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Dec. 8th, 2013 10:20 pmMummy Mystery: Multiple Tombs Hidden in Egypt's Valley of Kings
..."The consensus is that there are probably several smaller tombs like the recently found KV 63 and 64 yet to be found. But there is still the possibility of finding a royal tomb," wrote Ghonim in the email. "The queens of the late Eighteenth Dynasty are missing, as are some pharaohs of the New Kingdom, such as Ramesses VIII."
That sentiment was echoed by the famous, and at times controversial, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass at a lecture in Toronto this past summer. Hawass was the leader of the Valley of the Kings team.
"The tomb of Thutmose II, not found yet, the tomb of Ramesses VIII is not found yet, all the queens of dynasty 18 [1550-1292 B.C.] were buried in the valley and their tombs not found yet," said Hawass, former minister for antiquities, during the lecture. "This could be another era for archaeology," he added in an interview.
Ghonim said that it is hard to say how many tombs remain undiscovered but it is "more than just a couple."
Locating tombs in the Valley of the Kings is difficult to do even with ground-penetrating radar, a non-destructive technique in which scientists bounce high-frequency radio waves off the ground and measure the reflected signals to find buried structures. [10 Modern Tools for Indiana Jones]
Radar instruments and related computing power have vastly improved in the last couple of decades, scientists say. Even so, it "is difficult to avoid false positives in a place like the Valley of the Kings. There (are) many faults and natural features that can look like walls and tombs."
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Crumbling Walls in Pompeii Prompt Outrage
A wall collapsed in the ruins of Pompeii this week, just the latest incident in a series of preservation woes for the ancient city, Reuters reported.
Amid recent heavy rains and wind, a wall on one of the city's major streets crumbled, as did plaster on Pompeii's House of the Small Fountain, a building famous for its lavish frescoes.
Though the European Union has funded a 105 million euro ($140 million) restoration project at Pompeii, work at the site is only partially underway, with contract bids still being assessed, Reuters reported. Some archaeologists have pointed fingers at the Italian government for mismanaging the project.
- - -
Scorpions in Antiquity
“Scorpions are a horrible plague,” declared Pliny, “poisonous like vipers except that they inflict even worse torture by killing their victims with lingering, painful death that lasts three days.” “Everyone detests scorpions” chimed in Aelian, another natural historan of ancient Rome. In the desert of the Middle East the deadly creatures “lurk beneath every stone and every clod of dirt.” Scorpions posed such a menace along the caravan routes that Persian kings of antiquity routinely ordered great scorpion hunts and paid bounties for the most killed. In the Sinai Peninsula, said Aelian, giant scorpions “prey on lizards and cobras.” “Anyone who treads barefooted on scorpion droppings suffers terrible ulcers on the sole of the foot.” The largest scorpion species are 7-8 inches and they do hunt lizards and snakes, but scorpion poop pellets are not known to be dangerous to step on.
Aelian listed eleven types of scorpion: white, black, smoky, red, green, pot-bellied, crab-like, fiery red-orange, those with a double sting, those with seven segments, and those with wings. Most of these have been identified by entomologists; the others may have been venomous insects mistaken for the stinging arthropods. Twenty different scorpion species are known today in the Mideast. None of them fly, although many ancient texts refer to flying scorpions and winged scorpions are depicted in ancient Mesopotamian art. Pliny explained this error by pointing out that very strong desert winds and sandstorms gave the scorpions “the power of flight” and while they are airborne they extend their legs to resemble membraned wings. Pliny also claimed that scorpion stings were most deadly in the morning before the creatures have used up their venom.
The sting of a scorpion is terrifically painful, causing profuse sweating, intense thirst, great agitation, muscle spasms, convulsions, swollen genitals, slow pulse, irregular breathing, and death. Common defenses against scorpions since antiquity include wearing high boots and sleeping in hammocks or raised beds with each bedpost in a basin of water. Sprinkling scorpions with powdered aconite (monkshood, a poisonous plant) caused the creatures to shrivel up, remarked Aelian, but they were supposedly revived by hellebore, another toxic plant.
