MYTH*ING LINKS
An Annotated & Illustrated Collection of Worldwide Links to Mythologies,
Fairy Tales & Folklore, Sacred Arts & Sacred Traditions
by Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D.
Pacifica Graduate Institute

GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS:

EGYPT & THE SAHARA

Other Archaeological Sites:
Digs & Data

[Unless indicated, all annotations date from 1998 and are still current]

Abu Simbel
Taken from a 19th century lithograph by David Roberts
(See Richard Deurer's site under "Egypt through the Eyes of Photographers")

NOTE:
Also check under Pyramids & Sphinx
Art & Artifacts
Multiple Category Sites
& Egypt: General Information

Abu Simbel:  This CCER ("Centre for Computer-aided Egyptological Research") site takes you on a brief but colorful tour of the temple.  The opening image allows you to click on various parts of it for details (e.g., the row of tiny baboons high above the massive statues,  a central deity, the statues' heads, their feet).  Even better, you can click on the dark entrance and be taken progressively down an inner hall and into the innermost chamber.  Text is brief but adequate.

Abydos: This is a report on recent and important findings by the University of Pennsylvania-Yale University excavation teams at the temple of Abydos.  The implications are intriguing, especially on the Hyksos; there is also tantalizing data on Paleolithic occupation at this site.

[Annotation & link updated 26 January 2003]:  Abydos:  this is "Pilgrimage to Abydos," offering access to beautifully photographed images from this temple built by Seti I.  Click on "To Know More" (at the bottom of the site's page) to reach the clickable pilgrimage route: be warned, however, that navigating this intricate site, which insists that you follow it step-by-step as you progress through the temple, can be so maddening that you may never finish it.

Multiple Sites:  This Oriental Institute site contains reports and data organized into more than 60 excavation-team sites.  Field reports on findings mingle with overviews and even lengthy essays (e.g., click on Batn El Hajar and you'll get access to a fine essay on medieval Egypt under the Arabs).  Periods covered range from pre-historic to dynastic to Christian to Islamic.

Multiple Sites:  This is another Oriental Institute website called The Epigraphic Survey.  Don't be put off by its bland appearance:  it's a treasure trove.  I randomly chose one Chicago House Bulletin, for example -- the April 15, 1996 issue -- and found a lively, evocative essay on the river-journey of four Chicago House "stitts" (Arabic for "Ladies") to Aswan.  It gave a wonderful feel for the place in a manner rarely found in "formal" Egyptology.

Multiple Sites: This is the impressive Tokyo home page for Waseda University's excavations and surveys in Egypt.  This excellent, detailed site includes ongoing work, findings, and good photos of sites and artifacts.  Among the projects listed here are a survey of the pyramids, the Khufu Boat project, Dahshur, Malqata, and tombs, both royal and private.  (Note: I have direct links to the Malqata excavations under Amarna.)

The Valley of the Kings
Taken from a 19th century lithograph by David Roberts
(See Richard Deurer's site under "Egypt through the Eyes of Photographers")

[Added 26 January 2003]: Thebes:From The Theban Tombs Publication Project comes The Tombs of Ahmose (no. 121) and Rây (no. 72) by Peter A. Piccione.  From the intriguing "Introduction":

...Nearly four thousand years old, these tombs date to the Egyptian New Kingdom. They were owned, respectively, by the high priests, Ahmose (tomb no. 121) and his son, Rây (tomb no. 72).

In two successive generations, these priests directed the mortuary cult of King Thutmose III in the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egyptian history, mid-second millennium B.C. Ahmose also served as Second Prophet of Amun-Ra (i.e., second high priest) at the great Temple of Karnak....

Ahmose and Rây apparently headed a family of priests that controlled most of the temples in Western Thebes.  Given its prominence, Ahmose's family was probably closely allied to the Thutmosid Egyptian royal family. Thus, an important part of the project is an historical study of this priestly family, its members, origins, social position, and political relations to Egyptian royalty....

If you click on "Project Preliminary Findings," you'll find Piccione's lectures, reports, abstracts, and some fine photos (clickable).  The project sounds exciting.

Thebes:  This is Dr. Kent Weeks' "Theban Mapping Project" -- a great site with sections on the Theban Necropolis, Valley of the Kings, Deir el Bahari, and superb data on "KV5," the tomb of Ramesses II's sons, which Weeks discovered in 1995 -- it's the largest tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings.  The website includes many maps, photos and aerial views (especially good of Hatshepsut's temple); it features a balloon tour over Thebes and also Quicktime video and 3-D imagery (a free Quicktime download is offered but be warned that it takes about 40 minutes, you'll need to know what file to save it to, and you'll need to disable your screen saver if it's likely to pop on before the 40 minutes are up).

An added plus:  the site also includes comprehensive scholarly bibliographies on many aspects of Egyptology.

Deir El Bahari:  This is a vivid report on the aftermath of a terrorist attack in November 1997 at Hatshepsut's mortuary temple across the Nile from Luxor.  It was written by Egyptologist W. Raymond Johnson, director of the Epigraphy Survey of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.  I'm including it in this section because Johnson, who was working just across the river at the time, writes about the reactions of the archaeologists digging in the area, how he got word back to Chicago, and how everyone decided to keep on working at their sites despite the possible danger.  He concludes with his own moving experiences when the people of Luxor mounted an incredible outpouring of anger against the terrorists and grief for those slain.  It's a powerful piece of writing that makes a reader feel as if s/he were there.

[To read a copy of "Thebes' Message to World" written by Nobel prize winner Naguih Mahfouz and mentioned in Johnson's report, go to: http://www.sis.gov.eg/tiba/html/tiba00.htm
Unless your browser supports the audio or video versions, click on "English" under the cartouche for the printed text.]

Alexandria/ Amarna/ Art & Artifacts/Daily Life in Ancient Egypt/Egypt: General Information, Travel, Etc./
Egypt: through the Eyes of Photographers & Artists/ Hieroglyphs, Papyrus & Texts/ Links to the Links/
Men of Ancient Egypt/ Multiple Category Sites/ Mythology/ Other Archaeological Sites/ Pyramids/
Religious Beliefs&Practices/ Women of Ancient Egypt/ The Sahara

 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

HOME PAGE
If you have comments or suggestions,
my email address will be found near the bottom of my home page.

Please note that I cannot help with homework questions -- you will find useful links with tips for doing your own web searches on my Search Engine page.  You will also find excellent resources on my General Reference page.  Good luck with your projects!

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Text and Design:
Copyright 1998-2003 by Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D.
Latest Updates:
26 January 2003: redesigned, un-Webcom-d, links-check, shifted Rigby link and added new Piccione one.

Credits: "Thatch" background (I've darkened it) is from Dream Tiles.