Alexandria

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Model of the Alexandrian lighthouse in Taposiris Magna (Abusir)

History of Alexandria, the second biggest city in Egypt, began in 332 B.C., when Alexander the Great founded a capital of his huge empire at the site of a small settlement of Racotis. The first urban buildings were completed a half of a century later, during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadephus (285-246 B.C.).

From that time Alexandria became not only the new capital of Egypt, but also the center of Hellenistic culture. The famous museum and the library, which all scholars of antiquity strived to reach, were situated there. The Alexandrian lighthouse, one of the ancient world’s miracles, was also constructed in this city. But after the Roman Empire waned, Alexandria, which became the largest Mediterranean metropolis, also declined. Major buildings were destroyed during wars and earthquakes, and a part of the city submerged.

The Theban Tomb of Tjay

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In December 2006 the Center for Egyptological Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences has started the study of the Theban tomb № 23 (Sheikh abd el-Kurna, Luxor). This tomb was constructed for Tjay – a scribe of royal dispatchers, who lived under the rule of Merenptah (1212-1202 BC).

Pylon and opened court of the Tjay’s tomb

The tomb is a well preserved complex, which consists of pylon, opening on a vast court, encircled with a colonnade. The court, used for the funerary rites, leads to a rock-cut gallery, at the end of which there is a sloping passage to the burial chamber.

The walls of the court and rock-cut chambers are covered with painted reliefs, representing the scenes of worship of different gods, life and death of the tomb's owner and many others. Inside the tomb there are statues of Tjay, put in special niches. The decoration of the tomb is one of the classical examples of the Theban art of the Ramesside times.

The Royal Cache TT320

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The rocks of the mountain ridge near Deir el-Bahri are so old that in some places even a slight touch causes their collapse. Ancient builders managed to cut the tombs at a great height despite of the danger of crumbling of the rocks dehydrated by the sun. In some of these tombs mummies were cached. Some tombs in the Valley of the Kings: those of Horemheb (KV57), Seti I (KV17), Amenophis II (KV35) and others, served this purpose as well.

Entrance to The Royal Cache TT 320

However, the most famous of these caches is the so-called «Royal cache» (DB 320 and later TT 320). Its entrance is situated in one of the natural amphitheaters formed by the rocks of Deir el-Bahri to the northwest from the temple of Hatshepsut and occupies small square hidden by the stone ledges. Many centuries ago Egyptians hid here the mummies of powerful pharaohs: Tuthmosis III, Seti I, Ramesses II and others.

In 1870s unique ancient objects and papyri started to appear on the black market in Luxor. Local authorities became interested in the source of supply. Immediately suspicion fell on Abd el Rassul, local interpreter and tomb looter. Daud Pasha, «mudir» of Qena, forced Abd el Rassul to reveal the secret for some «baksheesh». However, real circumstances under which the cache was found, and the monuments extracted from the tomb are not known till now.

Tell Ibrahim Awad

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Tell Ibrahim Awad. General view

The modern province Sharqiya that is situated in the northeastern part of the Nile Delta is a very important place for Egyptologists. Here the ancient Egyptian nome I'btj («The East»), which had an economical, political and strategical significance, was located. The capital of Hyksos was situated in this nome, later Ramesses the Great founded his capital here.

Tell Ibrahim Awad is situated 14 km from Faqus, near Per-Ramesses. Archaeological prospecting conducted in 1986 showed some objects of Predynastic period in this place (area B), the remains of a settlement and a necropolis. Last layers are dated from the Middle Kingdom. The intensive survey in 1988–1990 allowed to suggest the following chronological chart of the phases of Tell Ibrahim Awad occupation (after E.C.M. van den Brink):