Ancient Egyptian Medicine Pt 1

In Sickness and in Health: Preventative and Curative Health Care
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If one had to be ill in ancient times, the best place to do so would probably have been Egypt. Not that an Egyptian's chances of survival would have been significantly better than those of his foreign contemporaries, but at least people had the satisfaction of being treated by physicians whose were renowned all over the ancient world.

Unlike the injuries caused by accidents or fighting, which were dealt with by the zwn.w (sunu), or scorpion stings and snake bites for which the xrp srqt (kherep serqet), the exorcist of Serqet, knew the appropriate spells and remedies, illnesses and their causes were mysterious. The Egyptians explained them as the work of the gods, caused by the presence of evil spirits or their poisons, and cleansing the body was the way to rid the body of their influence.

Incantations, prayers to the gods - above all to Sekhmet the goddess of healing, curses, and threats, often accompanied by the injection of nasty smelling and tasting medicines into the various bodily orifices, were hoped to prove effective.

Montemhet, 4th prophet of Amen, put his faith in the god he served:
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I bow down to your (i.e. Amen's) name
May it be my physician,
May it drive pain away from me.
Statue inscription of Montemhet, Third Intermediate Period

M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume III, p.30
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Preventive measures included prayers and various kinds of magic, above all the wearing of amulets. The importance of the diet was partially recognized [30], and the natural human craving for diversity and rich well-irrigated soil resulted in a diet which was mostly reasonably balanced: carbohydrates from cereals, vitamins from fruit and vegetables, and proteins mostly from fish. Milk and milk products were just occasionally consumed, as were legumes, seeds and oil.


The Healers and Their Art
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The Egyptian priest-physician, wab sxmt (wab sekhmet), had a number of important functions. First, to discover the nature of the particular entity possessing the person and then attack, drive it out, or otherwise destroy it. This was done by some powerful magic for which rituals, spells, incantations, talismans and amulets were used. Sekhmet priests seem also to have been involved in the prevention of plagues, inspection of sacrificial animals and even veterinary medicine. Other healers like the zwn.w (sunu) and the za.w (sau) seem to have had recourse to the same methods and scriptures as the wab.

The role deities and their servants played in the healing process is described in the apocryphal story of Bentresh, a daughter of the chief of Bekhten, who fell ill, and Ramses II sent her Thutemhab, a scribe experienced in his heart, who can write with his finger. After Thutemhab had seen the princess and concluded that she was possessed of a spirit, he returned to Egypt, and Khonsu-in-Thebes-Beautiful-Rest agreed [51] that Khonsu-the-Plan-maker, the great god, smiting the evil spirits should be sent to Bekhten:


This god arrived in Bekhten in a full year and five months. Then the chief of Bekhten came, with his soldiers and his nobles, before Khonsu-the-Plan-Maker. He threw himself upon his belly, saying: "Thou comest to us, thou art welcome with us, by command of the King Usermare-Setepnere (Ramses II)."

Then this god went to the place where Bentresh was. Then he wrought the protection of the daughter of the chief of Bekhten. She became well immediately.


Tale written down in the late first millennium BCE
James Henry Breasted Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Three
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Physical medicines such as herbs were mostly expected to assuage the pain only, while magic effected the cure. A section in the Papyrus Ebers is about charms and invocations used to encourage healing. One spell, recited before taking an herbal remedy, reads as follows: "Come Remedy! Come thou who expellest (evil) things in this my stomach and in these my limbs!"

The wording of these spells is often followed by a recommendation, such as: "Truly excellent. Millions of times."

Not all of Egyptian medicine was based on wishful thinking (moreover we should never disregard the effect faith can have on our health), much was the result of experimentation and observation, and physical means supplemented the magical ones:
Magic is effective together with medicine. Medicine is effective together with magic.


From the Ebers papyrus
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Apart from spiritual healing and herbal medicine, they practiced massage.

Examination of a woman aching in her legs and her calves after walking
You should say of it 'it is discharges of the womb'.
You should treat it with a massage of her legs and calves with mud until she is well.

Kahun Medical Papyrus
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Manipulation made extensive use of therapeutic herbs and foods, but surgery was only rarely part of their treatments. According to Herodotus there was a high degree of specialization among physicians:

The practice of medicine is very specialized among them. Each physician treats just one disease. The country is full of physicians, some treat the eye, some the teeth, some of what belongs to the abdomen, and others internal diseases.

