From: owner-anenews-digest@ (ANEnews Digest) To: anenews-digest Subject: ANEnews Digest V1999 #183 Reply-To: Sender: owner-anenews-digest@ Errors-To: owner-anenews-digest@ Precedence: bulk ANEnews Digest Thursday, November 4 1999 Volume 1999 : Number 183 anenews MEM Graduate Student Paper Prize anenews CNBS/National coverage of Abusir tomb - Reply anenews Checklist of Editions of Greek, Latin and Coptic Papyri, Ostraca and Tablets ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 09:22:00 -0500 From: "Charles E. Jones" Subject: anenews MEM Graduate Student Paper Prize Forwarded on behalf of the undersigned, to whom responses and inquiries should be directed. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Dear Graduate Student Presenters at MESA 99, Each year the Board of Directors of MEM offers a prize of $250.00 for the best graduate student paper on a medieval topic at the annual Middle East Studies Association meeting. The winner is announced at the annual business meeting of MEM, held in conjunction with MESA. Although modest in amount, it is hoped that this award will encourage graduate students with an interest in the medieval period to attend the conference. ONE NEED NOT BE A MEMBER OF MEM TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS PRIZE. Graduate Students who are scheduled to present a paper on a medieval topic at MESA-1999 and who wish to have their contributions considered for this year's prize should submit a copy of their paper to MEM's Vice President, Margaret Larkin, by November 15, 1999. Send papers to: Margaret Larkin, Department of Near Eastern Studies, 250 Barrows Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. Sincerely, James E. Lindsay Secretary-Treasurer, MEM ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 10:36:11 -0500 From: "Charles E. Jones" Subject: anenews CNBS/National coverage of Abusir tomb - Reply From: Jaromir Krejci Dear Dr. Jones, In the name of Prof. Verner and Dr. Bares I would like to ask you for publishing on the ANE-conference the following text. It is a reaction on the message sent on Sunday, 24 October 1999 [http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/ANE/ANE-DIGEST/CURRENT/v1999.n300] to your discussion list by Mrs. & Mr. Fuller. We will send this text also to Mrs. and Mr. Fuller and to the National Magazine staff. Thank you in advance, J. Krejci - -------------------------------------------------------------------- Jaromir Krejci Charles University, Faculty of Arts Czech Institute of Egyptology Celetna 20 tel: 00420-2-24491394 Praha, Czech Republic fax: 00420-2-24491628 http://www.ff.cuni.cz/~krejci/Welcome.html - -------------------------------------------------------------------- /\/\/\ Concerning the critical remarks made by Dr. Michael and Neathery Fuller on the opening of the sarcophagus of Iufaa at Abusir, Egypt, filmed by the National Geographic team, the excavators should like to emphasize that they were fully aware of the complexity of the archaeological situation. The uneasy decision to move the mummy immediately from Abusir to the Inspectorate of Antiquities in Giza was taken on the spot by a committee of responsible Egyptian experts from the Supreme Council of Antiquities. For various reasons, the most important decision being perhaps the security of the place. According to the regulations, the work had to be concluded on the same day by 4 p.m. and the tomb had to be then resealed. Besides this, three other aspects of the problem, already partly mentioned in the commentary accompanying the CNBC/National Geographic documentary film should be repeated and stressed again: 1) The inner wooden coffin was already badly damaged by moisture (it was literally water soaked). It collapsed before its opening and started to decompose immediately. There was no feasible way to save it. 2) The faience bead shroud had already decayed and the beads from the sides had rolled to the bottom of the coffin. It had been very carefully photographed and measured before the body was moved. All beads were carefully collected. A project of the restoration of the shroud has been prepared in collaboration with Czech textile and faience experts and is just about to be launched in the nearest future. In the past, similar faience shrouds excavated in Egypt have also been additionally restored in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. 3) According to the anthropologist, the mummy was so thoroughly soaked with moisture that it had to be moved from Abusir to the nearest X-ray laboratory in Giza (some 10 miles away) immediately. There was a risk that it would decompose in few hours. It has to be stated again that the burial chamber, situated deep under the surface, lies very close to the water table. For that reason, all organic finds from this place were either completely decomposed or badly damaged by moisture. Under the circumstances, there existed an imminent threat that not only the mummy of Iufaa but also other objects would be definitely lost in a very short time. The excavators, and the Egyptian experts, took, in their opinion, the steps adequate to the seriousness of the situation. It is to be stressed, moreover, that the National Geographic team did not film the recording, measuring and discussing steps. Prof. Dr. Miroslav Verner (Director, Czech Institute of Egyptology) & Dr. Ladislav Bares (Excavator of Iufaa's tomb). miroslav.verner@ff.cuni.cz bares@dec59.ruk.cuni.cz ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 15:32:33 -0500 From: "Charles E. Jones" Subject: anenews Checklist of Editions of Greek, Latin and Coptic Papyri, Ostraca and Tablets Forwarded on behalf of the undersigned, to whom responses and inquiries should be directed. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx From: "John F. Oates" The Checklist of Edtions of Greek and Latin Papyri, Ostraca and Tablets has now become the Checklist of Editions of Greek, Latin and Coptic Papyri, Ostraca and Tablets. Terry Wilfong and Sarah Clackson have joined the editors with primary responsibility for the Coptic entries. Joshua Sosin has also become a participating editor. John Oates remains chiefly responsible for maintaing the Web version. The online and now expanded Checklist continues to be available at http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/papyrus/texts/clist.html. This current version is a working document. We welcome suggestions for corrections or for additional material.(joates@duke.edu). We plan a 5th print edition at an appropriate time. ------------------------------ End of ANEnews Digest V1999 #183 ******************************** Back issues are available on the Oriental Institute World-Wide Web (WWW) site at: http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/ANE/OI_ANE.html