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Jan. 5th, 2014 12:35 pmKing Tut's Mummified Erect Penis May Point to Ancient Religious Struggle
Egypt's King Tutankhamun was embalmed in an unusual way, including having his penis mummified at a 90-degree angle, in an effort to combat a religious revolution unleashed by his father, a new study suggests.
The pharaoh was buried in Egypt's Valley of the Kings without a heart (or a replacement artifact known as a heart scarab); his penis was mummified erect; and his mummy and coffins were covered in a thick layer of black liquid that appear to have resulted in the boy-king catching fire.
Former minister Zahi Hawass compares Egypt's Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to pharaoh
Archaeologist and former antiquities minister says rise of army leader mirrors ascent of Mentuhotep II 4,000 years ago
When Mohamed Morsi became the second Egyptian president to be ousted in three years in July, many felt history was repeating itself. For Zahi Hawass, a flamboyant antiquities minister under Hosni Mubarak, that feeling was particularly acute – though he was thinking of a much older precedent.
For him, the move by the army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi evoked memories not just of his old boss's ignominious exit but the rise to power of the pharaoh Mentuhotep II, who took charge of Egypt about 4,150 years ago.
In Hawass's view, the upheaval Egypt has experienced since 2011 mirrors the century of chaos that preceded Mentuhotep's accession to the Egyptian throne in 2046BC. Mentuhotep restored order to Egypt – much as Hawass argues Sisi is about to do today. "We need an elected officer – a strong man – to control the country. And in my opinion, Sisi is our only hope."
Now Hawass is back on Egypt's payroll, as an ambassador for the country's tourism ministry. Almost unthinkable a year ago, he is even angling for a return to his old job as antiquities minister – once a permanent government is installed – and claims to have widespread backing from ministry officials.
Massacre in the well – a 1200 year old murder mystery
French archaeologists recently completed five months of excavations at the town of Entrains-sur-Nohain in Burgundy as part of a private development in the area. What they did not expect to find in this routine excavation of a Gallo-Roman site was the remains of a mass grave – witness to the massacre of a civilian population from over 1000 years ago.
Twenty to thirty bodies had been dumped in the well at the same time and were uncovered at all angles. The presence of men, women and children, characterised them as the remains as a civilian population.
Carbon 14 dating has shown that although the well is Gallo Roman, the remains are assigned a date of 8th-10th centuries.
The Extraordinary Story Of Why A 'Cakewalk' Wasn't Always Easy
The cakewalk was a pre-Civil War dance originally performed by slaves on plantation grounds. The uniquely American dance was first known as the "prize walk"; the prize was an elaborately decorated cake. Hence, "prize walk" is the original source for the phrases "takes the cake" and "cakewalk."
Here's how the dance worked: Couples would stand in a square formation with men on the inside perimeter and then dance around the ballroom "as if in mimicry of the white man's attitudes and manners," . The steps included "a high-leg prance with a backward tilt of the head, shoulders and upper torso."
Plantation owners served as judges for these contests — and the slave owners might not have fully caught on that their slaves might just have been mocking them during these highly elaborate dances.
The cakewalk was so ingrained in American popular culture and entertainment that beginning in 1892, local cakewalk championships were being held in New York's Madison Square Garden, which hosted a national championship in 1897. The dance had been exported to Europe a few years earlier when it was performed in 1889 at the Paris World's Fair.
As cakewalk dances became more popular, they gave rise to their own form of music, an early predecessor of what's now known as ragtime. With the increase in popularity, the dance became something of a crossover hit, and started being performed by whites and blacks alike.
Like most vaudeville performers of that era, Williams and Walker performed in blackface. This, despite the fact that Williams and Walker were African-American. To distinguish themselves from white performers, the pair began billing themselves as "The Two Real Coons." Walker once explained that using the derogatory name was a good way to get the notice of theater managers.
Egypt's King Tutankhamun was embalmed in an unusual way, including having his penis mummified at a 90-degree angle, in an effort to combat a religious revolution unleashed by his father, a new study suggests.
The pharaoh was buried in Egypt's Valley of the Kings without a heart (or a replacement artifact known as a heart scarab); his penis was mummified erect; and his mummy and coffins were covered in a thick layer of black liquid that appear to have resulted in the boy-king catching fire.
Former minister Zahi Hawass compares Egypt's Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to pharaoh
Archaeologist and former antiquities minister says rise of army leader mirrors ascent of Mentuhotep II 4,000 years ago
When Mohamed Morsi became the second Egyptian president to be ousted in three years in July, many felt history was repeating itself. For Zahi Hawass, a flamboyant antiquities minister under Hosni Mubarak, that feeling was particularly acute – though he was thinking of a much older precedent.
For him, the move by the army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi evoked memories not just of his old boss's ignominious exit but the rise to power of the pharaoh Mentuhotep II, who took charge of Egypt about 4,150 years ago.
In Hawass's view, the upheaval Egypt has experienced since 2011 mirrors the century of chaos that preceded Mentuhotep's accession to the Egyptian throne in 2046BC. Mentuhotep restored order to Egypt – much as Hawass argues Sisi is about to do today. "We need an elected officer – a strong man – to control the country. And in my opinion, Sisi is our only hope."
Now Hawass is back on Egypt's payroll, as an ambassador for the country's tourism ministry. Almost unthinkable a year ago, he is even angling for a return to his old job as antiquities minister – once a permanent government is installed – and claims to have widespread backing from ministry officials.
Massacre in the well – a 1200 year old murder mystery
French archaeologists recently completed five months of excavations at the town of Entrains-sur-Nohain in Burgundy as part of a private development in the area. What they did not expect to find in this routine excavation of a Gallo-Roman site was the remains of a mass grave – witness to the massacre of a civilian population from over 1000 years ago.
Twenty to thirty bodies had been dumped in the well at the same time and were uncovered at all angles. The presence of men, women and children, characterised them as the remains as a civilian population.
Carbon 14 dating has shown that although the well is Gallo Roman, the remains are assigned a date of 8th-10th centuries.
The Extraordinary Story Of Why A 'Cakewalk' Wasn't Always Easy
The cakewalk was a pre-Civil War dance originally performed by slaves on plantation grounds. The uniquely American dance was first known as the "prize walk"; the prize was an elaborately decorated cake. Hence, "prize walk" is the original source for the phrases "takes the cake" and "cakewalk."
Here's how the dance worked: Couples would stand in a square formation with men on the inside perimeter and then dance around the ballroom "as if in mimicry of the white man's attitudes and manners," . The steps included "a high-leg prance with a backward tilt of the head, shoulders and upper torso."
Plantation owners served as judges for these contests — and the slave owners might not have fully caught on that their slaves might just have been mocking them during these highly elaborate dances.
The cakewalk was so ingrained in American popular culture and entertainment that beginning in 1892, local cakewalk championships were being held in New York's Madison Square Garden, which hosted a national championship in 1897. The dance had been exported to Europe a few years earlier when it was performed in 1889 at the Paris World's Fair.
As cakewalk dances became more popular, they gave rise to their own form of music, an early predecessor of what's now known as ragtime. With the increase in popularity, the dance became something of a crossover hit, and started being performed by whites and blacks alike.
Like most vaudeville performers of that era, Williams and Walker performed in blackface. This, despite the fact that Williams and Walker were African-American. To distinguish themselves from white performers, the pair began billing themselves as "The Two Real Coons." Walker once explained that using the derogatory name was a good way to get the notice of theater managers.
