Penalties imposed on two amateur German archaeologists

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Penalties imposed on two amateur German archaeologists

Post by DJKeefy »

Egypt's ministry of antiquities has decided to impose penalties on two German amateur archaeologists who stole samples of King Khufu's cartouche from a small compartment above his burial chamber in the great pyramid.

During a meeting Sunday, the Permanent Committee of the Ministry of the State of Antiquities (MSA) condemned such action and described it as a great violation of Egypt's ancient heritage, and the great pyramid in particular - the only surviving monument of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Section at the MSA, Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, told Ahram Online that the committee has prohibited any archaeological cooperation between the MSA and Dresden University, who supported the work of the German archaeologists, as well as the scientific laboratory where the stolen and smuggled samples were analysed.

The findings of both archaeologists have been rejected, as they were carried out by amateurs not expert archaeologists, Maqsoud asserted.

The results cast doubt on the construction date of the great pyramid and consequently the pharaoh for which it was built. The results suggest that the pyramid was built in an era proceeding Khufu's reign.

"This is totally false and nonsensical," said Ahmed Saeed, professor of ancient Egyptian civilisation at Cairo University. He explains that accurate scientific research dates the cartouche within an era after the reign of Khufu.

He elaborates on the writing of the king's name in graffiti, maintaining it could have been written by the pyramid builders after construction, which might also explain why the king's short name and not his official title is inscribed. Alternatively, he suggests the cartouche could have been written during the Middle Kingdom era, due to the style of writing used.

MSA minister Mohamed Ibrahim referred the case against the two Germans to the prosecutor-general for further investigation, alleging that both amateur archaeologists had broken Egyptian law by entering the pyramid and taking the samples without permission from the MSA. They also smuggled the samples out of the country, in breach of international law and the UNESCO convention.

Ibrahim further requested that the Egyptian police and Interpol put the names of both German archaeologists on the airport watch-list.

The German embassy in Cairo responded to the incident in a press release, denouncing the actions of their two citizens and stating that the researchers are not affiliated with the embassy or the German Archaeological Institute, nor do they represent any official mission from Germany to Egypt.

The archaeological committee is now monitoring the loss and destruction made by both men in the great pyramid and to the cartouche.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/87435.aspx


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Re: Penalties imposed on two amateur German archaeologists

Post by A-Four »

I am sorry to say that any respect for German archeology or their members in Egypt was lost when they, German House, shone their lights so brightly on the evening when the government of Egypt switched off the electricity to all those, young, old and babies up there in the hills of the WB.

That very cold winters night, I remember so well.
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Re: Penalties imposed on two amateur German archaeologists

Post by Glyphdoctor »

And that house is still there, even after everyone else's house was bulldozed...that is what gets my goat! What better way to demonstrate that moving everyone was for the benefit of the archaeological site was all one big sham than that!
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Re: Penalties imposed on two amateur German archaeologists

Post by Glyphdoctor »

But in the overall scheme of archaeologists' misdeeds, lights on is like an ant compared to an elephant in terms of some of the stuff some people have done. Some of which actually deserves life prison sentences.
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Re: Penalties imposed on two amateur German archaeologists

Post by Who2 »

I always suspected that that rapscallion Vyse daubed those inscriptions in 1870….:cool:
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Re: Penalties imposed on two amateur German archaeologists

Post by LivinginLuxor »

And of course, they fraudulently exported Nefertiti!
I might agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong!
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Re: Penalties imposed on two amateur German archaeologists

Post by Brian Yare »

Who2 wrote:I always suspected that that rapscallion Vyse daubed those inscriptions in 1870….:cool:
Unlikely, since he died in 1853. :!: :!: :!:

Major-General Sir Richard William Howard Vyse KCMG (25 July 1784 – 8 June 1853) was a British soldier, anthropologist and Egyptologist. He was also Member of Parliament for Beverley (from 1807 to 1812) and Honiton (from 1812 to 1818).
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Egypt archaoelogists refute claims by German amateurs on Pyr

Post by DJKeefy »

Egyptian archaoelogists refute claims by German amateurs on Great Pyramid.

