Every two months, the Nile Scribes bring you summaries of the latest research and discoveries in Egyptology, both from the field and the archives. We introduce you to the newest archaeological finds or rediscovered artefacts from museum collections, plus other new theories stirring in the Egyptological Zeitgeist.

As we are approaching the end of 2019, there have been a flurry of discoveries in Egypt, from mummified lion cubs in November to a number of statues in December. The highlight of the whole season may be the announcement that a wax head cone was discovered at Amarna!

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The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities publishes a helpful round-up of recent discoveries, events, and projects in Egypt in an accessible PDF format. The latest issue was published in November 2019 (click here for English or Arabic).

First Roman-era cemetery discovered in Saqqara (November 6 – Egypt Today)

“The Ministry of Antiquities announced on Nov. 5 the discovery of an archaeological cemetery in Saqqara. It is the first discovered cemetery from the Roman era in this region. During the last excavation season, a joint Egyptian-Japanese archaeological mission in North Saqqara headed by Nozomu Kawai of Kanazawa University and Waseda University in Japan succeeded in uncovering a Roman catacomb tomb, spanning back to the first and second centuries AD. Saqqara’s General Manager Sabry Farah said the mission found the catacombs in the area northeast the old Saqqara region, where no excavation work has been carried out before.”

DNA Suggests Ancient Egypt’s Millions of Ibis Mummies Were Wild-Caught Birds (November 14 – Smithsonian Magazine)

“National Geographic’s Antoaneta Roussi reports that there is some written evidence of large-scale ibis operations occurring in ancient Egypt. Still, the latest findings suggest these bird farms simply acted as halfway houses for captive wild ibises set to be ritually sacrificed. To better pinpoint the ibises’ origins, researchers sequenced DNA from 40 mummified birds found in six roughly 2,500-year-old catacombs. The team also analyzed genetic samples from 26 modern sacred ibises collected across Africa. According to a press release, 14 of the mummies yielded complete sequences, and all of the modern samples produced full mitochondrial genomes.”

Archaeologists Reveal Rare Mummified Lion Cubs Unearthed in Egypt (November 25 – Smithsonian Magazine)

“CT scans identified two of the animals as lion cubs based on the size and shape of their bones, but the remaining three cats have yet to be definitively identified. At a press conference held Saturday, Mostafa Waziri, general secretary of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the team’s hoard marked “the first time [the] complete mummy of a lion or lion cub” has been found in Egypt. Per Live Science’s Owen Jarus, the lions’ demure stature suggests they were not fully grown at the time of their death.”

Remains of archaeological temple found in Benha (November 26 – Egypt Independent)

“Archaeologists in Qalyubiya governorate have discovered the remains of an ancient temple in the Al-Ahram area of ​​Benha. The uncovered parts show the walls and columns of the temple. The largest discovered wall of the temple so far is eight meters wide. The director General of the Qalyubiya Antiquities Mohsen Helmy Badawy said the discovery dates back to the 29th Dynasty of the Late Period. Remains of baths and stone houses from the Roman era were also discovered in the same place, he said, adding that archaeologists currently comb the area in search for other artifacts.”

French Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Egyptian Wooden Coffins (November 27 – Luxor Times)

“The joint archaeological mission of the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale (IFAO) and the University of Strasbourg directed by Dr. Frédéric Colin has unearthed 3 wooden coffins in the courtyard of Padiaménopé tomb (TT 33). Dr. Mostafa Waziry said “The coffins are dated to 18th dynasty and are in a good state of conservation. They bear coloured scenes and inscriptions.” Fathy Yassin (Director of West Bank Antiquities) said “The first coffin belong to a woman called “Ti Abo” and it measures 195 cm in length bearing coloured scenes and hieroglyph inscription. The second coffin belongs to a woman called “Rau” and it measures 190 cm in length. It is painted in yellow and bears hieroglyphs inscription on a white painted background.”

