildung, in 1980. In 1994, Koutoulakis' daughter donated it to the museum. After publication of the photographs in KMT last year, the museum admitted possessing the coffin gold. While cartouches on the sides of the bottom half have been excised, as can be seen in the KMT photographs, there is hope that the its floor was not defaced. Meanwhile, according to Der Spiegel the museum's current director, Sylvia Schoske, refuses access to it and has not made public her own study of it.
A recent report has stated that the Munich Museum will return the priceless golden fragments of the pharaonic coffin to Egypt. The German museum has restored the coffin base by making a precise replica of acrylic glass, and applying the fragments of gold foil to it. It is anticipated that this replica and restoration will match the coffin to the millimeter. The costs for this work amounted to over R720,000 ($90,000). Before its return, the coffin will be displayed in Munich.
(Editors Note (April 2002):  The coffin base is now displayed in the Egyptian Museum alongside the damaged anthropoid coffin top)

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SHIPS AND BOATS OF ANCIENT EGYPT
by Clive Oosthuizen

‘Egypt is the gift of the river’, said Herodotus, (5th Century BC) borrowing the words of an earlier visitor to Egypt.
The Nile provided, (and still does) a natural highway that unified Egypt. It is a friendly highway for sailors, it flows at an average speed of 1 knot in the spring and about 4 knots during flooding in summer. It is no surprise then that ships and boats developed quite rapidly, to fulfil the many needs of this developing culture.

Boats carried armies south into Sudan and north into the Middle East. They carried tax-collectors, officials, stone for monuments, grain, wine, cattle and other sources of food to the various markets. The Pharaoh, upon his death, would be transported to his final resting place by funerary bark. Small papyrus boats enabled men to fish and hunt and were simply used for pleasure and fun. In order to follow the development of their boats, it is easiest to divide it into the three main periods of Egyptian history.

The Old Kingdom
Until recently Khufu’s solar boat was considered the oldest. Discovered close to his pyramid, it was probably constructed between 2589 and 2566 BC. One has been excavated and assembled by Hag Ahmed Moustafa, Egyptian conservator. The parts were neatly stacked in thirteen layers, comprising 1224 pieces and after assembly the boat was found to be 43½ metres long, 6 metres in the beam and 1.8 metres broad at midships. It weighed 45 tons when assembled. The boat was probably used for funerary purposes, when Khufu’s mummy was transported to its final resting place from whence he would journey to his afterlife.

There has been endless debate about the seaworthiness of the boat. It was only after an accurate scale model was constructed, and subjected to simulated sea tests, that scholars agreed that it could not have had any other purpose.

Although it moves through the water with grace and hardly any wake, the ten oars could not possibly have propelled the ship. It was also found that the fore and aft structure would not be strong enough to support the weight above the water line. It was probably towed in a canal or moved on sleds or trailers drawn by oxen or men.

The Middle Kingdom
This period may be regarded as a transition in hull design and construction. The bi-pod mast disappeared and the designs of vessels from Greece and the Aegean began to have an influence.

While there are fewer pictorial representations in their art, large numbers of scale models have come down to us as well as the all important dockyard records of Sesostris I. When I visited the Cairo Museum I was able to examine one of the two ships, still in reasonable condition, found in a boat pit at the site of the Pyramid of Sesostris III. They are known as the Dahshur boats. Their construction indicates that they were perfectly seaworthy and may have been trading vessels preserved in memory of the Pharaoh.

The ships are round bottomed, broad in the beam and have gently curving sheers. Dimensions are approximately 10.2 metres long, 2.29 metres wide and nearly 1 metre deep. The traditional ‘Shell First’ method of construction was used.

It was built up around a keel plank of three sections of wood joined together with mortise-and-tenon joints, 3cm deep and 3 cm wide. The longest plank is 4.2 metres long and 3.5 cm wide at its widest point. The strakes are made of short pieces of wood (probably cedar) joined on the edges with mortise-and-tenon joints and shallow dovetail cramps inset from the inside.

The gunwales are made of sections lashed together at their ends and fastened to the uppermost strake by mortise-and-tenon joints. There is no internal stitching and no strengthening frames inserted into the hull. Lateral strength is provided by several cross beams resting in notches in the uppermost strake. These are fixed to the hull planking by dowels which are secured by wooden pegs cut off flush to the outside of the hull. This procedure renders frames unnecessary.

Steering oars and supporting stanchions were also found but details of masts, rigging and sails have been lost.

