SAQQARA, Egypt – A pair of 4,300-year-old pharaonic tombs discovered at Saqqara indicate that the sprawling necropolis south of Cairo is even larger than previously thought, Egypt's top archaeologist said Monday. The rock-cut tombs were built for high officials — one responsible for the quarries used to build the nearby pyramids and another for a woman in charge of procuring entertainers for the pharaohs.
"We announce today a major, important discovery at Saqqara, the discovery of two new tombs dating back to 4,300 years ago," said Zahi Hawass, as he showed reporters around the site Monday. "The discovery of the two tombs are the beginning of a big, large cemetery."
The discovery indicates that there is even more to the vast necropolis of Saqqara, located 12 miles south of the capital, Cairo, he added.
In the past, excavations have focused on just one side of the two nearby pyramids — the Step Pyramid of King Djoser and that of Unas, the last king of the 5th Dynasty. The area where the two tombs were found, to the southwest, has been largely untouched.
"This means the royal cemetery is bigger than we thought," said Saleh Suleiman, the archaeologist responsible for the excavation of the two tombs.
Hawass, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said excavations will continue and further finds should shed light on the 5th and 6th dynasties of the Old Kingdom, which ruled over 4,000 years ago.
One of the tombs, about a yard wide and 2.75 yards long, has a description above the entrance about the man, Yaamat, for whom it was built. The second tomb is twice the size and includes inscriptions and an image of a seated woman.
Aidan Dodson, a research fellow at the University of Bristol's Department of Archaeology and Anthropology in Bristol, England, who was not involved in the dig, said that while the tombs themselves aren't especially significant, the possibility of a much larger cemetery is.
"It shows that the blank areas of the maps of Saqqara aren't really empty at all. It's just that archaeologists haven't got round to digging them," he said.
Excavations have been going on at Saqqara for about 150 years, uncovering a vast necropolis of pyramids, tombs and funerary complexes mostly from the Old Kingdom, but including sites as recent as the Roman era.
But despite the years of excavation, new finds are constantly being made. In November, Hawass announced the discovery of a new pyramid at Saqqara, the 118th in Egypt, and the 12th to be found just in Saqqara.
According to Hawass, only 30 percent of Egypt's monuments have been uncovered, with the rest still under the sand.
Hawass also said that a bust of Pharoah Amenhotep III that has been outside the country for about 15 years was returned to the Egypt on Sunday after a lengthy legal battle with an antiquities dealer in Britain.
Hawass said Egypt and the dealer were eventually able to resolve the question of the bust's ownership out of court without Egypt paying the dealer any money.
Egypt has been actively trying to recover artifacts stolen or looted over the years. The bust is one of about 5,000 pieces retrieved by Egypt since 2002. Hawass said he also expects the return of four statues from Sweden in the next two weeks.
The bust is one of the great statues of Amenhotep III, the ninth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, who ruled for almost 40 years during the 14th century B.C. and who is considered one of the most important rulers of ancient Egypt, said Hawass.
Amenhotep was the father of Akhenaten, who attempted to make Egypt worship a single god, the sun, making him one of the first known proponents of monotheism.
___
Associated Press Writer Maamoun Youssef contributed to this report.
posted
How many African, black people or universities sponsored the dig?
Posts: 3595 | From: Moved To Mars. Waiting with shotgun | Registered: Dec 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Probably none at all ! That seems to always be the case.It would be wonderful if an African university or a place like Howard University could undertake a dig in Egypt or Sudan.
How many working African/ African American archaeologist are their any way? Are their any in other parts of the diaspora ? Can someone on this sight name at least 2or 3. Money also seems to be big part of the problem ! Posts: 135 | From: Bay Area | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Admittedly Africa in general could use more archaeologists and locally funded excavation programs, but they are there -- archaeologists that is...
Some familiar and some not-so-familiar names include:
Théophile Obenga, Fekri A. Hassan, Kamoya Kimeu, Mulu Muia, Simon Katisiya, Karega Munene, Purity Kiura, Chapurukha Makokha Kusimba, Emmanuel Ndiema, Isaya O Onjala, Mohamed El Bialy, Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud, Salah Eldin, Sayed El Beheiry, Yohannes Zeleke, Dawit O Woldu, Oluwole Ogundele, Okwy Achor, A. Yinka Ogedengbe, Yohannes Haile Selassie, Adiele Afigbo, Alex Okpoko, Ekpo Eyo, Abi Derefaka, Sileshi Semaw, Alinah Segobye, Seke Katsamudanga, Yusuf M Juwayeyi, Audax Mabulla, Hasen Said, Ancila Nhamo, A B.A. Adande, C. Adagba, O.B. Bagodo, Ibrahima Thiaw, Abdoulaye Camara, Hamady Bocoum, Marie-Amy Mbow, Didier N’Dah, Bienvenu Gouem Gouem, Pierre Kinyock, D. Kuevi, F.A Iroko, D. James Anquandah, E. Kofi Agorsah,...
