Showing posts with label Ancient Egypt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ancient Egypt. Show all posts

Sunday, February 7, 2010

The Treasures of the World’s Cultures exhibition brings together objects from the unparalleled collection of the British Museum. It is formed of artefacts from all historical eras and from all parts of the world.  From a stone handaxe that represents the first technology of our earliest human ancestors, the exhibition surveys human culture across civilisations, tracing the history of mankind from prehistory to the modern age.



The displayed material is both materially and visually diverse, ranging from classical sculptures to exquisite gold jewellery excavated in ancient Mesopotamia, from drawings by Renaissance masters to Native North American animal-skin coats.  The exhibition is divided into seven principle sections, the objects being organised according to geography and chronology. Object descriptions and introductory texts will encourage audiences to compare and contrast human experience and cultural achievement across time and place.



The Treasures exhibition allows the visitor to experience, in a distilled form, the breadth and diversity of the British Museum collection as it is presented in London.  This is the first time that this successful exhibition will be displayed at a European venue.





Here are few artifacts that will be displayed:



Bronze statuette of the goddess Bastet love







Sarcophagus Dzheho





Brass plaque from Benin







Kneeling statue of Ramses IV







Fragment of a copy of the Rosetta Stone







A copy of the Rosetta Stone







Bronze Shield from Wales and England





The image of the head of a bearded man, Khorsabad, northern Iraq







Tool gamelan, the island of Java







The statue of the two hounds, Lazio, Italy







Two-headed figure with the Society Islands







Sarcophagus Dzheho







The statue of the deity of Nimrud, northern Iraq





Women’s boots luck in high heels from Teri Greaves







Golden cast mark ruler or priest, Colombia







The statue of Eros, the Greek god of love







Ceramic cone Khaled Ben Slimane







Two lamps for the mosque from Egypt





Deer and pine trees in the snow – Japan.







Brass head of the monument from Benin







Brass plaque from Benin







Galaxy Tokuda Yasokichi III







Man-bird depicted on a boulder from Rapanui





COLLECTION OF WORLD 
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One of the greatest—and last—of the Nubians who ruled Egypt in the seventh and eighth centuries B.C., the pharaoh known as Taharqa restored the grandeur of ancient temples along the Nile while fighting off Assyrians who invaded from the north. Assyrian king Assurbanipal’s troops finally pushed him south to his Nubian homeland, where he died in 664 B.C.







After capturing city after city along the Nile River in 730 B.C., troops commanded by King Piye of Nubia storm the great walled capital of Memphis with flaming arrows. Piye modeled himself after powerful pharaohs such as Ramses II (statues), claiming to be the rightful ruler of Egypt. His triumph over the northern chiefs would unite all Egypt under Nubian rule for three-quarters of a century.







Rows of Nubian archers march in stride in a wooden model, about 20 inches high, discovered in Assiut in the tomb of an 11th dynasty provincial governor named Mesehti. This period, around 2000 B.C., was one of turmoil in Egypt, and many local chiefs recruited Nubians and other foreigners to fight in their armies.







The ruins of columns, along with one restored to its full height, mark the entrance porch that King Taharqa added to the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak, one of ancient Egypt’s most sacred sites.







Statues of Nubian kings up to ten feet high were found buried at the Nubian capital of Kerma, in Sudan. Smashed during Egyptian King Psamtek II’s incursion south around 593 B.C., they were recently reassembled.







At the height of his power, King Taharqa leads his queens through the crowds during a festival at the temple complex of Nubia’s Jebel Barkal, its pinnacle gleaming with gold. Accompanied by a sacred ship bearing an image of the god Amun, Taharqa is robed in a priestly leopard skin and crowned with the double uraeus that declares him Lord of the Two Lands—ruler of both Nubia and Egypt.







Queen Kawit, shown on her sarcophagus having her hair dressed, was one of the noble women believed to have been sent from Nubia to make diplomatic marriages with 11th-dynasty pharaoh Mentuhotep II.









At Jebel Barkal, Taharqa created a temple dedicated to the goddess Mut, the consort of Amun—part of a grand building campaign throughout his empire, from northern Egypt down into Nubia.







