Ancient Egypt

The final resting place of Cleopatra and the tomb of King Tut"s wife could both be found this year.Chief of Egypt"s Supreme Council of Antiquities Dr. Zahi Hawass is optimistic that 2011 will bring about some groundbreaking discoveries. On top of continuing his efforts to solve the mystery of the secret doors in the Great Pyramid he will also be searching foran undiscovered pyramid that is thought to be buried in the Dashur area.

Located some 50 miles south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, Dashur is the site of several pyramids. The best known are the “Bent” pyramid, so named because of its sloping upper half, the “Red" pyramid, named after the reddish limestone from which it is built, and the “Black” pyramid ofAmenemhat III.  

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The remains of statues including those of a pharoah and an Egyptian baboon god have been unearthed.The find was made during an excavation at Amenhotep’s mortuary temple, the largest in ancient Egypt. The baboon statue is believed to be that of the god Hapi who was depicted as ababoon by the ancient Egyptians.

Archaeologists have discovered fragments of a statue of a pharaoh and an ancient god during a routine excavation at what was once the largest temple in ancient Egypt, culture minister Farouk Hosni said on Thursday.  

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A new study shows that Tutankhamun, Egypt’s famous “boy-king” who died around the age of 18, suffered a “massive crushing tearing injury to his chest” that likely would have killed him. X-rays and CT scans have previously shown that the pharaoh’s heart, chest wall, the front part of his sternum and adjacent ribs, are missing. In Ancient Egypt the heart was like the brain and removing it was something that was not done. “The heart, considered the seat of reason, emotion, memory and personality, was the only major organ intentionally left in the body,” writes Dr. Robert Ritner in the book Ancient Egypt. The new research was done by Dr. Benson Harer, a medical doctor with an Egyptology background, who was given access to nearly 1700 CT scan images of Tut that were taken by a team of Egyptian scientists in 2005. Dr. Zahi Hawass, head of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, gave permission for the work.

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Image Credit: Jon Bodsworth

A new study of the Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun has revealed new clues as to what killed him.Previous X-Rays and CT scans showed his heart and chest wall to be missing despite the Egyptians never removing the heart during mummification, now new research has revealed that the missing parts were probably due to amassive chest injury he would have sustained and would be what most likely lead to his death.

A new study shows that Tutankhamun, Egypt’s famous “boy-king” who died around the age of 18, suffered a “massive crushing tearing injury to his chest” that likely would have killed him.  

View: Full article |  Source: Heritage-Key