Hawass reveals discovery in Luxor

[newcastle]

From the prat in the hat.....

“I’m happy to announce that on April 8th, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities will announce a new discovery in the West Bank of Luxor. The discovery comes after many months of hard work at excavating the site by an Egyptian team led by myself. We will host the Arab and foreign press on site on April 10th with the presence of the Minister Dr. Khaled El-Enany and the Secretary General of the SCA Dr. Moustafa Waziry.“


Presumably from his dig in the western valley.

I expect he felt a little upstaged by the mummies parade and this is his attempt to recapture the limelight.

My guess is that, whatever it is, won’t be of much interest outside the field of egyptology .

[Major Thom]

He as probably found an old hat that belongs to Carter.

[newcastle]

“Work is underway and the mission expects to uncover untouched tombs filled with treasures.“

Well that should attract the plebs.

Courtesy of the Luxor Times}

Zahi Hawass Unearthed the Lost City of “Aten”

The Egyptian mission directed by Dr. Zahi Hawass unearthed the city that was lost under the sands called “The Rise of Aten”

The city is 3000 years old, dates to the reign of Amenhotep III, and continued to be used by Tutankhamun and Ay.

‘Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it. We began our work searching for the mortuary temple of Tutankhamun because the temples of both Horemheb and Ay were found in this area’ Hawass said.

The Egyptian expedition was surprised to discover the largest city ever found in Egypt. Founded by one of the greatest rulers of Egypt, king Amenhotep III, the ninth king of the 18th dynasty who ruled Egypt from 1391 till 1353 B.C, this city was active during the great king’s co-regency with his son, the famous Amenhotep IV/Akhenaton.

It was the largest administrative and industrial settlement in the era of the Egyptian empire on the western bank of Luxor.

‘The city’s streets are flanked by houses, which some of their walls are up to3 meters high,’ Hawass continued, ‘we can reveal that the city extends to the west, all the way to the famous Deir el-Medina.’
Betsy Brian, Professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University in Baltimore USA, said ‘The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun”.

“The discovery of the Lost City, not only will give us a rare glimpse into the life of the Ancient Egyptians at the time where the Empire was at his wealthiest but will help us shed light on one of history’s greatest mystery: why did Akhenaten & Nefertiti decide to move to Amarna,” Brian added.

The excavation area is sandwiched between Rameses III’s temple at Medinet Habu and Amenhotep III’s temple at Memnon. The Egyptian mission started working in this area in search of Tutankhamun’s Mortuary Temple.

Tutankhamun’s successor, King Ay, built his temple on a site which was later adjoined on its southern side by Rameses III’s temple at Medinet Habu.

Egyptologists believe Ay’s temple may formerly have belonged to Tutankhamun as two colossal statues of the young king were found there. The northern part of the temple is still under the sands.

The excavation started in September 2020 and within weeks, to the team’s great surprise, formations of mud bricks began to appear in all directions. What they unearthed was the site of a large city in a good condition of preservation, with almost complete walls, and with rooms filled with tools of daily life.
The archaeological layers have laid untouched for thousands of years, left by the ancient residents as if it were yesterday.

The first goal of the mission was to date this settlement. Hieroglyphic inscriptions found on clay caps of wine vessels. Historical references tell us the settlement consisted of three royal palaces of King Amenhotep III, as well as the Empire’s administrative and industrial center.

A large number of archaeological finds, such as rings, scarabs, colored pottery vessels, and mud bricks bearing seals of King Amenhotep III’s cartouche, confirmed the dating of the city.

After only seven months of excavation, several areas or neighborhoods have been uncovered.
In the southern part, the mission found a bakery, a cooking and food preparation area, complete with ovens and storage pottery. From its size, we can state the kitchen was catering a very large number of workers and employees.

The second area which is still partly uncovered, is the administrative and residential district, with larger and well-arranged units.

This area is fenced in by a zigzag wall, with only one access point leading to internal corridors and residential areas. The single entrance makes us think it was some sort of security, with the ability to control entry and exit to enclosed areas.

Zigzag walls are one of the rare architectural elements in ancient Egyptian architecture, mainly used towards the end of the 18th Dynasty. The third area is the workshop.

On one side, the production area for the mud bricks used to build temples and annexes. The bricks have seals bearing the cartouche of King Amenhotep III (Neb Maat Ra).

On the other, a large number of casting molds for the production of amulets and delicate decorative elements. This is further evidence of the extensive activity in the city to produce decorations for both temples and tombs.

All over the excavated areas, the mission has found many tools used in some sort of industrial activity like spinning and weaving. Metal and glass-making slag has also been unearthed, but the main area of such activity has yet to be discovered.

Two unusual burials of a cow or bull were found inside one of the rooms. Investigations are underway to determine the nature and purpose of this practice. And even more remarkable burial of a person found with arms outstretched to his side, and remains of a rope wrapped around his knees. The location and position of this skeleton are rather odd, and more investigations are in progress.

One of the most recent finds of a vessel containing 2 gallons of dried or boiled meat (about 10 kg), has a valuable inscription: Year 37, dressed meat for the third Heb Sed festival from the slaughterhouse of the stockyard of Kha made by the butcher luwy.

This valuable information, not only gives us the names of two people that lived and worked in the city but confirmed that the city was active and the time of King Amenhotep III’s co-regency with his son Akhenaten.

The excavation also reveals a mud seal with inscriptions that can be read: “gm pa Aton” that can be translated as “The domain of the dazzling Aten”, this is the name of a temple built by King Akhenaten at Karnak.

