Ancient Egypt still remains one of the most amazing and interesting civilizations of the ancient world. However, no other civilization causes so many controversies and theories. In our review of 10 high-profile scandals that have flared up today around the artifacts of Ancient Egypt.
1. Scandal with mummified animals
Animal mummification was quite common in ancient Egypt, usually practiced as an offering to the gods. In fact, in Egypt there was a whole industry of raising dogs, cats, crocodiles and monkeys for their subsequent mummification. After the animal carcasses were properly processed, they were sold for a lot of money to the pious Egyptians, who wanted to “secure” the favor of the gods in the afterlife in advance.
But in 2015, scientists at the University of Manchester discovered something that caused a real scandal in the scientific world - many animal mummies did not actually have animal remains inside (approximately two-thirds were just "dummies" filled with earth, pieces of wood, feathers, eggshells and other materials). Researchers now assume that the demand for mummies simply exceeded the number of sacred animals, which is why such fakes appeared.
2. Sale of the statue of Sekhemka
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In 1850, the Marquis of Northampton returned from a trip to Egypt, bringing with him one of the most remarkable ancient Egyptian statues ever discovered. The surprisingly well-preserved statue depicts a royal scribe named Sekhemka, who lived from about 2400 to 2300 BC. A descendant of the Marquis later donated the statue to the Northampton Museum, where it took pride of place as a magnificent example of Fifth Dynasty art.
But in 2015, the museum sold the statue by auction to an anonymous private collector for $ 20 million, after which one of the magnificent examples of ancient art became inaccessible to the public. The shocking sale sparked an international scandal. Egyptologists warned that the statue in the museum was kept in accordance with all international standards, and in a private collection this would be impossible.
The sale of the statue was deemed so outrageous that the Northampton Museum was stripped of official accreditation and funding. In response to the outrage, the British government imposed a ban on removing the statue from the country. The ban will last until March 2016, and during this time, the Egyptians are trying to raise $ 25 million through crowdfunding to buy the statue and return it to Egypt.
3. Eviction of Kurna
On the western bank of the Nile (opposite Luxor and south of the Valley of the Kings) is an ancient necropolis known as the Valley of the Nobility. This burial site contains the tombs of high-ranking ancient Egyptians, including the closest advisers of the pharaohs, buried in the Valley of the Kings. Archaeologists have been excavating the necropolis for a long time, but the work is greatly complicated by the fact that the village of Kurna is located directly above it. The conflict between the Egyptian government and the people of Qurna began even before the independence of Egypt.
The government wanted to investigate the tombs and protect them from water damage. There was also a suspicion that residents were robbing graves and secretly selling valuable artifacts. In 1948, the authorities built a “New Qurna” for the villagers, but they refused to move because the new village was far from the fields they cultivated, as well as away from tourist routes. In the 2000s, a new village of Taref was built, already closer to the hotels, but a number of residents, despite the fact that some of the houses of Kurna have already been demolished by bulldozers, still refuse to move.
4. Theory of correlation with Orion
The Great Pyramids of Giza have fascinated humanity for millennia, giving rise to countless theories as to how and why the Egyptians created such unusual structures. One of the more controversial theories was proposed by the Belgian engineer Robert Bauval in 1994. He claims that the location of the three pyramids perfectly matches the three stars in Orion's Belt. Other pyramids of the IV dynasty correspond to other stars in the constellation Orion, and the Nile flowing nearby symbolizes the Milky Way. It has long been recognized that the Egyptians really used astronomy when designing the pyramids (by the way, the faces of the pyramids coincide surprisingly exactly with the cardinal points, and the compass simply did not exist then, so the Egyptians could only navigate by the stars).
As a result, Bauval's theory generated a lot of interest. Although the pyramids of Giza are now completely different from Orion's belt, scientists estimate that the pyramids may have been built around 10500 BC when Orion's belt looked completely different in the sky. Although this date "only" for 8000 years does not coincide with the generally accepted date of construction of the pyramids, the theory is still popular today.
