9 ms·

Is Nefertiti in Tut’s Tomb?

83 points by jeo1234 11y ago

thearn4 11y ago
I don't know if there are any egyptologists on HN, but I'm curious to hear what the state of egyptian archaeology is following the revolution and change of cabinet. In particular, the removal of Zahi Hawass and the issue of safety.
- jscheel 11y ago
  Not an egyptologist, but I did just get back from Egypt recently, so here's some anecdotal evidence. Even during the hottest summer months, there was still activity happening at dig sites. This is usually when all the digs shut down, so I would assume that there would be even more activity during the winter months. There were still occasional restoration projects (even got to spend a few minutes helping one), but they were few and far between. Many had completely halted, probably as a result of Zahi Hawass's ousting and the evaporation of tourist funds. On the other hand, a lot of the expeditions are funded by outside universities, and they bring several jobs to local Egyptians. Because of the perceived security issues, many tourists are staying away from Egypt, which is crippling many people's ability to make a living, and the government's ability to focus on cultural work. Several people I spoke with were once making a good living in the tourism industry, but have since turned to trying to find work with expeditions when they can. Unfortunately, there are a lot more people out of work than there are jobs. The security situation is interesting. My wife and I were alone for two weeks, and felt perfectly safe. The government knows that tourism and archeology/egyptology bring jobs and dollars, so they focus their police presence on protecting those areas. Sure enough, there are police and military everywhere. However, if you watch them closely, you will see that they are not operating in top condition. I'm not sure if fatigue or inexperience contributes to this, but you can see it. Guards waving people through checkpoints without searching them at all, weapons being left far out of reach, soldiers sleeping on guard, etc. There was one attack on a checkpoint near us while we were there, resulting in the death of two police officers. That didn't seem to have an affect on the rest of the security force. A few days after we left, there was an attack in Luxor directed at tourists. I'm not sure, but my guess is this was a wakeup call for them. Thankfully the attack largely failed, but I'm sure it's caused massive harm to an already hurting economy.
dstyrb 11y ago
"Ancient astronaut theorists say yes" Sometime in season 1 or 6 I think. The one where Akhenaten is an alien. But not the one where the pyramids are microwave lasers.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  Pyramids never were microwave lasers. They're landing sites for Ha'taks, alien starships, coincidentally also pyramid-shaped. Learn your history!
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - fixermark 11y ago
    I believe the landers were Cheops-class warships, not the Ha'taks?
    - TeMPOraL 11y ago
      Checked the sources[0] and you seem to be right. I guess I was mislead by Teal'c. [0] - http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Cheops_class_warship#Notes http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Cheops_class_warship#Notes
  - Jun8 11y ago
    And through an error in understanding of the true pronunciation this name was transliterated as hyksos in Egyptian resources and then backformed into the Egyptian name "heqa khaseshet", a typical instance of naming a people after the ships they came in. The sign (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyksos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyksos) clearly shows the ship and the rays coming out of it.
  - SEJeff 11y ago
    KREE!
    - TeMPOraL 11y ago
helper 11y ago
Why can't they just use ground penetrating radar to determine the existence of other chambers?
- knodi123 11y ago
  That's a good question. I was wondering the same thing myself. Best guess based on preliminary googling is "The principal disadvantage of GPR is that it is severely limited by less-than-ideal environmental conditions. Fine-grained sediments (clays and silts) are often problematic because their high electrical conductivity causes loss of signal strength; rocky or heterogeneous sediments scatter the GPR signal, weakening the useful signal while increasing extraneous noise."
  - smackfu 11y ago
    Also, as I understand it, it's not particularly easy to interpret the results beyond "there is something there."
- gwern 11y ago
  They will be. "Whether there are rooms behind the walls is one question, and should be fairly easy to resolve, with ground-penetrating radar equipment. Indeed, given the evidence Reeves has assembled, it would be madness for the Egyptian antiquities authorities to not at least check. (On Friday, the Luxor Times reported, the Minister of Antiquities said that the ministry would conduct studies to examine the theory.)" Really the question is why they haven't before. My guess is that it's something prosaic like Tut's tomb having been discovered long before ground-penetrating radar became available and up to this point, no one had any particular reason to get an expensive radar rig and scan through the tomb (archaeological budgets always being limited and higher priority scans being in plentiful supply).
- locacorten 11y ago
  Ground penetrating radar is a technology that doesn't work very well apparently. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/03/underworld-monte-reel http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/03/underworld-mont...
warmwaffles 11y ago
Dig from the other that wont destroy the artifacts?
- fhars 11y ago
  That will most likely destroy the paintings is the new room (if it exists). Digging in from below might work, you want to finance it?
PhantomGremlin 11y ago
Americans have long had an interest / obsession with King Tut. Here's a silly little thing Steve Martin did about him circa 1979: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Hr9VPnMNc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Hr9VPnMNc
- ladelfa 11y ago
  And, for good measure, Philip Glass's "Akhnaten" (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XENvMGyy4J8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XENvMGyy4J8
jhund 11y ago
Link to the highres images: http://www.highres.factum-arte.org/Tutankhamun/ http://www.highres.factum-arte.org/Tutankhamun/ Click on the up arrow at the bottom edge to choose which wall to view.
- mseepgood 11y ago
  Sorry, but I do not see the door outlines. Not even in the black/white images.