As history goes, one year after this pot was made, the city was abandoned and the capital relocated to Amarna. But was it? And why? And was the city repopulated again when Tutankhamun returned to Thebes?
Only further excavations of the area will reveal what truly happened 3500 years ago.
To the north of the settlement a large cemetery was uncovered, the extent of which has yet to be determined.

So far, the mission has discovered a group of rock-cut tombs of different sizes that can be reached through stairs carved into the rock. A common feature of tomb construction in the Valley of the Kings and in the Valley of the Nobles.

Work is underway and the mission expects to uncover untouched tombs filled with treasures.

D08C1BBC-D0C8-471F-9F00-4C82BCBF8EC9.jpeg

[HEPZIBAH]

Loving the curved wall. I saw something recently about an old property in the UK which had a long curving boundary wall. I can't quite dig deep enough into my memory to recall where it was though.
At first glance it seemed a bit of frivolous decoration, but in fact serves to strengthen and defend. That being the case, I wonder why there are so few in existence today.

[newcastle]

Loving the curved wall. I saw something recently about an old property in the UK which had a long curving boundary wall. I can't quite dig deep enough into my memory to recall where it was though.
At first glance it seemed a bit of frivolous decoration, but in fact serves to strengthen and defend. That being the case, I wonder why there are so few in existence today.

I grew up in Suffolk which has an enormous number (50 or so) of curved boundary walls.....known in the local dialect as “ crinkle crankle” walls . More than the rest of the country put together!

D6BB807F-CB29-4533-8BCE-AA50D8948C9D.jpeg

I think that’s the one at Great Waldingfield. Many are listed.

Dutch engineers draining the fens in 17th Century are responsible for many.

[HEPZIBAH]

Loving the curved wall. I saw something recently about an old property in the UK which had a long curving boundary wall. I can't quite dig deep enough into my memory to recall where it was though.
At first glance it seemed a bit of frivolous decoration, but in fact serves to strengthen and defend. That being the case, I wonder why there are so few in existence today.

I grew up in Suffolk which has an enormous number (50 or so) of curved boundary walls.....known in the local dialect as “ crinkle crankle” walls . More than the rest of the country put together!

D6BB807F-CB29-4533-8BCE-AA50D8948C9D.jpeg

That's interesting. I wonder if they were a design used more in the southern regions of the UK. I seem to think I've seen boundary walls that were crenelated i.e. more angular ins and outs (not necessarily with turrets/defence walkways), but again I can't remember where.
I think the first, and most impressive rounded boundary wall I saw was in Tunisia, but again I don't recall which city/town. The colour of the stone, and the shadows cast were very impressive in late afternoon sun.

[Yildez]

They were used to grow espalier fruit, especially peaches!!! I can’t remember the science but the shape of the curve stops the tree from frost damage.

[newcastle]

This photo indicates the location of the new excavation....Medinet Habu in the background.

0D85528E-1A62-475F-BB66-C38E5B7077DD.jpeg

[HEPZIBAH]

They were used to grow espalier fruit, especially peaches!!! I can’t remember the science but the shape of the curve stops the tree from frost damage.

That would make some sense. The walls would help protect from the winds, but also help radiate the sun and warmth.

[newcastle]

The hype surrounding this “discovery” is getting a little ridiculous.

Important as it may be in egyptological terms, it will be of little interest to tourists...who won’t be allowed anywhere near the excavations. It’s very unlikely that they’ll unearth anything which could be remotely described as treasure.

To equate it with the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb is a gross exaggeration.

I notice most of the publicity and TV coverage is being organised by the Minister of Antiquities, Khaled El Enany. Is Hawass unwell?

[Who2]

Here is a better pin-point location picture..


Ps: It also explains why the prat was always lunching in the Marsam.

[A-Four]

Thanks for the location map Dr, it proves interesting, when Hawass was inspector of the area, like myself he knew that there was a building on this site that dated back from the end of the Ottoman Empire (approx 1850) which was enclosed by an area of land that was used to dry out herbs and spices in the open.

The trouble with this man's 'discoveries' on the WB, like the hill tombs, he honestly believes that once these buildings are removed he will discover 'beautiful things', where in truth the occupants of these dwellings had, in some cases over 200 years, to complete their 'diggings' for anything worth selling, as was proved when they removed all the houses on the hill side, by the Egyptian archaeologists,....they found nothing.

Incidentally, where it says 18th Dyn Temple on your map, that is the area where the Mortuary Temples of Hatchepsuit/Horemheb/Tut were. There was once two statues attributed to Tutankhamoun in this area, one is now in Karnak Temple,........the other is, well what shall we say,.......lost.

[BBLUX]

Amazing that we have walked/driven across that area countless times over the years. It is only about 30-40 meters from the police check point onto the desert road down past the French House.

[newcastle]

The more I read about this discovery, the more I feel it’s been well over-hyped!

Apparently, the site was partially excavated in the 1930s and is more of a workmen’s village than a golden city.

The following is an interesting commentary on the find ....although the narrator’s sing-song delivery set my teeth on edge. Worth watching if just for the pictures and an alternative history .

[Yildez]

The more I read about this discovery, the more I feel it’s been well over-hyped!

Apparently, the site was partially excavated in the 1930s and is more of a workmen’s village than a golden city.

The following is an interesting commentary on the find ....although the narrator’s sing-song delivery set my teeth on edge. Worth watching if just for the pictures and an alternative history .

Thanks Newcastle, my sentiments exactly! My immediate reaction to the photos was that it reminded me of the workers village at Deir El Medina!

[Who2]

Here is another great aerial photograph....

[BBLUX]

Nice image. Very clearly showing the relative locations thanks George.