Sir John Gardiner Wilkinson with excellent characters who brought ancient Egypt to life again

 Sir John Gardiner Wilkinson had a very interesting life in Egypt, Wilkinson lived during the ‘golden age of scholarship and adventure’ — between Champollion’s decipherment of hieroglyphics and the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. Whilst living in Egypt he dressed in the style of a Turk, his friend Robert Hay joined him bringing with him a Greek woman, that he had bought in the market of slaves in Cairo, even though Slavery was not pursued in England, it was actively accepted in Egypt during the period of time. Wilkinson married his slave, as initially she would not have anything to do with the 'infidel'. Many interesting characters came into his tomb home, which became an inescapable passage known to all, and famous for its comfort, parties and receptions were given regularly.

Wilkinson actually lived inside a tomb halfway up the hill of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, on the West Bank of Thebes (luxor) this area was known as the Village of the Tomb Robbers, he built his garden around the entrance to the tomb of Ahmose, he had a Pidgeon house, a grand mudbrick tower and surrounding wall to enclose a garden and courtyard to obscure the monumental portico of the original tomb. His guests arrived on thursday nights and enjoyed a relaxing evening surrounded by the beauty of the tomb reliefs in his home.

His local neighbors were the Rassoul family, tomb robbers who had found a tomb (DB320) with the mummies of over fifty Kings and royalty in a tomb near to the Temple of Hatshepsut, they had kept the tomb a secret for over ten years, and sold artifacts to tourists during the winters, the kings had been taken from their own tombs in the Valley of the Kings to supposedly protect them from Tomb Robbers. 

Ahmed Rassoul also lived in a tomb on the hillside with his mother fendia, his daughter and granddaughter, his mother can be seen wearing a pharaonic collar

Wilkinson's own tomb home could be seen from most of the valley below because of the portico and pillars which form its monumental entry, the tomb belongs to Amethu called Ahmose, who carried the titles of Mayor of the City (Thebes) who was the  Vizier of Tuthmosis 111, which is the highest position in the land, and when the King was absent from the country on campaigns Ahmose was responsible of all duties of Egypt  on behalf of Tuthmosis 111 

Wilkinson began his Egyptian studies during a very important time in the development of Egyptology, he became friends with Champollion who had actually deciphered the hieroglyphics, Although he had the utmost respect for his friend Champollion he was able to correct through research some of Champollion's mistakes

During his stay in Egypt , Wilkinson visited virtually every known ancient Egyptian site, and skillfully recorded inscriptions and paintings as a talented copyist and compiling copious notes, he published his most significant work ' Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians'  Acclaim for this publication brought Wilkinson a knighthood in 1839 and ensured him the title of the first distinguished British Egyptologist.

He remained in Egypt until 1833, traveling extensively through the country. He learned Coptic and Arabic, and continued his study of Hieroglyphics, there was hardly an ancient Egyptian site known at that time that Wilkinson did not visit and record in his notebooks. His interest was almost an obsession. There was no inscription, regardless of how small or incomplete that was too insignificant for his attention.

Whilst living on the West Bank Wilkinson copied scenes and inscriptions in the tombs of the Nobles, One morning he walked over to the Valley of the Kings and he assigned numbers to the twenty tombs that were known during that period in time, establishing the numbering system still used today. In fact, modern Egyptologists frequently consult his notes on Thebes particularly for private tomb scenes which were copied by him but since have been damaged or even completely destroyed. Through this work, he was able to identify the names of many of the ancient Egyptian kings for the first time. His copies of texts and other drawings are extremely precise,

Wilkinson was a pioneer of Egyptology and he is often rereferred to as 'the Father of British Egyptology'. He copied scenes and inscriptions in the private tombs of the Nobles, and also surveyed the known tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and produced the first comprehensive plan of ancient Thebes, as well as a chronology of the New Kingdom dynasties, modern Egyptologists frequently consult his notes on Thebes particularly for private tomb scenes which were copied by him but since have been damaged or even completely destroyed. Through this work, he was able to identify the names of many of the ancient Egyptian kings for the first time. His copies of texts and other drawings are extremely precise.

Wilkinson returned to England for his health's sake in 1833, he went on to publish his researches in a large number of publications. His most significant publication was Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, it was first published in three volumes in 1837 and was illustrated by Joseph Bonomi. Acclaim for this publication brought Wilkinson a knighthood in 1839 and ensured him the title of the first distinguished British Egyptologist.

