Photo - Cleopatra's Needle, London

The Obelisk of Thutmose III, often called "Cleopatra's Needle" although this was quarried and erected much before the time of the legendary Cleopatra IV.

Originally from Alexandria (this obelisk had fallen in antiquity and was one of a pair) this beautiful piece of history was commissioned by Thutmose III, the successor to Hatshepsut. It proudly stands on the Thames Embankment, London.

I will post different views of this obelisk and the signs that accompany it, at a later date.

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

The Punt trading expedition

The walls of Hatshepsuts mortuary temple show scenes of a trading expedition to the land of Punt. The scenes show the items brought back, the houses of the Puntians (?) and the ships which took Hatshepsuts people to Punt and back again.

I recently saw a documentary called "Building a Pharaoh's ship". Attempts are made to recreate one of the ships depicted on the temple walls.

The PBS site shown below gives details of the documentary as well as a lot more information which some of you may find useful. You do not have to watch the film, but i recommend browsing the other parts of the site:

http://video.pbs.org/video/1379655910/

Stuart

Senenmut and Neferure

I am going through a lot of material at the moment, trying to add to this blog. The Hatshepsut related stuff is limited to time. Time is a factor that keeps on popping up like a little gremlin in my head reminding me that i have a family to take care of.

I am going to broaden my horizons, so to speak. I will start to include sites and items concerning Senenmut (Senemut if you prefer)and Neferure. Although these wonderful people of the past will always have a back seat to Hatshepsut, they are a very large part of the Hatshepsut story and this Hatshepsut project. All information on these will be introductory and i will refer you to further reading, or websites which will aid in more informed learning for those who may be interested.

I will not yet move on to Thutmose I,II, III, Ahmose and other major family members of Hatshepsut. These will follow later as i have to pace myself. As i am learning- as- i go i do not want to end up too far over my head.

At this stage i wish there were two of me. That would certainly solve some of the time issues... Please bare with me as i go. There will be times when this blog goes slightly quiet. I promise you that i will be in the background either reading books, excavation reports, watching documentaries and everything else that has helped me get to month 3 of this blog...

Stuart

Hatshepsut Project Update

The blog is now in its third month as i write this. I wanted to really just take a deep breath. Also to see what kind of progress the blog is making.

Firstly i would like to thank you all for taking part in the Project. It has been encouraging for me to have followers, as I inevitably work a bit harder knowing that other could benefit from this blog.

With regard museums:

I have one or two up my sleeve, but i am running out of options. The search will continue however.

With regard sites:

There are still sites which i am aware of (in Egypt) which house Hatshepsut's footprints. I will share these once i have checked on the materials i have.

With regards my own research:

* I have recently purchased a number of books and have many bookmarks, which i have been saving for a rainy day. Again, these will follow once i am confident on the content.

* A possible visit to the British Museum will open a few doors (photos especially) and i will of course write all about it.

* I have many hours of Deir el Bahri excavation material to pour through. This will take some time to take in before i will get a chance to consider a write- up.

So that's where i will leave it. Please feel free to contribute in any way. Photos, articles, pictures - all will be greatly received and i will always mention where i received the materials from.

Ok, so back to the new books (Hatshepsut related of course!, lol )

Thank you all,

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 Louvre

The link below tells of a number of blocks said to be associated with the temple of Satet at Elephantine, where Hatshepsut is known to have "made her mark".

I've not seen much of Hatshepsut (or her reign) so far at the Louvre - so this could be the only report on the Louvre for a while.

The Louvre

The information provided- through the link- should give as much detail as is required.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - Luxor Museum

When i go to Luxor again (hopeful thinking), one of my first stops will be the Luxor Museum.

My wife and i didn't have enough time and money when we went in 2008, which was a real shame. Next time we will definitely take an evening visit.

Amongst their former collections, (blocks from) Hatshepsut's Red Chapel had been on display, until being moved (further details have been provided below).

Just a taster:

http://www.suziemanley.com/may/l_museum.htm

(pictures 6 & 19)

Thanks to the site owner Suzie Manley.

Stuart


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I have edited this post to show (correctly) that the blocks USED to be a part of the Luxor Museum. As pointed out by Dr Karl Leser, the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut has been re-built and is situated today in the Karnak Temple Open Air Museum. For more information on the reconstructed Red Chapel, then please visit Dr Lesers site:

http://www.maat-ka-ra.de/english/start_e.htm

Go to: Sitemap, Monuments, Red Chapel

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Hatshepsut fake? Part 2

Recently i provided a link to Heritage Key. The story was of a possible forgery within the Berlin Museum's collections- the head of Hatshepsut (see previous story).

Following the post, I have been made aware by Dr Karl Leser that there is more to the tale than first thought.

The link below is what actually happened- as far as any testing on the head is concerned:

Fake or No Fake?

Not much of a story can really be seen here. Certainly, no comments stating that the head is a proven forgery- far from it. Should the general story be of interest to you, please follow the above link.

My thanks to Dr Leser for the update. Your help is extremely valuable to me and always welcomed.

Regards,
Stuart