Joseph and the Seven Years of Famine

A group of Israeli scholars are reporting they have solved the biblical mystery of how Joseph preserved Egypt’s unsealed grain stores against invading pests during the seven year of famine and saved the Egyptian people from mass starvation. According to the news report,

The secret lies in the burnt corpse of a 3,500 year old beetle found in a grain of wheat claim researchers (Kislev, Simhoni and Melamed) from the laboratory for archaeological botany in the Life Sciences Department at Bar Ilan University, Haaretz reported on Monday.

The beetle belongs to the highly destructive Rhyzopetha dominica species, commonly known as the Lesser Grain Borer, which invades wheat and barley stored in silos after it has been harvested in the field.

Joseph knew of the Lesser Grain Borer and the beetle's amazing reproductive ability, the team inferred from a biblical description in Genesis 41:48-49. To reduce its migration he isolated the grain harvested in each locality and prevented batches being transferred from one city and community to another.

Sand was also added to the stored grain as a simple method of pest control known and practiced in ancient Egypt, the researchers say.

Sand crystals absorb moisture in the granary and prevent the grain from rotting and decaying. But they scratch away at the beetle's hard body shell causing it to dry up and die.

If this research is confirmed by other independent studies, it will help explaining some of Joseph’s work in saving the lives of the people of Egypt and the members of his family.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Egypt, Joseph

Pharaoh Seti I

Egypt Information Service is announcing that archaeologists have found the cartouche of King Seti I, second king of the 19th Dynasty (1314-1304 BC). The cartouche was found inside the corridor of the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings.

Read the news report here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Egypt, Seti I

Gold Coins Found in Egypt

World News is reporting that gold coins of Emperor Valens were found in an excavations in the west part of St. Catherine's monastery in Sinai. According to the news report,

The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities announced an interesting discovery. Gold coins forged by Roman Emperor Vales were unearthed at the astonishment of archaeologists; these findings represent the first of this kind in the Land of the Pyramids.

The two coins were found during excavations in the west part of St. Catherine's monastery in Sinai. The image represented on the front side of the coins is very similar to that of Valens' and specialists agreed that he is indeed.

Read the news report by clicking here.

Credit: Valens' Gold Coins Image courtesy of World News

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Ancient Coins, Archaeology, Egypt, Numismatic

Egypt: A Photo Gallery

The National Geographic is presenting a photo gallery of the monuments of ancient Egypt. The twelve photos present Egypt’s ancient past, from the Great Sphinx to the Pyramids. The photos are magnificent. Visit the National Geographic to enter the gallery.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tag: Archaeology, Egypt

Ramses II: A Photo Gallery

The National Geographic is presenting a photo gallery of Ramses II. The monuments Ramses created remain a timeless testament of the glories of ancient Egypt.

Visit the National Geographic and see photos of the monuments celebrating the glory of Ramses II.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tag: Archaeology, Egypt

The Black Pharaohs of Egypt

The feature article for the February 2008 issue of the National Geographic Magazine is on the black pharaohs of Egypt. The following is an excerpt from the article:

In the year 730 B.C., a man by the name of Piye decided the only way to save Egypt from itself was to invade it. Things would get bloody before the salvation came.

“Harness the best steeds of your stable,” he ordered his commanders. The magnificent civilization that had built the great pyramids had lost its way, torn apart by petty warlords. For two decades Piye had ruled over his own kingdom in Nubia, a swath of Africa located mostly in present-day Sudan. But he considered himself the true ruler of Egypt as well, the rightful heir to the spiritual traditions practiced by pharaohs such as Ramses II and Thutmose III. Since Piye had probably never actually visited Lower Egypt, some did not take his boast seriously. Now Piye would witness the subjugation of decadent Egypt firsthand—“I shall let Lower Egypt taste the taste of my fingers,” he would later write.

