Ginger

Ginger, nickednamed for his reddish/blonde hair, is the oldest known mummy from Ancient Egypt. Dated to c. 3500 BC, he was found in the area of Gebelein, also known as Naga el-Gherira. He is currently located in the British Museum.

Description by the British Museum:

Body of naturally mummified adult male lying in flexed position.

Skull - Tufts of ginger-coloured hair are present on the scalp. No obvious fractures. Mouth slightly open. All teeth present and appear healthy.

Thorax and Abdomen - Comminuted fracture, 4th left rib. Fracture, anterior third of 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th left ribs. The spinal column is free from fractures and dislocations. The intervertebral discs appear normal. No arthritic changes are present. There is a large, faintly granular opacity within the thorax. Stellate crack fracture on the wing of the left ilium. Fracture through the right pubic ring.

Arms - No definite fractures seen. The left index finger and several of the terminal phalanges of the feet are missing.

Legs - Both femoral shafts are fractured and there is a fracture of the shaft of the left tibia and fibula. Three shells are present on the soft tissue just behind the left knee. No lines of arrested growth are visible.

Length: 163 centimetres (5.4 feet)

There were six bodies found at this location, including Ginger, all dating to the same period. Ceramic vessels were found with the bodies.

In 1967, x-rays were performed at the British Museum. Their findings:

• Female adult body with fractures to skull and many other bone fractures occurring after death, however the bones are otherwise healthy. There is long brown hair present on the scalp. The body is 5.0 feet in length.
• Body of an adolescent has a detached skull that may not belong to the body. The teeth are worn and there are fractures in all ribs, left tibia and right thigh bone. There are lines of arrested growth in the tibia. Linen has been used to pack the thorax and abdomen. The body is 4.9 feet in length.
• Male adult body with a square-shaped opacity in the skull and healthy teeth. The body has fractures in the 9th rib, the right femur and a crack fracture left of the sciatic notch. Several of the fingers are missing and the left hand has been detached at the wrist. Tufts of brown hair are on the remains of the scalp. The body is 5.2 feet in length.
• Elderly body with decalcified bones bones, consistent with senile osteoporosis. The body was probably in a wicker basket and covered with an animal skin as wicker and fur remnants are present and there are patches of linen on the body surface. All teeth are present with caps worn. The body has many fractured ribs and only wrist bones of the left hand remain. The legs have been detached due to fractures mid-shaft of both thigh bones. There are lines of arrested growth in the tibia and the last bones of most toes are missing. The body is 5.0 feet in length.
• Adult body, probably male, has remnants of bandages at the neck, pelvis and right ankle. The skull has been detached with some incisors missing but the remaining teeth appear healthy. The body has fractures in the ribs and left femur. One arm has been dislocated at the elbow joint, the left hand is detached at the wrist and both feet are also detached from the rest of the body. The body is 5.0 feet in length.

Ginger in the British Museum

Pre-Dynastic Egypt Timeline

• Early Predynastic (Badarian) (ca 5000-3900 BC)
• Middle Predynastic (Nagada I or Amratian) (ca 3900-3650 BC)
• Late Predynastic (Nagada II or Gerzean) (ca 3650-3300 BC)
• Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Proto-Dynastic) (ca 3300-3050 BC)

Tut and Other Stuff for 2011

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The tomb of King Tut’s wife, a buried pyramid, the Great Pyramid’s secret doors, and the final resting place of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony: these discoveries could await us in 2011, according to Dr. Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Hawass, one of the world's leading Egyptologists, gave an exclusive interview to Discovery News at an exhibition of images from ancient Egypt taken by photographer Sandro Vannini. Hawass’ many-years-long effort to solve the mystery behind the Great Pyramid’s secret doors and Cleopatra’s burial place is well known.

Less publicized has been his search for a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings and a buried pyramid in the Dashur area.

“We took satellite images over an area in Dashur and we could see that a pyramid is buried underneath the ground. Right now we are excavating this pyramid,” Hawass told Discovery News.

Located some 50 miles south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, Dashur is the site of several pyramids. The best known are the “Bent” pyramid, so named because of its sloping upper half, the “Red" pyramid, named after the reddish limestone from which it is built, and the “Black” pyramid of Amenemhat III.

Hawass believes the buried pyramid might belong to a king of the 13th Dynasty (1782-1650 BC), a period marked by rivalry over the throne, with many kings reigning for a short time.

“We do not know the name of the king yet. There are many missing kings in the 13th Dynasty,” Hawass said.

At the present time, Hawass seems to concentrate most of his efforts in the Valley of the Kings, where he hopes to uncover tomb KV64.

Indeed, 63 tombs have been already discovered since the valley was first mapped in the 18th century, with 26 of them belonging to kings.

Called KV64, as it will be the 64th tomb discovered, the tomb is likely to be a Queen’s burial.

“We found some indication that this tomb could be for Ankhesenamun, the Queen of Tutankhamun,” Hawass said.

Born as Ankhesenpaaten around 1348 BC, she was the third daughter of the Pharaoh Akhenaten and Nefertiti.

She probably changed her name into Ankhesenamun when she became the Great Royal Wife of Tutankhamun, most likely her half brother, at the age of 13.

Recent DNA tests have established that the two female fetuses buried in the tomb of Tutankhamun were most likely his offspring.

The mother is not yet genetically identified, although the data obtained from KV21A, one of two late 18th dynasty queens buried in tomb KV 21, pointed to this mummy as the mother of the fetuses.

Unfortunately, the researchers were not able to identify her as Ankhesenamun.

If KV64 is indeed Ankhesenamun’s tomb, new light might be shed on the family lineage of King Tut, especially if the Queen’s mummy is found.

“I hope this will be an intact tomb for Queen Ankhesenamun,” Hawass said.

Urartian King's Burial Chamber - 6th Century BC

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Burial chambers of Urartian King Argishti and his family in the western wing of the ancient castle in the eastern province of Van was opened for the first time.

The Anatolia news agency took photographs and video of the burial chambers which were closed to visitors.

Centered around the Lake Van in the eastern Turkey, the Urartian Kingdom ruled from the mid 9th century BC till its defeat by Media in the early 6th century BC. The most splendid monuments of the Urartian Kingdom take place in Van since the city was the capital of the kingdom.

Built on a rocky peak, the castle, one of the most significant samples of the Urartian architecture, was brought to daylight during excavations headed by lecturer Altan Cilingiroglu of the Ege University. The castle draws hundreds of Turkish and foreign visitors each year.

Argishti I was the sixth known king of the ancient kingdom, reigning from 786 BC to 764 BC. As the son and the successor of Menua, he continued the series of conquests initiated by his predecessors. Victorious against Assyria, he conquered the northern part of Syria and made Urartu the most powerful state in the post-Hittite Near East.

His burial chamber in the west wing of the Van Castle is composed of five separate sections. There are Urartian inscriptions on the walls.

Atantis

Interesting article to look at later.

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Outfit from Pre-Roman Britain

Mediaeval Scots Documents

Past Horizons

The most comprehensive database ever compiled of any European kingdom’s inhabitants in the central Middle Ages has now been published online thanks to a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

The multi-faceted database contains information on every person mentioned in more than 6,000 documents from Scotland between 1093 and 1286. It shows not only who they were, but gives an insight into how they related to each other as individuals, as different parts of society, and as Gaels and non-Gaels.

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