Flinders Petrie discovered parts of boats at Lahun which confirmed that frames were now being used and also that the mortise-and-tenon joints were being strengthened. In general, the construction of ships improved and new ideas were introduced.
An unusually complete set of model boats was found in the tomb of Meket-Ra, an official in the court of Mentuhotep II. These models illustrate four types travelling boats, kitchen boats, yachts and papyrus fishing boats.
The travelling and the kitchen boats are of the same spoon’ shaped hull, slightly higher at the bow with a single steering oar astern. It seems that sails were made of linen, probably of a very heavy weave. His yachts differed slightly, the stern being slightly elevated and with two steering oars but otherwise conforming to the general construction of the time. Of course Egyptian designs and improvements also influenced trading ships of the lands surrounding them and the interchange of methods and ideas moved the developments into the next phase.

The New Kingdom
During this time Egypt became a power of great international importance. It dominated Syria, Palestine, the Hittites and had considerable trade with the Greeks, the Aegean Islands, as well as the east coast of Africa up to the Horn.

From the study of reliefs and other illustrations it would appear that Egypt may have started losing technological ground to her trading counterparts. Reliefs at several temples are of great importance. The first is Hatchepsut’s mortuary temple at Deir El-Bahri where her trading vessels are very well illustrated, including details of the cargo they carried, as well as near complete details of the rigging and decoration. There are also illustrations of huge barges which were used to transport stone and obelisks.

The temple at Medinet Habu illustrates a naval battle between Egypt and the Sea People which fills in the details of their fighting ships.  Another example of a typical New Kingdom ship can be seen in the tomb of Rekhmire at Thebes. He was a senior official during the rule of Amenhotep II. The sail is much broader, held by two long yards and the lower yard being secured by at least sixteen ropes which form the usual triangular shape, secured at the top of the mast. As with the Hatchepsut ships, these vessels were equipped with oars.  It must have been difficult to sail into the wind as it was near impossible to tack against the wind. When we consider Hatchepsut’s expeditions to the land of Punt, we can understand how difficult the return voyage must have been. Her ships were of a sleek design and not broad of beam like the Syrian ships illustrated in the tomb of Kenamun, the Mayor of Thebes in the reign of Amenhotep Ill.

Small improvements were made from time to time, the major of such improvements being a change in the furling of the sail. Brailing appears for the first time during the Amarna period. It works like the cords of a Venetian blind. Metal rings were sewn into the sail cloth; so by looping the brails over the yardarm, the sails could be furled more easily and the ropes secured on the deck.

As Egyptian power and independence eroded and foreign rulers from Kush, Assyria, Macedonia and Rome took control, Egypt relied more and more on foreign ships to use in their sea trade. It is not clear if they developed new methods of construction when later ships were built, although it seems that the centuries old methods remained in vogue. Herodotus recorded detailed descriptions of boat building, giving great attention to the methods of construction and the tools that were used.

As Egypt sank into the hands of foreign powers and her time of glory drew to its close, their ship building industry dwindled into almost nothing - a sad ending to such a mighty maritime nation whose culture still astounds modern engineers, architects, artists and mariners.

Late News
On October 31st 2000 a fleet of 14 vessels was discovered at Abydos dating from approximately 3000 BC. It was known that at least a dozen boat pits existed near the site of Khasekhemwy’s funerary enclosure, and that these boats had been placed there long before his enclosure was constructed. The ships are about 75 feet long, seven to ten feet wide with narrowing at the bow and stem. Planks were lashed together with rope, threaded through mortices. For caulking they used reeds, probably driven into the lateral joins. No frames were found and we can therefore assume that these ships were not very durable and needed constant attention, strengthening, and waterproofing. Once the types of timber used are identified, we will have an insight into trade relations and political interaction.

Ship construction, in the absence of a keel, yielded a major problem known as hogging, which happens when the bow and stern are not supported and begin to sag. Boat builders installed heavy longitudinal girders at deck level, three vertical cleft supports, fore midships and aft, and then ran a heavy rope cable from bow to stern which would be tensioned up as hogging set in.

The Egyptians always displayed very clever solutions to their problems and in the Sun Temple of Sahure a completely new ship design appears. It is a seagoing vessel, manned by fourteen rowers and three steersman. The single mast has been replaced by a bi-pod of a narrow v-shape which swivels backward and rests on a T-shaped stand at the stern. This arrangement spreads the strain of a single mast and simplifies stowage when travelling down river.  Whether boat builders used single or bi-pod masts, they employed the same method of hoisting and lowering sail. Sails were hung from yards that were hoisted and lowered by ropes called halyards. The single sail was held square by a lower yard the weight of which was supported by rope lifts that were secured to the mast creating the well-known triangular arrangement of ropes. The halyards and ropes to support the mast were usually tied off at the stern.

Transport boats were not as graceful, with blunt bows and sterns. Reliefs and paintings illustrate many different designs and sizes carrying all sorts of loads, and I have no doubt that some ships capsized due to overloading. 

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KENT WEEKS - IN SOUTH AFRICA
MAKING HISTORY WHILE INVESTIGATING IT
A report by Keith Grenville 

On September 5th 2000, Dr. Kent Weeks and his wife Susan arrived at Cape Town International Airport  for their first visit to South Africa and a 10-day National Lecture Tour arranged by the Executive Committee of The Egyptian Society of SA with the assistance of generous sponsors and benefactors.
     As a national society with international recognition it was time for us to ‘test the waters’ with this style of lecture tour by a world-renowned Egyptologist. Our objective was accomplished with a total of 6 lectures delivered country-wide by Dr. Kent Weeks. The first lecture at the University of Cape Town swiftly sold out and Kent Weeks willingly agreed to deliver a repeat lecture the same evening. The second lecture was very well attended. Subsequent lectures were enthusiastically received at the Universities of Stellenbosch, Natal, Witwatersrand and Pretoria. The success of the project was enhanced by wide radio coverage with Kent Weeks being interviewed on local and national radio, some press coverage, and culminating with a television interview on M-Net’s Carte Blanche on Sunday 10 September, accompanied by excellent visual material and presented by Ruda Landman.
    In his lecture, entitled The Lost Tomb, Kent Weeks briefly covered the history of exploration in Egypt, with the plunder, exploitation, destruction of valuable papyri, artefacts and other excesses, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. The presentation continued with details of the appalling threat to the existence of tombs and monuments by modern farming methods, the rising water table, pollution and the damaging effects of tourism and its development. Aware of this massive threat to the 6 square kilometre Theban necropolis and the need for a dependable and comprehensive atlas of this World Heritage Site, Kent Weeks founded the Theban Mapping Project (TMP) in 1978. The lecture then moved to the discovery by Dr. Weeks and his team of the lost tomb of the sons of Ramesses II (KV5) and his eventual breakthrough into areas of the tomb hitherto unknown and unrecorded since antiquity. It was from this point that he led the audience through a series of photographs showing the gradual and methodical exploration of the tomb, the painstaking excavation and conservation, the retrieval of items of jewellery, pottery, and painted fragments of limestone plaster. Finally, he spoke of the mummy of a royal male with arms crossed in the Osiris position found with three other skulls lying in a pit near the entrance to the tomb. It is supposed the mummy remains had been dragged to the entrance by tomb robbers in antiquity to search in the light for associated gold items. Having said that work in the tomb has revealed 150 chambers, Kent Weeks confidently prophesied that the number of chambers will increase to 200 by the end of the April 2001 excavation season. Undoubtedly the largest tomb ever found in Egypt, KV5 represents a unique royal family mausoleum which will continue to be excavated for many years to come and is likely to throw light on many aspects of the lives of Ramesses II, his sons and the New Kingdom period. Kent Weeks finished his lecture with a CD-ROM presentation showing an impressive example of the planned Theban necropolis database, comprehensive search and visual facilities to be available on a CD-ROM at a later date.
    Susan Weeks accompanied her husband throughout the South African tour. She is an integral member of his team in Egypt, specialising in pottery. Her art work illustrates her husband’s book The Lost Tomb which was on sale at all lecture venues.
    Their first day in a very wet Cape Town was spent entirely with live and recorded radio interviews, newspaper and a television interviews. Unfortunately, the hectic schedule allowed very little time for sightseeing but meals were taken at carefully chosen venues affording some impression of each of the cities. A short tour of the Cape Town area and peninsula, the drive to Stellenbosch and a free day in that area gave our guests a feeling of the Cape. In Durban a visit to the Valley of a Thousand Hills and the city environs, with lunch at Umhlanga was appreciated and then in Johannesburg a meeting with Professor Phillip Tobias and a private viewing of the Taung skull followed by a visit to the Sterkfontein caves proved to be a highlight of their short visit.          The Egyptian Society is delighted to have presented Kent Weeks in South Africa - a man whose name is as synonymous with KV5 as Howard Carter’s is with KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun.

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Sound & Light at Abu Simbel