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Ahram Online reports that a fortified royal retreat has been uncovered at the Tel Hebwa site, which is located in North Sinai. Mohamed Ismail Khaled of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said that the mudbrick structure was likely used during the 18th Dynasty reign of Thutmose III (ca. 1479–1425 B.C.). The structure’s entrance, located on its northern side, led to a large hall with three columns, added Hisham Hussein of Sinai Antiquities. This room connected to a smaller hall with entrances flanked by columns. The thresholds of entrances to these rooms were also uncovered, along with the thresholds for small...

While some depict the Bible’s Passover meal and Jews’ Exodus from Egypt as a fable, archeological and other evidence squares with the Bible’s account.Tonight begins Passover, or Pasach, celebrated worldwide by Jews. As recounted in Exodus 13:3-10, this ritual meal marks their ancestors’ escape from Egyptian captivity.About three weeks earlier, Christians celebrated Easter to commemorate Jesus’ Resurrection. Judaism and Christianity share not merely monotheism, but also recount their miraculous foundations as history.Together they form the moral foundation for Western culture, a foundation that is collapsing, in part due to post-Enlightenment critiques of the historicity of these religions. But, as a...

The Egyptian-German mission has uncovered a collection of decorated blocks and fragments from the King Nactanebo I temple at the Matariya archaeological site in Heliopolis.Aymen Ashmawy, head of the ancient Egyptian antiquities sector and head of the mission from the Egyptian side, explains that the inscriptions mention the regnal years 13 and 14... as well as the dimensions and the materials used in this sanctuary.“Several blocks were unfinished too and no further decoration work seems to have been commissioned after the death of Nectanebo I...” he said, adding that other architectural elements attest to the building projects of Ramesses II...

Who is the Queen of Sheba? In the Bible we are introduced to an unnamed queen from the land of Sheba who travels to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon (see 1 Kings 10; 2 Chronicles 9). Accompanied by many attendants and camels, the Queen of Sheba brings a large quantity of spices, gold and precious stones with her. She is drawn to Jerusalem because of Solomon's fame, and she tests the king with hard questions. Solomon is able to answer them all. Impressed by Solomon's wisdom -- and by the riches of his kingdom -- she proclaims, "Your wisdom and...

The amulet was discovered by Neshama Spielman, a twelve year-old girl from Jerusalem who came with her family to participate in the Temple Mount Sifting Project. “While I was sifting, I came across a piece of pottery that was different from others I had seen, and I immediately thought that maybe I had found something special,” said Spielman. “It’s amazing to find something thousands of years old from ancient Egypt all the way here in Jerusalem! Celebrating Passover this year is going to be extra meaningful to me.” The Passover festival, commemorating the Biblical account of the ancient Israelites Exodus...

The Battleground Who Destroyed Megiddo? Was It David or Shishak? Timothy P. Harrison Sidebar: Megiddo at A Glance Did King David conquer and destroy Megiddo? Well, that depends partly on the date of Stratum VI. Let me explain why. Most scholars accept David as a historical figure who was an active military ruler in the period portrayed in the Hebrew Bible (the early tenth century B.C.E.). However, there is considerably less agreement on how to interpret the archaeological evidence for this period. That’s where Megiddo Stratum VI figures in. The dispute is over which archaeological material relates to the time...

  21 - 27 November 2002 Issue No. 613Heritage Current issuePrevious issueSite map Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 Send a letter to the Editor Recommend this page Print-friendly Fruitful seasons Excavations at Karnak Temple complex have been focusing on areas hitherto little explored, with rewarding results. Nevine El-Aref takes a look Priests of the first millennium BC resided in the area beyond the fourth pylon of the Pharaoh Tuthmosis III. It is here and at the temenos (outer temple) wall built by the same Pharaoh, the Osirian zone, and the courtyard between the eighth and ninth...

A black granite head of an unidentified New Kingdom king's statue has been uncovered in Luxor The Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission unearthed on Thursday a large granite head of a statue of an unidentified New Kingdom king during routine excavation at King Thutmose III’s funerary temple on Luxor’s west bank. Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Section at the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA), explained that the head is 29.6cm high, 24.3cm wide and 26.9cm deep. The head depicts a round face of a royal figure, not identified yet, wearing a wig, with traces of a broken nose,...