Cybernews-2
1) Egypt's culture minister resigns over fire
2) Egypt holds Briton over smuggling
3) Stela depicting Cleopatra as male pharaoh discovered in China
4) London and Beijing to exchange exhibitions
5) Secrets of the Pharaohs' Physicians Revealed
6) Egypt discovers ancient tomb
7) Archaeologists hail mosaic find in Sinai
8) Wilbour Library Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
9) Ancient Egypt gems on Italian isle
10) John Carter's hunch on the Carter Curse
11) Shirley MacLaine ‘wrote’ a book with her dog, a reincarnated ancient Egyptian
1) Egypt's culture minister resigns over fire
Egypt's culture minister resigned Wednesday over a fire last week that killed 42 people at a state-run theater in a Nile River farming town south of Cairo. Farouk Hosni's resignation came after the detention Sunday of eight local Culture Ministry officials for questioning in the Sept. 5 fire, which began when an actor knocked over a candle on stage, setting alight paper decorations that covered the theater's walls and ceiling. The decorations blocked the theater's main exit, forcing some 150 people inside to try flee through one small door.
Hosni presented his resignation to President Hosni Mubarak, the semiofficial Middle East News Agency reported. It was not immediately possible to reach Hosni for comment, and it was unclear if Mubarak accepted the resignation.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Egypt%20Minister%20Resigns
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Mubarak rejects resignation of culture minister
News reports in Cairo said that the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to accept the resignation of the minister of culture Farouk Hosni and decided to keep him in his post. In a press conference in Cairo, the minister said he wanted, by giving his resignation, to hold himself the only responsible party for the fire which erupted in the cultural center in Bani Sweif, adding that continuing his post does not exempt him from his responsibility about the incident. He stressed he will collaborate with the committee in charge of investigating this incident.
Farouk Hosni submitted his resignation to President Mubarak after strong demands for his resignation by several Egyptian intellectuals who accused him of negligence that led to the fire.
Arabic News
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/050919/2005091904.html
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Culture Minister Farouk Hosni presented his resignation to President Hosni Mubarak late yesterday, reports Nevine El-Aref. Presidential and Culture Ministry sources told Al-Ahram Weekly that Mubarak offered no immediate reaction to Hosni's resignation offer.
The culture minister's decision follows intense criticism in the wake of the disastrous fire that took place at the Beni Sweif Cultural Palace during a 5 September theatre performance. The fire, which left at least 46 people dead and 22 injured, was initially caused by lit candles that were part of the play's décor. When one of the candles was accidentally knocked down, the resulting blaze quickly spread to the curtains and other combustible elements that were part of the set, including paper and wood.
The theatre itself was clearly ill equipped to handle emergencies; as hundreds of spectators, actors, theatre critics and intellectuals stampeded in fear, the main theatre door remained locked, thus trapping most of the panicked audience inside. Only a few people found their way out via an auxiliary exit at the other end of the hall.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/760/fr4.htm
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
2) Egypt holds Briton over smuggling
A Briton is being held in Egypt after trying to smuggle 66 manuscripts out of the country, airport officials said. The texts, identified by experts as being from the Islamic era, are said to have been subject to an export ban. They were found in the man's luggage after an X-ray at Cairo airport as he headed for a flight to Paris. Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities is clamping down on smugglers and has threatened to cut links with foreign museums that illegally buy artefacts.
Earlier this month seven Egyptians were jailed in Cairo after a seizure at London's Heathrow Airport uncovered the country's biggest antiquities smuggling case.
Officials said the documents seized from the Briton on Monday cover topics ranging from medicine to magic, as well as detailing excerpts from the Bible in both Arabic and the ancient language of Egypt's Christians.
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4175032.stm
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Airport authorities detained a British man for questioning Monday after they allegedly found valuable Islamic and Coptic manuscripts in his luggage, officials said. Douglas Ross was trying to board a flight to Paris when customs officers stopped him for a detailed search after he had passed through metal detectors, a security official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to make statements.
Adil Abdel Rahman, the airport's antiquities inspector, said Ross was allegedly carrying dozens of manuscripts, including old books on religion, medicine and astrology. He allegedly also had handwritten Coptic Bibles in his luggage.
Ross, an engineer who arrived in Cairo on Saturday, told airport officials he had met an Egyptian who asked him to carry the valuable papers to a London address, the security official said. Ross remained detained for questioning because Egyptian law classifies manuscripts that are more than 100 years old as antiquities.
Nola.com
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/base/international-25/1124742939145020.xml&storylist=international
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
3) Stela depicting Cleopatra as male pharaoh discovered in China
Researchers from Leuven and Beijing have retrieved great part of a unique Egyptian collection. In Beijing, an international joint research group from the Catholic University in Leuven and Beijing University discovered a collection of Egypt art that was believed lost for many years already. A Chinese ambassador to Cairo compiled the collection in 1906; when he died the items of the collection were distributed between the Beijing University Museum, the Arts Museum in Beijing and Beijing National Library.