When Piye died at the end of his 35-year reign in 715 B.C., his subjects honored his wishes by burying him in an Egyptian-style pyramid, with four of his beloved horses nearby. He was the first pharaoh to receive such entombment in more than 500 years. A pity, then, that the great Nubian who accomplished these feats is literally faceless to us. Images of Piye on the elaborate granite slabs, or stelae, memorializing his conquest of Egypt have long since been chiseled away. On a relief in the temple at the Nubian capital of Napata, only Piye’s legs remain. We are left with a single physical detail of the man—namely, that his skin was dark.

This is an excellent article. The National Geographic Magazine always excels in providing accurate and relevant information about archaeological, anthropological, and other scientific issues. To read the article, visit the web page of the National Geographic Magazine by clicking here.

Credit for picture: National Geographic Magazine

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Black Pharaoh, Egypt, Nubia, Piye, Pharaoh

Ruins of a Neolithic City Found in Egypt

AFP is reporting that the ruins of 7,000-year-old Neolithic city has been found in Egypt. AFP has released the following news report:

CAIRO, Jan 29, 2008 (AFP) - A team of US archaeologists has discovered the ruins of a city dating back to the period of the first farmers 7,000 years ago in Egypt's Fayyum oasis, the supreme council of antiquities said on Tuesday.

"An electromagnetic survey revealed the existence in the Karanis region of a network of walls and roads similar to those constructed during the Greco-Roman period," the council's chief Zahi Hawwas said.

The remnants of the city are "still buried beneath the sand and the details of this discovery will be revealed in due course," Hawwas said.

"The artefacts consist of the remains of walls and houses in terracotta or dressed limestone as well as a large quantity of pottery and the foundations of ovens and grain stores," he added.

The remains date back to the Neolithic period between 5,200 and 4,500 BC.

The local director of antiquities, Ahmed Abdel Alim, said the site was just seven kilometres (four miles) from Fayyum lake and would probably have lain at the water's edge at the time it was inhabited.

It is amazing what archaeologists can find buried in the sands of Egypt. I just have one question for some people: if the remains of this Neolithic city indicates that people were living in Egypt as early as 5,000 B.C., how about Ussher’s chronology that the world was created on October 23, 4004 B.C., 9:00 a.m.?

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Egypt

The Seven Wonders of Egypt

People are fascinated with ancient Egypt! I am.

The Travel Chanel has prepared a slide show featuring the seven wonders of Egypt. The following descriptions were taken from the slide show:

1. The Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids. It is the only remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the World.

2. The Great Sphinx

It is one of the largest single-stone statues on Earth. The Sphinx is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians in the 3rd millennium BC.

3. The Temple of Luxor

The Temple of Luxor was the center of the Festival of Opet, the most important festival in Luxor (Thebes). Dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun-Re, his wife Mut, and his son Khonsu, the temple's purpose was to host the rituals of the festival.

4. Cairo

Founded in 648 AD, it has a metropolitan area population of 15.75 million people and it's the most populous metropolitan area in Africa.

5. Abu Simbel

The two massive rock temples were orginally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC druing the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II. The monument to Ramesses II and his queen, Nefertari, commemorates his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh.

6. Saqqara

Imhotep for King Djoser designed the world's oldest standing step pyramid. Saqqara is a vast ancient burial ground in Egypt with the earliest burials traced back to the First Dynasty.

7. The Temple of Karnak

The Temple of Karnak is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. It is the second most visited historical site in Egypt - second only to the Giza Pyramids near Cairo.

The pictures are beautiful. Take your time and enjoy the slide show featuring the seven wonders of Egypt.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tag: Archaeology, Egypt

King Tut’s Face - The Pictures

Archaeologists have open King Tut’s sarcophagus and shown King Tut’s face for the first time.

Click here to see other great pictures of King Tut’s face.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

King Tut’s Face

Archaeologists have revealed the face of King Tut for the first time. It has been more than 3,000 years since one of the most famous pharaohs of Egypt died and was buried in his underground tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

According to the press release,

Archeologists carefully lifted the fragile mummy out of a quartz sarcophagus decorated with stone-carved protective goddesses, momentarily pulling aside a beige covering to reveal a leathery black body.

The linen was then replaced over Tut's narrow body so only his face and tiny feet were exposed, and the 19-year-old king, whose life and death has captivated people for nearly a century, was moved to a simple glass climate-controlled case to keep it from turning to dust.