My BLOG was inspired by the writing of Chris Naunton and his new publication Egyptologists Notebook, that brings this period of time, its excellent characters and how they brought ancient Egypt to the attention of the world. It is a really good read.

Alexander the Great Conquers Egypt & by carving his presence into the walls of the barque shrine at Luxor Temple, Alexander was now ordained into the everlasting cycle of kingship

Alexander the Great was the son of Philip II of Macedonia with one of his wives, Olympias, who From being a young child his mother encouraged him to believe that he was a descendent of heroes and gods, and his birth right was divine. Alexanders father arranged for him to be tutored by Aristotle himself, whose  education infused him with a love of knowledge, logic, philosophy, music and culture. The teachings of Aristotle gave him the understanding of how to treat his new subjects in the empires he invaded and conquered, allowing him to admire and maintain the countries religions and cultures.

With the belief in himself that his mother had impressed on him, Alexander was said to have a great charisma and forceful personality which gave him the ability to motivate his army to do what seemed to many to be impossible. He was a visionary who could plan and strategize his way to success, he motivated his men who knew they were part of one of the greatest conquests in history. 

Alexanders father Philip II was assassinated in 336BC by the captain of his bodyguard, Pausanias, who was also his son and had previously been designated as his heir,

The Oracle of Amon at Siwa Oasis & the founding of Alexandria

The Macedonian noblemen and army proclaimed Alexander as King of Macedonia, and he continued with his fathers conquests and arrived in Egypt in October 332 B.C. where the Egyptians surrendered without a fight. Travelling to Siwa Oasis  to the village of Aghurmi  Alexander consulted the oracle of Amun, who confirmed him as both a divine personage and the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt, and he was pronounced the son of the deities Zeus and Amon by the Oracle, and was then often referred to as Zeus-Ammon. 

The floor plan of the temple reveals a hidden passage and chamber from which it would have been possible for a concealed priest to simulate the voice of the oracle. but with the oracles words of Alexanders destiny he then travelled to  the northern Coast of Egypt where he founded the famous city of Alexandria and he himself marked out where the agora was to be built and decided how many temples were to be erected and to which Ancient Egyptian Gods they were to be dedicated.  He had the city built  to face the rising sun on the day that he was born. 

Alexander and The Festival of the Opet with the god Amun Min in Thebes (luxor)

Alexander understood the symbolism of Ancient Egyptian festivals and ceremonies. Every year the ancient Egyptians eagerly anticipated the coming of Akhet, the flooding season. Akhet was the most important event in the Egyptian year that celebrated the Nile’s floodwaters replenishing the land and restoring Egypt’s fertility. This time of joyous renewal was also when ancient Egypt held one of its most spectacular and most mysterious festivals: the Feast of Opet, a very important festival, for which luxor temple had been especially created, and was held each year to both symbolically to renew the Life of both Egypt and the pharaoh, the celebrations perpetuated the divine royal ka. Each year the spirit of kingship that linked the living king with the gods and all his royal predecessors was renewed with great ceremony

The festival began with a grand procession from Karnak Temple to  Luxor Temple. In this procession, statues of the city’s most sacred gods Amun-Re, his wife, Mut, and his son, Khonsu were escorted by the ruling pharaoh and placed in special vessels called barques and were carried by priests down the avenue of sphinx that connected the two temples for two miles from the earthly home of Amun at Karnack Temple to Luxor Temple, a unique temple in all of Egypt that had been created to celebrate this festival which lasted for 11 days. Even today Modern Egyptians hold a celebration where boats are carried around the town

Alexander had the original Barque Shrine of Amun-Re reconstructed  inside what is often referred to as the Third Antechamber where the reliefs presented On the exterior walls now show Alexander  as Pharoahhim, the legitimate heir of the pharaohs. During the feast of the Opet, the rites show him in the presence of Amun Min the god of Fertility. By carving his presence into the walls of the barque shrine, Alexander was now ordained into the everlasting cycle of kingship. In the reliefs Alexander receives the two crowns of both Upper and Lower Egypt, declaring him to be King of all Egypt

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Inside the shrine, reliefs show Alexander portrayed as the rightful Egyptian king, accompanied by various gods. Above these scenes is a dedication formula that acknowledges Alexander's esteemed ancestor: "He [Alexander] has created the great chamber anew in white and beautiful sandstone after it existed since the time of the majesty of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nebmaatre, Son of Re Amenhotep, Ruler of Thebes."

