British Museum tour reaches Dorchester Museum

British Museum Tour:

"PHARAOH: KING OF EGYPT"

This tour features some items which will be of use to the Hatshepsut Project, so i will add further details. This tour will be in my home town of Bristol in 2013. I will be there (if all goes well). I will photograph what i can and will report on the visit. 

If any of you get to see the tour before then, please let us know what your thoughts are on the exhibition.

Regards,

Stuart

Message to Dylan Bickerstaffe re: British Museum Obelisk

I completely ignored the placard which accompanies the British Museum Obelisk. You question made me go back and i realised i had the following on Flickr:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/styler78/5540755753/in/photostream

The inscription reads "Beloved of Horus, Lord of Mian (modern day Aniba) Living like Re forever"

I am out of my depth but this inscription sounds like it may offer a clue to the answer to your question. What do you make of this inscription? Would a God's Wife of Amun "fit" within such an inscription?

Regards,
Stuart

More on the British Museum Obelisk from Qasr Ibrim

Owing the the amount of "new" material available to me, i have been able to revisit a number of artifacts recently to add further details than previously posted. The next item is the small Obelisk at the British Museum, EA 1834.

The following document gives some interesting, further information on the discovery of the obelisk (in 3 separate pieces):

Qaṣr Ibrim̂ 1963-1964Author(s): J. Martin PlumleySource: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 50 (Dec., 1964), pp. 3-5 Published by: Egypt Exploration Society.

"...Two areas for excavation were selected [within the Qasr Ibrim Fortress]: the Church, and the so-called Podium in the south wall of the Fortress.......
......Further excavation northwards from the Podium area may reveal the foundations of an earlier building, in all probability a temple, and possibly the building from which came much of the material for the construction of the Church. It is not without signi- ficance that amongst the debris moved from this area came a number of blocks bearing parts of hieroglyphic inscriptions. The greater part of these can be dated to the reign of Taharqa, though there are pieces from the Ramesside period. A surprising find was a small granite obelisk, which had been used to form a step in a stairway to the east of the Podium. Though the cartouches on this monument had been hammered out in antiquity, it is still possible to make out the prenomen of Hatshepsut."

Somehow, the findspot "Qasr Ibrim" never seemed sufficient enough an explanation. We now have an idea of the usage of the obelisk, as found during the excavations.

Regards,
Stuart

Name- Beads at the British Museum (Hatshepsut & Senenmut)

From Nicholas Reeves:

These have been added to the database, as too the following possible origin:

"Although neither of these beads seems to have been found in situ (110), the two versions of the inscription they carry would perhaps indicate that they, and a number of published parallels (111), had originally been intended for the foundation deposits of the Hathor (p. 388) shrine"

 Even the very small artifacts have information to be gained from them. Foundation deposits can tell when certain elements of a temple were erected, by whom (overseer) and also the commissioner. Fortunately, Hatshepsut left many and these, which are housed in museums all over the world today.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut fragment from the Osireion, Abydos

Pottery Sherd, from the British Museum (58635) discovered at the Osireion (in Abydos) bares the Prenomens of Thutmose III and Hatshepsut.

Donated to the British Museum in 1926 by The Egypt Exploration Society.There is currently no picture available on the British Museum website.

Regards,
Stuart

British Museum (UK) Tour - coming soon

From Andie at Egyptology News

I've checked the database and Hatshepsut is covered. Also featuring will be Senenmut, Neferure and Thutmose III.

Whilst every attempt will be made by me to visit Bristol and Birmingham, nothing is ever certain so if any of you visit and photographs are allowed- please get in touch. It may be that artifacts vary from museum to museum and it may be that the above names may not visit the same museums as i do.

Thanks to Andrea for the heads- up.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Photo - British Museum Obelisk

British Museum Obelisk of Hatshepsut
Originally uploaded by styler78
By far the smallest of the obelisks erected under the name of Hatshepsut. Found at Qasr Ibrim, Nubia.
British Museum EA 1834.
Regards,
Stuart

Neferubity - British Museum

BM/Big number: 1458

Neferubity was the only sister of Hatshepsut. Sadly not a great deal is known about her. Hatshepsut depicted her family members at Deir el Bahri and had it not been for the surviving images we have today- we may not even be aware of Neferubity's existence. Apart from at Deir el Bahri she is not well attested.

This surviving fragment shows Neferubity's cartouche along with other hieroglyphs, which mention her stance as "Kings Daughter". The king in this instance is Thutmose I.

This limestone fragment shows finely carved hieroglyphs, which i have come to see as the "norm" at Deir el Bahri. It is housed in the British Museum. Follow the link for this items information and also other items within their database.

This block comes from the Upper Court area of Hatshepsut's temple.

Regards,
Stuart

Senenmut and Neferure - British Museum

Statue of Senenmut and Neferura
Originally uploaded by Lenka P

As a father, i am always taken back when i see sculptures like this wonderful example from the British Museum. To me this appears to be be a very loving, protective picture of what appears to be a father and daughter (at a glance). Thutmose II, Neferure's father would object to such a statement. But where are the statues featuring Neferure and Hatshepsut/ Thutmose III?

Neferure (Neferura if you like) is the only (confirmed) child of Hatshepsut that i am aware of. Here, she is shown with (one of) her tutor(s), Senenmut.