Some old [i.e. aside from those mentioned above] but familiar names include...
Cheik Anta Diop, Ahmed Kamal Pasha, Selim Hassan, Sami Gabra, Mohammed Zakaria Goneim, Bassey Andah, Aguigah Alexis Adandé,...
Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
| IP: Logged |
thanks for the names, some I'm familiar with such as Diop of course, but he has long been in the realm of the ancestors. The others like Obenga I know for sure,but he is more an educator (pedagogy).
But,for the others, are they in the field? If so what digs are they working on or have worked on in the past in Egypt or the Sudan ?
I knew an African American women who was getting her degree in Archeology at UCBerkely, I believe she said that she was the only African American/Black at that time ( 10 years ago) who was enrolled in her classes. She did do some field work in New York City, in the Slave Grave site they found in the in down town Manhattan in the early 90's.She was doing this while still a stdudent during the summer. I lost touch with her so I don't know what she has been doing.
She did allude to the fact that Archeology is a part of the "Hard Sciences" for their is much "math" involved & "science". She believed that is one of the resaons you don't have many Blacks in Archeology today, who at the time was in her mid 40's. Posts: 135 | From: Bay Area | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged |
thanks for the names, some I'm familiar with such as Diop of course, but he has long been in the realm of the ancestors. The others like Obenga I know for sure,but he is more an educator (pedagogy).
Like most other archaeologists, of course he educates other folks both from doing fieldwork and working in academia; that's what being an archaeologist is all about. Obenga and Diop were noted for their *multidisciplinary* approach to Egyptology at the UNESCO gathering, something that was not a regularity in Egyptology back then.
quote: But,for the others, are they in the field?
I wouldn't have listed them, if they weren't.
quote: If so what digs are they working on or have worked on in the past in Egypt or the Sudan ?
Some of them have worked in the Nile Valley, and some of them, not to my knowledge. But that's besides the point; the point was to show that African archaeologists do in fact exist.
quote: I knew an African American women who was getting her degree in Archeology at UCBerkely, I believe she said that she was the only African American/Black at that time ( 10 years ago) who was enrolled in her classes. She did do some field work in New York City, in the Slave Grave site they found in the in down town Manhattan in the early 90's.She was doing this while still a stdudent during the summer. I lost touch with her so I don't know what she has been doing.
She did allude to the fact that Archeology is a part of the "Hard Sciences" for their is much "math" involved & "science". She believed that is one of the resaons you don't have many Blacks in Archeology today, who at the time was in her mid 40's.
No offense intended, but your friend seems like someone who doesn't get out much. Black Americans are underrepresented in many facets of the American economy; so, this would not be unique to curricular and extra-curricular archaeological programs. On top of that, the in-and-outs of entering the field are not well understood, and along with this comes a general air of wariness which surrounds the issue of the level of financial security that the field is able to deliver.
Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
| IP: Logged |
Your points are well taken, except my main point is to high light those of an older generation or the current generation of archeologist that one can locate in time in the work that he or she might be doing or has done in the area of field work that has gotton some recognition.
Maybe if more of these Black archeologist where more well known they could inspire others to look into the profession as valid .
I do know that archeology is an arcane discipline & the general public is unaware of most of the work that go's on; that's why I would like to know & learn more about these scientist.( & why I Love this site)
As for as my friend, she was welled traveled to Latin America & Africa. I think what she was trying to share with me, if we as a people could get over or conquer the shyness/fear that a lots of us (African American) have concerning math skills & science, we would be more represented in the field,I'm sure that is true for other fields as well.
Do we read or see these Archeologist in Ebony, or on TV one, or any other Black media outlet? I don't think so! By these men & women being more visible could help change all that & the perception that they do not exist !
I personally feel that would be a good thing, & would help inspire Black youth, who really need to be inspired. Posts: 135 | From: Bay Area | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged |
Your points are well taken, except my main point is to high light those of an older generation or the current generation of archeologist that one can locate in time in the work that he or she might be doing or has done in the area of field work that has gotton some recognition.
Simply google the examples of names provided to you, and you'll learn about their work, if you care to; it doesn't take too much effort.
