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Secrets of Egypt revealed at lecture this week
September 16, 2006
Faculty Fellow Don Ryan and renowned Egyptologist Otto Schaden will present fascinating new discoveries from recent field seasons in Egypt’s famed Valley of the Kings on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. in Chris Knutzen Hall.
Ryan will describe the work of the Pacific Lutheran University Valley of the Kings Project, which he directs. Ryan has spent the last several years exploring some of the more obscure tombs in the valley. The tombs Ryan has focused on were burial sites for the Egyptian elite, but not necessarily for its royalty.
Ryan will also present intriguing evidence regarding the whereabouts of the mummy of one of Egypt’s most famed female pharaohs.
“Some prominent scholars have argued that a mummy in one of the tombs we rediscovered could be that of the famed queen Hatshepsut,” Ryan said.
Art history courses devote hours to discussing the significance of the mortuary temple built in Hatshepsut’s honor, but many people don’t realize that her mummy was never found in her own tomb.
“It was common for thieves to rob the royal tombs and steal the gold and jewels entombed within,” Ryan said. Afterwards, ancient priests removed most of the mummies and hid them away in secret caches for protection.
When Schaden first started brushing aside the sand and rubble from the mouth of tomb KV-63 this March, the tomb was expected to hold just such cached remains. But the tomb, the first new tomb to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings since that of King Tutankhamun in 1922, instead held an intriguing collection of mummification supplies and coffins.
The lecture will be Schaden’s first in the United States since his much-celebrated discovery this March.
Schaden’s discovery has been featured on two Discovery Channel specials since March, and Ryan described it as probably “the biggest archaeological discovery of the year.”
Schaden will discuss his theories about the significance of this find, and explain in detail the contents of the tomb. Both Ryan and Schaden will illustrate their lectures with photos and slides.
The event is free and open to the public.
Ryan will also present intriguing evidence regarding the whereabouts of the mummy of one of Egypt’s most famed female pharaohs.
“Some prominent scholars have argued that a mummy in one of the tombs we rediscovered could be that of the famed queen Hatshepsut,” Ryan said.
Art history courses devote hours to discussing the significance of the mortuary temple built in Hatshepsut’s honor, but many people don’t realize that her mummy was never found in her own tomb.
“It was common for thieves to rob the royal tombs and steal the gold and jewels entombed within,” Ryan said. Afterwards, ancient priests removed most of the mummies and hid them away in secret caches for protection.
When Schaden first started brushing aside the sand and rubble from the mouth of tomb KV-63 this March, the tomb was expected to hold just such cached remains. But the tomb, the first new tomb to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings since that of King Tutankhamun in 1922, instead held an intriguing collection of mummification supplies and coffins.
The lecture will be Schaden’s first in the United States since his much-celebrated discovery this March.
Schaden’s discovery has been featured on two Discovery Channel specials since March, and Ryan described it as probably “the biggest archaeological discovery of the year.”
Schaden will discuss his theories about the significance of this find, and explain in detail the contents of the tomb. Both Ryan and Schaden will illustrate their lectures with photos and slides.
The event is free and open to the public.