EgyptBC.com

The pursuit of longevity may seem to be a modern obsession, but did you know that the ancient Egyptians may have been the first civilisation to pursue the secrets of looking young?

Cosmetics were often applied to the face and eyes in an attempt to look young. Even Cleopatra is known to have used lactic acid in order to peel her skin, believing it made her appear more beautiful. Formulas, written on papyrus, have been discovered by archaeologists and describe how facials were made from honey and plants.

There have also been descriptions of anti-wrinkle treatments derived from aloe which was commonly used in ancient Egypt. It is believed that all classes of Egyptian society were concerned with their appearance and so it is believed that cosmetics were used even by the lower classes.

As today, good looks and care of the body were concerns shared equally by both the men and the women. The desert climate of Egypt is obviously hot and arid which led to the widespread use of body oils which acted as moisturisers.

The Egyptian government is hoping to loan the bust of Nefertiti from Germany for 3 months so that it can be used as part of a display at the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum. The $550 million project, located near the Giza pyramids, is set to be complete by 2012.

Back in April the chances of such a loan looked slim indeed as the German Culture Minister, Bernd Nuemann, had grave concerns over the transport of the bust, citing conservational issues. He also claimed that German had a lawful right to own the bust, something Zahi Hawass is less convinced about.

Hawass has done a fine job of procuring ancient Egyptian antiquities from around the world in recent years but is still after a few key artifacts. Another that he has his eye on is the Rosetta Stone which currently resides in the British Museum. So far, his efforts have proved fruitless as the British Museum continues to stall, stating that they are still reviewing his request.

Following the recent discovery of Queen Hatshepsut’s mummy, the Discovery Channel is, tonight, showing a programme that shares the detail of that find.

‘Secrets of Egypt’s Lost Queen’ promises an exciting look into how the discovery was made, via a range of scientific methods, including archaeology and forensics.

Hatshepsut may not have been discovered with a hoarde of treasure but the importance of discovering, and now identifying, her mummy may eclipse the the relevance of Tutankhamon’s unearthing in terms of historical interest.

Howard Carter’s unearthing of the tomb of Tutankhamon may have represented the first and only time that a full cache of treasure has been discovered but the boy king was otherwise unremarkable in the history of ancient Egypt.

Conversely, Hatshepsut was an important historical figure - the queen who stole the throne, dressed as a man and called herself a pharaoh. Despite leading Egypt through an extremely prosperous part of her history, Hatshepsut was all but obliterated from history, with almost all references to her removed after her death.

The programme tonight is a 2 hour special which follows Dr Zawi Hawass and a team of top forensic scientists as they use knowledge of royal mummification to firstly narrow the search for Hatshepsut down to four mummies.

Computer tomographic scanning further reduces the choice to two mummies but it is a box containing a tooth that perfectly fits one of those mummies that eventually leads to the positive identification of Hatshepsut.

Canopic jars were used by the ancient Egyptians during the process of mummification. During the ritual of mummification the Pharoah, or other important body, would have it’s main internal organs removed.

Many people believe that the removal of these organs had some spiritual or religious significance, however, it was done for far more practical reasons - soft organs consist primarily of water and other fluid which would lead to quick decomposition of the obdy should they have not been removed. This is why so many Pharoah’s and other mummies have been discovered in excellent condition over the years.

Of course there was some spiritual significance attached to the process too - the Egyptians believed that the organs were required by the deceased in the afterlife and placing them in canopic jars ensured that they were protected by the Sons of Horus themselves.

The organs were placed into 4 canopic jars which had lids fashioned after the four sons of Horus. In later years this changed to humanoid figures that were half man, half beast, such as the Jackal, Falcon and Baboon.

Canopic jars were generally fashioned from limestone or alabaster and were placed around the deceased’s sarcophogi, ready for use in the afterlife. The organs that were removed and placed in the jars were -

• liver
• stomach and upper intestines
• lower intestines
• lungs

Strangely, the brain was almost always removed too, through the nasal cavity, but not often kept.

The modern word of paper is derived from the ancient Egyptian term of ‘papyrus’ which was arguably one of the most important inventions of the time.

The word papyrus means something along the lines of  ‘a thing that belongs to the house’ which experts have interpreted as meaning it was a fundamental part of the bureaucracy of ancient Egypt.

Ancient Egyptians discovered papyrus along the banks of the Nile where it is a common marsh plant.

They stripped away the rind from the stem and then cut this into short pieces which were then further trimmed into narrow pieces.

This pith was then kept damp until the fibres became pliable.

At this time two layers of the soaked papyrus would be laid on a flat surface, one on top of the other, at right angles.

Pressure would then be applied until all the excess moisture was squeezed out.

Following this the resulting sheets were dried in the sun for several days until they were completely free of any water and were fused together.

Scribes would then polish the sheets and glue several together to form scrolls.