16 February 2008
Another BONUS was a recent trip to Sakkara, where we DID NOT go to the Step Pyramid of Zoser. Dr Alain Zivie, an archaeologist and visiting professor at AUC, has been working on the “Lesser-Known Tombs” of Sakkara. His discoveries have included the (potential) tomb of Maia – the wet-nurse and governess of King Tut, and the “cat tombs”, a series of tombs that were re-used in New Kingdom times and after for the burial of mummified cats.
We began the trip with a stop in the Sakkara museum of Amenhotep. Although we have been to Sakkara a number of times, this was the first trip to the museum. Unlike the Egyptian Museum, this is a wonderfully planned and executed museum!
It was a very cool trip – and not the kind of thing that one can do on one’s own.
Dr Alain also brought us to the site of the Dutch Mission, who were finishing up the season on several 18th Dynasty (Akhenaten-era, Amarna-style art) royal tombs.
These guys figure out which pieces of alabaster go together and reassemble ancient jars and vessels!
The buckets of bones were my favorite, but I’m sure, no-one is surprised by that!
We wound up the trip with a stop in Memphis – the ancient capital of Egypt. Not much is left there, but there are some spectacular statues – including a limestone colossus of Ramses II lying on its back inside a visitors shelter.
