Archive for the ‘Ancient Egypt’ Category
By: The Scribe on April, 2011
The Ancient Egyptians were known for mummifying animals as well as humans. Animals that were mummified were often beloved pets or were part of votive offerings. Often, they were one of several different sacred animals. Some of the animals that have been found in mummy form include fish, birds of prey, crocodiles, snakes and baboons. It was known that dogs and jackals were also mummified due to their connection to the god Anubis. This deity had the head of a jackal and was associated with the afterlife as well as with mummification.
Egyptologists found a complex series of catacombs located between ten and twelve meters below the surface of the Saqqara desert approximately one century ago. Saqqara is an area where several important archaeological finds have been discovered. This particular structure was known at the time of discovery as the “Dog Catacomb” and individuals who located the complex found that it was full of the remains of mummified dogs. At the time that it was discovered, it was unknown just how many dogs had been placed in the structure. Now, scientists have returned to the site and have discovered that as many as eight million dogs and other animals were placed in the catacombs. They were placed there at some time between the sixth century BCE and the first century BCE.
The catacomb system is made up of a central corridor with side passages which branch off on either side. In many areas, the piles of mummified remains are up to three feet high. Unlike other animal mummies, which were carefully wrapped and placed in ornamented containers, the dog mummies in the catacombs were often poorly wrapped and were often undecorated. Because they were poorly wrapped, many of them had slowly deteriorated and so were difficult to separate into individual sets of remains.
The dogs were not all adults. Many were puppies and may have only been hours old when they were mummified. It is believed that the animals were bred at puppy mills that were located in the city of Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt. It was believed that the animals could act as an intermediary between humans and Anubis. While the animal that had been mummified was sacrificed in the process, it was the dedication of the mummy that was considered the pious act and not its sacrifice.
When the catacombs were first discovered, a smaller side tunnel was also discovered. It was thought by many that this tunnel was used not to add more mummies to the catacombs but to remove them. Often in the past, animal mummies were sold and ground up as fertilizer. Many were shipped to England and used for such a purpose there.
The dog catacomb is not the only structure of its kind in the area although it is the largest. Several other catacomb structures were found in the same area. Some were dedicated to animals such as baboons, ibises, hawks, cats, cows and bulls.
While the practice of using animal mummies as an offering to various deities was quite common for centuries in Egypt, when the Romans conquered Egypt it slowly died out and eventually ceased sometime after 30 BCE.
By: The Scribe on April, 2011
A 42 foot (13 meter) statue of Pharaoh Amenhotep III was recently unearthed in Luxor, Egypt. The city, which is located in the southern part of Egypt is the site of two separate temple complexes. Both the temple complex of Karnak and the temple complex of Luxor are located inside the modern city. The city is also located across the river Nile from other important archeological sites such as the West Bank Necropolis, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. These last two sites are where many ancient Pharaohs and their wives were buried.
Amenhotep III ruled Egypt from 1386 BCE to 1349 BCE. During this time, the country prospered and artistic splendor was allowed to reach its peak. Over 250 statues have been unearthed that depict this pharaoh in addition to large stone scarabs that commemorate everything from his hunting prowess to the creation of an artificial lake that Amenhotep had built for his wife, Queen Tiye. Tiye was only one of several women that Amenhotep married during his lifetime. Many of them were foreign and came from areas such as Babylon and Ammia (which is located in modern Syria). He also married the daughter of several of his allies as well. 
The temple where the statue was found was not located in Luxor itself but was actually located on the West Bank of the Nile. Amenhotep had constructed a large funerary temple which was a normal practice for pharaohs at the time. The statue, which is constructed out of seven blocks of quartzite, was originally positioned in front of the northern entrance to the temple complex. Although the statue was missing a head, it was possible to identify it as being that of Amenhotep III.
Two other statues were also unearthed at the same time as the Amenhotep statue. One depicted the Egyptian God Thoth. While this deity is often depicted with the head of an ibis (a long-legged wading bird) the statue unearthed at the temple showed Thoth depicted with the head of a baboon. Thoth was associated with magical arts, writing, science and judging of the dead. A second statue measured six feet in height and depicted the goddess Sekhmet. Sekhmet was a warrior goddess who was also associated with healing.
The temple where these statues were found has recently been the focus of massive excavations. An earlier excavation in 1928 actually unearthed the statue but it was buried again. It is believed that a twin to the Amenhotep statue will be unearthed in future excavations. It is surprising that so many artifacts and statuary can be located in the ruins of the temple due to the fact that the structure was heavily damaged in the past. Both flooding and a massive earthquake in 27 BCE were believed to have contributed to the damage that the temple had sustained.
The temple is one of several that were constructed by pharaohs on the West Bank but of the temples, it is one of the largest and grandest that has been unearthed to date.
By: The Scribe on March, 2011
The role of women in ancient times varies from culture to culture. In some, they rode into battle beside the men. In others, they were expected to remain at home where they would bear their husbands children and keep the household in order. One culture where women were permitted and even encouraged to work outside the home was that of Ancient Egypt.
