2008 in Brief

Among the finds of this past year was an Old Kingdom pyramid belonging to Queen Sesheshet of Dynasty 6. This find was moderately interesting, as were the two empty tombs found near the causeway of King Unas.

Among the stars of 2008 in Egyptology must certainly be the CT scanning done on the royal mummies, including unknown man "E," whose death and burial may not have been as brutal as some previous exams led us to believe.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-22/secrets-of-the-screaming-man/

But CT scanning was very popular for other mummies, too.

Nellie:

Shep en min:
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/NEWS/804090351/-1/NEWS

Unknown Mummy:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7562430.stm

Son of Ramses II?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1581787/Egyptian-mummy-exhibit-is-son-of-Ramesses-II.html

Mdina's Mummy:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080428/local/the-mummy-with-a-story-to-tell

Plus the discoveries of mummies of the Old and Middle Kingdoms:

Neferinpu:

Iker:

The discovery of monuments in Egypt, including:

That big, ugly head of Ramses II

Lovely Queen Tiye:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/photogalleries/Egypt-pictures/index.html

The return of stolen objects includes:

The head of Amenhotep III:

The eye of Amenhotep III was stolen from Karnak :

While the battle for others continues:

Mask of Kanefernefer:
http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2008/10/st-louis-art-museum-and-cultural.html

Borring ?

It is one thing to blame the economy because the attendance at Tut in Dallas is down; it is another thing to blame the show's contents for less interest felt by a public who expects more than this. The 130 objects are a group of the standard stars of the Cairo Egyptian Museum and are each highly marketed by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Perhaps more interest would be felt if half of the objects were mummies, less famous, we all know King Tutankhamen, but hardly know the Twenty-First Dynasty priests and priestesses of Amen. I say put the dead back into the museum display; the problem here appears to me to be political correctness.

A Year in Egyptology

This has been a mixed year with some success's such as the return of stolen antiquities to Egypt, but also some not-so-successful excavations. Dr. Zahi Hawass had reported two new tombs in the Valley of the Kings, which so far have not materialized, as also the tomb of Antony and Cleopatra, though the idea that Cleopatra and Mark Antony are buried together seems far-fetched to this author.

Amenhotep's Head

Here is an excellent picture of the stolen graywack head taken by a British smuggler twenty years ago.