83 points by jeo1234 11y ago

I don't know if there are any egyptologists on HN, but I'm curious to hear what the state of egyptian archaeology is following the revolution and change of cabinet. In particular, the removal of Zahi Hawass and the issue of safety.

jscheel 11y ago
Not an egyptologist, but I did just get back from Egypt recently, so here's some anecdotal evidence. Even during the hottest summer months, there was still activity happening at dig sites. This is usually when all the digs shut down, so I would assume that there would be even more activity during the winter months. There were still occasional restoration projects (even got to spend a few minutes helping one), but they were few and far between. Many had completely halted, probably as a result of Zahi Hawass's ousting and the evaporation of tourist funds. On the other hand, a lot of the expeditions are funded by outside universities, and they bring several jobs to local Egyptians. Because of the perceived security issues, many tourists are staying away from Egypt, which is crippling many people's ability to make a living, and the government's ability to focus on cultural work. Several people I spoke with were once making a good living in the tourism industry, but have since turned to trying to find work with expeditions when they can. Unfortunately, there are a lot more people out of work than there are jobs. The security situation is interesting. My wife and I were alone for two weeks, and felt perfectly safe. The government knows that tourism and archeology/egyptology bring jobs and dollars, so they focus their police presence on protecting those areas. Sure enough, there are police and military everywhere. However, if you watch them closely, you will see that they are not operating in top condition. I'm not sure if fatigue or inexperience contributes to this, but you can see it. Guards waving people through checkpoints without searching them at all, weapons being left far out of reach, soldiers sleeping on guard, etc. There was one attack on a checkpoint near us while we were there, resulting in the death of two police officers. That didn't seem to have an affect on the rest of the security force. A few days after we left, there was an attack in Luxor directed at tourists. I'm not sure, but my guess is this was a wakeup call for them. Thankfully the attack largely failed, but I'm sure it's caused massive harm to an already hurting economy.

dstyrb 11y ago

"Ancient astronaut theorists say yes" Sometime in season 1 or 6 I think. The one where Akhenaten is an alien. But not the one where the pyramids are microwave lasers.

TeMPOraL 11y ago
Pyramids never were microwave lasers. They're landing sites for Ha'taks, alien starships, coincidentally also pyramid-shaped. Learn your history!
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- fixermark 11y ago
  I believe the landers were Cheops-class warships, not the Ha'taks?
  - TeMPOraL 11y ago
    Checked the sources[0] and you seem to be right. I guess I was mislead by Teal'c. [0] - http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Cheops_class_warship#Notes http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Cheops_class_warship#Notes
- Jun8 11y ago
  And through an error in understanding of the true pronunciation this name was transliterated as hyksos in Egyptian resources and then backformed into the Egyptian name "heqa khaseshet", a typical instance of naming a people after the ships they came in. The sign (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyksos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyksos) clearly shows the ship and the rays coming out of it.
- SEJeff 11y ago
  KREE!
  - TeMPOraL 11y ago

helper 11y ago

Why can't they just use ground penetrating radar to determine the existence of other chambers?

knodi123 11y ago
That's a good question. I was wondering the same thing myself. Best guess based on preliminary googling is "The principal disadvantage of GPR is that it is severely limited by less-than-ideal environmental conditions. Fine-grained sediments (clays and silts) are often problematic because their high electrical conductivity causes loss of signal strength; rocky or heterogeneous sediments scatter the GPR signal, weakening the useful signal while increasing extraneous noise."
- smackfu 11y ago
  Also, as I understand it, it's not particularly easy to interpret the results beyond "there is something there."
gwern 11y ago
They will be. "Whether there are rooms behind the walls is one question, and should be fairly easy to resolve, with ground-penetrating radar equipment. Indeed, given the evidence Reeves has assembled, it would be madness for the Egyptian antiquities authorities to not at least check. (On Friday, the Luxor Times reported, the Minister of Antiquities said that the ministry would conduct studies to examine the theory.)" Really the question is why they haven't before. My guess is that it's something prosaic like Tut's tomb having been discovered long before ground-penetrating radar became available and up to this point, no one had any particular reason to get an expensive radar rig and scan through the tomb (archaeological budgets always being limited and higher priority scans being in plentiful supply).
locacorten 11y ago
Ground penetrating radar is a technology that doesn't work very well apparently. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/03/underworld-monte-reel http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/03/underworld-mont...

warmwaffles 11y ago

Dig from the other that wont destroy the artifacts?

fhars 11y ago
That will most likely destroy the paintings is the new room (if it exists). Digging in from below might work, you want to finance it?

PhantomGremlin 11y ago

Americans have long had an interest / obsession with King Tut. Here's a silly little thing Steve Martin did about him circa 1979: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Hr9VPnMNc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Hr9VPnMNc

ladelfa 11y ago
And, for good measure, Philip Glass's "Akhnaten" (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XENvMGyy4J8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XENvMGyy4J8

jhund 11y ago

Link to the highres images: http://www.highres.factum-arte.org/Tutankhamun/ http://www.highres.factum-arte.org/Tutankhamun/ Click on the up arrow at the bottom edge to choose which wall to view.

mseepgood 11y ago
Sorry, but I do not see the door outlines. Not even in the black/white images.