Herodotus, Histories 2,84
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Nothing certain is known about the way physicians acquired their medical knowledge, but one surmises that after (or in parallel to) their formation as scribes they were apprenticed to practicing healers. It has also been suggested that the Houses of Life, associated with Sekhmet, were teaching centers for physicians.

When Harsiese, the fictional physician in the prologue to the Instruction of Ankhsheshonq was called to the royal court he underwent some quizzing by the king himself and then became a member of the medical team looking after the pharaoh:

Pharaoh asked him many things and he answered them all. of the chief physician; and the chief physician did nothing without consulting Harsiese son of Ramose about it. A few days later it happened that the chief physician went to his fathers (i.e. died) Harsiese son of Ramose was made chief physician, and he was given everything that belonged to the chief physician entirely...

The Instruction of Ankhsheshonq
M. Lichtheim: Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol. 3, p.161
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Like all scribal professions medicine was a domain dominated by men. But occasionally women succeeded not just in acquiring medical knowledge but also in climbing to the top of the scribal hierarchy.

An Old Kingdom female physician named Peseshet left a stela which recorded her positions of Overseer of Funerary Priestesses and of Overseer of Female Physicians.

Many of the poorer Egyptians probably had little contact with real physicians and called for the local medic, a workman like Paheripedjet at Deir el Medina who was frequently excused from his normal duties to attend to the sick. He seems to have had some medical knowledge, knew how to prepare medicines and made home visits.
The medical knowledge.

A few papyri have survived, from which we can learn about Egyptian medicine:

The Edwin Smith Papyrus
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Describing surgical diagnosis and treatments;

the Ebers Papyrus on ophthalmology, diseases of the digestive system, the head, the skin and specific maladies like aAa, which some think may have been a precursor of aids and others, perhaps more reasonably, consider to have been a disease of the urinary tract, a compilation of earlier works that contains a large number of prescriptions and recipes,

the Kahun Gynecological Papyrus,
the Berlin Medical Papyrus,
the London Medical Papyrus.

the Hearst medical papyrus repeats many of the recipes found in the Ebers papyrus.
the Demotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden contains a number of spells for treating physical ailments.

The treatments in these texts are often organized into groups. The Edwin Smith Papyrus for instance opens with eight texts concerning head wounds, followed by nineteen treatments of wounds to the face (forehead, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, temples, mouth, chin), six descriptions of how to deal with injuries to throat and neck, five dealing with collar-bones and arms, and seven with chest complaints.

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It appears that all this knowledge dates to the third millennium BCE, even though the papyrus itself is of a much later date. Some important notions concerning the nervous system originated with the Egyptians, a word for brain is used here for the first time in any written language: ... the membrane enveloping his brain, so that it breaks open his fluid in the interior of his head.



The Edwin Smith papyrus, case 6
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Acting conservatively, they knew how to treat injuries to the brain without killing the patient, but on the whole their understanding of the brain and its functions was superficial: they considered thinking to be a function of the heart.

Their dissection of bodies during mummification seems not to have added greatly to their knowledge of the inner workings of the human body. Possibly because mummifiers and physicians did not move in the same circles, but also because of the way the organs were removed; ripped out through a small incision in the corpse's flank or, in the case of the brain, scooped out in small portions through a nostril.

They had some anatomical knowledge though, had made the connection between pulse and heart. They also had understanding of the circulation of the blood, thank to head physician and genius Imhotep.

Now if the priests of Sekhmet or any physician put his hands (or) his fingers upon the head , upon the back of the head upon the two hands , upon the pulse , upon the two feet , he measures (h't ) the heart , because its vessels are in the back of the head and in the pulse ; and because its pulsation is in every vessel of every member.


The Edwin Smith papyrus, case 1
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This knowledge reached Greece through the doctors of Alexandria. The anatomical properties they were best aware of were superficial, pertaining to accessible body parts such as bones of limbs or the infants' fontanelles
fluttering under the fingers like the weak place of an infant's crown before it becomes whole


The Edwin Smith papyrus, case 6
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Often we cannot translate the specialist expressions used in the medical texts, both of the affected body parts such as the mt.w, generally translated as "vessels" or the like and apparently comprising blood vessels, sinews and nerves, and the ingredients of their medicines. Sometimes their knowledge was either not very exact or unfortunately expressed. One will wonder for a few moments underneath what the bronchi were to be found:


"A dislocation in his two collar-bones" means a displacement of the heads of his sickle-bone(s). Their heads are attached to the upper bone of his breast to his throat, over which is the flesh of his gorge, that is the flesh that is over his bosom. Two ducts (i.e. the bronchi) are under it: one on the right and (one) on the left of his throat (and) of his bosom; they lead to his lungs.


