Dear Readers: Revisiting my egyptological roots, here is some extremely interesting news from one of the Egypt groups I follow:
Egyptian pyramids found by infra-red satellite images — By Frances Cronin BBC News
Photos from BBC News
Seventeen lost pyramids are among the buildings identified in a new satellite survey of Egypt.
More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements were also revealed by looking at infra-red images which show up underground buildings.
Initial excavations have already confirmed some of the findings, including two suspected pyramids.
The work has been pioneered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham by US Egyptologist Dr Sarah Parcak.
satellite image of pyramid An infra-red satellite image shows a buried pyramid, located in the centre of the highlight box.She says she was amazed at how much she and her team has found.
It is reported that the Discovery Channel will be featuring a complete report on this technology-based discoveries. In other Egypt news:
* Tourism plummets in the wake of “Arab Spring”: A report by CI Capital Research has estimated that tourism revenues in Egypt for 2011 will reach $7.6 billion — a 35 per cent drop below levels in 2010.
Q: Your decision could have a very negative impact on tourism in Egypt and on the image of the post-revolutionary Egypt…
A: “I know. I agree with you, but what can I do? I cannot work during this mess. Antiquities are my life. I cannot see with this mess in front of me. I cannot work with these dishonest people trying to tell everyone else that they are honest. I was writing an article before you came about a situation similar to this that happened 4000 ago in Egypt. A nice man, his name was Ipuwer, tells us on a papyrus what he saw when he took a look at the state of the country. He describes chaos – how the poor became rich and rich became poor. The lady who had a mirror before cannot find the mirror now. She looks at her face in the water. People robbed the pyramids, they robbed everything. That is what is happening now too! It is something I cannot stop! I can work if there is discipline and honesty, but dishonest people have begun to appear and to attack the honest people. I can stand against them if antiquities are safe, but at the moment antiquities are not safe!”
* An American delegation is now in Egypt to stop the theft.
Quite frankly, I am very skeptical that any meaningful protections will be offered to Egypt’s legacy while “Arab Spring” continues and the power of Islamic extremists grows like a cultural cancer in that land. The 10 plagues on Egypt will not have the lasting, negative impact on this country like the aftermath of the of the Jan 25th revolution — mark my words.
Very cool! I love all this stuff!
Now, can they help people find cars in store parking lots? hmm.. maybe I should write an app for that!
Oh, that is very sad news about Egypt’s antiquities being in danger. It’s a sad time when someone who truly loves what he does has to leave because the people are liars and dishonest. A very unstable situation.
Are the dishonest (that’s putting it politely) there going to destroy part of Egypt’s historical landmarks like the muslims destroyed landmarks in Afghanistan ?
Oh my God….that would be sick.
Not surprising that their tourism revenue is down 35%…I’m surprised it isn’t higher than 35%.
Yeah, morons…..change Egypt into a radical islamist state.
How’s that working for them ?
I think of the quote “Cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
They will end up destroying Most of Egypt’s tourism revenue. How does anyone stop that from happening ?
I saw an article yesterday about the newly discovered pyramids and that even more are buried under the Nile’s silt/river bed.
Awesome stuff.
With the political climate there now, I pray for the safety of anyone going to Egypt just to do more research on this.
The radicals don’t care about history.
The darkness of ignorance is about to descend upon Egypt again. It will fall to those elsewhere to preserve Egypt’s story.
If Dr. Zawass is fearful that dishonest people are already in the ministries, then that new imaging information could be used to loot the artifacts or even worse to destroy them as being profane to Islam.
This Arab Spring is more akin to a desert sandstorm that will bury the thin veneer of Western liberalism in the region.
Dang, conflating his name am guilty of .. Dr. Zahi Hawass. My apologies.
No worries — I can’t tell you how many times I do something like that! 🙂 I loved your history review today on the sinking of the Bismark — I really need to link to it tomorrow.
http://annapuna.blogspot.com/2011/05/seventy-years-ago-in-north-atlantic.html
Thanks! Just finished adding some links. Plus a correction on that post. My memory scares me sometimes.