Read the article in its entirety by clicking here.

King Tut has become the most famous and the best known pharaoh of Egypt. Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass has done a magnificent job in the restoration of King Tut's remains.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

A “World-class” Egyptology Library

Stanford University, located in Palo Alto, California, has acquired the library of one of the greatest Egyptologists of the 20th century. The fallowing are excerpts from the press release published by the Stanford News Service:

The collection of Wolja Erichsen (1890-1966), now at Stanford's Green Library, documents more than 1,500 years of Egyptian history, ranging from about 650 B.C. to about A.D. 1000. It includes Egypt's important transition from paganism to Christianity.

"The Erichsen library is one of the most significant and perhaps the last great Egyptology library in private hands," said Joe Manning, associate professor of classics. "It is difficult to overestimate the importance of acquiring this collection. Stanford's acquisition adds great momentum to our research and strengthens our profile as one of the very best places in the world to study ancient Mediterranean civilizations."

Erichsen, a professor at the University of Copenhagen, was a specialist in demotic Egyptian, the script and language of Egypt from 650 B.C. to A.D. 200, and Coptic, the last stage of the ancient Egyptian language that has particular importance for the study of early Christianity, especially since Egypt was the location of the earliest organized church.

Erichsen, for many years based in Berlin, is perhaps most famous for his important dictionary of demotic, Demotisches Glossar (1954), which is still fundamental in the field, and his Demotische Lesestücke (1937-39), a collection of demotic Egyptian texts used for teaching the language even today.

It's commonly believed that modern technology and techniques have antiquated the research of an earlier area, but the assumption does not necessarily hold in late Egyptology, a history that is very much a work-in-progress, according to Manning.

"There's a dialogue between the new and old material," he said. "Half of the known demotic texts are not even published. There are still papyri coming up out of the ground." Manning noted that, for instance, 8,000 new papyri of Greek and demotic texts were discovered in the last few seasons at a single site in Egypt. It shows that the available knowledge of the era is far from complete, and scholars are still playing catch-up. Much of the older work has not been revised or updated.

According to the press release, the quality and the quantity of text editions and studies of demotic and Coptic text editions included in Erichsen’s library is phenomenal. Many of the books in the library are limited editions published in Germany before 1940. Some of the volumes contain photographs of texts that no longer exist because the original papyri were lost or destroyed during World War II.

Scholars who specialize in Egyptian language and culture, especially those who are interested in demotic and Coptic texts, will be glad that these rare books are now available for research at Stanford University.

Read the news release by clicking here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Coptic, Demotic, Egypt

Found: A Temple Built by Ramses II

National Geographic is announcing that parts of a temple dating to the reign of pharaoh Ramses II have been discovered inside a mosque in Luxor, Egypt.

The following is an excerpt from the news report:

Experts restoring the historic mosque uncovered sections of columns, capitals, and elaborately inscribed reliefs from one of the ancient temple's courtyards built around 1250 B.C.

The previously concealed architectural elements reveal well-preserved hieroglyphics and unique scenes depicting the powerful pharaoh.

Among the most important scenes are those that feature Ramses II offering the sun god Amun Re two obelisks to be installed at the temple's front facade. One of those obelisks still stands at the temple, and the other is now at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

Another relief shows three statues of Ramses II wearing his traditional white crown.

Experts say the carved inscriptions provide some of best examples of cryptographic or enigmatic writing, an unusual form of hieroglyphic text in which each glyph could stand for an entire word, phrase, or concept.

Visit National Geographic and read the news report.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archeology, Egypt, Luxor, Ramses II

The Obelisk of Seti I

Egypt was famous for its obelisks. One of the most famous obelisks is the Piazza del Popolo Obelisk which was originally erected in the Sun Temple at Heliopolis, then-capital of ancient Egypt.

