15 - 21 February 2001
Issue No.521
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 15 - 21 February 2001 Issue No.521 |
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New technology reaches pyramids
THE PYRAMIDS Sound and Light show is about to get its share of modern technology. Computer-simulated laser-projections will be beamed on the three Great Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. As the Sphinx speaks his immortal words describing the visitors who have passed his way, the Valley Temple will appear in its original colours. Other important events will be woven into the saga, including Napoleon's Battle of the Pyramids.Old-timers, however, wonder whether technical advancement necessarily makes for better entertainment. In the event of bad weather a large underground hall will be ready to accommodate the audience, but would it not be better to hand out warm blankets on chilly nights?
Nevertheless, it will no longer be necessary to check out the days of the week or the hour at which performances will take place in various languages. Mohamed Shafiq, managing director of the Egyptian Sound and Light Show Company (ESLSC), said the audience would be provided with headphones giving translations in eight languages: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. He also said maquettes featuring the sphinx and the three pyramids of Giza would be set up in the underground hall.
Digging for royalty
AT THE royal necropolis of Abydos, a German mission is removing layer upon layer of sand deposits piled on an ancient burial ground by early archaeologists who were searching for the grave of the legendary god-king Osiris. "They shovelled huge piles of sand onto the site," Guenter Dryer, head of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, said. Dryer is confident that, as the site is cleared, major discoveries will be made.The team has already unearthed pottery and tablets dating back to the earliest known Pharaohs from about 3100BC. They have also found pre-dynastic tombs along with very early evidence of writing. Dryer thinks more secrets lie beneath the dunes, including clues about dynasties of rulers pre-dating the Dynastic Period, which could cast new light on the factors leading to the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt and the foundation of the ancient Egyptian civilisation.
He cautioned that the burial site was probably robbed in antiquity, but that robbers "were interested in marketable artifacts, not the kind of things we care about today."
Headless statue
MEMBERS of the French-Egyptan mission excavating in the El-Ramel station area in central Alexandria have unearthed a headless statue of a Roman emperor.The life-size, white marble statue is in two pieces. It portrays the Emperor Septimius Severus, who seized power in Rome in 193 AD, in military attire. The head of the statue is missing.
Engravings of the heads of lions and eagles, together with flowers, decorate the end of his robe, while two large eagles are engraved on his chest.
Septimius Severus campaigned in Mesopotamia, Gaul and Britain, where he died in 211.
"This statue is a very important discovery, which may lead to a Roman royal palace," general secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Gaballa Ali Gaballa said. Excavations in the area are continuing.
Compiled by Nevine El-Aref
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