Gail Bellenger's Blog
Posted by Gail Bellenger
To the ancient Egyptians, religion wasn't just something you did one day a week, it was a way of life. There were many gods who were worshipped for various reasons, but during the dynastic period, Osiris took center stage. Osiris protected the dead, once you were deemed worthy, of course, so making offerings to him and celebrating him were excellent ways to assure your place in the after life.
In Upper Egypt, the city of Abydos, was dedicated to Osiris. The city was started in pre-dynastic times, but continued through the dynasties up until the Greeks conquered. The site was believed to be the burial site of Osiris himself, which of course gave it a mystical aspect.
The legend of Osiris is a reflection of the holy trinity. He was killed by his jealous brother and resurrected by his sister/wife, Isis. Isis was impregnated by Osiris in a mystical/magical way and she gave birth to Horus. Since Osiris was, at one time, dead, he could no longer walk among the living. Therefore, he became the ruler of the underworld.
For this reason, the Egyptians paid homage to Osiris for protection in the next life. Abydos was constructed and continued in adoration of the god. There were temples, tombs and chambers that were used for offerings. As fabulous as all of this is, perhaps the most important aspect of Abydos is the Table of Abydos. This list contains the cartouches of all the dynastic kings and has been valuable to archaeologists in reconstructing the pharaonic kings.
Even though Abydos fell into disrepair after the Greeks, it remains one of the most incredible historic sites ever found.
Posted by Gail Bellenger
Not too much is really known about the Aztecs, because nothing was written down. Everything has to be gleaned from their buildings, burials and decorations. Of course, it's difficult to make educated guesses, so archaeologists must be careful to remain as non-ethnocentric as they can. It's easy, however, to draw conclusions about another culture by judging it with your own. The eight square mile ancient city of Teotihuacan near Mexico City has revealed numerous interesting things. Most notably, the burials. There are two major pyramid structures, the Ppyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. Extensive excavations of the Moon Pyramid have provided a lot of burials, almost certainly sacrifices due to decapitations and bound hands, around the structure. The bodies were decorated with jewelry and left with offerings, presumably to satisfy the gods.
What we can't tell, however, is what the day to day life was like. Archaeologists have told us that the city subsisted on agriculture and had a rain water channel beneath the main avenue, so we can tell the residents were knowledgable about farming. Examination of the skeletons can tell more about their diet and health, but once again, care must be taken. What if these sacrifice victims were either starved for a while or fed really well? That might give a false indication of the average citizen.
It's always far easier to have something written down, but by using deduction, common sense and experience, can still give insight into a lost culture.
Posted by Gail Bellenger
Just like with many of the ancient civilizations, the mighty Inca of Machu Pichu were wiped out by the diseases brought by the European conquistadors. Even before Pizarro, the disease smallpox found its way to the population, dessimating them quickly. By the time Pizarro arrived, Machu Pichu was already a lost city.
The city was more likely a type of residence for nobles, but it was composed of around two hundred buildings that were homes, temples and other structures. Since 1911, when it was rediscovered by a Yale archaeologist, it quickly became a tourist attraction. Its extreme altitude and location, about 8,000 feet in the Andes, has helped to keep it from getting destroyed in modern times.
Posted by Gail Bellenger
With all the recent discoveries of tombs in the Valley of the Kings, an old rumor has surfaced that Howard Carter, during his years of working in the Valley of the Kings, not only found Tut's tomb, but located several others as well. The problem was that he believed he was treated badly by the Egyptian government, so he pledged not to reveal the location of these tombs, in protest of his treatment.
Whether true or not, he did indeed die without ever telling a soul where the other tombs were. It certainly would have been helpful to have the locations, but with all the archaeologists crawling over the Valley now, more tombs are bound to be uncovered soon anyway. If the scientists proceed slowly and methodically, they'll be able to plot out the entire Valley eventually. One day, the final resting places of kings and queens will be revealed, but it sure would have been easier with Carter's help.
Posted by Gail Bellenger
Not long after KV 63 was announced, was KV 64 made public. It was actually discovered by ground penetrating radar way back in the Fall of 2000, but the archaeologist who initially found the anomaly was accused of smuggling antiquities and forbidden from further work in the Valley of the Kings.
He was later found innocent, but any work on the anomaly he found came to a halt. It's been resumed now by the Egyptologist who worked on KV 63. There's been concern raised that with the sudden onset of discoveries within the same area, nothing should be rushed. It's an exciting time for sure, but if the excavation isn't handled with great care, valuable information could be lost.
Of course, everyone wants to know if KV 64 is actually a tomb or just another storehouse like KV 63, so expectations are high. If it's a tomb, it's probably intact and is probably from the 18th Dynasty, the Amarna period. These are exciting times.
Posted by Gail Bellenger
The final coffin from the tomb KV63 has been opened. It was thought that it would contain a mummy, possibly a royal mummy, but unfortunately, it didn't. Instead, it had wreaths of flowers, wrapping material and some gold beads. Of course, speculation is running rampant about the find. It's odd that none of the coffins contained human remains, especially since they were all buried in a constructed tomb close to Tutankhamun. It's possible that KV63 contains material taken from another tomb for some unknown purpose and was never collected, again, for whatever reason.
The discovery will still yield important information about ancient Egypt, but at this point, there are still more unanswered questions to be answered.
Posted by Gail Bellenger
The final coffin from the tomb KV63 has been opened. It was thought that it would contain a mummy, possibly a royal mummy, but unfortunately, it didn't. Instead, it had wreaths of flowers, wrapping material and some gold beads. Of course, speculation is running rampant about the find. It's odd that none of the coffins contained human remains, especially since they were all buried in a constructed tomb close to Tutankhamun. It's possible that KV63 contains material taken from another tomb for some unknown purpose and was never collected, again, for whatever reason.
The discovery will still yield important information about ancient Egypt, but at this point, there are still more unanswered questions to be answered.
Posted by Gail Bellenger
I watched the Discovery Channel program about a week ago and found it very interesting to see the contents of KV63. However, other than speculation about who, if anyone, might be buried inside, not too much information was really dished out. Of course, it's only at the early stages of examination, so not much can be revealed at this point and I personally look forward to finding out more. There is news of pillows being found, which is fascinating, since a lot of textiles are lost due to decomposition. These are supposedly made of linen and filled with feathers of some sort.
It will definitely be exciting when they eventually open up the sealed coffin, especially if there's a mummy inside. The other coffins have so far only revealed bundles of fabric, leading to the possibility that the tomb may indeed be only a storage area for mummification. But, we'll have to wait to see for sure what other information they find.