The obelisk originated with Seti I who decorated three sides of the obelisk. After his death, his son Ramses II carved the fourth and erected the obelisk in the Sun Temple. In the obelisk, Seti described himself as "the one who fills Heliopolis with obelisks that their rays may illuminate the Temple of Re." Ramses II, one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs, called himself the one who made “monuments as innumerable as the stars of heaven”

The latest issue of Saudi Aramco World (September/October 2007) contains an interesting article on the Seti I's obelisk. The article is written in the first person. The narrator is the obelisk itself, telling its story from its inception in the days of Seti through the days of Ramses II, through the days of Octavian, who became the first emperor of Egypt with the title of Augustus, and through the days of Nero who burned Rome.

The article has many beautiful pictures and provides a short history of Egypt from Seti I to modern day Rome. The following is an excerpt from the article:

I, the obelisk of Seti I and of his son Ramses II, was born and raised a devoted Egyptian in spite of my current address. At birth, I weighed more than 250 tons, and I measured more than 24 meters' (78') in length. It took an army of chanting men with chisels and heavy hammers to labor me out of the granite quarries near Elephantine. Workers swarmed over me for months, midwives on a mission, as the parent rock was cut away, and I was delivered, cut by cut, blow by blow. Great levers then lifted me to an embankment, where thousands pulled at straining ropes, dragging me, gently despite my great bulk, to the Nile. There, cradled in a special barge and the focus of a mobile ceremony, I journeyed down through history, from Thebes and Abydos to Memphis and Anu.

My noisy procession came ashore at Holy Anu, City of the Sun. Seti I, beloved of Ptah, conceived me as a monumental shaft of the sun's pure light that would stand before the temple of Ra. Before Pharaoh's wish was accomplished, however, fate intervened: Suddenly (as we Egyptians say), old Seti became Osiris, ruler no longer of the living, but the dead.

How I Was Raised In Rome (Gallery)I lay heartbroken and half-born until Seti's son, the long-lived Ramses II, took his place as Lord of the Two Lands, Upper and Lower Egypt-in 1279 BC, as I think you would say. Like a second father, Ramses set me towering over the sun-priests at Anu. In the hush that fell as I found my footing, everything finally made sense to me. At last I saw the world as it was intended to be-not that and near, but far below, stretching out in every direction with vistas of beauty and mystery. I marveled at the tiny upturned faces of the followers of Ra. I recognized nearby my brother obelisks, some already a thousand years older than I, arrayed across the city like a scattering family of tourists. Across the Nile, I glimpsed the pyramids that alone made me feel small among the monuments of men. What a wonderland in which to be raised! Holy Anu, now the suburbs of Matariya and `Ain Shams in Cairo -a city I have never seen, by the way-bustled back then as a center of worship and learning. Anu's fame attracted visitors from foreign lands, and they marveled at me. On my polished sides, the priests pointed out the deep-cut symbols that expressed the pride and piety of my two fathers, Seti and Ramses. The Greeks, who came here often, gave to these signs the popular name hieroglyphs, which translates into your language as "priestly carvings." They also coined a playful word for my siblings and me -obeliskos, meaning "a little souvlaki skewer." How envy makes men jest!

Read the article in its entirety by visiting Saudi Aramco World online.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Photo Credit: Saudi Aramco World
Photo 1: An unfinished obelisk at Aswan in Egypt
Photo 2: The Seti I Obelisk at Piazza del Popolo

Tags: Archaeology, Egypt, Obelisks, Ramses II, Seti I

Mummies From Around The World

Time has a pictorial essay showing several mummies from around the world. Very interesting.

View the mummies by visiting Time.com.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Egypt, Mummies

The Treasures of King Tut

The Evening Standard has published an article describing the upcoming exhibit of the treasures of Tutankhamun. The article contains a brief description of the exhibit and several beautiful pictures of some of the artifacts that will be shown.

What follows is an excerpt of the article:

THE KING

Tutankhamun was king of Egypt, ascending the throne around 1333 BC, when he was about nine. As a child, he did not rule directly and had two advisers: a military general named Horemheb and a male relative named Aye. The young Pharaoh married Ankhesenpaaten, who may have been his sister, and they had two daughters, who were both stillborn and whose mummies were discovered in his tomb. Tutankhamun reigned for only nine years and died before his 20th birthday after suffering a mysterious head injury. Experts cannot agree on whether he was murdered or simply had an accident, despite carrying out exhaustive forensic tests. The Pharaoh's body was mummified by priests and embalmers in a process which typically took 70 days. During the process all his organs were removed and put in small coffins of their own, each intricately decorated, and his body was wrapped in fine Egyptian linen.