[Ps - For some of those with very popular names, type in 'archaeology' next to their name, if you need to]
quote: As for as my friend, she was welled traveled
Her comment doesn't suggest that.
quote: I think what she was trying to share with me, if we as a people could get over or conquer the shyness/fear that a lots of us (African American) have concerning math skills & science, we would be more represented in the field,I'm sure that is true for other fields as well.
I'm not a black American; so, I cannot be "us". And that's all I do at my job; run numbers in complex models.
Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
The question of whether or not Africans are involved in the study of their own artifacts is very important. All of it goes back to the institutions behind the discipline itself. It is more than simply just getting a degree, it is about institutions to control and study the artifacts, institutions to fund research and excavations and institutions to disseminate the information to the local population as part of an education program.
This is the most effective way to combat European distortions of world history. The primary reason why European distortion of world history has become so dominant is because they control the institutions. These institutions are heavily vested in promoting themselves as THE source of world history, which means THEY control the excavation, interperetation, analysis and dissemination of information regarding artifacts and their historical value for hundreds of cultures world wide. But this is simply a pattern of colonial doctrine as opposed to any TRUE example of European intellect or truth seeking. Europeans are only present in so many parts of the world because of the success of European expeditions in conquering, subjugating and destroying native peoples. All these colonial expeditions throughout the world had 'scholars', 'scientists' and 'artists' in tow, ostensibly for the purposes of "scholarship" and "exploration". But these were not simply for the purposes of telling history, researching or exploration for knowledge's sake, in reality they were following a pattern of propaganda and indoctrination that many imperial armies had practiced for thousands of years. Therefore, such scholars were there to serve the purpose of those armies they were associated with and as we all know, to the victor goes the spoils and in this case, the story of what happened as well.
It is absurd to expect foreigners to come into a culture and be able to describe the history and attributes of that culture better than those within that culture, simply because they have a "scientific method". That is nonsense. Yet that is precisely what happened as a result of the interaction of Europeans and various groups over the last 500 years. As the Europeans conquered, their "scholars" went to action writing "historical" accounts of these people and their cultures, which most often is more propaganda than fact. And seeing as these cultures were more often than not destroyed by these Europeans, it is often difficult, if not impossible to reconstruct what actually was there hundreds of years later. Therefore, we are left with their propaganda version of history to work with and whatever remains from those cultures long gone. But again, the scientific method only helps in an environment of objectivity. It cannot work to its fullest in an environment of colonial scholarship supported by colonial institutions which are PRIMARILY committed to supporting the cause of the colonial administration. It is that framework of colonial institutions of imperial propaganda that is responsible for so much of the distortions found in the modern history works written from a "western" perspective. Case in point, the Egyptian Antiquities Service was primarily developed and built as in institution of the colonial administration of Egypt. This administration was jointly governed by a broad array of "scientists" from various European countries. Most of these Europeans and the Egyptian elite viewed Egyptian artifacts a treasure and "loot" to be traded and given as gifts to enhance the prestige of the countries who owned them. Therefore, European countries were supremely interested in having as many of these artifacts for themselves. Native Egyptians were NOT involved at the high levels of this organization and were primarily considered as SUBJECTS of the colonial era, especially during the time when Egypt was controlled by Britain. Even now, the Supreme Council of Antiquities is STILL primarily a institution of neo-colonialism, since MOST of its funding and MOST of the research within it is done by and for European institutions.
Until Africans develop their own institutions for preserving, analyzing and documenting THEIR OWN history, without falling into the trap of believing that Europeans are SUPPOSED to own and control those things, Africans will always be faced with distortions concerning African history and culture.
thanks for your responds, compassion, & understanding ; but I think Doug M came closer to my understanding on how the discipline has been, still is bing done.
Thats why in my frist post I stated African or African American institutions seems to be absent from this area of work & study. Thank you Doug M ! Posts: 135 | From: Bay Area | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged |
thanks for your responds, compassion, & understanding
You're welcome.
quote: but I think Doug M came closer to my understanding on how the discipline has been, still is bing done.
The intention of my post was specified and succinct; Doug's post has no bearing on it. I'm sorry to see that you could not understand it.
Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
^ Not that I disagree, since the lack of African-diasporan involvement in African archaeology is an all too common problem, but getting back to the topic...
Why haven't archaeologists been has heavily involved in the excavation of Sakkara as they are in Luxor (Valley of the Kings)? I find this to be particularly unusual in that for all the eurocentrism, you would expect them to focus on the north more than the south.
Posts: 26285 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic