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49-821: Although the name of the organization has changed over the years, the purpose and function of it has remained consistent. The first government body was the Department of Antiquities, established in 1858. This became the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation in 1971. As part of the Minister of Culture, The SCA is directed through the Administrative Council by the Secretary-General. The SCA was the only agent permitted to restore or preserve Egyptian monuments. It defined

98-640: A CT scan of his mummy revealed that he died in his forties, possibly on a battlefield, meanwhile his deformed hands imply that he was possibly imprisoned with his hands tied, and his facial fractures correlated well with the Hyksos weapons. In April 2021 his mummy was moved to National Museum of Egyptian Civilization along with those of 17 other kings and 4 queens in an event termed the Pharaohs' Golden Parade . In 2022, biological anthropologist S.O.Y. Keita reviewed studies from various time periods, including

147-468: A "foul, oily smell filled the room the moment the case in which his body was exhibited was opened," which is likely due to the poor embalming process and the absence of the use of absorbing natron salts, leaving some bodily fluids in the mummy at the time of burial. Also, Harris and Weeks noted in 1973 that "his entire facial complex, in fact, is so different from other pharaohs (it is closest in fact to his son Ahmose) that he could be fitted more easily into

196-419: A dynamic agency: reflecting the value of the past to the present. The concept appeared sound, but the value, both metaphorical and literal, of the antiquities 'industry' to Egypt indicated that, if anything, even more support and protection should be given. This led to the upgrade, firstly to a Supreme Council in 1994, then - in 2011 - to a full Ministry of State, devoted exclusively to a judicious development of

245-525: A face expressive of sovereign majesty, indomitable will, and the pride of the Egyptian king of kings. He then unbandaged the mummy of Ahmose-Nefertari , wife of King Ahmose I . of the Eighteenth Dynasty , beside which, in the same sarcophagus, had been discovered the mummy of Ramses III . The physiognomy of this monarch is more refined and intellectual than that of his warlike predecessor; nor

294-402: A large number of Kerma Nubians were resident at the site. It is thought that they were there as allies of the pharaoh in his wars against the Hyksos. A statue of a young seated man identified as Senior King's Son (sꜣ-nsw smsw) Ahmose, with the royal name of Seqenenre (cartouches with nomen on the back and front left side), also mentions Great King's Daughter (sꜣt-nsw wrt) Ahmose. At Karnak,

343-528: A limestone round-topped stela of King's Daughter Ahmose (cartouche) with the royal name of Seqenenre. In the Deir el-Bahri cache , the Mummy of Seqenenre was discovered in 1881. Priests had interred his mummy in the cache, along with Ahmose I, Amenhotep I , Thutmose I , Thutmose II , Thutmose III , Ramesses I , Seti I , Ramesses II , and Ramesses IX of the later Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasty. The mummy

392-625: A messenger to Seqenenre in Thebes to demand that the Theban hippopotamus pool be done away with, for the noise of these beasts was such that he was unable to sleep in far-away Avaris . Perhaps the only historical information that can be gleaned from the tale is that Egypt was a divided land, the area of direct Hyksos control being in the north, but the whole of Egypt paying tribute to the Hyksos kings. Seqenenre Tao participated in active diplomatic posturing, which went beyond simply exchanging insults with

441-459: A regency by his mother, was the first pharaoh of the Eighteenth. Seqenenre Tao is credited with starting the opening moves in a war of revanchism against Hyksos incursions into Egypt, which saw the country completely liberated during the reign of his son Ahmose I. The dates of his reign are uncertain, but he may have risen to power in the decade ending in 1560 BC or in 1558 BC (based on

490-477: A selection of the less important pieces to sell before they were included in the Bulaq collection. Gradually, the director introduced the official sale of antiquities in order to increase the financial resources of the Department of Antiquities and especially of the excavations. From June 1884, the sale of various objects and mummies is duly registered in the account books. It represents an important source of income for

539-627: Is home to at least 23 mummified ancient Egyptians. In the 2020s the CT scans were performed on the mummies as part of a study into the mummification of hearts. At the same time the CT scans were examined to try and establish the mummified individuals sex and the age at which they died. 52°31′13″N 13°23′52″E  /  52.520239°N 13.397741°E  / 52.520239; 13.397741 Seqenenre Tao Seqenenre Tao (also Seqenera Djehuty-aa or Sekenenra Taa , called 'the Brave') ruled over

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588-633: Is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the Nefertiti Bust . Since 1855, the collection is a part of the Neues Museum on Berlin's Museum Island , which reopened after renovations in 2009. The museum originated in the 18th century from the royal art collection of the Hohenzollern kings of Prussia . Alexander von Humboldt had recommended that an Egyptian section be created, and

637-421: Is not known whether he fell upon the field of battle or was the victim of some plot; the appearance of his mummy proves that he died a violent death when about forty years of age. Two or three men, whether assassins or soldiers, must have surrounded and despatched him before help was available. A blow from an axe must have severed part of his left cheek, exposed the teeth, fractured the jaw, and sent him senseless to

686-576: The Bulaq Museum rather than from locals. The decree of 16 May 1883 stipulated that the antiquities of the Bulaq Museum, or those that might be kept there or in other museums established in the future, were the property of the Egyptian state and for this reason were "inaliénables, insaisissables et imperscriptibles" (inalienable, unseizable, indispensable). Nevertheless, probably in the same year, Maspero, assisted by Emil Brugsch , began to make

735-466: The Louvre . The SCA consists of a team of experts whose aim is to protect Egypt and its history. The goals of the organization include conservation, preservation, excavations, and research of Egypt, its history, monuments, artifacts, and its peoples. In addition to these goals, the organization also was used to help promote tourism and to bring attention to the fight to have artifacts returned to Egypt. In

784-544: The 1973 craniofacial study of Seqenenre Tao which had found affinities with Nubian and Old Kingdom Giza crania. Keita viewed the Giza skulls to be part of a “Nile Valley variation” and commented that it was neither obligatory that those crania series nor King Tao were of Nubian origin, although a “Nubian origin is most certainly possible”. He also stated that it could be inferred “that populations with these traits were ancestral to various later populations”. Seqenenre Tao appears in

833-585: The 21st century they also face the difficult task of keeping monuments safe from those who wish to destroy the Pharanoic monuments. The position may entail also, as was done by Zahi Hawass for many years, to stimulate tourism to Egypt, with charm and charisma. Sayed Tawfik was an Egyptologist who served from 1989–1990, when the body was called the Egyptian Antiquities Organization. At the end of 2011, Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Aly

882-700: The Asiatic ruler in the North. He seems to have led military skirmishes against the Hyksos and, judging from the vicious head wounds on his mummy in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, may have died during one of them. His son and successor Wadjkheperre Kamose , the last ruler of the Seventeenth Dynasty at Thebes, is credited with launching a successful campaign in the Theban war of liberation against

931-427: The Department of Antiquites was established, and its first Conservator was Mariette. In 1859, the Department of Antiquities was created and was in existence for more than a century. Although Mariette was the director of the organization, he was also French, and his loyalty was to France. This created situations where Mariette made decisions that were not always in the best interest of Egypt. Nevertheless, he did provide

980-401: The Hyksos, although he is thought to have died in the campaign. His mother, Ahhotep I , is thought to have ruled as regent after the death of Kamose and continued the warfare against the Hyksos until Ahmose I , the second son of Seqenenre Tao and Ahhotep I, was old enough to assume the throne and complete the expulsion of the Hyksos and the unification of Egypt. The relatively short length of

1029-659: The Neues Museum, built according to plans designed by Friedrich August Stüler . The Nefertiti Bust, discovered during the excavations by Ludwig Borchardt in Amarna , was donated to the museum by the entrepreneur Henri James Simon in 1920; it quickly became its best-known exhibit. After World War II, during which the Neues Museum was heavily damaged by strategic bombing , the collections were divided between East and West Berlin . The main part remained in East Berlin and

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1078-512: The boundaries around archaeological sites and required foreign archaeologists working in Egypt to report all discoveries and finds to the SCA before publication. This somewhat controversial rule led to the expulsion of some archaeologists from Egypt, but reduced the theft of archaeological finds dramatically and notified the authorities to set up security around new finds. The SCA was also responsible for

1127-467: The course of which the Asiatics were expelled from Egypt. The history of this king had been considered legendary, but from the signs of wounds present in the mummy, it looked likely that he had died in battle. In the same season the mummy of Seti I was unbandaged, and also that of an anonymous prince. A vivid description provides an account of the injury that was done to the pharaoh at his death: ...it

1176-552: The first objects were brought to Berlin in 1828 under King Friedrich Wilhelm III . Initially housed in Monbijou Palace , the department was headed by the Trieste merchant Giuseppe Passalacqua (1797–1865), whose extensive collections formed the basis. A Prussian expedition to Egypt and Nubia led by Karl Richard Lepsius in 1842–45 brought additional pieces to Berlin. In 1850, the collections moved to its present-day home in