THE TOMB

The tomb of Tutankhamun was dug in the traditional burial place of Egyptian royals, the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile across from modern Luxor (Thebes).

It was discovered, nearly intact, in 1922 by the British archaeologist Howard Carter, having not been touched for more than 3,000 years. Even when, at the end of the 19th century, the valley was examined by archaeologists his tomb was overlooked because some workers' huts had been built over the entrance. Carter, who stumbled upon it as much by luck as judgement, found scores of artifacts, including Tutankhamun's gold crown (diadem), the golden mask which covered his mummified face, amulets, jewels, a knife and sheath and the king's games box.

It took Carter and the Egyptian authorities a decade to catalogue the 120 priceless objects removed from the tomb. Although Tutankhamun was of little historical interest, the find caused a sensation and made him one of the most famous pharaohs of all. In 1972, an exhibition of some of the treasures was held at the British Museum.

THE CURSE

Following the discovery of Tutankhamun, there were rumours of a deadly curse surrounding those who had helped open the coffin. Lord Carnarvon, the wealthy amateur archaeologist and dilettante who funded the expedition, died less then a year after the opening of the tomb. He was found dead on 5 April 1923 in a room at the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor, giving credence to the "Mummy's Curse". It is thought he had contracted blood poisoning from an infected mosquito bite which developed into pneumonia. His room at the hotel has not been made available to guests since.

Up to six other people involved in the dig died over the next decade, including two of Lord Carnarvon's relatives and Howard Carter's secretary. Carter himself died, aged 64, from natural causes 17 years after the tomb was opened.

Read the article and view the pictures by clicking here.

The discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922 was very significant because until its discovery, little was known about Tutankhamun. The tomb contained ancient furniture and many beautiful objects. The most famous of these objects was the golden death mask which covered his face. Tutankhamun was the 12th ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the son of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (also known as Akhenaten). Because King Tut died at a young age (according to estimates, he was 18 when he died), he is also known as the Boy King.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Egypt, King Tut, Tutankhamun

Egypt and the Hyksos

National Geographic has announced the discovery of a large fortress near the Suez Canal that probably was used in Egypt’s attempt at protecting the Delta region against foreign invaders. One of these invaders were the Hyksos.

The Hyksos were a group of Asiatic people who conquered Egypt in the 17th century and ruled Egypt for more than 150 years. The word Hyksos means “rulers of a foreign land.” Through Josephus, the Hyksos came to be known as “Shepherd Kings.”

The following news report was published by the National Geographic on July 27, 2007:

The largest known fortress from ancient Egypt's days of the pharaohs has been unearthed near the Suez Canal, archaeologists announced on Sunday.

The massive fortress, discovered at a site called Tell-Huba, includes the graves of soldiers and horses and once featured a giant water-filled moat, scientists said.

The discovery dates back to ancient Egypt's struggle to reconquer the northern Sinai Peninsula from an occupying force known as the Hyksos.

The campaign against the Hyksos was depicted in etchings on the ancient walls of the Karnak Temple, 450 miles (720 kilometers) south of Cairo.

Archaeologists said the new find shows those stone-chiseled tales to be surprisingly accurate.

"The bones of humans and horses found in the area attest dramatically to the reality of such battles," said Zahi Hawass, director general of Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA).

"Previously, the area was known only from depictions in temples elsewhere in Egypt. We had no first-hand evidence of what was happening there during the pharaonic period."

The discovery was part of a broader effort called the North Sinai Archaeological Project, which was started in 1991 to identify and protect archaeological sites that were threatened by an industrial agriculture project.

The fort, called Fort Tjaru (or Tharo), was unearthed by a team led by Mohammed Abdul Maqsoud of the SCA. The fort dates from the 18th and 19th Dynasties (from 1560 to 1081 B.C.).