Infrared images reveal hidden tattoos on Egyptian mummies (December 2 – Science News)

“Modern technology is illuminating tattoos on mummified, ancient Egyptians that until now had gone unnoticed. Infrared photography has helped to identify tattoos on seven mummified individuals dating to at least 3,000 years ago at a site called Deir el-Medina, archaeologist Anne Austin of the University of Missouri–St. Louis reported November 22 at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Although the identities of these tattooed folks are unknown, artisans and craft workers at Deir el-Medina built and decorated royal tombs in the nearby Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Until the Deir el-Medina discoveries, tattoos had been found on a total of only six mummified individuals over more than a century of research at ancient Egyptian sites. But infrared photos, which display wavelengths of light invisible to the naked eye, are transforming what’s known about tattooing in ancient Egypt, Austin said.”

Site of Ancient Egypt’s Sun Cult Reveals Royal Statues, Mud Wall, and Block of King Ramses II (December 2 – Newsweek)

“The finds include a stone block depicting King Ramses II in front of the god Ra Horakhty—”the great god Lord of Heaven, ruler of Heliopolis”—and a section from the base of a brown quartz statue of King Seti II (1205 to 1194 B.C.E.). There was also a fragment from a red granite statue thought to portray the goddess Isis or Hathor, or an ancient Egyptian queen, as well as several pieces of ancient pottery. The archaeologists discovered a stretch of mud wall, found next to a layer of rubble. The latter contained a number of molds that experts say would have been used for the production of amulets as well as parts of columns that had been reused from the Old Kingdom (circa 2649 to 2130 B.C.E).”

Parts of Ancient Egyptian temple accidently discovered in Mit Rahina (December 8 – Daily News Egypt)

“The Ministry of Antiquities announced unearthing 19 giant granite blocks that are believed to be a part of ancient Egyptian god of craftsmen Ptah’s temple in Mit Rahina near Saqqara, according to a press statement published by the ministry. The excavation took place at a land personally belonging to a civilian who was caught digging deep in search of the blocks. The unearthed blocks were found covered with underground water. Ayman Ashmawi, the head of the Egyptian antiquities sector at the Ministry of Antiquities, stated in the statement that the preliminary examination showcased the blocks engraved with heliography. The pink granite blocks depict Ptah, the demiurge of Memphis, while performing Sed Festival rituals. The studies indicate that, so far, the blocks are the remains of the temple.”

Archaeologists have finally found ancient Egyptian wax head cones (December 10 – Science News)

“Scientists expected that graves of social elites would yield the first head cones, Stevens says. “But the most surprising thing is that these objects turned up at all.” Some scholars have argued that head cones existed only as artistic devices, not real objects. Portable infrared and X-ray machines determined that the cones were hollow and made of wax, probably beeswax. Although some investigators have speculated that head cones contained animal fat or wax scented with a substance such as tree resin, the Amarna finds contain no fat traces or perfume. Any perfume originally in the two head cones likely evaporated, Stevens says.”

Unique red granite bust of Ramses II unearthed on private land in Giza (December 11 – Al Ahram)

“Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, asserted that the bust is unique, as the only similar bust to have been discovered is carved in wood and belongs to 13th Dynasty King Hor Awibre, and is now on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Waziri says that the newly discovered bust is carved in red granite and depicts Ramses II wearing a wig with the symbol of the “Ka” over his head. The bust is 105 cm tall, 55 cm wide and 45 cm thick.”

A Sphinx statue uncovered in Minya’s Tuna El-Gebel (December 14 – Al Ahram)

“The Egyptian Archaeological Mission, under Sayed Abdel-Malek, has uncovered a small royal statue of a sphinx in Tuna El-Gebel archaeological area in Minya governorate, Upper Egypt.Director General of the Antiquities of Middle Egypt Gamal El-Samastawy said on Saturday that the statue, which measures about 35cm in height and 55cm in width, was made of limestone.”

A granodiorite colossus of Horus unearthed in Egypt’s Luxor (December 19 – Al Ahram)

“During excavations carried out at the Funerary Temple of king Amenhotep III, an Egyptian-German archaeological mission led by Horig Sourouzian unearthed a large part of a granodiorite colossus of a standing falcon-headed god Horus. Sourouzian said the statue is missing the legs, and the arms are broken, but the head and torso are very well preserved. The 1.85-metres-tall statue depicts the ancient Egyptian deity Horus wearing the divine pleated kilt held around the waist with a horizontally pleated belt.”