1225-455: The great figures. The height from the lowest of the steps was found to be one hundred feet, and the space between the paws was found to be thirty-five feet long and ten feet wide. Here there was formerly an altar; and a stele of Thutmosis IV . was discovered, recording a dream in which he was ordered to clear away the sand that even then was gathering round the site of the Sphinx." By the 1970s,

1274-405: The ground; another blow must have seriously injured the skull, and a dagger or javelin has cut open the forehead on the right side, a little above the eye. His body must have remained lying where it fell for some time: when found, decomposition had set in, and the embalming had to be hastily performed as best it might. The wound on his forehead was probably caused by a Hyksos axe and his neck wound

1323-534: The historical novel Shadow Hawk by Andre Norton, in which he is murdered by priests allied with the Hyksos. The book focuses on an Egyptian officer leading Nubian troops in the service of the Theban kingdom. The Hiram Key , a work of non-fiction by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas , argues that Seqenenre Tao's death formed the basis of the Hiram Abiff legend in Freemasonry ; however, this thesis

1372-471: The infrastructure that was required and his energy and determination gave the body the strong foundation of an identity and a credibility. Mariette was followed by Gaston Maspero , whose biggest contribution was the examination of the mummy of Ramses II in 1884. This event was witnessed by the Khedive and other high officials. The mummy of this great conqueror was well preserved, revealing a giant frame and

1421-604: The last of the local kingdoms of the Theban region of Egypt in the Seventeenth Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period . He probably was the son and successor to Senakhtenre Ahmose and Queen Tetisheri . With his queen, Ahhotep I , Seqenenre Tao fathered two pharaohs, Kamose , his immediate successor who was the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth Dynasty, and Ahmose I who, following

1470-437: The likeliest, that Seqenenre was executed by the Hyksos king Apepi . Garry Shaw also analysed the arguments for the competing hypotheses and other physical, textual and statistical evidence concluding "that the most likely cause of Seqenenre’s death is ceremonial execution at the hands of an enemy commander, following a Theban defeat on the battlefield." His mummy appears to have been hastily embalmed. X-rays that were taken of

1519-524: The mummy in the late 1960s show that no attempt had been made to remove the brain or to add linen inside the cranium or eyes, both normal embalming practice for the time. In the opinion of James E. Harris and Kent Weeks , who undertook the forensic examination at the time the X-rays were taken, his mummy is the worst preserved of all the royal mummies held at the Egyptian Museum, and they noted that

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1568-573: The nation's heritage. Sale room in the Egyptian Museum In January 1881, Gaston Maspero succeeded Mariette as director of the Antiquities service ( Service des Antiquités d'Egypte ). In August of the same year, Amelia Edwards wrote to Maspero that thefts and robberies would probably decrease if the museum offered certified objects for sale, and that travellers would prefer to buy their ‘souvenirs’ at regulated prices at

1617-675: The opinion that the objects sold to public institutions were more important than those sold to private collectors or dealers, we can see from the register of the sale room that the latter were also able to acquire very important objects. All of these works could subsequently be legally exported. Many objects that are now kept in private collections or public museums originated here. Director: Director: Secretary-General: Minister of State: Egyptian Museum of Berlin The Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection of Berlin (German: Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung )

1666-523: The period of Roman rule , though most date from the rule of Akhenaten (around 1340BC). The most famous piece on display is the exceptionally well preserved and vividly coloured bust of Queen Nefertiti . The collection was moved from Charlottenburg to the Altes Museum in 2005 and was rehoused within the newly reconstructed Neues Museum on Berlin's Museum Island in October 2009. The museum

1715-399: The probable accession date of his son, Ahmose I , the first ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty , see Egyptian chronology ). New Kingdom literary tradition states that Seqenenre Tao came into contact with his Hyksos contemporary in the north, Apepi or Apophis. The tradition took the form of a tale, nowadays called " The Quarrel of Apophis and Seqenenre ", in which the Hyksos king Apepi sent

1764-595: The recovery of antiquities previously stolen or illegally exported from Egypt: between 2002 and 2008, it retrieved 3,000 artefacts. It became embroiled in a dispute with the Egyptian Museum of Berlin over the bust of Nefertiti , which it claimed was removed from the country by deceit; previously it had asked for the return of the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum and the Dendara Zodiac from

1813-420: The reign of Seqenenre Tao did not allow for the construction of many monumental structures, but it is known that he had built a new palace made of mud brick at Deir el-Ballas . On an adjacent hillside overlooking the river, the foundations of a building were found that almost certainly was a military observation post. A relatively large amount of pottery known as Kerma-ware was found at the site, indicating that

