Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
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Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
She's literally one in a million.
The remains of a child, laid to rest more than 1,500 years ago when the Roman Empire controlled Egypt, was found in an ancient cemetery that contains more than 1 million mummies, according to a team of archaeologists from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
The cemetery is now called Fag el-Gamous, which means "Way of the Water Buffalo," a title that comes from the name of a nearby road. Archaeologists from Brigham Young University have been excavating Fag el-Gamous, along with a nearby pyramid, for about 30 years. Many of the mummies date to the time when the Roman or Byzantine Empire ruled Egypt, from the 1st century to the 7th century A.D.
"We are fairly certain we have over a million burials within this cemetery. It's large, and it's dense," Project Director Kerry Muhlestein, an associate professor in the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, said in a paper he presented at the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities Scholars Colloquium, which was held last month in Toronto.
This cemetery was not a burial ground for kings or royalty. The people buried here were often laid to rest without grave goods, and without coffins for that matter, the researchers said. The deceased's internal organs were rarely removed; instead, it was the arid natural environment that mummified them. "I don't think you would term what happens to these burials as true mummification," Muhlestein said. "If we want to use the term loosely, then they were mummified."
Despite the low status of the dead, the researchers found some remarkably beautiful items, including linen, glass and even colorful booties designed for a child.
"A lot of their wealth, as little as they had, was poured into these burials," Muhlestein said.
The mummified child was buried with several other mummies. It was wrapped in a tunic and wore a necklace with two bracelets on each arm.
"There was some evidence that they tried much of the full mummification process. The toes and toenails and brain and tongue were amazingly preserved," the researchers wrote on the project's Facebook page. "The jewelry makes us think it was a girl, but we cannot tell."
Researchers estimate the infant was 18 months old when she died. "She was buried with great care, as someone who obviously loved her very much did all they could to take care of this little girl in burial," the researchers wrote. It's "very sad, but they succeeded. It was a beautiful burial."
Million mummy mystery
Where exactly these million mummies came from is an ongoing mystery, and one that the team has yet to solve. A nearby village seems too small to warrant such a large cemetery, the researchers said. There is an ancient town named Philadelphia (so named after King Ptolemy II Philadelphus) not far away, but that town has burial sites of its own. [8 Grisly Archaeological Discoveries]
While there is a small pyramid nearby, it was built more than 4,500 years ago, which is more than two millennia before the cemetery was first used.
"It's hard to know where all these people were coming from," Muhlestein told Live Science.
A mummy over 7 feet tall
The stories that these million mummies tell appear endless. The Brigham Young team has excavated more than 1,000 of the mummies over the past 30 years, and Muhlestein admits the team has a publishing backlog.
One discovery that hasn't been published is of a mummy who is more than 7 feet (2 meters) tall. "We once found a male who was over 7 feet tall who was far too tall to fit into the shaft, so they bent him in half and tossed him in," Muhlestein told the audience in Toronto.
That's an extraordinary height given the generally poor nutrition these people had, Muhlestein told Live Science in an interview, adding that "even with great nutrition, it's really unusual" for an individual to reach that height. The great height could be because of a medical condition that caused an excess of growth hormone, but more research needs to be done to determine this.
This surprisingly tall mummy was discovered before Muhlestein became director, and the findings have yet to be published, he said. "We have a large publishing backlog, [and] we're trying to catch up on making our colleagues and the public aware [of the finds]."
Blond and redheaded mummies
While excavating and publishing the discoveries from the cemetery pose daunting challenges, they also provide archaeologists with terrific opportunities.
For instance, the team is in the early stages of creating a database of all the mummies it has excavated. When complete, the database will help the researchers study burial patterns in the area.
While the database is in the early stages, it has already provided some intriguing initial results. Muhlestein said he and the other researchers can use the database to "show us all of the blond burials, and [it shows] they are clustered in one area, or all of the red-headed burials, and [it shows] they're clustered in another area."
These clusters are interesting because they suggest "perhaps we have family areas or genetic groups [in certain areas], but we're still trying to explore that," Muhlestein said.
Source: http://www.livescience.com/49147-egypti ... mmies.html
The remains of a child, laid to rest more than 1,500 years ago when the Roman Empire controlled Egypt, was found in an ancient cemetery that contains more than 1 million mummies, according to a team of archaeologists from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
The cemetery is now called Fag el-Gamous, which means "Way of the Water Buffalo," a title that comes from the name of a nearby road. Archaeologists from Brigham Young University have been excavating Fag el-Gamous, along with a nearby pyramid, for about 30 years. Many of the mummies date to the time when the Roman or Byzantine Empire ruled Egypt, from the 1st century to the 7th century A.D.