Chinese Ambassador Duan Fang wanted to exhibit the collecting in Europe, but failed to do it because of the revolution. The diplomat who took keen interest in Egypt cultures, one of the few intellectuals in China, was killed in 1911. After his death, the collection was scattered about various museums and some items were even lost. A year ago, Professor Willy Clarysse from the University of Leuven agreed to study a stela kept at the Beijing University Museum and allegedly belonged to Duan Fang collection. The study gave rise to forming the inventory of the whole of the unique collection. Discovery of the lost items are to be continued next year.
Pravda
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/363/16113_cleopatra.html
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cleopatra Found Depicted in Drag. A relief image carved approximately 2,050 years ago on an ancient Egyptian stone slab shows Cleopatra dressed as a man, according to a recent analysis of the artifact. The object is only one of three known to exist that represent Cleopatra as a male. The other two artifacts also are stelae that date to around the same time, 51 B.C., at the beginning of Cleopatra's reign.
Researchers theorize that the recently discovered 13.4 x 9.8-inch stela probably first was excavated in Tell Moqdam, an Egyptian city that the ancient Greeks called Leonton Polis, meaning "City of the Lions."
"It shows Cleopatra dressed as a male pharaoh with the (characteristically male) double crown offering the hieroglyph of a field to a lion crouching on a pedestal," said Willy Clarysse, who conducted the analysis. "Above the lion, a hieroglyphic text calls him 'Osiris the Lion,' that is, the deceased and mummified lion who is identified with the god of the underworld, Osiris."
DiscoveryChannel.com
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050919/cleodrag.html
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
4) London and Beijing capped their status as Olympic cities yesterday by announcing an unprecedented exchange by loan of archaeological treasures over the next five years. The directors of the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, who are in China with Tony Blair, unveiled the exchange deals after two years of secret preparations.
Britain is likely to be keenest on recent Chinese archaeological finds and on treasures such as jade burial suits from the Han dynasty, which reigned from 206BC to AD200. China, it is thought, will be avid to see British-owned treasures such as bas reliefs from the Mesopotamian cities of Nineveh and Nimrod and tablets telling the story of Gilgamesh, one of the world's earliest creation myths.
Guardian Unlimited
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1563323,00.html
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
5) Secrets of the Pharaohs' Physicians Revealed
Along with a host of artifacts, the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus will be the centerpiece of The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt, a major exhibit set to open Sept. 13 at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The papyrus, which is of unknown origin and was bought in 1862 in Egypt by an American, Edwin Smith, begins with an assurance to would-be doctors that diagnosis is a simple act of measurement and observation, to be undertaken like any other important task in the then-largely agricultural society.
Forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2005/09/08/hscout527740.html
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus is about to become much better known. After a short trip down Fifth (insert down-the-Nile metaphor here) to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the papyrus will go on public display, probably for the first time, on Tuesday, as part of the Met's exhibition "The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt." The show will also include items like a CAT scan of a mummy, surgical needles and other medical artifacts.
"What they knew about the body is quite striking, though they did not always understand it," said James Allen, curator of Egyptian art at the Met, whose new translation of the papyrus appears in the exhibition catalog.
The papyrus dates to the 17th century B.C. - about nine centuries after the great pyramids were built, but about a century before the time Moses is believed to have lived. While there are fragments of medical writing that are somewhat older, experts say, none are nearly as extensive.
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/10/nyregion/10papyrus.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1126353958-8d/Q4ufLrl9KabLVD7yGEA
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
6) Egypt discovers ancient tomb
A joint Egyptian-US archaeological team has discovered a 5,000-year-old funerary complex in Upper Egypt, the Egyptian Gazette reported Wednesday. The tomb was found in the Kom al-Ahmer region near Edfu, some 97 km south of the famous ancient city Luxor on the west bank of the Nile, Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, was quoted as saying. Three mummies were found inside the tomb alongside a small flint statue of a cow's head and a ceramic funeral mask, Hawass added.
The tomb is believed to have belonged to one of the first rulers of the Greek city of Apollinopolis Magna, the ancient name of Edfu.
People’s Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200508/31/eng20050831_205608.html
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
7) Archaeologists hail mosaic find in Sinai
A nine-metre-long Roman mosaic dating from the 2nd Century has been unearthed by an Egyptian-Polish archaeological team in northern Sinai, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) said on Wednesday. The mosaic was found while the archaeologists were restoring a Pelusium Roman theatre in an area 25km east of the Suez Canal. The mosaic, made from a combination of glass, marble, clay and limestone, features a blooming garden with two birds on a tree branch and other birds flying over roses. It is believed to have once been part of the theatre's decorated floor.