Ancient Empires Clash

Tjaru's mud brick walls were 42 feet (13 meters) thick, enclosing an area 546 yards (500 meters) by 273 yards (250 meters). Twenty-four watchtowers loomed over the parapets. A deep moat ringed the entire complex.

It was the biggest in a chain of 11 fortresses that stretched from Suez to the present-day city of Rafah on Egypt's border with the Palestinian territories.

The formidable defenses were built on bitter experience.

In the 17th century B.C., a people known as the Hyksos invaded from Canaan, sweeping across the Sinai to rule over the Nile Delta and northern Egypt.

The Hyksos' reign faded about a hundred years later. Subsequent pharaohs cast a wary eye to the east and militarized the northern Sinai.

By the reign of Ramses II, who ruled from 1279 to 1213 B.C., a new enemy was on the horizon: the Hittites, who came from present-day Turkey and battled the Egyptians until around 1258 B.C.

"The fort, built to secure the entrance to the Delta and protect Ramses II's city of Piramesse, demonstrates the importance to the Egyptians of securing the eastern border," Hawass said.

"The need to protect Egypt's eastern frontier was made clear by the invasion of the Hyksos, who were able to cross the desert into Egypt and establish themselves as rulers in the Delta region."

Much of this maneuvering is described at Karnak, the massive temple complex near Luxor.

"The most surprising thing about the fort is how accurately its architecture was depicted [at Karnak]," said Hawass, who is also a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence.

"The archaeologists have found evidence of the exact buildings shown, as well as of the moat which surrounded the citadel and of the large, wooden beams which spanned it."

An expedition led by archaeologist James Hoffmeier of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, unearthed a smaller fort known as the Lion's Lair about four miles (seven kilometers) east of Tjaru at Tell el-Borg.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Egypt, Hyksos, Karnak

Hatshepsut’ Mummy

Reuters is reporting that archaeologist have found Hatshepsut’ mummy. The following is the story released by Reuters:

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptologists think they have identified with certainty the mummy of Hatshepsut, the most famous queen to rule ancient Egypt, found in a humble tomb in the Valley of the Kings, an archaeologist said on Monday.

Egypt's chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, will hold a news conference in Cairo on Wednesday. The Discovery Channel said he would announce what it called the most important find in the Valley of the Kings since the discovery of King Tutankhamun.

The archaeologist, who asked not to be named, said the candidate for identification as the mummy of Hatshepsut was one of two females found in 1903 in a small tomb believed to be that of Hatshepsut's wet-nurse, Sitre In.

Several Egyptologists have speculated over the years that one of the mummies was that of the queen, who ruled from between 1503 and 1482 BC -- at the height of ancient Egypt's power.

The archaeologist said Hawass would present new evidence for an identification but that not all Egyptologists are convinced he will be able to prove his case.

"It's based on teeth and body parts ... It's an interesting piece of scientific deduction which might point to the truth," the archaeologist said.

Egyptologist Elizabeth Thomas speculated many years ago that one of the mummies was Hatshepsut's because the positioning of the right arm over the woman's chest suggested royalty.

Her mummy may have been hidden in the tomb for safekeeping after her death because her stepson and successor, Tuthmosis III, tried to obliterate her memory.

Donald Ryan, an Egyptologist who rediscovered the tomb in 1989, said on an Internet discussion board this month that there were many possibilities for the identities of the two female mummies found in the tomb, known as KV 60.

"Zahi Hawass recently has taken some major steps to address these questions. Both of the KV 60 mummies are in Cairo now and are being examined in various clever ways that very well might shed light on these questions," he added.

In an undated article on his Web site, Hawass cast doubt on the theory that the KV-60 mummy with the folded right arm was that of Hatshepsut.

"I do not believe this mummy is Hatshepsut. She has a very large, fat body with huge pendulous breasts, and the position of her arm is not convincing evidence of royalty," he wrote.

