How could this be?

Were they never actually stolen?

Were they simply ‘misplaced’?

Or were they stolen and then surreptitiously returned?

It is not the first time some of the stolen items were returned under bizarre circumstances. Readers of Talking Pyramids will remember the strange occurrence of the items that were reportedly left inside a black bag at the Shubra station and by sheer coincidence found by an employee of the Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs (MSAA). This story was later changed, perhaps after it was realised to be too far fetched and unbelievable. The newer version of the same event appeared without any explanation.

Zahi Hawass:

“We got the objects of King Tut because there was someone working for the antiquities department who came to me and said that there were looters who wanted to return these objects back to me. And the next day he brought a bag with four objects.”

When asked if the looters approached the department official anonymously Hawass fobbed off the reporter’s question with a self-grandurising response:

“It’s a long story. He was sitting in a café, and heard them talking, and they said they need to return these objects to Zahi Hawass because they trust him.”

But back to the recently discovered items. They were described in a report by Youm7 as follows:



One of the pieces is a bed made of clay while the other is a wooden vase. Both pieces are dated back the Pharonic era, said a member of inventory committee, Raafat al-Nabarawy.

He said the workers found the pieces in storeroom IV of the Egyptian Museum. Consequently, all storerooms of the Egyptian Museum will be inventoried.

El-Nabarawy said the Museum employees did not find the pieces in their glass-case and so thought the pieces were lost. The lost pieces were registered in the list of lost monuments during the initial inventory.

By the time the committee finishes the inventory, a report will be submitted to the Public Prosecutor, Abdel Magid Mahmoud, who appointed the Committee to create an inventory of all pieces in the Egyptian Museum.

Pottery Model Bed(?)
ID Number JE 31720

Wooden Model Heset Vase
ID Number JE 26083

Both of these images were taken from the list of missing objects released by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) on May 3rd, 2011.

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They were uncovered by the Egyptian Archaeology Mission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, chaired by Mohammed Abdel Fattah.

“This important discovery was found by chance when local residents dug randomly after the January 25 Revolution,” said the general director of the Saqqara archaeological area in Giza.

“Immediately the archeology inspectors went to the site after being informed about the digging. They found walls with paintings, and continued the excavation process,” he continues.

He added that the excavations revealed four wall paintings of a tomb and depict the daily life and offering sacrifices of ancient Egyptians. There are hieroglyphic writings with the names of the tomb owners.

The four paintings were registered in presence of the Tourism and Archeology police, and then they were transferred to Saqqara’s storehouse.

Source: Youm7

Also in the news today is a very similar story of five ancient Egyptian wall paintings in the village of Lisht:

Antiquities inspectors found five rare antique paintings emblazoned with graphics of Pharonic life and inscribed with the ancient Egyptian language in the El Lesht village in El Ayiat today. The inspectors coordinated with the antiquities police and transferred the paintings to one of the antiquities museums in Egypt.

General Major Abdeen Youssef, head of security in Giza, received notification from 28-year-old Ahmed Awad, the antiquities inspector living in the El Atf village in El Ayiat, informing the General that he discovered the five paintings during a walk through El Lesht village.

The paintings are each roughly one-meter tall, 100 centimeters wide, and weigh 200 kilograms, and written on each is the ancient Egyptian language. The general administration of the Tourism and Antiquities Police was notified, who arrived on scene in the upper village of Saudi in El Ayiat. The security forces transferred the five paintings to an archaeological warehouse in Dahshur.

Source: Youm7

Photo by Mrs Logic CC By

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The discoveries were made by Dr Sarah Parcak from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who is known for her work with satellite imagery to help discover new sites in Tanis, in Egypt’s delta. Dr Parcak has become a pioneer in the field of ‘Satellite Archaeology’ and has already located hundreds of possible sites. In 2003 and the following year she conducted expeditions to the possible sites and surveyed them, confirming 132 of them as new archaeological sites, most of which were previously unknown.

From the BBC:

She says she was amazed at how much she and her team has found

“We were very intensely doing this research for over a year. I could see the data as it was emerging, but for me the “Aha!” moment was when I could step back and look at everything that we’d found and I couldn’t believe we could locate so many sites all over Egypt.

“To excavate a pyramid is the dream of every archaeologist,” she said.

The team analysed images from satellites orbiting 700km above the earth, equipped with cameras so powerful they can pin-point objects less than 1m in diameter on the earth’s surface.