The theatre itself is believed to be one of the largest Roman theatres ever discovered, according to the SCA statement, with a one-metre stage, and 28 eight-metre-long granite pillars.
IOL.com
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=588&art_id=qw1124893263950B221
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Egypt unearths ancient mosaic floor in Sinai
A multicolored mosaic floor dating back to the 2nd century has been unearthed in the Sinai peninsula, the Egyptian Gazette reported on Thursday. The team is now working on the mosaic in order to move it to the el-Arish National Museum in northern Sinai, where it will be displayed alongside other antiquities discovered in the area, Hawass said.
Mohammed Abdul-Maksoud, head of the Lower Egypt Antiquity Department and head of the excavation team, said the mosaic discovery was made during the ongoing restoration work being carried out on the theater. "Unfortunately, the mosaic floor was significantly damaged by the Israeli army which used it as a military camp during the occupation," Maksoud said.
China View
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-08/25/content_3402266.htm
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
This week at Pelusium, 25km east of the Suez Canal, an Egyptian-Polish team cleaning the area around a second-century Roman theatre discovered one of the most beautiful foliage mosaics ever found. The mosaic, which is nine metres long and 150cm wide, is a depiction of nature featuring a garden in bloom, with two birds singing on the branch of a tree and others flying over the roses.
The discovery was made by chance within the framework of a development and restoration project for Pelusium's Roman monuments, which were badly damaged during the Israeli occupation of Sinai when the theatre zone was used as a military base for Israeli troops.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/757/eg3.htm
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
8) Wilbour Library Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
Visitors to the Brooklyn Museum will want to have a look at a new long-term installation, "The Popularization of Ancient Egypt," which examines how Western writers and artists saw and recorded Egypt from the 1820s to the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. This is the second installment of "Egypt Through Other Eyes: Images from the Wilbour Library of Egyptology." (The first part, "Early Travel and Exploration," covered the period from the sixteenth through the early nineteenth century.)
The exhibition, curated by Deirdre E. Lawrence, principal librarian, and Mary Gow, assistant librarian, features more than 30 works, from expensive limited edition folios to mass-produced books. Some are unique items acquired by Wilbour, such as Lepsius' personal scrapbook (opened to show an advertisement for the sale of a collection of Egyptian antiquities made by Giovanni Belzoni early in the nineteenth century). Others are more recent additions to the library, such as colorful cards from cigarette packages showing scenes and artifacts from Tutankhamun's tomb.
Archaeology Magazine
http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/wilbour/index.html
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
9) Ancient Egypt gems on Italian isle
Excavations at the 16th-century BC settlement of Mursia, on the north-western part of the isle, have uncovered a beautiful oriental style ring, necklace and pair of ear-rings. The discovery comes on the back of a string of spectacular recent finds made here which date back to ancient Roman times.
The ear-rings are made of bronze, the ring is composed of a series of flat, convex-shaped pieces, while the necklace is a string of round glass beads with a pointed bronze pendant. "The raw materials probably came from Cyprus or Anatolia, but their style suggests they were made in Egypt," Tusa explained . “The necklace should be Egyptian too because of the cobalt-blue and golden yellow tones of the glass beads.” The archaeologist said further research was necessary to be sure the objects were from Egypt and not another part of the Near East.
ANSA.it
http://ansa.it/main/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2005-08-25_1087109.html
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
10) John Carter's hunch on the Carter Curse
Antiques dealer John Carter He claims to have what he calls the "Carter Hunch". He says that if he could sell it canned and labelled, he would be a billionaire. John Carter meanwhile dismisses the legend as pure nonsense and gives thanks for his blessing - the Carter Hunch.
"It's just a feeling you get, a kind of hunch. It's a bit like a water diviner feeling his twigs twitching. There's a stream at the bottom of my garden, and somehow things just keep turning up.
ExpressandStar
http://www.expressandstar.com/articles/features/life/article_79659.php
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
11) Shirley MacLaine ‘wrote’ new book with her dog, a reincarnated ancient Egyptian
We’ve had Barbra Streisand and her dog pose for photos with us before. But can you picture a dog who not only mingles freely with reporters during a press con but also “co-writes” a book with her master? Meet Terry, the rat terrier, best friend and traveling companion of Shirley Maclaine, 1984 Oscar Best Actress and 10-time Golden Globe awardee. At 71, Maclaine has been acting for five decades. “I’d love to work with someone older but I can’t find anybody,” she says and laughs.
In the course of our interview with Shirley at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, we learn that Terry, in one of her previous lives, was an Egyptian who knew our colleague, today’s press con moderator, back in those days. Our Egyptian peer, it turned out, was a pharaoh. It is that kind of afternoon.
INQ7.net
http://news.inq7.net/entertainment/index.php?index=2&story_id=48062&col=134
|