5. Aliens
Bauvel's theory of the relationship with Orion is not the only one that implies the relationship between the pyramids and the cosmos. For years, various pseudoscientists have argued that such spectacular monuments could only have been created with the help of aliens. In November 2010, the Internet was rocked by a story titled "Egyptian Archaeologist Admits Pyramids Contain UFO Technology."
History Doctor Ala Shaheen, head of the department of archeology at the University of Cairo, sensationally stated at the conference that "the theory that aliens helped the ancient Egyptians build the oldest pyramids of Giza may be true." He added that "there is something clearly unearthly inside the pyramids," but then declined to comment on his words. Subsequently, Dr. Shahin himself denied that he "said such nonsense."
6. Rosetta stone
The British Museum houses some of the most impressive exhibits from around the world. Unfortunately, many countries are not overly happy with the fact, claiming that their heritage was stolen during the colonial era. One of the most controversial treasures in the bins of the museum is the famous Rosetta Stone of Ancient Egypt. The latest knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphs died after the fall of the Roman Empire, so early historians were perplexed about the strange symbols.
The breakthrough came during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1799, when an engineer discovered a strange stone stele near the city of Rosetta. It was embossed with the same text in three languages - ancient Greek, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and Egyptian demotic writing. This is how French archaeologists were able to decipher the hieroglyphs for the first time. It is not entirely clear how the British took possession of the Rosetta Stone, but it is still in the British Museum. In recent years, the Egyptian government has pushed for his return.
7. Damaged cartridge
In 2013, three Germans claiming to be archaeologists were granted permission to visit the Great Pyramid of Giza. In fact, none of the Germans were archaeologists. They were the proponents of the theory that the pyramids are much older than commonly believed and were built as "power plants" by the inhabitants of Atlantis. Inside the pyramid, the Germans managed to scrape off part of the Khufu cartouche, an ancient graffiti that identified Pharaoh Khufu as the pyramid's builder.
The Germans thought the cartouche was a 19th century forgery and took samples to Germany for testing. A scandal erupted, after which the German government arrested the "archaeologists" and returned the samples to Egypt. Five officials were convicted by the Egyptian government for giving the accused access to the pyramid.
8. Frankenstein-Nefertiti
Nefertiti, whose name literally means "beauty has come," is one of the most famous queens of ancient Egypt, known for her beauty and political influence. Her image in our time is largely due to the magnificent statue by the ancient sculptor Thutmose. It is not surprising that the authorities of the Egyptian city of Samalut decided to put their own copy of the bust of the queen.
The result was a scandal, since the line was just disgusting. She immediately became the subject of widespread ridicule in Egypt, where the locals compared her to the monster of Frankenstein. The resonance was so strong that the statue was soon demolished, and in January 2016 a new, less grotesque replica of the famous bust was installed.
9. Chinese graffiti
Built on the site of the city of Thebes, the capital of Ancient Egypt, modern Luxor is home to many 3,500-year-old tombs, temples and statues. Unsurprisingly, Luxor has become one of Egypt's most popular tourist destinations. On May 24, 2013, Chinese blogger Shen Yuwen posted on the Web an image of an ancient Egyptian temple in Luxor with the inscription in Chinese "Jing Jinhao was here."
As a result, the Egyptians and Chinese soon found the culprit. It turned out to be 15-year-old Ding Jinhao from Nanjing. His parents apologized for their son's vandalism, and restoration specialists successfully removed the graffiti.
10. Tutankhamun
The golden mask of Tutankhamun is one of the most iconic depictions of Ancient Egypt since Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. Therefore, many were shocked by the recent BBC documentary "Tutankhamun: The Blatant Truth", which stated that the pharaoh had abnormally crooked legs, protruding teeth, almost female breasts and clearly “feminine hips”.
The film claimed to have done a virtual face reconstruction of the pharaoh boy, using over 2,000 computer scans of his mummy and genetic analysis of his family. The results indicate that the pharaoh suffered from a number of birth defects caused by entire generations of inbreeding, as well as from gynecomastia and epilepsy.