- - -
..."The consensus is that there are probably several smaller tombs like the recently found KV 63 and 64 yet to be found. But there is still the possibility of finding a royal tomb," wrote Ghonim in the email. "The queens of the late Eighteenth Dynasty are missing, as are some pharaohs of the New Kingdom, such as Ramesses VIII."
That sentiment was echoed by the famous, and at times controversial, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass at a lecture in Toronto this past summer. Hawass was the leader of the Valley of the Kings team.
"The tomb of Thutmose II, not found yet, the tomb of Ramesses VIII is not found yet, all the queens of dynasty 18 [1550-1292 B.C.] were buried in the valley and their tombs not found yet," said Hawass, former minister for antiquities, during the lecture. "This could be another era for archaeology," he added in an interview.
Ghonim said that it is hard to say how many tombs remain undiscovered but it is "more than just a couple."
Locating tombs in the Valley of the Kings is difficult to do even with ground-penetrating radar, a non-destructive technique in which scientists bounce high-frequency radio waves off the ground and measure the reflected signals to find buried structures. [10 Modern Tools for Indiana Jones]
Radar instruments and related computing power have vastly improved in the last couple of decades, scientists say. Even so, it "is difficult to avoid false positives in a place like the Valley of the Kings. There (are) many faults and natural features that can look like walls and tombs."
- - -
Crumbling Walls in Pompeii Prompt Outrage
A wall collapsed in the ruins of Pompeii this week, just the latest incident in a series of preservation woes for the ancient city, Reuters reported.
Amid recent heavy rains and wind, a wall on one of the city's major streets crumbled, as did plaster on Pompeii's House of the Small Fountain, a building famous for its lavish frescoes.
Though the European Union has funded a 105 million euro ($140 million) restoration project at Pompeii, work at the site is only partially underway, with contract bids still being assessed, Reuters reported. Some archaeologists have pointed fingers at the Italian government for mismanaging the project.
- - -
Scorpions in Antiquity
“Scorpions are a horrible plague,” declared Pliny, “poisonous like vipers except that they inflict even worse torture by killing their victims with lingering, painful death that lasts three days.” “Everyone detests scorpions” chimed in Aelian, another natural historan of ancient Rome. In the desert of the Middle East the deadly creatures “lurk beneath every stone and every clod of dirt.” Scorpions posed such a menace along the caravan routes that Persian kings of antiquity routinely ordered great scorpion hunts and paid bounties for the most killed. In the Sinai Peninsula, said Aelian, giant scorpions “prey on lizards and cobras.” “Anyone who treads barefooted on scorpion droppings suffers terrible ulcers on the sole of the foot.” The largest scorpion species are 7-8 inches and they do hunt lizards and snakes, but scorpion poop pellets are not known to be dangerous to step on.
Aelian listed eleven types of scorpion: white, black, smoky, red, green, pot-bellied, crab-like, fiery red-orange, those with a double sting, those with seven segments, and those with wings. Most of these have been identified by entomologists; the others may have been venomous insects mistaken for the stinging arthropods. Twenty different scorpion species are known today in the Mideast. None of them fly, although many ancient texts refer to flying scorpions and winged scorpions are depicted in ancient Mesopotamian art. Pliny explained this error by pointing out that very strong desert winds and sandstorms gave the scorpions “the power of flight” and while they are airborne they extend their legs to resemble membraned wings. Pliny also claimed that scorpion stings were most deadly in the morning before the creatures have used up their venom.
The sting of a scorpion is terrifically painful, causing profuse sweating, intense thirst, great agitation, muscle spasms, convulsions, swollen genitals, slow pulse, irregular breathing, and death. Common defenses against scorpions since antiquity include wearing high boots and sleeping in hammocks or raised beds with each bedpost in a basin of water. Sprinkling scorpions with powdered aconite (monkshood, a poisonous plant) caused the creatures to shrivel up, remarked Aelian, but they were supposedly revived by hellebore, another toxic plant.
- - -