Senenmut is the one person who (outside of recognised family members) is depicted the most with Hatshepsut's daughter, Neferura, but not the only person which i will highlight at a later date.

This is one of many such statues showing such an embrace between these two people. What role did a tutor play in Ancient Egypt? Probably a dominant role in the lives of those who were under their tutorship, after the early days of their wet- nurse.

I highlight this photo due to both Senenmut and Neferura being present. Thanks to Lenka P for the original photo.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - British Museum Baboon mummies link to the land of Punt

From the Independent:

The actual location of the land of Punt has been the subject of discussion for some time. Hatshepsut's temple shows a well documented trading expedition to Punt. The decorations show the Queen of Punt and even names her as Itj/ Eti/Ati/Iti. We see depictions of Puntite housing- on stilts, the trees and animals which were brought back and of the Puntite people themselves.

What we do not have is a a clear description of where Punt is.

The above article is a year old, but the processes used give us an idea of what is being used to locate the land of Punt using modern technology.

There are other interesting articles and blogs on Punt, which i have read and saved. I will share these so that "Punt" as a tag will have more than just the Hatshepsut Mortuary temple depictions. Also I've spotted some great online photos which can be shared without copyright issues (always best to avoid those).

It would seem that they have ruled out the possibility of Punt being located in modern day Somalia and Yemen has also been ruled out. Modern day Eastern Ethiopia/ Eritrea have been found to be the closest match, according to results of oxygen isotope analysis (see link for description).

Furthermore a harbour has been located which may have been the harbour used by Hatshepsut's ships to load up and return to Egypt from Punt. It is located near modern day
Massawa.

This is all very interesting reading and there will be more to come according to the link.

Regards,
Stuart

Photo - British Museum Obelisk

The only obelisk of which i am aware which was commissioned by Hatshepsut but not intended for Karnak temple. This brings me up to 5 obelisks and i feel this may be the last of the Hatshepsut obelisks.

Found in 3 separate pieces it is now looked after by the British Museum. It shows signs of the removal of Hatshepsut's name as was the case with many of her monuments during the reign of her successor, Thutmose III ("The Egyptian Napoleon").

This obelisk was found at Qasr Ibrim in Nubia re-used in a later building project as 3 separate blocks.

Regards,
Stuart

British Museum visit

I am back after some time away and some computer problems. It seems as though i have been away for a very long time. This will be the first time i have had to confirm that on 12th August i managed to visit the British Museum, London. This was my first visit and it was an amazing experience.

Before going i had a plan of which rooms i would visit- and in which order. By each room number i added where i might locate Hatshepsut related artifacts. I will add that i was unable to see many of the expected items. This was not due to anything other that the museum only showing approx 4% of its Egyptian artifacts at any one time.

The experience was one which i am keen to have again. The colossal bust of Ramesses II, Amenhotep III, Senusret III, the sphinx beard, Rosetta stone and so much more.

It was a family trip (my birthday treat!)to London- a day visit and i was sad to hear that the Petrie Museum is closed due to renovations. We actually had planned to do both but the Petrie Museum will most probably be a day trip in itself. Instead of the Petrie Museum we visited the Thames Embankment to take pictures of a very impressive Thutmoside monument, which i will mention at a later date.

Stuart

British Museum- Time for a visit

Wouldn't it be great if i could visit all of the worlds museums and sites, which house the items relating to Hatshepsut?

Well, that was a question that had previously occupied my mind. The reality is that i will only visit a fraction. Still, i have an extremely supportive family. They have their limits of course.

I have a possible chance of visiting the British Museum within the next 2 weeks. If this happens, then i will have one more museum/ site ticked off the list. If it doesn't then it is another museum/ site for the other list i have.

Should the visit happen, then i will circle like a hawk over an Egyptian battlefield in the hunt for the "second" lady in my life (after my wife of course), Hatshepsut.

I cannot imagine how excited i would be to spot even one Hatshepsut item. Maybe similar to a small child bumping into Santa on Christmas day may come close- but not that close. Pictures will be taken of each and every item i can find (i have not yet seen the potential restrictions, but i will check before i go (if i go)).

Hatshepsut aside, we have the famous bust of Ramesses II from the Ramesseum (Belzoni), The Rozetta Stone, Papyrus of Ani (Budge)and so much more.

Oh and the Hatshepsut obelisk (sorry, couldn't keep her out for long- this blog is for her, after all!). The obelisk is mentioned in a previous post.

I will keep you all up to date:

* Karnak Temple - TICK
* Deir el Bahri - TICK
* Luxor Temple - TICK
* Highclere (Carnarvon) Castle - TICK
* British Museum- TICK

....wow, nowhere near, but it has been great so far...........

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - The British Museum

I consider myself lucky living in England and having so many different places to visit and see genuine ancient Egyptian Artifacts. One of those places is the British Museum, London.

When searching their website for Hatshepsut i was not disappointed in the slightest. I will not spoil things (much), although i will draw your attention to the Obelisk and the history of its "discovery".

This obelisk is not from Karnak. I think i have covered them, for now at least.

It's stories like this which making tracking Egyptian artifacts a bit of a nightmare to say the least. they do not stand still- that's for sure. It takes none of the fun away though i might add..

Here's the link to the British Museum's Hatshepsut- related items.

Regards,
Stuart