He was more optimistic about the mummy found in the wet-nurse's coffin and traditionally identified as the nurse's. That mummy is stored away in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

"The body of the mummy now in KV 60 with its huge breasts may be the wet-nurse, the original occupant of the coffin ... The mummy on the third floor at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo could be the mummy of Hatshepsut," Hawass wrote.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Egypt, Hatshepsut, Zahi Hawass

Ancient Israel in Sinai

I have been making a list of the books I am planning to read this summer. One of the books in my list is James K. Hoffmeier’s Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition. James K. Hoffmeier is Professor of Old Testament and Near Eastern Archaeology, Trinity International

The following is a description of the book supplied by the publisher:

In his pathbreaking Israel in Egypt James K. Hoffmeier sought to refute the claims of scholars who doubt the historical accuracy of the biblical account of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt. Analyzing a wealth of textual, archaeological, and geographical evidence, he put forth a thorough defense of the biblical tradition. Hoffmeier now turns his attention to the Wilderness narratives of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. As director of the North Sinai Archaeological Project, Hoffmeier has led several excavations that have uncovered important new evidence supporting the Wilderness narratives, including a major New Kingdom fort at Tell el-Borg that was occupied during the Israelite exodus. Hoffmeier employs these archaeological findings to shed new light on the route of the exodus from Egypt. He also investigates the location of Mount Sinai, and offers a rebuttal to those who have sought to locate it in northern Arabia and not in the Sinai peninsula as traditionally thought. Hoffmeier addresses how and when the Israelites could have lived in Sinai, as well as whether it would have been possible for Moses to write down the law received at Mount Sinai. Building on the new evidence for the Israelite sojourn in Egypt, Hoffmeier explores the Egyptian influence on the Wilderness tradition. For example, he finds Egyptian elements in Israelite religious practices, including the use of the tabernacle, and points to a significant number of Egyptian personal names among the generation of the exodus. The origin of Israel is a subject of much debate and the wilderness tradition has been marginalized by those who challenge its credibility. In Ancient Israel in Sinai , Hoffmeier brings the Wilderness tradition to the forefront and makes a case for its authenticity based on solid evidence and intelligent analysis.

The published also included reviews of the book written by K. Lawson Younger, Jr., co-editor of Mesopotamia and the Bible: Comparative Explorations; Richard H. Wilkinson, Professor and Director, Egyptian Expedition, The University of Arizona ; Ellen F. Morris, Department of Classics, Ancient History, and Egyptology, University of Wales Swansea; and Baruch Halpern, Chaiken Family Chair in Jewish Studies, Penn State.

Later in the summer, I will write a post and review the claims of the book.

I want to thank Kevin at biblicalia for the tip about the book.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Ancient Israel, Egypt, Exodus, Sinai, Wilderness Tradition

An Ancient Egyptian Tomb

The Associated Press has announced the discovery on an ancient tomb in Egypt. Below is the news release of the discovery as reported by the Associated Press.

CAIRO, Egypt - A mud brick tomb dating back more than 4,000 years has been discovered near Egypt's most ancient pyramid in the Saqqara complex south of Cairo, antiquities official announced Monday. The tomb, which was found by an Egyptian-Australian mission, belonged to Ka-Hay, who kept divine records, and his wife, said Zahi Hawass, Egypt's antiquities chief. Excavators found five wooden statues depicting the tomb's owner and his wife in a niche at the tomb's forefront. Among the wooden figures was a unique double statue of a seated Ka-Hay and his wife, Hawass said. The tomb, which also features two offering tables and a wooden false door, was found near the famous Step Pyramid of King Djoser — believed to be Egypt's oldest pyramid — in the necropolis of King Teti, a funerary area containing scores of burial chambers, false doors that ancient Egyptians said the souls of the dead would use to leave their tombs, and temples. The necropolis where the mud brick tomb was found is built alongside the collapsed pyramid of Teti, who ruled during ancient Egypt's 6th dynasty, more than 4,300 years ago. The Ka-Hay tomb dates back to the late 5th or early 6th dynasty, Hawass said. Saqqara, located about 12 miles south of Cairo, is one of Egypt's most popular tourist sites and hosts a collection of temples, tombs and funerary complexes

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Egypt