Above the lintel of the doorway into this antechamber, a small chamber was built into the wall that was just large enough to accommodate a man. It was concealed by removable slabs, and accessed by holds cut in the wall. Some scholars believed this to be a priest-hole, where a priest would conceal himself during religious ceremonies. He would then be the voice of Amun, when priests asked questions of the god. Alexander did not stay in Egypt long. By 331 BC he was on his way west to complete his conquest of the Persian Empire, but the impact of his conquest in Egypt was significant. Alexander had  respected Egyptian culture and religion, but he installed a Greek government to control his administration of Egypt. Greek influence in Egypt was reinforced by the settlement of Greek veterans throughout Egypt, where they became a privileged aristocracy that gradually assimilated with the Egyptians. Alexander had also founded a new Greek capital, Alexandria, located on the Mediterranean at the mouth of the Nile.

Although Alexander would never return to Egypt, he died in Babylon in 323 BC, the Greek rule that he established proved more enduring. In the crisis after Alexander's death, Ptolemy, one of his generals, claimed Egypt as his kingdom and established hereditary rule. The Ptolemaic Dynasty would last until the Romans conquered Egypt in 32 BC, and incurred the death of the Famous Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra,  who had children with both Julias Ceasar and Mark Antony

Tutankhamun was buried with 130 Walking sticks & Staffs & his two Stillborn Daughters

Tutankhaten “the living image of Aten.” Came to the throne at the age of nine and ruled for ten years, Egypt had almost been brought to the brink of Disaster by his father Akhenaten, who had  closed all the Temples down, and declared that the Egyptians must only worship one God, the Aten, he had taken the capital from Waset (luxor) and moved to the desert to create a new capital Akhetaten.  After Akhenatens death Tutankhaten changed his name to Tutankhamun and returned to Waset, reinstating the Ancient Egyptian God Amun and the temples

Genetic testing in 2010 on Tutankhamun's mummy, showed that he was a frail young man when he died at the age of 19, the tests also  verified that Tutankhamun was the grandson of the great pharaoh Amenhotep III, who created amongst other things the great festival hall in Luxor Temple. 

Discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun there were 130 staffs and walking sticks, some of the sticks show clear signs of use. Some of Tutankhamun's walking sticks were symbolically carved with prisoners of Egypt's traditional African and Asiatic enemies. When the king grasped this cane, the captives were turned upside down and therefore became magically rendered harmless, and under the full subjugation of Tutankhamun. This beautiful walking stick is carved with a Nubian man, his face, hands and feet are made out of ebony and he is represented wearing a short curly hair wig and a pleated garment

CT scans have revealed that Tutankhamun's left foot was crippled with a bone necrosis which would have made walking painful and difficult. In Ancient Egypt Pharaohs married their sisters and daughters to keep the blood lines pure, but this in- breeding possibly contributed to Tutankhamun's poor health and early death. DNA tests published in 2010 revealed that Tutankhamun’s parents were brother and sister and that his wife, Ankhesenamun, the daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, was also his half sister.  When Tutankhamun's tomb was cleared of it's treasures two tiny mummies, his daughters were found to have been stillborn. In 1932 an autopsy was carried out on the mummies, the first child still had a part of the umbilical cord attached, and was probably born four months premature, the second child also a daughter had been born two months premature.

Tutankhamun is the only King still inside his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, he is on display with a glass coffin lid. His Golden Mask and all his treasures are at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, his collection will eventually move to the new Grand Egyptian Museum in 2021.

The Tomb of Ramses 111 (KV11) - The treacherous journey through the hours of the Night in the Underworld

 KV 11 is the tomb of Ramses 111  Usermaatre-Meryamun, who was considered to be Egypt's last great Pharaoh, Ramses brought stability back to Egypt when the country was plunged into chaos when the Sea People tried to invade his country.  before Egypt was plunged into chaos, the battles are carved onto his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu he led his troops to the delta and repelled the foreign invaders 

His tomb has been open since antiquity, and among various other names, has been referred to as Bruce’s Tomb (after Scottish traveler and travel writer James Bruce whom entered the tomb in 1768) and Harper’s Tomb, due to a wall mural featuring two blind harpers in one of the small annexes off the first corridor symbolizing the musicians the pharaoh would be bringing with him into the afterlife. Rameses III’s mummy  was discovered among a cache of other royal mummies in 1881 by a tomb-robber named Abd el-Rassul near the site of Deir el-Bahri. Along with over forty other royal members Ramses was taken to the museum at Cairo

