Egyptologically Speaking: Interview with Dr Garry Shaw about his book “The Egyptian Myths”
In March 2014, Dr Garry Shaw’s new book was published in hardback. The Egyptian Myths: A Guide to Ancient Gods and Legends is Dr Shaw’s third sole-authored book, and his second aimed at the general public. An introductory guide to ancient Egypt’s myths, it does not duplicate existing books, offering instead a different way of approaching the central beliefs that made up Egypt’s formal religion. In this interview Dr Shaw discusses both his book and future projects. The questions were contributed by a number of readers, both from Egyptological and from Egyptological’s Facebook page, for which many thanks. [more…]
Meretseger: She Who Loves Silence. The Cobra Deity at Deir el-Medina
In the Western world the cobra rarely inspires sentiments of benevolence, warmth or good intentions. It is not a cuddly beast. Matters were more ambivalent in ancient Egypt where a range of wild animals were identified with deities imbued with admired values of physical strength, protection and courage, as well as less obviously admirable qualities like aggression, retribution, vengeance and retaliation. Like Sobek, the crocodile deity, and Sekhmet the lioness, the cobra deities comprised a mixture of attributes that centred on their fierce ability to defend themselves and to strike, hissing and spitting poison, to annihilate their aggressors. [more…]
A visit to the British Museum’s exhibition “Ancient Lives. New Discoveries”
By Andrea Byrnes. Published in Egyptological, Magazine Reviews. 16th June 2014 Ancient Lives. New Discoveries British Museum Exhibition dates: 22nd May – 30th November 2014 Sponsored by Julius Baer; Technology Partner – Samsung When I arrived home after visiting and enjoying Ancient Lives, I found that a friend who has also visited the […] [more…]
Book review – “Mysteries of the Libyan Desert” by W.J. Harding King
William Joseph Harding-King was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. His first journey into the Sahara took place in 1900, after which he published his book In Search of the Masked Tawareks. He returned to the Sahara again in 1908 and then again between 1909 to 1912. His contributions to a number of journals represented a significant contribution of knowledge to desert studies and he was awarded the Gill Memorial Memorial Medal by the Royal Geographical Society in 1919. Mysteries of the Libyan Desert was considered to be his most important book. [more…]
Book Review: “Egyptian Things to Make and Do” by Emily Bone
It is probably very clear from the title (and if not, from the images) that this is a review of a book designed for children. It is an activity book, with a set of projects for children to make with the assistance of adults. The projects are colourful and imaginative, and many would form the basis of a fancy dress outfit. Others are just fun things for children to make. [more…]
Edition - April, 2014
Gertrude Caton-Thompson on the problems of creating a unified Predynastic chronology, 1928
This brief article is based on a few pages from the book, and is made up almost entirely of Caton-Thompson sound-bites about her work in this area. It is intended as an insight into the work that she did on Predynastic chronologies and the clear thinking that helped her to be one of the most important archaeologists working in Egypt at the time. [more…]
Edition - March, 2014
Book Review: “Another Egypt” by Bill Dixon
Bill Dixon’s book reads like a series of short excerpts from the travel journal of a lively, jocular and convivial man who enjoys observing his travelling companions just as much as he does the lovely surrounding landscape, and has the skill to convey his impressions very effectively. [more…]
The paintings from the lost tomb-chapel of Nebamun
The paintings from the tomb of Nebamun are justifiably famous for their beauty and incredible dynamism. The British Museum purchased the panels that it has in 1821 . They were located by a Greek tomb robber named Giovanni d’Athanasi, who worked as an agent for Henry Salt in Luxor. Unfortunately d’Athanasi was angered by the finder’s fee offered and he refused to give up the location of the tomb from where the panels had been removed. The location of the chapel remains unknown to this day. [more…]
Edition - February, 2014
Ancient Egyptian Cosmetic Spoons of the New Kingdom
I was in the Louvre in Paris recently and was impressed by the exhibit of cosmetic spoons, so beautifully carved and so sinuously expressive. Although they are usually referred to as cosmetic, ointment or unguent spoons, their function has never been definitively established and they come in a variety of forms. This short article is a brief introduction to a much wider topic. [more…]
Marianne Brocklehurst and the West Park Museum, Macclesfield. Part 2
In part 1 I looked at how Marianne Brocklehurst acquired a collection of some 500 Ancient Egyptian objects during the three trips to Egypt that she records in her diary, cartoons, sketches and watercolours. In this section I look at the museum and the collection that Marianne and her brother Francis built for the benefit of the residents of Macclesfield in northwest England. [more…]