Tombs of the Pyramid Builders

Further tombs have been found in the graveyard in the area south of the Wall of the Crow.


If you prefer text, Dr Hawass has written about it on his blog.

The Courtiers of Khufu and Khafre

There's a nice post from Tim about the Courtiers of Khufu and Khafre, including little-known royalty like Princess Merytyetes.

Signed Copies of Beneath the Pyramids

Andrew Collins is advertising 78 signed editions of his book on a first-come-first-served basis. I've just ordered mine.  It's not just the signed copy that motivated me, in the UK Andrew is only charging £16.99 which is the cover price and I'd rather buy direct so the money goes straight to Andrew (I presume) rather than to a bookseller.  (I notice though that Amazon has discounted copies if anybody wants to save pennies.)

The signed book has a nice stamp - there's a picture on Andrew's site. 

The Mysteries of Queen Hetepheres' Burial

With thanks to Bennu (Vincent Brown) on Twitter, I'd recommend the Tour Egypt article about the burial of Queen Hetepheres.  It's a very good piece which not only reports the facts but also outlines the competing theories.

Sphinx 1849

Just found this picture of the Sphinx in 1849 and thought I'd share it. It's from the Brooklyn Musuem collection of lantern slides. The link will take you to one set if you would like to see more of them - this isn't the only set either.

New Discovery at Tel El-Daba

Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the seal impression bears the name of a top governmental official who lived during the old Babylonian era, during the reign of king Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC).

There's not much news about the 5th Dynasty when the Old Kingdom started to collapse so this press report is important. (OK, Hummarabi was 1st Dynasty - 1st Babylonian Dynasty - I'm talking Egypt here!)  There's a very clear photo in the press release.

Site Management at Giza

Dr Hawass has posted about the plans for site management at Giza now the boundary wall is in place.

Each visitor center will have parking spaces for vehicles, so that all vehicles but the electric cars will be kept outside the site. From the visitor centers, electric cars will take the new roads to the monuments, making the site more pedestrian friendly, and enhancing the visit, as there will no longer be cars and buses coming through the middle of the site.

For more, refer to the article.