In Ancient Egypt, there were several examples of women not only working as doctors, but, in some cases, overseeing the work of other physicians. The literary works that they authored on the topic of medicine were, in some cases, being read and studied hundreds, if not thousands of years later.
Of the female doctors who lived and worked in Ancient Egypt, perhaps the best known was Merit Ptah. She lived around 2700 BCE and was believed by many to be the first named female physician in history. She lived and practiced around the same time as Imhotep, who was well known as a healer, architect and builder of the Pyramid of Djoser. Although she was one of the best known female doctors, she was not the first woman to have practiced medicine in Ancient Egypt, and unlike another female doctor, her writings were not studied for thousands of years. She gave birth to a son who later became a High Priest and who gave her the title of “Chief Physician”.
Peseshet was a female physician who lived during the Fourth Dynasty (2613 BCE to 2494 BCE). Some historical records suggest that she may have been a physician and others that she may have been trained and employed as a midwife. Regardless of her training, she was given the title of “lady overseer of the female physicians”. This title is important because it shows that not only were a number of women working as doctors, but that they were also administrated and supervised by a woman as well. It was believed that she may have begun her medical training at a school for midwives that was located at Sais although it is unknown just how far her medical training progressed. 
A third woman who was well known as a doctor in Ancient Egypt was Cleopatra (not to be confused with the former Queen and member of the Ptolemy dynasty). In Ancient Egypt, doctors tended to specialize in the treatment of certain diseases or parts of the body. Cleopatra was a doctor who worked in the twin fields of gynecology and obstetrics. In addition to working in the field, she also wrote extensively about her medical specialty and women’s health in general. Her works continued to be the focus of study for more than a thousand years.
Egyptian medicine was a unique mixture of magic and scientific fact. They were able to treat many diseases and injuries much more successfully than doctors could thousands of years later. They showed a need for cleanliness and a knowledge of anatomy and physiology that was very sophisticated for the time and yet, still believed in the need for divine blessings and magic charms.
By: The Scribe on March, 2011
People who have watched the movie The Mummy have heard of Imhotep. In the movie, he was an ancient, undead monster who was condemned to a living death for loving the wife of the Pharaoh. Many people may not realize that there was a real Imhotep who lived between 2655 and 2600 BCE. They also may not be aware that he is responsible for some of the pyramids that we know and love. While he was not the architect behind the Great Pyramid, Imhotep was the first one to take the mastaba structure that was the common shape for tombs and turn it into a soaring structure that endures to this day.
But building pyramids is not Imhotep’s only claim to fame. He was also credited for inventing many things, including an improved form of the papyrus scrolls that were used for all types of writing. He was also believed to have been one of the earliest and best known Egyptian physicians as well. Although two other physicians, Hesy-Ra and Merit-Ptah also lived at the time, it is Imhotep’s writings on medicine that have attracted the most attention. The Edwin Smith Papyrus, believed to have been written by Imhotep, is full of his observations on anatomy as well as descriptions of various ailments and cures. The cures depicted on the papyrus are lacking in many of the incantations and strange ingredients that were common to Egyptian medicine at the time. The papyrus is notably lacking in the magical thinking that was so common at the time.
Although Imhotep seemed to have been able to separate out magical thinking from scientific observation, much of his life was steeped in religion and superstition. He became the patron saint of Egyptian scribes who were known to pour him a libation before they began any work. He was also depicted on a portion of a pharaoh’s statue. This had never been done before.
Although much of his work was done in the name of the Pharaoh Djoser, it was believed that Imhotep lived on after Djoser’s death. It was believed that he then went on to work for the Pharaoh Sekhemkhet. Unfortunately, Sekhemkhet’s reign was so short (only six or seven years) that he did not survive to see the completion of his pyramid. Although Imhotep was responsible for building some of the largest and most visible tombs in Ancient Egypt, his own resting place has never been found. It is believed to be located somewhere near Saqqara, an area that served as a necropolis for Memphis.
After his death, his reputation continued to grow. He was awarded divine status after his death and was worshipped by a cult that was based in Memphis. He was linked to several gods and goddesses including Nut (the sky deity), Hathor (who eventually became the wife of Ra), and Ma’at, who stood for truth, cosmic order and justice. He eventually became the god of medicine and healing although this did not happen until about two thousand years after his death.
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Egyptologists found a complex series of catacombs located between ten and twelve meters below the surface of the Saqqara desert approximately one century ago. Saqqara is an area where several important archaeological finds have been discovered. This particular structure was known at the time of discovery as the “Dog Catacomb” and individuals who located the complex found that it was full of the remains of mummified dogs. At the time that it was discovered, it was unknown just how many dogs had been placed in the structure. Now, scientists have returned to the site and have discovered that as many as eight million dogs and other animals were placed in the catacombs. They were placed there at some time between the sixth century BCE and the first century BCE. 
