Lost & Found

Tomb of previously unknown pharaonic queen found in Egypt

“Tomb of previously unknown pharaonic queen found in Egypt”

via “AFP“

Czech archaeologists have unearthed the tomb of a previously unknown queen believed to have been the wife of Pharaoh Neferefre who ruled 4,500 years ago, officials in Egypt said Sunday.

The tomb was discovered in Abu Sir, an Old Kingdom necropolis southwest of Cairo where there are several pyramids dedicated to pharaohs of the Fifth Dynasty, including Neferefre.

The name of his wife had not been known before the find, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty said in a statement.

He identified her as Khentakawess, saying that for the “first time we have discovered the name of this queen who had been unknown before the discovery of her tomb”.

That would make her Khentakawess III, as two previous queens with the same name have already been identified.

Her name and rank had been inscribed on the inner walls of the tomb, probably by the builders, Damaty said. . .

Items of Jewish victims of Theresienstadt discovered during house renovations

“Items of Jewish victims of Theresienstadt discovered during house renovations”

via “World Jewish Congress“

Terezin (Theresienstadt), a fortress and garrison town built at the end of the 18thcentury, was used by the Nazis as a transit camp for Jews rounded up in Czechoslovakia and deported from elsewhere in Europe. They were held in the ghetto until they could be transported to camps farther east.

Nearly 160,000 Jews went throughTerezin. Most perished either there or in the death camps of Nazi-occupied eastern Europe. The camp remained in operation from autumn of 1941 till its liberation in May 1945.

The discovery of the objects, some of which bore their owner’s names, was disclosed by the Ghetto Theresienstadtproject, which is funded by German and Czech sponsors. “The unexpected finds such as these suggest that an abundance of precious legacies from the ghetto period are still waiting to be discovered in buildings throughout Terezin,” the group said in a news release.

The group said the highlight of the find was the head tefillin, a small black capsule containing a handwritten parchment scroll with the “Hear, O Israel” verses from Deuteronomy. The home owners discovered the objects while replacing a roof truss in their attic in November. “In their view, the way that the objects were concealed under the beams indicates the great importance that the prisoners gave in hiding their possessions,” the group said.

Paul Revere’s Time Capsule

“Samuel Adams and Paul Revere time capsule unearthed in Boston”

by Douglas Ernst via “Washington Times”

Samuel Adams and Paul Revere buried a time capsule in 1795. A Boston crew at the Massachusetts State House is now digging it up.

Repair work on a water leak of the State House prompted a crew to remove the cornerstone of the building, which encases the capsule. The Museum of Fine Arts will present the artifacts when the artifact is opened.

“As soon as the box is freed from the stone, we will show the box, then send it to the MFA, they will X-ray it over the weekend and open it sometime there next week,” Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said Thursday, CNN reported.

The capsule, which was dug up during repairs in 1855, is said to house rare coins and papers dating back to the 1600s.

“There were some coins that were tossed in the 1855 ceremony in the mix of the mortar. They are in good condition so we are optimistic that the box itself has withstood the test of time and that it will therefore be holding the contents securely,” Mr. Galvin said, CNN reported.

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“Wanna Go Exploring? Check Out These Sarcophagi Deep In Peru”

via “Viral Nova“

Ever wish you were an adventurer, or an explorer, discovering environs and relics unseen by human eyes for centuries? It’s certainly a fantasy I had when I was much younger, but it’s one that I can always feel a tinge of in my adult-life. Wanting to escape the everyday and see something new, different, or unfamiliar is a feeling we all can relate to. Sometimes just surfing the web a little bit can give us a taste of what being a real explorer is like, but from the comfort of our homes. Check out the story below about some ancient statues in Peru, and do some exploring of your own.

These “statues” are actually sarcophagi, located 60 kilometers northeast of Chachapoyas, in Luya Province of Peru.

Hanumann

The site is called “Karajia,” and is the site of the tombs of ancient wise men. The local people call the sarcophagi the “Purunmachos.”

C-Monster

Each sarcophagus is about 2.5 meters high, with the head of each ornamented with horns, and some with skulls!

C-Monster

The Purunmachos are around 600 years old and were discovered in 1984 by archaeologist Federico Kauffmann.

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There were 8 sarcophagi originally, but two were destroyed by natural causes. Luckily, because of the remote location of these six sarcophagi have stayed relatively intact.

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(via: amusingplanet.com)

These sarcophagi are ancient and awesome relics and one’s that you know it would be really cool to travel to see.

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Swiss Museum Publishes List of Nazi Loot Art Trove

“Swiss Museum Publishes List of Nazi Loot Art Trove”

via “Reuters“

File picture showing the facade of the Kunsmuseum Bern art museum in Bern

ZURICH (Reuters) – A Swiss museum published a list on Thursday of all the art found in the possession of Cornelius Gurlitt, a German recluse whose secret collection included masterpieces looted from their Jewish owners by the Nazis.

The Bern Art Museum was named as sole heir to the collection and on Monday reluctantly accepted the bequest, making clear that it would adopt a policy of total transparency to head off any criticism over its decision to take in the artwork.

“We have promised transparency and are now acting accordingly,” Matthias Frehner, director of the Kunstmuseum Bern, said in a statement.

Gurlitt’s collection of over 1,200 artworks had been hidden away for decades until German tax inspectors stumbled upon it during a raid on his Munich apartment in 2012. A government task force identified three pieces that were indisputably looted by the Nazis which would be returned to the heirs.

Bern Art Museum has said it will not accept any piece which experts believed might have been stolen and by publishing the full list it hopes it might still discover the rightful owners.

Switzerland has worked hard in recent years to shake-off its reputation as a haven for ill-gotten gains, and the museum is anxious to avoid the legal risks associated with accepting disputed art works.