Mar/100
Door to Afterlife
Archaeologists have found a 3,500 year old door to the afterlife near Karnak temple in Luxor. The door is 1.75 meters tall of pink-colored granite. The door came from the tomb of chief minister of Queen Hatshepsut named User.
According to the inscriptions, User held the position of Vizier (powerful officials tasked with the day-to-day running of the kingdom’s complex bureaucracy in ancient Egypt) for 20 years. He also acquired the titles of prince and mayor of the city. User may have inherited the position from his father.
As a appreciation to his importance, User’s tomb in located on the west bank of the Nile of Luxor. The royal kings and queens were also buried in that area.
*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100329/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_antiquities
Jan/100
New Evidence: Pyramids built by free workers
On Sunday, 10th January 2010, Egypt’s chief archaeologist said that new tombs were found on the Giza plateau on the western edge of Cairo. The new discovery support the view that Great Pyramids were built by free workers, not slaves as widely believed. Films and media have long depicted slaves working to death to build the pyramids.
The newly discovered tombs were built beside the King’s pyramid, and it indicates that the people buried there were not slaves at all. Slaves would not have been able to build their tombs beside their king’s.
There is another sign that the people were not slaves. There are Graffiti on the walls made by the workers, calling themselves “friends of Khufu”.
