--
Berlin's Egyptian Museum said on Monday it will celebrate the centenary of the discovery of the 3,400-year-old fabled bust of Egypt's Queen Nefertiti amid an ongoing feud with Cairo over its ownership.
 |
| Nefertiti |
Nefertiti, renowned as one of history's great beauties, was the wife of Akhenaton, and remembered for having converted his kingdom to monotheism with the worship of one sun god, Aton. His bust, which was found smashed, will also be on display after being reassembled.
Borchardt and his team excavated up to 7,000 archaeological objects in Akhenaton, about 5,500 of which made their way to Berlin. Many of these have never been on display before, but around 600 have been restored and will be unveiled in December as part of the spectacle.
"The exhibition focuses on never-before-seen discoveries from the collections of the Berlin museum, supplemented by loans from other museums abroad," it said, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Louvre in Paris and London's British Museum.
But the exhibit is not without its critics. Nefertiti is one of the five major artefacts on display abroad that Egypt wants returned. But Germany says the bust was bought legally by the Prussian state, and that the purchase can be proven with documents.
--
Descendants of the Egyptologist who unearthed the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun 90 years ago say it was an archaeological discovery never since bettered.
 |
| tomb_tutankhamun |
Ninety years ago on November 22 the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun was discovered in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor in Egypt.
After years of finding smaller archaeological hauls in the area Egyptologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, opened the tomb and discovered an abundance of gold and fineries left with the king after his death and mummification.
On Thursdaythe great-grandson of the 5th Earl, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, Lord Carnarvon attended an event to celebrate this anniversary at Howard Carter’s house which is now a museum a few miles from the Valley of the Kings.
Egypt's ministers of tourism and antiquities were present as were ambassadors to Egypt from the United States and Singapore amongst others.
The current Lord Carnarvon, George, explained the importance of the celebration.
“Well I’m here today in Luxor, indeed in Howard Carter’s house, Castle Carter as it’s known, because it's the 90th year following the first discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. When my great-grandfather and Howard Carter actually broke through the outer sealed door with Tutankhamun’s cartouche and crest on it and when they first saw into the ante-chamber of the tomb. This amazing archaeological discovery that has never been surpassed,” he said.
Carnarvon is a big fan of his great-grandfather but readily admits his wife Fiona is more of an expert on Egyptology than he is, even translating a certain amount of hieroglyphics. He says opening the tomb was a very dramatic moment.
“My great-grandfather says to Howard Carter ‘What do you see?’ and Carter famously replies ‘Just wonderful things.’ And he's looking back at this, in a way perhaps, theatre set of ancient civilization 3,100 years ago, everywhere the glint of gold off those beautiful wooden objects and that's just the start,” said Carnarvon.
The 8th Earl funded Carter's excavation work in the Valley of the Kings for several years. The pair were in their last year of working together when they made by far their greatest discovery: the tomb of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922. It is still the best preserved of the pharaonic tombs in the area.
 |
| tut_coffin |
 |
| entry_room |
 |
| sentinel_sm |
 |
| tutankhamun_bed_sm |
 |
| canopic_chest_sm |
 |
| sentinel_2 |