A lion devouring a Nubian, crafted during the 19th dynasty possibly as a fly-whisk handle, symbolizes the valiant ruler of Egypt subjugating the Nubians to protect his country and avert chaos.







Nubia was a major source of gold for ancient Egypt. At Thebes the tomb of King Tutankhamun’s viceroy to Nubia—a man named Huy—shows Nubian royalty in procession delivering rings of gold as part of their tribute to their overlord.







The skilled goldsmiths of Nubia created masterpieces such as a pendant of the goddess Isis from the tomb of a Nubian king at Nuri.







Centuries after Nubia lost control of Egypt, it continued to follow its neighbor’s tradition of marking royal tombs with pyramids, like these restored at Meroë. Today Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

There she stood before me, like she had guided me to her. I stood in awe as I looked upon her magical being. Who was she, for what reason did she exist? Of all the beings that I had seen, never had my eyes seen her before, and yet there she was.
The Cobra Goddess Urt-HekauUrt-Hekau is her name. She is an ancient goddess, so much so that even the old Egyptians called her ancient. She belongs to the road of the Underworld, the dark land between Earth and heaven. Who is she, seems as mysterious as the pyramid creation itself, what was her purpose, no one knows for curtain. But no matter what we understand or lack to understand in our modern world, she is clearly important. And the lack of knowledge about her is probably further proof of her importance. I say this because the most holy of holiness has always been the least written about especially in our modern books.

Her name contains the word of Magic itself [Heka], and the Cobra was a symbol of power.
Personal note…
Right now I am thinking about Isis when she tricked Ra into giving her, his real name. In this mythological story she poisons him, with something he doesn’t even know. When Isis did this towards Ra, she was a kind of embodiment of magic itself. At further observation, I find it rather odd that Ra could not heal himself from her poison, if she is a smaller god than him. Maybe she was more or less equal to him in the heavenly sense. By this I mean, Ra is the Sun, so if she is a star then this would make more sense, as the stars are both equal and more than our Sun. The Sun is mostly important to our environment/life force here upon earth. But the stars in general are as important and as great, just in ways we have still to figure out.

The secret of Anubis - Duamutef or Tuamutef
Behind the many layers of Anubis, lies a truth which cannot be denied. Through his nature we are lead to the magnificent guardians of the Coffin, guardian of the four corners of the Earth. Duamutef which is a fascinating creature of the four guardians is another Jackal but a separate character from Anubis. Duamutef/Tuamute is actually believed to the one of the founders of the Zodiac.

To understand this level of ancient Egyptian knowledge, you must open your mind to symbolism and history written by poets and artist who paint it in wonderful colors. It is a history written in a mysterious way, and only few come close to understanding the complete picture.
When we speak about Duamutef/Tuamutef, we are actually speaking about one of the four sons of Horus; these are the four guardians ‘jars’ which are also referred to as the canopic jars, where the deceased organs were placed in. And when we are speaking of these four blessed ones, we are actually also speaking about the seven divine beings. The four sons of Horus are actually a part of the seven divine beings, where the three are hardly spoken about. As you can see, there is a complex system behind the gods and goddess, but remember these are the heavenly gods, those above the earthly gods. There is no temple dedicated to these gods, yet they are older and more complex than the gods and goddess that are mostly mentioned.
Some believe that the Jackal is actually not a divinity in the manner that we understand it, but is rather a ‘type’ to be even more precise the ‘Judgment type’ below as well as above. This is further proven by the ancient texts, in the different manners we find the jackal character in. In one passage in the book of the dead, the seven divine beings (the sons of Horus) are seen standing behind the Anubis chest. And the text clearly distinguish that one is the Anubis chest, and Duamutef/Tuamutef is standing besides his six divine brothers.

Duamutef - Tuamutef's name
The Four sons of Horus are;
Imsety – South Duamutef – East
Hapy – North Qebesenuef - West
As the four sons (and even souls) of Horus, they were the friends of the deceased, helping in rituals as well as guiders in the ‘passing’.

Karima standing between two Sekhmet statues

Please do note, that I am not standing on the ancient monument, but actually behind it.
I would never be so disrespectful.

