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CAIRO -- Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a number of rare Pharaonic seals of soldiers sent out on desert missions in search of red paint to decorate the Pyramids, Egypt's culture minister said on April 28. The 26 matchbox-sized seals belonged to Cheops, who ruled from 2551 to 2528 BC, in whose honor the greatest of the great pyramids of Giza southwest of Cairo was built, and show Pharaonic soldiers' ranks, the MENA news agency quoted Farouq Hosni as saying. "These seals were used by a mission sent by Cheops to collect ferric oxide, which is necessary to make red paint,"...

Coptic manuscripts unearthed in Pharaonic tomb in Egypt Published February 21, 2005 CAIRO -- Polish experts excavating in the southern city of Luxor have discovered three ancient Coptic manuscripts in a Pharaonic tomb, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities said on Saturday. The find was the single most important Coptic discovery since 1945 when a pair of bedouins stumbled onto the Coptic codices in Nag Hammadi in Egypt's western desert, it said. The manuscripts date to the sixth century and were concealed in a Middle Kingdom (2000 to 1800 BC) tomb in Luxor, about 710 kilometers (440 miles) south of Cairo,...

Kheops [Khufu, building of the Great Pyramid] was succeeded by Djedefre, his oldest surviving son. The mother of Djedefre is unknown. He married his (half-) sister Hetepheres II, which may have been to legitimise his claims to the throne if his mother was one of Kheops’ lesser wives... The Turin King-list credits him with a rule of 8 years, but the highest known year referenced to during this reign was the year of the 11th cattle count. This would mean that Djedefre ruled for at least 11 years, if the cattle counts were anual, or 21 years if the...

[T]he exclusively masculine epithets referring to this individual in the same tomb and on a now-vanished block at Memphis, confirm that we are dealing with a man - as distinct from the pharaoh-queen Ankh(et)kheperure Neferneferuaten... Contrary to Ancient Egyptian custom, Smenkhkare is not presented under a coronation name and a birth name in his two cartouches, but under two coronation names. The explanation for this curious fact seems to me clear: both his royal names were composed on the occasion of his coronation. He therefore must have had another name beforehand... The absence of a birth name, the lack of...

Instead of building a 'saff' tomb like those of his predecessors, Mentuhotep II decided to build an impressive tomb by the cliffs of Deir el Bahri (the same location chosen in the 18th dynasty by Hatshepsut). A T-shaped terrace was built using masonary and by using the natural rock. The walls built on this terrace were then decorated both inside and out with painted relief carving.

Black pharaoh trove uncovered The Nubian kings ruled 2,500 years ago Monday, 20 January, 2003, 17:47 GMT By Ishbel Matheson A team of French and Swiss archaeologists working in the Nile Valley have uncovered ancient statues described as sculptural masterpieces in northern Sudan. The archaeologists from the University of Geneva discovered a pit full of large monuments and finely carved statues of the Nubian kings known as the black pharaohs. The Swiss head of the archaeological expedition told the BBC that the find was of worldwide importance. The black pharaohs, as they were known, ruled over a mighty empire...

Monday, 20 January, 2003, 17:47 GMT Black pharaoh trove uncovered The Nubian kings ruled 2,500 years ago By Ishbel Matheson BBC, Nairobi A team of French and Swiss archaeologists working in the Nile Valley have uncovered ancient statues described as sculptural masterpieces in northern Sudan. The archaeologists from the University of Geneva discovered a pit full of large monuments and finely carved statues of the Nubian kings known as the black pharaohs. The Swiss head of the archaeological expedition told the BBC that the find was of worldwide importance. The black pharaohs, as they were known, ruled over a mighty...

4,000-year-old seal of Egyptian pharaoh found in stable ruins on Scottish estate By Paul Kelbie Scotland Correspondent 05 June 2002 An ancient Egyptian seal belonging to a pharaoh who died almost 4,000 years ago has been uncovered in the rubble of a Scottish stable block. The delicately carved soft blue-grey stone, which measures only 45mm (2in) in height, was found during excavations of Newhailes, a 17th-century country house in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh. The seal is highly polished and bears a series of hieroglyphics inside a royal cartouche, which experts have been able to identify as an official seal of office...