1862-613: The sale room in the Egyptian Museum until 1979, selling original ancient Egyptian artworks and other artefacts there. From a packing list as well as from other sources, such as the pages of the register of the sale room or the museums' inventories and archives, which have already been checked or reconciled, it can be deduced that the objects sold were: Reliefs, architectural elements, offering tables, coffins, complete or fragmentary statues, statue heads or torsos, headrests, capitals (mostly Coptic), canopic jars , as well as stone or glass vessels, ushabtis , weights, amulets and scarabs . Despite

1911-403: The series of Nubian and Old Kingdom Giza skulls than into that of later Egyptian kings. Various scholars in the past have proposed a Nubian- that is, non-Egyptian-origin for Sequenre and his family, and his facial features suggest that this might indeed be true." He was the earliest royal mummy on display in the recently revamped Royal Mummies Hall at the Egyptian Museum , Cairo . In 2021,

1960-640: The service. Maspero himself buys small objects from the Antiquities Service for his personal collection. Many of them are now in the Egyptian collection of the Institut d'Egyptologie Victor Loret in Lyon. The official sale of antiquities initiated by Maspero proved to be very lucrative for the Service des Antiquités d'Egypte (Antiquities service). For this reason, a sale room ( Salle de ventes )

2009-547: The signs of wounds present in the mummy, it is certain that he had died in battle. In the same season the mummy of Seti I . was unbandaged, and also that of an anonymous prince." "The next season the work of clearing away the sand from around the Great Sphinx was vigorously prosecuted by Grébaut. In the beginning of the year 1887, the chest, the paws, the altar, and plateau were all made visible. Flights of steps were unearthed, and finally accurate measurements were taken of

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2058-479: The value of Antiquities to Egypt was well-understood: both as a permanent advertisement for its tourist industry, and as an instrument of cultural prestige, imbuing a sense of pride in the post-colonial era, and maintaining morale during the numerous internal and external conflicts affecting Egypt since its independence. After more than a century of existence, the Department of Antiquities was therefore renamed in 1971.The new title sounded less bureaucratic, and suggested

2107-668: Was displayed at the Bode Museum , while those artifacts evacuated to West Germany , including the Nefertiti Bust, returned to West Berlin. From 1967 to 2005, these items were housed vis-à-vis Charlottenburg Palace . The whole collection was reunited again after the Reunification of Germany , when it returned to Museum Island. The collection contains artefacts dating from between 4000 BC (the Predynastic era ) to

2156-433: Was his frame built upon the same colossal plan. The height of the body was less, and the shoulders not so wide. In the same season Maspero also discovered an ancient Egyptian romance known as the story of Sinuhe in a tomb in Thebes. A fragment on papyrus had been preserved at the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, but the whole romance was now decipherable." "Professor Maspero resigned his office of directorship on June 5, 1886, and

2205-461: Was named antiquities minister and he promised to give new life to the body, by bringing in young archeologists and restarting projects which had been put on hold. In the 1850s, Auguste Mariette made several discoveries at Saqqara , which revived interest into Ancient Egypt, their culture, and their monuments. and revived an interest in Egyptology . In response to the renewed interest, in 1858

2254-501: Was opened in 1892 in the palace of Ismail Pasha in Giza , which became the seat of the Egyptian Museum in the last decade of the 19th century. It was located in room 91 on the ground floor, directly accessible from the outside. When the Egyptian Museum moved to Tahrir, in the early years of the 20th century, the sale room was located in room 56 on the ground floor, accessible from the western entrance. The Egyptian state continued to operate

2303-413: Was probably caused by a dagger while he was prone. There are no wounds on his arms or hands, which suggests he was not able to defend himself. Until 2009, the main hypotheses had been that he died either in a battle against the Hyksos or was killed while sleeping. A reconstruction of his death by Egyptologist Garry Shaw and archaeologist and weapons expert Robert Mason suggested a third, which they saw as

2352-522: Was succeeded in the superintendency of excavations and Egyptian archaeology by M. Eugène Grébaut . In the same month Grébaut started upon the work of unbandaging the mummy of the Theban king Seqenenra Tao , of the Seventeenth Dynasty . It was under this monarch that a revolt against the Hyksos , or Shepherd Kings, had originated, in the course of which the Asiatics were expelled from Egypt. The history of this king has always been considered legendary, but from

2401-414: Was unwrapped by Eugène Grébaut when Professor Gaston Maspero resigned his office of directorship on June 5, 1886, and was succeeded in the superintendency of excavations and Egyptian archeology by M. Eugene Grebault. In the same month Grebault started upon the work of unbandaging the mummy of Seqenenre, of the eighteenth dynasty. It was under this monarch that a revolt against the Hyksos had originated, in

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