Archaeologists Unearth Seals Used on Pharaonic Desert Missions (Needed Red Paint)

Middle East Times ^ | April 29, 2005

[nickcarraway]

CAIRO -- Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a number of rare Pharaonic seals of soldiers sent out on desert missions in search of red paint to decorate the Pyramids, Egypt's culture minister said on April 28.

The 26 matchbox-sized seals belonged to Cheops, who ruled from 2551 to 2528 BC, in whose honor the greatest of the great pyramids of Giza southwest of Cairo was built, and show Pharaonic soldiers' ranks, the MENA news agency quoted Farouq Hosni as saying.

"These seals were used by a mission sent by Cheops to collect ferric oxide, which is necessary to make red paint," said Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Higher Council of Antiquities.

Over 50 pottery fragments bearing imprints from the clay and stone seals were found nearby in the region of the Giza Pyramids.

"Artisans at the time needed ferric oxide to decorate the Pyramids as well as [other] material and funerary installations of the IVth dynasty," to which Cheops belonged, said Hawass. "The seals proved the official nature of the missions sent to desert regions," he added.

"The mission was made up of 400 men and a group of people whose job it was to cook during the journey," according to inscriptions on the pottery pieces. "Archaeologists also found a number of leather bags containing ferric oxide brought back by the mission," he said.

[anniegetyourgun]

ping

[nickcarraway]

ping

[Fitzcarraldo]

Interesting, I never thought the Pyramids were actually painted. I once lived at a house where a tenant painted the sidewalks red and then a later tenant had it sandblasted off. You could tell because the sandblasting left some around the edges.

[Wneighbor]

I don't know - just my guess - but maybe they were painting pictures within the pyramid.

[blam]

"Artisans at the time needed ferric oxide to decorate the Pyramids "

FeOx - Iron rust.

[Codename - Ron Benjamin]

400 men, never delivered the rust... what killed them?

[DannyTN]

Next to the seals they found a scroll requesting black paint and instructions to paint

"See Rock City"

on the sides of the pyramids.

[SunkenCiv]

400 men, never delivered the rust... what killed them?

Iron deficiency. Which is ironic. [ducks, runs]

[SunkenCiv]

Fitzcarraldo: Interesting, I never thought the Pyramids were actually painted.

Most ancient sculpture and buildings were painted for various reasons. That nice smooth white finish we associate with ancient statues isn't the way they appeared when new -- they used to be painted up the same way we see concrete lawn dwarfs painted today. :')

Wneighbor: I don't know - just my guess - but maybe they were painting pictures within the pyramid.

That would be my guess as well -- the interiors of the pyramids were plastered, and sometimes given low relief in plaster, then the plaster painted and inscribed. Trouble was that the Giza pyramids turned out to be very damp inside, and by Roman times the Great Pyramid was open to tourists (further decay). It was resealed before the Moslem conquest, then cracked open again during the Middle Ages.

The exteriors of the Giza pyramids had been finished with smooth facing stones but that too was for the most part removed (some is still visible near the summit of Khafre at least) for buildings (and rendered for plaster) in Cairo. Ancient reports exist that the exterior finish stones were carved with inscriptions, now lost.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Nick for the topic and ping. DannyTN, I think you're onto something.

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)

[DollyCali]

I always appreciate your pings & get to most articles. Rarely post as the quickest way to show your ignorance is to try to "add"..

:)

I do enjoy learning ..

you post a lot in wee hours.. weird work schedule or is this your good time? just curious

A quick late night/early morning Thank YOu!

[SunkenCiv]

I leave work (usually) about midnight, and often go to the store right after. Tonight I left around 12:30am, then swung into a 24 hour diner and had a patty melt (comes with fries). As part of my financial discipline, I will not eat out more than once a week. I was trying to go with "once a month", but that is too difficult. :')

But, it's pushing 3 am now, so bedtime.

Thanks for the kind remarks. Glad you enjoy the topics. Blam (one of the ping list comanagers) contributes many of the topics; lately Nick (who isn't on the list, or at least, I don't think so) has been posting a number of them; a bunch of other members and comanagers contribute the bulk of the remainder. In a good week, I may post two. Usually we have 20 to 40 topics a week.

[GoLightly]

Color me dumb, but until I got to the part about their size, I thought it was the other kind of seal, beach ball on the nose kinda seal.

From a around the same era, different location, but prolly used in the same way & there are pictures, Harappa-Mohenjodaro Seals:

http://www.saxakali.com/COLOR_ASP/historymsa.htm

[Dustbunny]

Neat

[Ciexyz]

Nothin' better than a sizzling patty melt with fries!

[SunkenCiv]

They also make a good club sandwich, and I plan to try a different thing each time I go there until I've exhausted the menu (or run out of selections that I know I'll like). Next time I think I'll get the reuben. Nothing like eating kraut just before bed. ;')

[SunkenCiv]

I thought it was the other kind of seal, beach ball on the nose kinda seal.

Huh? Y'mean, it's NOT? ;')

+freerepublic +"indus valley" search...

Google

[SunkenCiv]

and thanks GoLightly for the link:

History of Mathematics in South Asia
http://www.saxakali.com/COLOR_ASP/historymsa.htm

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[Ciexyz]

A grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat, with a side salad, is a good wholesome meal that's also easy on your stomach.

I know, I did the late afternoon to evening shift for years. You still want to eat when you get home at 11 PM, but you have to watch the weight gain if you eat a heavy meal that late at night.