Every God and goddess of the ancient days, has two sides to their nature. On one hand they were protective, but on the other hand they were also destructive. The Lion-headed goddess Sekhmet was as destructive as the Sun itself, and through his fire she would almost destroy mankind.

She was also known as the Great Lady beloved of Ptah holy one powerful one, Eye of Ra. Sekhmet’s name means ‘powerful’ or ‘the female powerful one’
She was razor sharp like the Sun’s rays, in her most destructive nature she would breathe fire unto mankind.
The hot desert winds were said to be the breath of Sekhmet.

The Destruction of mankind.
She was a vital character in one of the ‘Eye’ myths, known as the destruction of mankind. When Ra became an old man, humans started to plot against him. Ra then sent Sekhmet forth to teach humans a lesson, but Sekhmet became so intoxicated by human blood, that she was unable to stop her rage. It was actually Hathor that was sent out in the form of Sekhmet, to teach mankind a lesson. Ra could not bear to see his child in such a blood rush and he took pity on mankind. But Ra had granted her so much divine power, that not even he could stop her. Ra would have to trick Sekhmet.
He sent a messenger that was as quick as the wind itself, to Elephantine Island in Aswan. The messenger was instructed to bring Ra a very large quantity of the fruit called Mandrake, because its juice was as red as blood. And in large quantities the fruit caused great sleepiness. Over one night this fruit was turned into thick wine that would trick the eye of anyone. Ra had mankind help in spreading the wine every where they could, the task was done shortly before dawn. Sekhmet had been sleeping all night, her ruthless hunts each day made her sleep deeply at night. When she awoke, she was again hungry for a fight and for the taste of the mortal’s blood. As she walked into a field she saw the land bathing in what she thought was blood. She happily thought it was her doing, and she smiled. She bent down to drink of it, and the more she drank the more she wanted. What Sekhmet did not know, was that she was actually drinking the Mandrake fruit that had been mixed with barely (beer). She finally fell into a deep sleep, and her father called a whisper into the air “Come, come in peace, O fair and gracious goddess.” And so did the killing spree end. Ra ruled on, but created a celebration of this event in the city of Amen.

Sekhmet is a very old goddess, she is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts as being the one that conceived the king. She could protect against plagues, as she could cause them, she was also a healing deity. She was the consort of Ptah and the mother of Nefertem.

Or Anpu;

The more you get into the Gods and goddess of ancient Egypt, the more you will realize how complex it really was, and one must acknowledge how complex their religious beliefs were.

Anubis in Abydos - By Karima L.

I took this picture in Abydos

The famous Anubis, is much more than our minds today can comprehend. You will find him on temple walls, and in the most ancient text of Egypt namely the pyramid texts (2600 B.C.) He is much older than Osiris, and his ancient (city) Nome is Abydos (read about the temple of time - The temple of a million years)

What precisely Anubis means, has been lost, because of its ancient times. He was the son of many different gods and goddess, as time would come to change, so would the people’s views about who was connected to who.
His connection to Osiris and how fare back this god is can be seen in the ‘judgment scene’ from the book of the dead. He might even have more power than Osiris in this scene, in that Anubis/Duamutef is able to be active and is the ‘weigher’ of hearts, where as Osiris is always seen in a mummified state – immovable.
judgment sceneSome of his titles were:
"Foremost of the Westerners"
"The lord of the scared land"
"He who is upon his scared mountain"
“Ruler of the bows”
“He who is in the place of embalming”
“Foremost of the divine booth”.

He is also thought to be a star (or at least one of his character-like beings is)
Some believed Anubis meant, time.

The Greeks and Roman also chose to portray Anubis.

Input; Is also said to be the female counterpart of Anubis – (She had her own cult in one of the Upper Egyptian nome’s).

Wepwawet (or Ap-uat); (An unusual name if you ask me).
Probably the oldest known Jackal god in ancient Egypt. His name Wapwawet means “Opener of the ways”. (To me this character reminds me a lot of Tuamutef/Duamutef).


Duamutef or Tuamutef; Is one of the heavenly sons of Horus, the heavenly sons of Horus are four together, and with their tree hidden brothers, they make up the Seven divine beings. They are said to live among the stars, as guardians of Osiris.