"We are fairly certain we have over a million burials within this cemetery. It's large, and it's dense," Project Director Kerry Muhlestein, an associate professor in the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, said in a paper he presented at the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities Scholars Colloquium, which was held last month in Toronto.
This cemetery was not a burial ground for kings or royalty. The people buried here were often laid to rest without grave goods, and without coffins for that matter, the researchers said. The deceased's internal organs were rarely removed; instead, it was the arid natural environment that mummified them. "I don't think you would term what happens to these burials as true mummification," Muhlestein said. "If we want to use the term loosely, then they were mummified."
Despite the low status of the dead, the researchers found some remarkably beautiful items, including linen, glass and even colorful booties designed for a child.
"A lot of their wealth, as little as they had, was poured into these burials," Muhlestein said.
The mummified child was buried with several other mummies. It was wrapped in a tunic and wore a necklace with two bracelets on each arm.
"There was some evidence that they tried much of the full mummification process. The toes and toenails and brain and tongue were amazingly preserved," the researchers wrote on the project's Facebook page. "The jewelry makes us think it was a girl, but we cannot tell."
Researchers estimate the infant was 18 months old when she died. "She was buried with great care, as someone who obviously loved her very much did all they could to take care of this little girl in burial," the researchers wrote. It's "very sad, but they succeeded. It was a beautiful burial."
Million mummy mystery
Where exactly these million mummies came from is an ongoing mystery, and one that the team has yet to solve. A nearby village seems too small to warrant such a large cemetery, the researchers said. There is an ancient town named Philadelphia (so named after King Ptolemy II Philadelphus) not far away, but that town has burial sites of its own. [8 Grisly Archaeological Discoveries]
While there is a small pyramid nearby, it was built more than 4,500 years ago, which is more than two millennia before the cemetery was first used.
"It's hard to know where all these people were coming from," Muhlestein told Live Science.
A mummy over 7 feet tall
The stories that these million mummies tell appear endless. The Brigham Young team has excavated more than 1,000 of the mummies over the past 30 years, and Muhlestein admits the team has a publishing backlog.
One discovery that hasn't been published is of a mummy who is more than 7 feet (2 meters) tall. "We once found a male who was over 7 feet tall who was far too tall to fit into the shaft, so they bent him in half and tossed him in," Muhlestein told the audience in Toronto.
That's an extraordinary height given the generally poor nutrition these people had, Muhlestein told Live Science in an interview, adding that "even with great nutrition, it's really unusual" for an individual to reach that height. The great height could be because of a medical condition that caused an excess of growth hormone, but more research needs to be done to determine this.
This surprisingly tall mummy was discovered before Muhlestein became director, and the findings have yet to be published, he said. "We have a large publishing backlog, [and] we're trying to catch up on making our colleagues and the public aware [of the finds]."
Blond and redheaded mummies
While excavating and publishing the discoveries from the cemetery pose daunting challenges, they also provide archaeologists with terrific opportunities.
For instance, the team is in the early stages of creating a database of all the mummies it has excavated. When complete, the database will help the researchers study burial patterns in the area.
While the database is in the early stages, it has already provided some intriguing initial results. Muhlestein said he and the other researchers can use the database to "show us all of the blond burials, and [it shows] they are clustered in one area, or all of the red-headed burials, and [it shows] they're clustered in another area."
These clusters are interesting because they suggest "perhaps we have family areas or genetic groups [in certain areas], but we're still trying to explore that," Muhlestein said.
Source: http://www.livescience.com/49147-egypti ... mmies.html
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
Interesting article. Anybody over 7' tall would be extremely unique. Be interesting to hear any further info found relating to this individual.
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
Good one!Glyphdoctor wrote:And I presume they have all been baptized as Mormons?
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
And now the MSA have closed down the operation.
Whether this is because the dig is deemed "inappropriate" or because the excavators have not released their news through the official channels (c.f.the Joann Fletcher/Nefertiti debacle) remains to be seen...
Whether this is because the dig is deemed "inappropriate" or because the excavators have not released their news through the official channels (c.f.the Joann Fletcher/Nefertiti debacle) remains to be seen...