Infra-red imaging was used to highlight different materials under the surface.

The discovery was announced prior to the airing of a BBC production called ‘Egypt’s Lost Cities’.

BBC cameras followed Dr Parcak on her “nervous” journey when she travelled to Egypt to see if excavations could back up what her technology could see under the surface.

In the BBC documentary Egypt’s Lost Cities, they visit an area of Saqqara (Sakkara) where the authorities were not initially interested in her findings.

But after being told by Dr Parcak that she had seen two potential pyramids, they made test excavations, and they now believe it is one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt.

Dr Zahi Hawass wrote on his blog that he was disappointed with the BBC article as it was inaccurate and didn’t make it clear that the only way a discovery can be identified is by physically excavating it. He also noted that it was prematurley published before the release was checked by the Ministry:

According to Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA) regulations, it is prohibited for anyone to announce a discovery before notifying and obtaining the approval of the Ministry first. This procedure is in place to ensure that any discoveries people want to announce are real and have been officially verified. If every mission authorized to carry out work in Egypt was allowed to announce things without them being checked first, there could potentially be lots of false claims made all the time.

Sadly, this was the case with the BBC. I am disappointed that not only was the report published without the approval of the MSA, but also that its announcement was not accurate, showing how important it is to follow the proper protocol. The draft press release reported that 17 new pyramids and thousands of ancient Egyptian settlements have been discovered by the University of Alabama using infrared satellite images and that the last major pyramid find was made over 20 years ago.

The producer of of the program, Harvey Lilley, sent his apologies to Dr Zahi Hawass:

“Many apologies to you but this story was published before the official BBC press release was approved and released by us…. So as things stand I am not quite sure yet how the story broke without us doing you the courtesy of consulting you beforehand.”

Hawass adds:

A few months ago, satellite images of the necropolis of Saqqara South revealed the existence of three substantial anomalies. Archaeological inspection revealed that they are the remains of three pyramids previously excavated by the French Egyptologist, Gustave Jéquier (1868-1946). Among these three pyramids is one belonging to a 13th Dynasty king, Khendjer (c. 1764-1759 BC).
 
In addition, over the last 20 years two new pyramids have been discovered by archaeological teams led by me in Giza and Saqqara. The first was found beside Khufu’s pyramid in Giza (c. 2551-2528 BC) and the second is next to Teti’s pyramid in Saqqara (c. 2323-2291 BC). The base of a new pyramid at Saqqara has also been found, of an unknown owner, which we are still excavating.

If you missed the program on Monday night and you are in the UK you can watch ‘Egypt’s Lost Cities’ on BBC’s iPlayer (until June 5).

For those of you in the US, the Discovery Channel will soon air a similar documentary on Sarah Parcak’s work.

Here are some earlier related posts from Talking Pyramids:
Satellites, Archaeology & Ancient Egypt
A Digital Eye of Horus for Archaeologists
Finding the Inner Indiana Jones in Sudan
Menkauhor’s Pyramid Discovered
Burial Chamber with Pyramid Texts Discovered
Deciphering the Pyramid Texts of Behenu

Sources:
BBC
Zahi Hawass

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From the website of Dr Zahi Hawass:

Dr. Hawass stated that the newly discovered wall consists of two parts: the first section is 75cm tall and stretches for 86m from north to south along the eastern side of Khafre’s valley temple and the Sphinx; the second part is 90cm tall and is located in the area north of Khafre’s valley temple. This section is 46m long and runs from east to west along the perimeter of the valley temple area. The two parts of the wall converge at the south-east corner of the excavation area.

Excavation trench in front of Khafre's valley temple. Photo by SCA.

Hawass explained that according to initial studies carried out at the site, the newly discovered wall is a part of a larger wall found to the north of the Sphinx. This wall was constructed by King Thuthmose IV as an enclosure to protect the Sphinx from winds. According to ancient Egyptian texts the construction of this wall was the result of a dream which Thuthmose had after a long hunting trip in Wadi El-Ghezlan (Deer Valley), an area next to the Sphinx. In the king’s dream, the Sphinx asked the king to move the sand away from his body because it choked him. For this favor, the Sphinx promised to make Thutmose IV King of Egypt. To accomplish this task, Thuthmose IV removed the sand that had partially buried the Sphinx and built an enclosure wall to preserve it.

