Treasures of Tanis

Archaeology ^ | May/June 2005 | Bob Brier

[SunkenCiv]

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, an entire complex of royal tombs was found intact at Tanis, yielding four gold masks, solid silver coffins, and spectacular jewelry... The treasures are one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time... And while everyone knows Howard Carter's name, that of the excavator of Tanis is Egyptological trivia. It's Pierre Montet... Today, as Tutankhamun once again begins a royal procession through the United States, it is good to remember Tanis and its discoverer, Pierre Montet. The treasure of Tutankhamun may be more extensive, but Montet found three intact royal burials, an achievement that will never be equaled. And when it comes to gold and jewelry, the treasures of Tanis can hold their own with even Tutankhamun's jewels.

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

That's it for today, I'm heading out.

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

[Pyro7480]

Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?

[SunkenCiv]

related:

Pharoahs and Kings - A Test of Time
http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/rohl-1.htm | David M. Rohl
Posted on 07/31/2002 7:35:06 PM PDT by Scythiahttp://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/725672/posts

some worthwhile keywords:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=tut
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=tutankhamun
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=nefertiti
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=godsgravesglyphs

[SunkenCiv]

The ancient Egyptians believed that, after death, the heart was weighed on a scale. *Now* we know what kind of scale they were talkin' about. ;')

[Pyro7480]

When I saw the name "Tanis," I immediately thought of that movie.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Big fan of the movie, but I never knew Tanis was real.

[Pyro7480]

It's real, except for no Ark. ;-)

[SunkenCiv]

http://www.google.com/search?sitesearch=http://www.varchive.org&q=tanis&btnG=Go&domains=http://www.varchive.org

[AndrewC]

[Berosus]

I am familiar with the discovery at Tanis, because I saw the goodies in Cairo, and because I read about it in books. Both Immanuel Velikovsky and David Rohl devoted nearly a chapter to what Pierre Montet found, and found a chronological problem, namely that of the ten mummies in those tombs, the ones of the XXII dynasty appear to have been buried BEFORE the ones of the XXI dynasty. That isn't supposed to happen if our history of ancient times is accurate; it's like waiting until now to bury someone who died 100 years ago, and making it look like that's the normal way to do it.

That being said, I have to respectfully disagree with Bob Brier. In February 1979 I visited the Egyptian Museum, and saw both the room with the Tanite collection, and the galleries containing the part of Tutankhamen's treasures that wasn't on tour at the time. By themselves the treasures from Tanis were all right, but if you do what I did, and see them right after coming downstairs from what King Tut had, you won't think they "can hold their own with even Tutankhamen's jewels," as Brier put it. In fact, my first impression of the Tanite stuff was, "That's not so great." Already the artwork is cruder than that of the New Kingdom, even to my untrained eye; it doesn't have the charm or grandeur of Tut's treasures. Here's a rare picture of the silver hawk-headed coffin of Shoshenk II:

Finally, to add a political note to this thread, the royal occupants were corrupt. Except for the gold masks and silver coffins, just about everything in the tombs was stolen from older burials. Psusennes I's coffin was in a granite sarcophagus belonging to the XIX dynasty's Merneptah, while another sarcophagus came from a Middle Kingdom tomb; each of the canopic jars had a different person's name on it; a lapis lazuli necklace on Psusennes was originally a gift from the Assyrians to Amenhotep III. All I can say in defense of Psusennes is that when he appropriated the tomb, at least he didn't completely evict the original occupants; he just moved them to the outer chambers. It is hard to imagine how these rulers could arrange to have their mummies buried with somebody's else's belongings, and expect to get away with it when facing Osiris in the final judgment. Maybe that is why the tombs were so small and carefully concealed; Psusennes and company didn't want to risk their bodies suffering the same fate they had inflicted on others.

[SunkenCiv]

Well said (all of it). I'd add that the royals were probably blissfully unaware (stupid and ignorant and unable to read hieroglyphics) and were shown "antiques" looted from earlier burials, and paid full price for the new stuff they weren't getting (or able to get, because by that time it wasn't available). :')

[SunkenCiv]

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	Gods Graves Glyphs	Note: this topic is from 2005. Or somethin'. It's a re-ping, because I was trying to remember this very topic the other day in response to someone, and (of course) can't remember who it was. [blush] To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
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[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 4/22/2005. Nice post, Berosus.

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• Bob Brier vids

[Tunehead54]

Here's a Duck Duck Go Search of images for Tanis.

My safe search is always off but there's no NSFW stuff there - I just wanted to see pictures of the discoveries,

Tanis Treasures Search

[Redcitizen]

Raiders of the lost Ark was a documentary. :D

[SunkenCiv]

• [offsite] Haremhab's Contemporaries

the rest of the (brand new) Shoshenk Hedjkheperre keyword, sorted:

• New reading of Mesha Stele could have far-reaching consequences for biblical history [2019]
• Mesopotamian King Sargon II envisioned ancient city Karkemish as western Assyrian capital [2019]
• Do these ruins prove the Biblical story of Exodus? Experts are testing ancient camps... [2018]
• Amazing Egyptian discovery: Village that predates pharaohs, pyramids uncovered [2018]
• Egyptian Amulet Bearing Name of Pharaoh Found in Soil from Temple Mount [2016]
• Pharaoh-Branded Amulet Found at Ancient Copper Mine in Jordan [2014]
• Not Out of Africa: How Afrocentrism Became an Excuse to Teach Myth as History [2002]
• Pharaohs and Kings - A Test of Time [2002]
• The Revision of Ancient History - A Perspective [2002]