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
It seems that the million mummy number is the bone of contention. It may be exaggerated exponentially.
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
And many more skeletons in the cupboard yet to emerge in this saga.
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
Huh? Elaborate more.newcastle wrote:And now the MSA have closed down the operation.
Whether this is because the dig is deemed "inappropriate" or because the excavators have not released their news through the official channels (c.f.the Joann Fletcher/Nefertiti debacle) remains to be seen...
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
Frater0082 wrote:Huh? Elaborate more.newcastle wrote:And now the MSA have closed down the operation.
Whether this is because the dig is deemed "inappropriate" or because the excavators have not released their news through the official channels (c.f.the Joann Fletcher/Nefertiti debacle) remains to be seen...
Ah well, this looks like being the Chrimbo special on here, so do your best Newcastle.
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
(c.f.the Joann Fletcher/Nefertiti debacle) = she wouldn't drop her knickers for 'Indiana Jones = (the prat in the hat) = Zahi Hawas..'goddit?....Frater0082 wrote:Huh? Elaborate more.newcastle wrote:And now the MSA have closed down the operation.
Whether this is because the dig is deemed "inappropriate" or because the excavators have not released their news through the official channels (c.f.the Joann Fletcher/Nefertiti debacle) remains to be seen...
"The Salvation of Mankind lies in making everything the responsibility of All"
Sophocles.
Sophocles.
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
Well, being a Barnsley lass, when she said no, she really mean't YES, PLEASE.Who2 wrote:(c.f.the Joann Fletcher/Nefertiti debacle) = she wouldn't drop her knickers for 'Indiana Jones = (the prat in the hat) = Zahi Hawas..'goddit?....Frater0082 wrote:Huh? Elaborate more.newcastle wrote:And now the MSA have closed down the operation.
Whether this is because the dig is deemed "inappropriate" or because the excavators have not released their news through the official channels (c.f.the Joann Fletcher/Nefertiti debacle) remains to be seen...
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
Well....you'll have to wait until I can find a laptop with a right click mouse. In the meantime I'll try to summarise:Frater0082 wrote:Huh? Elaborate more.newcastle wrote:And now the MSA have closed down the operation.
Whether this is because the dig is deemed "inappropriate" or because the excavators have not released their news through the official channels (c.f.the Joann Fletcher/Nefertiti debacle) remains to be seen...
A team from Brigham Young University have been excavating an ancient cemetery Roman-Byzantine era) in Fag el Gamous. They unearthed 40 bodies in a 5m x 5m square and, extrapolating this to the entire site, and assuming constant density of bodies etc, etc.....voila....1 million bodies. Or rather mummies. Or...well..not EXACTLY mummies but bodies that have been mummified. Sort of. Some of them anyway.
I recall a similar head count in a Cairo alley led to the announcement that 30 million people were on streets to oust Morsi.
Back to the mummies...which may not be mummies...one of them turns out to be over 2m tall. After 2 centuries of shrinkage! A veritable giant....alien maybe? They had to double him over to fit him in!! But I digress...
The team of archaeologists announced their find in Toronto (that's in Canada...nowhere near Egypt). Tsk tsk....not an act which would endear them to the Ministry of State for Antiquities in Egypt who like to announce this kind of thing themselves. And before you know it the tabloids are awash with the story....focusing on the giant of course.
The MSA are not amused. Hyperbole & drama is not their style at all.THEY have the only REAL mummy. People who speak out of turn get their wrists smacked....and permits to dig withdrawn. Shades of Joann....although there's no suggestion (yet) that the head of the excavation team has been involved in Ugandan relations with the Minister of Antiquities ( unless Who 2 knows otherwise)
Others are concerned as to whether it's appropriate for a bunch of Mormons to be body-snatching in a cemetery which appears to be the home of ordinary peasant folk.
Lots of ordure hitting the fan....we await with bated breath the final denouement.
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
Nothing really....just a ginger herringFrater0082 wrote:So what do Joann has to do with this.
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
Newcastle here writes up an excellent statement, but just to add to this, the fact that the old trade routes opened up much of the ancient world, and long before 1000 B.C., it is evident that many of these merchants set up home with their families in these far flung places, be it a seven foot blond Scandinavian, or a red head Anglo-Saxon. It is also obvious that even then, their burials would be in a separate area, away from the indigenous peoples. Similar finds have been discovered as far away as Indo-China.newcastle wrote:Well....you'll have to wait until I can find a laptop with a right click mouse. In the meantime I'll try to summarise:Frater0082 wrote:Huh? Elaborate more.newcastle wrote:And now the MSA have closed down the operation.