I have my own personal fascination with this creature, and my own personal journey, I adore him especially in the form of Tuamutef/Duamutef. My book ‘the secret of Anubis, the winter triangle’ is actually about this beautiful animal. He is a separate character from Anubis, and very vital to the Egyptian beliefs system. He was a guide for the soul.

In the start of the book you will get a quick introduction to Anubis, and some of his story from ancient Egypt. As you read on you will take another step into a parallel world of the ancient Greeks, and reveal a very visible connection between the character of Anubis and to that of the constellation of Canis Major, where Sirius is located. Sirius was the queen of the decan’s, and with her the new year would begin. If Canis Major is Anubis the good of the passing, then it would be most duality fitting that his nose would be that of Sirius – as they did not believe in death (that would have been Hell for them) they would be given life again.
It’s a book about the Seven divine beings, which stands behind the Great bear, as they guard the path of Osiris.

The great Pyramid at Giza is more known for its magnificent size and the architectural design and measurements. Even today it stands much greater than any other ancient monument of ancient Egypt, its perfection is still incredible clear. But there are many mysterious sides to the Pyramids, which are hardly mentioned, and here is one.

An interesting fact;
Is about what was found inside the actual great pyramid at Giza.
In 1872 a man named Waynman Dixon were exploring the great pyramid’s queen’s chamber, when he came to discover two shafts, one in the north wall and one in the south wall. The shafts were actually hidden (but only in this chamber), and so he removed the rocks until he came to the shaft ‘canal’.

Dixon found;
• A small piece of a wood staff/rod thing
• A small bronze hook
• A Granite sphere/ball

the Dixon Relics
These items can be found at the British museum -
Also known as the Dixon Relics.

The rod/staff piece which he found, seems to be lost or something? ? Some believe that there could have been preformed Carbon 14 analyses of the wood piece, so they would have a date of the objects (or rather one of the object).
In 1993 the German Engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink investigated the shafts of the Queen’s chamber, with a small video camera which was attached upon a mini robot. One of the pictures showed what you see upon the picture below. Two rod/staff like objects, one was Dixons rod, and the other one looked a lot like the piece of what Dixon had found back in 1872.
The Dixon Relics
click to read the article by Zahi Hawass

It will be interesting to see when these objects are taken out of the shaft, even more interesting would be when the rod/staff like object dates too.

I haven’t heard anything about, what these objects could have been used for. I believe there is some suspicion about the hook and the shafts doors which are still blocked.

Personal note:
When I saw that program on national geographic, where they took the small camera robot as fare as they could and hit a door, I had an interesting thought.
When they made a little hole to see what lay beyond the shaft door, they were met by rock material. I clearly remembered that I thought it was a round thing of some sort, I could see some curves which are mostly found in round surfaces, and for me the material looked a lot like the material of the granite ball that Dixon found.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Visitors to Discovery’s TLC site unwrap a world of mummies as they explore “how the dead are living’” The Unwrapped site tells the stories of more than 20 naturally and artificially preservedmummies from around the globe—from South America’s Andes and China’s deserts, to Europe’s bogs and Egypt’s tombs. As audiences explore the site, they find and unravel the secrets of both ancient time travelers and surprisingly modernmummies . A blend of science and imagination reveals how each lived, died, and came to survive the ravages of time. A re-creation of an ancient Egyptian tomb lets audiences discover, unwrap, and create an Egyptian mummy, then explore the tomb as it might have looked when the mummy was first sealed in its sarcophagus.

Designed for audiences with high-speed connections, Unwrapped combines animation, story text, music, streaming video, and audio commentary to create an environment that is both cinematic and user-responsive. The site’s design and functionality are inspired by archaeological metaphorsand the spirit of exploration. Users probe beneath a layer of linen mummy wrappings to move between story levels and find the mummies hidden underneath. Within each story, a controller lets the user pace the narrative and pause to access media-rich content embedded within animation sequences. In theEgyptian tomb , re-created by 3-D illustrator Jim Ludtke, a custom cursor simulates a flashlight, while a sliding controller lets users make and unwrap a classic Egyptian mummy. Each mummy has a custom soundtrack that transforms 10-second loops into complex, seamless musical scores.











































 

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