This long tomb is beautifully decorated, The second corridor is decorated with the Litany of Re, which praises the God Amun in all his known names, it invokes the sun, Ra, in 75 different forms. The Litany of Re is also known as  'Book of Praying to Re in the West, Praying to the United One in the West' and was an important ancient Egyptian funerary text of the New Kingdom period, and could only be used by Pharaohs or very high ranking nobles

 At the end of this corridor the axis of the tomb shifts. This third corridor is decorated with the Book of Gates which explains the passage of a newly deceased soul into the next world,  each hour of the night he must pass through a new gate, to which he must no the necessary greeting for the guardian at the gate to be able to pass through,  The text implies that some people will pass through unharmed, but that others will suffer torment in a lake of fire.

The Amduat has a depiction of  a goddess with the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, standing in front of a guardian serpent with four legs and a human head, The Amuduat was reserved only for pharaohs, its meaning is 'That Which Is In the Afterworld', also translated as 'Text of the Hidden Chamber Which is in the Underworld, It tells the story of Ra, the Egyptian sun god who travels through the underworld, from the time when the sun sets in the west and rises again in the east. It is said that the dead Pharaoh is taking this same journey, ultimately to become one with Ra and live forever.

The underworld is divided into twelve hours of the night, each representing different allies and enemies for the Pharaoh and the sun god to encounter. The Amduat names all of these gods and monsters. The main purpose of the Amduat is to give the names of these gods and monsters to the spirit of the dead Pharaoh, so he can call upon them for help or use their name to defeat them.

The journey hour by hour through the subterranean tomb :

In hour 1 the sun god enters the western horizon (akhet) which is a transition between day and night.

In hours 2 and 3 he passes through an abundant watery world called 'Wernes' and the 'Waters of Osiris'.

In hour 4 he reaches Imhet the difficult sandy realm of Seker, the underworld hawk deity, where he encounters dark zig zag pathways which he has to negotiate, being dragged on a snake-boat.

In hour 5 he discovers the tomb of Osiris which is an enclosure beneath which is hidden a lake of fire, the tomb is covered by a pyramid like mound (identified with the goddess Isis) and on top of which Isis and Nephthys have alighted in the form of two kites (birds of prey).

In the sixth hour the most significant event in the underworld occurs. The ba (or soul) of Ra unites with his own body, or alternatively with the ba of Osiris within the circle formed by the mehen serpent. This event is the point at which the sun begins its regeneration; it is a moment of great significance, but also danger.

In hour 7 the adversary Apep (Apophis) lies in wait and has to be subdued in chains by the magic of Isis 

In hour 8 the sun god opens the doors of the tomb and Horus calls upon a monstrous serpent with the unquenchable fire to destroy the enemies of his father, Osiris, by burning their corpses and cooking their souls.

In hour 9 they leave the sandy island of Seker by rowing vigorously back into the waters.

In hour 10 the regeneration process continues through immersion in the waters.

In hour 11 the god's eyes (a symbol for his health and well-being) are fully regenerated.

In hour 12 he enters the eastern horizon ready to rise again as the new day's sun.

Once the deceased finished their journey through the underworld, they arrived at the Hall of Maat. Here they would undergo the Weighting of the Heart ceremony where their purity would be the determining factor in whether they would be allowed to enter the Kingdom of Osiris.

Ramses quartz sarcophagus was removed by the Italian explorer and former circus performer Giovanni Belzoni, who also found the tomb of Seti 1, he had been sent to Luxor by a man named Salt, to collect a head of Ramses 11 from his mortuary temple, the Rammessium, and once it was on it's way to Cairo, he then went into the Valley of the Kings, the sarcophagus of Ramses 111 is now at the Louvre Museum in Paris, whilst its lid is in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridgeshire

Tiy a lower wife of Ramses was found to be the main culprit instigating a death plot to murder Ramses 111, as she wanted her son Pertwere to succeed to the throne.

A  priest who practiced the arts of  magic, created wax figurines potions and wrote magical spells to kill Ramses, In ancient Egypt words were magical, and had the power to evoke the power of life and death. The spells cast against Ramses and the black magic did not kill him and unfortunately for the conspirators of this devious plot, their intentions were considered as deadly and as serious as an actual physical assault on Ramses, the magic invoked was as terrible a threat as trying to cut him down with a sword.

