Lost Pharaohs of the Nile

[newcastle]

Something to look out for....Channel 4 Sunday 13th October .


The forgotten black pharaohs: They once ruled all of Egypt, but Africa's Khush Pharaohs' have been overlooked, says a new show.

Channel 4 documentary examines the history of 'Black Pharaohs' living in Kush .

Taharqa controlled more territory by volume than any other in Egyptian history .

There has been denial that black Africans could build such a powerful kingdom.

Lost Pharaohs Of The Nile recounts how Kush flourished from 1,000BC to 350BC

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/arti ... -show.html

P.S. I assume the David Starkey credited as producer- director is NOT the famous Tudor historian, but a namesake.

[Grandad]

Got that one on record thanks Newcastle. I have a recollection of seeing some of the Nubian sites in earlier programs so it will be interesting to see what new has been discovered

[BBLUX]

We too will be recording the programme this evening "just in case".
A lovely sunny day here in the Vienne with 27 deg C but very windy. Garden work in progress clearing finished plants and moving others. Still harvesting tomatoes, I think we planted too many...again! Had a surprise the day before yesterday with the discovery of a fat juicy strawberry with a few more coming. The plants had gone dormant with the very hot summer but seem to be having a second wind now we are moving into Autumn. We have a crop of huge Egyptian butternuts this year after the European ones barely survived. All our friends and neighbours want some of the seed for next year!

[John Landon]

Some very interesting stuff in that program.

Well worth a watch.

Especially what's under those pyramids. How well the shaft down was cut and its shape.
Then the discarded and vandalised black granite statues.

Tombs. ?

[newcastle]

This National Geographic article follows the program content and contains interesting info and pictures.

“Somewhere below the surface of the kiddie-pool sized patch of brown water is the entrance to the 2,300-year-old tomb of a pharaoh named Nastasen. If I crane my neck back far enough, I can just make out the eastern flank of his pyramid rising nearly three stories above me.”........

“On our final dive, Creasman and I float silently in water in the back chamber of the tomb, hovering above what may very well be Nastasen’s undisturbed sarcophagus. We talk about the team’s goal for 2020: to excavate the pharaoh’s 2,300-year-old submerged royal burial chambers. It’s an audacious aim and a huge logistical challenge, but Creasman is optimistic.”

There could be an exciting discovery in 2020!

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/hi ... k-pharaohs

[John Landon]

They don't know it's a sarcophagus yet. Be nice to see what's in it if it is.
Shame they have to leave and then come back though. As is the way.

[Grandad]

I need to watch the program again alone. My wife has little patience with historical programs and wants to get her hands on the remote
I did have a thought about the water in the burial chamber. IF the level of the Nile was much lower when the tomb was constructed, is it not possible that the water ingressed slowly and that it might be possible to pump it out IF the tomb is effectively ENCLOSED?
Serious thought before they start trying to recover artifacts from under water.

[John Landon]

I have the same issue when trying to watch Car restoration programs Grandad..

Regarding this program, I find its better to watch the volume very low and look at eveything you see.
There is too much distraction in the waffle... Though an Interesting allegation about George Reisner which I found hard to beleive. I can find NOTHING to prove he looted treasures, and if he did, why would he not carry on ?

As I said, Tombs ? And always on the West Bank ? , more due to the geology of the west bank and the fact that the innundation effects that side to a much greater degree due to the rotation of the Earth.
Clever lot those ancients... Shame we lost what they knew..

[newcastle]

I haven’t heard that Reisner was a tomb looter...nor did I notice the “allegation “ in the program. He was, however, a dreadful racist and could never concede that black Africans were capable of founding the Kingdom of Kush.

“As I said, Tombs ? And always on the West Bank ? , more due to the geology of the west bank and the fact that the innundation affects that side to a much greater degree due to the rotation of the Earth.”

Nothing to do with geology. To the ancients, the West, - where the sun sets- signified death and the afterlife. Hence they almost invariably located their burials on the West Bank of the Nile.

And if the more extensive effect of inundation on the West Bank is due to the rotation of the earth (boll*cks of course - it’s largely a result of the geography of the landscape, plateaus etc The coreolis force is far too weak to have such a significant effect.) surely that would be a reason NOT to locate burials there- if you hoped that the bodies would remain intact for eternity!

[John Landon]

They did say in the program early on that Reisner took the artefacts fomr the tombs and kept them for himself, which as they also stated was the norm back in the day. Rich travellers back in the day took many things, I have seen small granite statues of Horus in the stately homes around my area, and Florence nightingale was also a bit light fingered, taking many things to send to her friends back home.

Yes, many things just down add up. Why bury your dead knowing the tomb is going to flood. VoK woudl make more sense regarding burials, placing them in the mountain, its clear rhose tombs had water traps to prevent any rainfall running off the mountain getting too far into the chambers. Thosugh some say they were Death Trap pits for tomb robbers operating in the dark..

So yes, the West bank of the Nile consists mostly of a contigious limestone plate, ideal for aquifers and underground lakes.

But regarding the Pyramids and thier purpose, Water is Key.

[Who2]

BBLux, I would rather you 'eulogize about the local dairies wealth of cheeses,
the bakers baguettes and the local vineraries wine..rather than the odd rose bush or two....
ah! a pont l'eveque, reblochon, a sweaty Camembert, a ripe Brie...
Ps: Is that butternut as in squash ?

[BBLUX]

George, Le Fromage, le pain et le vin. Just everyday stuff to us here and of course cheap to buy . Pont l'eveque is one of my favourites however.
Yes, butternuts are squashes. You'll see them in Abdu Nabi. Great orange bulbous beasties weighing around 5-6 Kg.
Ours are similar in size thanks to the hot Summer we had this year.

Watched the Lost Pharaohs of the Nile programme just now. Some interesting stuff there and brand new for a change.

[BBLUX]

I need to watch the program again alone. My wife has little patience with historical programs and wants to get her hands on the remote
I did have a thought about the water in the burial chamber. IF the level of the Nile was much lower when the tomb was constructed, is it not possible that the water ingressed slowly and that it might be possible to pump it out IF the tomb is effectively ENCLOSED?
Serious thought before they start trying to recover artifacts from under water.

That's a very large volume of water to pump out. There was a programme about exploring a tomb on the Giza plateau I think which was partially flooded. They tried pumping it out and made some progress before the water ingress overpowered them. Working with the risk of pump failure (that also happened) is too dangerous when you are at least 3 chambers in.