Read the rest at Dr Hawass’ website where more photos of the excavation can also be viewed.

While on the topic of the Sphinx, below is a video from Egyptologist Mark Lehner, in which he describes his search for the legendary ‘Hall of Records’, which led to the Sphinx Mapping Project, followed by the Giza Plateau Mapping Project and the discovery of the Lost City of the Pyramids:

Photo of the Great Sphinx by Notre Dame Architecture Library. Some rights reserved.

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The discovery by an Egyptian archaeological team from the Supreme Council of Antiquities was announced by culture minister Farouk Hosny in a press release. The tomb belonged to Rudj-Ka, a priest who was in charge of the purification rituals for Khafre in his mortuary cult temple. Kings of the Pyramid Age were often venerated as gods long after their deaths and prayers and offerings were made by such priests.

Dr Zahi Hawass said in a statement that it was the “first of it’s kind” discovered, having unusual architectural features.

Giza Plateau Mapping Project storeroom with sacks of pottery

From Dr Hawass’s website:

Hawass pointed out that the tomb is the first to be found in this area and that it is very unique because of its distinguished architectural design. The superstructure of the tomb is constructed out of limestone blocks, which create a maze-like pathway to the main entrance. The burial chamber itself is cut directly into a cliff face.

Hawass continued that the tomb’s walls are beautifully decorated with painted reliefs featuring Rudj-ka with his wife in front of an offering table filled with gifts of bread, goose and cattle. Daily life scenes depicting Rudj-ka fishing and boating are also shown.

“This tomb could be the first of many in the area. Hopefully we have located a new necropolis dedicated to certain members of the royal court,” said Hawass.

Photos of the tomb can be found on Dr Zahi Hawass Facebook account.

More photos can be viewed at the National Geographic website.

Sources:
Dr Zahi Hawass: Press Release – Discovery of the tomb of Rudj-ka
Sydney Morning Herald: Egypt Uncovers 4,500-year-old Tomb

Photos Foggy Khufu & Giza Storeroom by Scott D. Haddow. Some Rights Reserved.

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The black basalt sarcophagus was lost while being transported back to England aboard the Beatrice when the ship was wrecked at sea off the coast of Spain, thought to be somewhere between Malta and Gibralta. With financial help from the National Geographic Society, the team will use an underwater robot to locate the lost sarcophagus.

Dr Zahi Hawass said that the Spanish role shows Spain’s keenness in supporting Egyptian Heritage.

Menkaure's empty Sarcophagus chamber

In related news, the Talking Pyramids Reader’s Poll “Which pyramid would you most like to see open?” shows that readers would most like to see Menkaure’s pyramid opened next.

Source: Egypt State Information Service
Photo of Menkaure’s sarcophagus chamber by Jon Bodsworth.

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The ‘Giza Caves’ were explored by Colins and his wife who recorded video inside the caves.

In Zahi Hawass’ earlier statements on the announcement by Collins he said:

The article reports that a huge system of tunnels and caves has been found; however, I can say that there is no underground cave complex at this site.

However, last week on his ‘reality’ TV show, “Chasing Mummies”, Hawass and his team went deep into the caves.

“I have never made any adventure like this at Giza before,’ Hawass admitted, as the intrepid team and camera crew reached the farthest reaches of the cave system, having travelled an estimated 300-350 feet underground.

“In my opinion now, it’s natural. It’s not manmade,’ Hawass added. “But they used it later in the Late Period and Roman Period for the burials of animals and things like that.”

On his website Andrew Collins expresses his excitement over this change in position from Dr Hawass:

“I am not angry at Hawass usurping our discovery. That was always going to happen. I am just glad that now other people will be able to see and experience what we did for the first time in March 2008.”

“We discovered a previously unknown cave system at Giza, the first ever recorded here or anywhere else in Egypt in connection with a rock-cut tomb from antiquity. This must count for something.”

“If water created the caves many thousands of years ago, then the caves don’t simply stop, since the water must have gone somewhere.”

Read the full Press Release: Pyramids’ Cave World Discovered At Giza

Read more on Andrew Collins’ website: At Last Giza’s Mysterious Cave Complex Goes Global!

If you are interested in learning more about the Giza Plateau, the Giza Archives is definitely the best source on the web.

Photo by Stefan Geens, some rights reserved.

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