Thirty conspirators of the harem were put on trial, they were sentenced to death and told to commit suicide in front of the court or in their cells, after their trial, ten judges also faced trial for having taken meals with the accused during the trials, they were condemned to have their ears and nose cut off.

Recently Ramses body has been put through a scanner and it was discovered that his throat had been cut.

Feel the Spiritual Aura of Luxor Temple and the Mosque of Abu il Hagag inside the temple precincts

I have walked through the grounds of Luxor temple during the freshness of a new day, the chaos and heat of midday, and the warmth of a starlit evening, when the temple and its colossal statues simply glow against the evening sky. It was during such an evening when I realized that I had left my dull English life behind me, and I had entered into the powerful world of ancient Egypt.

Walking through Luxor Temple I feel that you can sense an aura as you stand in the dust of time with the fire of the sun baking the earth in the open courtyard. Stand quietly as the history of the ancients and the wisdom of the sages engulf you with their dedications to the gods, then your heart will lift as the blood pumps faster through your veins. Imagine this; you are now stood on the same ground as Ramses ‘The Great’ of the 19th Dynasty of the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

Two more enormous statues of Ramses sit on his throne of two lands in the first courtyard, behind them a colonnade of papyrus columns lead to the festival hall of Amenophis111.  The edges of the courtyard are surrounded by columns, between the columns tall striding statues of Ramses advance towards you; firmly he grips a Mekes papyrus within his right hand, confirming that it is the will of the gods that he will rule, entrusting Egypt to his care. As I stood quietly in the shade beneath one of these awesome marching statues, the muezzin call suddenly echoed from the Mosque of Abu il Hagag that was built onto a corner of the temple roof 7oo years ago, Allah Akhbar, God is great , suddenly as I stood and listened my body became a washed with the feeling of the divine, and in that one single moment in time I felt that I had become one with Egypt’s past and present in this wondrous place of worship.

The Man with the Golden Tongue - An ancient Egyptian mummy discovery at Taposiris Magna

An ancient Egyptian mummy with a golden tongue has been unearthed by Archaeologists digging at the ancient site of Taposiris Magna, which means 'Great tomb of Osiris', why would the Ancient Egyptians remove his tongue and replace it with one made of Gold?

Archaeologists aren’t sure exactly when the man died, but they do no that the people who lived in this area of  Egypt were ruled either by the Ptolemies 304 B.C. to 30 B.C who were the descendants of one of Alexander the Great’s generals, or by the Roman Empire, which took over the country after the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 B.C.

After the Ottoman Empire took occupation of the city in 1801, Governor Mohammed Ali of the Khedivate of Egypt decided to rebuild the modern city of Alexandria above the ruins of the old city. 

The golden tongued man was buried in this 2,000 year old site associated with rulers who thought jewelry enabled the dead to talk in the afterlife. His real tongue would have been removed during the embalming process. Gold was considered indestructible and heavenly, and represented immortality, Its divine origin is believed to be from the flesh of the gods and other deities that were believed to be golden. Because the man has a golden tongue he must have been of some importance and may have been fairly wealthy when he was alive

The golden  tongue would have replaced his own tongue in the hope that it would help the man to speak to the God Osiris when he stood before him in the Hall of Justice, where his heart would be weighed against a feather of Maat, the ancient Egyptian goddess of truth, morality, order, and justice  to see if he had lived an honest and just life and to help him speak to Osiris, the God who ruled the underworld and judged the souls of spirits who entered it. It is a possibility also that the man could of had a speech impediment, so by replacing his tongue, he would be able to speak fluently to the Gods in the hall of Justice

Archaeologists digging at the ancient site of Taposiris Magna also discovered 16 burials in rock cut tombs, stone funeral masks were found on some of the mummies in their tombs, along with jewelry

The detailed stone masks that were found on the bodies are still intact and enabled the archaeologists to have an impression what each person may have once looked like.

Funeral masks were created to help the Ba spirit to recognize its face  when they became separated at death. The Ba is the heavenly spirit and human personality in the spirit world, that has the body of a bird, and the head and features of the deceased, as a bird it can fly through the underworld. The Ba hovers around the tomb of the owner where the body lies motionless as if there is a hidden force to return repeatedly to see her body, which has been attached to her throughout her life on the earth.

 The skeleton with the gold tongue was found to be well-preserved, as its skull and most of its structure is still intact.