Whether this is because the dig is deemed "inappropriate" or because the excavators have not released their news through the official channels (c.f.the Joann Fletcher/Nefertiti debacle) remains to be seen...
A team from Brigham Young University have been excavating an ancient cemetery Roman-Byzantine era) in Fag el Gamous. They unearthed 40 bodies in a 5m x 5m square and, extrapolating this to the entire site, and assuming constant density of bodies etc, etc.....voila....1 million bodies. Or rather mummies. Or...well..not EXACTLY mummies but bodies that have been mummified. Sort of. Some of them anyway.
I recall a similar head count in a Cairo alley led to the announcement that 30 million people were on streets to oust Morsi.
Back to the mummies...which may not be mummies...one of them turns out to be over 2m tall. After 2 centuries of shrinkage! A veritable giant....alien maybe? They had to double him over to fit him in!! But I digress...
The team of archaeologists announced their find in Toronto (that's in Canada...nowhere near Egypt). Tsk tsk....not an act which would endear them to the Ministry of State for Antiquities in Egypt who like to announce this kind of thing themselves. And before you know it the tabloids are awash with the story....focusing on the giant of course.
The MSA are not amused. Hyperbole & drama is not their style at all.THEY have the only REAL mummy. People who speak out of turn get their wrists smacked....and permits to dig withdrawn. Shades of Joann....although there's no suggestion (yet) that the head of the excavation team has been involved in Ugandan relations with the Minister of Antiquities ( unless Who 2 knows otherwise)
Others are concerned as to whether it's appropriate for a bunch of Mormons to be body-snatching in a cemetery which appears to be the home of ordinary peasant folk.
Lots of ordure hitting the fan....we await with bated breath the final denouement.
I am astounded that such a director can open up this Canadian University to such ridicule.
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
Similar finds can be found in Luxor. Stan and his neighbors are a good example! I'm sure he would have appreciated being able to serve as an example of this. ;)
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Re: Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
Egypt antiquity ministry slams US mission after 'million mummy' controversy.
The Egyptian antiquities ministry has decided to halt its cooperation with an American mission working near Fayoum after accusing the mission of making false statements about the discovery of a necropolis.
According to a ministry statement, the decision comes after the Brigham Young University mission gave false information to a British newspaper about its excavations in Fag Al-Gamous village in Upper Egypt.
The BYU mission announced that its excavators were working in an ancient necropolis dating back some 2,000 years which contains an estimated one million burials. Press reports described the burials as mummies.
The mission has been working on the site for 28 years.
Head of the ministry's ancient Egyptian antiquities department, Youssef Khalifa, told Ahram Online that the statement made by the American mission is “unfounded.”
He said that only one mummy has been unearthed at the site, in 1980, and it is now on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. What the mission has discovered, he continued, are thousands of human skeletons and remains of human bones which are very poorly conserved.
Khalifa also stated that the mission had failed to respect the ministry’s regulations and had broken the law, which stipulates that no foreign mission is allowed to announce a discovery without the approval of the ministry’s permanent committee.
Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/118343.aspx
The Egyptian antiquities ministry has decided to halt its cooperation with an American mission working near Fayoum after accusing the mission of making false statements about the discovery of a necropolis.
According to a ministry statement, the decision comes after the Brigham Young University mission gave false information to a British newspaper about its excavations in Fag Al-Gamous village in Upper Egypt.
The BYU mission announced that its excavators were working in an ancient necropolis dating back some 2,000 years which contains an estimated one million burials. Press reports described the burials as mummies.
The mission has been working on the site for 28 years.
Head of the ministry's ancient Egyptian antiquities department, Youssef Khalifa, told Ahram Online that the statement made by the American mission is “unfounded.”
He said that only one mummy has been unearthed at the site, in 1980, and it is now on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. What the mission has discovered, he continued, are thousands of human skeletons and remains of human bones which are very poorly conserved.
Khalifa also stated that the mission had failed to respect the ministry’s regulations and had broken the law, which stipulates that no foreign mission is allowed to announce a discovery without the approval of the ministry’s permanent committee.
Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/118343.aspx
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