In response to the alleged stealing of samples from the Great Pyramid by two German amateur archaeologists, Egypt's antiquities ministry issued a press release Wednesday discrediting all findings by the German pair.

The archaeologists took a piece of Kufu's cartouche from a small compartment above his burial chamber and smuggled it to Germany for study, the Ancient Egyptian section of the Ministry of State of Antiquities (MSA) reported.

The results announced by the two Germans cast doubt on the construction date of the Great Pyramid and consequently the Pharaoh for which it was built.

The results suggest that the pyramid was built in an era preceding Khufu's reign. It also suggests that the Pyramid is not the burial place for a king but a centre of power.

Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, head of the ancient Egyptian department, asserted in a press release on Wednesday that a multitude of scientific research from the past two centuries shows that the Great Pyramid belongs to King Khufu, the second king of the fourth dynasty, and that it was built during his reign to be used as his royal burial place for eternity.

A pyramid is not a sole object; it is part of a structural complex connected to each others. This includes the pyramid itself, the funerary temple, the side pyramid, solar boat pits, the ramp and the valley temple, Maqsoud said.

He emphasised that Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt during the fifth century BC, said that the ramp of King Khufu's Pyramid took 20 years of construction work and its walls were painted with scenes from Khufu's era.

The original blocks, many of which bore the King's name, were reused in the construction of the pyramids during the Middle Kingdom in the Lesht and Dahshur areas.

Archaeologist George Raisner discovered the tomb of Khufu's mother, Queen Hetep Heres, to the east of the Great Pyramid, and archaeologist Ferdinand Debono found engravings of King Khufu's at Wadi Hamamat, now displayed in the Egyptian museum in Cairo, Maqsoud added.

The cartouche that the German archaeologists sampled was scrawled in red by the Great Pyramid builders in the 17th year of Khufu's reign.

According to the custom at the time, workers used to write on the walls of the structures they built in order to assert their belonging to an individual or king. Such cartouches were found in the entrance of Khufu's solar boat pit.

Maqsoud asserted scientific evidence shows that the pyramid builders' necropolis was found at the eastern rock of the Giza Plateau in 1990, and that each tomb contains details of its owner and his job description, as well as his or her skeleton and funerary collection.

"The most important archaeological evidence that Khufu is the king that built the Great Pyramid is the discovery carried out in 2012 by French archaeologist Taleit in a rock cave at Al-Ein El-Sokhna heights," Maqsoud concluded.

He added that Taleit found a collection of papyri dated to the reign of King Khufu mentioning the number of workers, artisans and boats that were used to transport the pyramid's blocks to the Giza plateau.

According to studies carried out by the French mission, these papyri were part of the diary of an engineer who was involved in the construction of the Great Pyramid.

The papyri also show the engineer's working plan and a description of the way the ancient Egyptians transported the blocks.

German archaeologist Rudolf Cooper also uncovered graffiti in the Western Desert at the Dakhla oasis revealing that Khufu and his son Djedef Re sent missions to import colours and oxides for decorating the Pyramid's inner walls.

Ahmed Saeed, professor of ancient Egyptian civilization at Cairo University, supports Abdel Maqsoud, saying that what the German amateurs have claimed is totally false and nonsensical.

He elaborates on the writing of the King's name in graffiti, maintaining it could have been written by the pyramid builders after construction, which might also explain why the king's short name and not his official title is inscribed.

Alternatively, he suggests the cartouche could have been written during the Middle Kingdom era, due to the style of writing used.

He said that graffiti left by visitors on the walls of monuments have helped Egyptologists to know the short names of several kings that they otherwise wouldn't have known, among them Djoser. New Kingdom graffiti left on the walls of the monuments at Saqqara revealed that King Nesri-Khet was in fact Djoser.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/87647.aspx
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Re: Penalties imposed on two amateur German archaeologists

Post by LivinginLuxor »

It's been rumoured for ages that Vyse was responsible for the cartouche, as no-one had reported it before his lone visit to the relieving chamber. Maybe they were taking a sample of the pigment for analysis to either prove or disprove that view.
I might agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong!
Stan
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