The Edwin Smith papyrus, case 34
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That this theoretical knowledge was often successfully applied is proven by archaeological finds in the workers' tombs at Gizeh for instance. Skeletons with broken arms that had been set, a man who had survived the amputation of a leg by fourteen years and another brain surgery by two years.


The diseases
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Everyday complaints like stomach upsets, bowel trouble and headaches went probably mostly untreated, even if the physicians could offer remedies:
For the evacuation of the belly:
Cow's milk, 1; .grains, 1; honey 1; mash, sift, cook; take in four portions.

To remedy the bowels:
Melilot (?), 1; dates, 1; cook in oil; anoint sick part.

To refresh an aching head:
Flour, 1; incense, 1; wood of wa, 1; waneb plant, 1; mint (?), 1; horn of a stag, 1; sycamore (?) seeds, 1; seeds of [ (?)], 1; mason's plaster (?), 1; seeds of zart, 1; water, 1; mash, apply to the head.

To renew bowel movements in a constipated child:
An old book, boil in oil, apply half on the belly to reestablish evacuation.

Ebers Papyrus
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G. Maspero, Etudes de mythologie et d'achéologie égyptiennes III, 1898, pp.289f.
The common cold plagued the ancient Egyptians as it still does us today, and their remedy, the milk of a mother who has given birth to a boy, was probably as effective as anything we have got today. Moreover they had a tried and true spell to go with it.


May you flow out, catarrh, son of catarrh, who breaks the bones, who destroys the skull, who hacks in the marrow, who causes the seven openings in the head to ache.


Ebers Papyrus

While some Egyptians lived to a ripe old age like Ramses II or Psalmist I's daughter Nitocris who reigned as God's Wife for more than sixty years, the age at death was only in a minority of cases above thirty-five years, with bilharziasis (schistosomiasis) - a disease difficult not to contract in a country flooded for months every year - a common cause of anemia, female infertility, a debilitating loss of resistance to other diseases and subsequent death.


The Ebers Papyrus addresses some of the symptoms of the disease and in two columns discusses treatment and prevention of bleeding in the urinal tract (haematuria) [6]. The Hearst Papyrus cites antimony disulfide as a remedy.

Insect borne diseases like malaria and trachoma, an eye disease, were endemic; plagues spread along the trade routes and a number of yadet renpet (jAd.t rnp.t) epidemics reported in Egyptian documents are thought by some to have been outbreaks of bubonic plague.


The following charm has been interpreted as referring to the plague, as one of its symptoms is a dark discoloration of the skin:

Spell for the disease of the Asiatics: Who is all-knowing like Re? Who is thus all-knowing? This god who blackens the body with char-coal? May this Highest God be seized!
pHearst 11,12



After a German translation in Jürgen Kraus, Die Demographie des Alten Ägypten, Göttingen 2004, p.187


Mosquitoes also spread filarial worms which caused the disfiguring elephantiasis.
This disease was not very prevalent but caused immense suffering to its victims.
Infectious diseases were rampant in the relatively densely populated Nile valley, where practically the whole population lived within a narrow strip of land along the river, which at times was only a few hundred metres wide, and their incidence was dependent to some degree on the seasons.


Smallpox, diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, jaundice and relapsing fever were responsible for many deaths, above all during spring and summer. The ubiquity of water during the inundation brought with it a different set of ailments, chief among them probably malaria, which were the main cause for mortality in late autumn; while the cooler weather of autumn and winter seems to have favored the outbreak of respiratory illnesses.


A child's vertebra showing signs of tubercular infection
Source: V.Easy

Trichinae afflicted the pigs, parasitic worms and tuberculosis the cattle and were occasionally passed on to the human population. Human tuberculosis was widespread; Leprosy on the other hand, caused by bacteria similar to the tubercle bacillus, is badly documented and was apparently relatively rare, possibly because of an immunity TB sufferers acquired. Some think that leprosy originated in Egypt and spread to the Levant and Europe along the migration and trade routes, others contend that there is no proof of its existence in ancient times.


Silicosis of the lungs, the result of breathing in airborne sand particles, is documented and was a frequent cause of death, as was pneumonia.
The various kinds of malignant tumors were almost as frequent then as they are nowadays in comparable age and gender groups.


Eye infections are a common complaint in Africa. In ancient Egypt they were at least in part prevented by the application of bactericidal eye paint. The ingredients of some of the remedies may not have been as difficult to come by in a civilization, where the brain of the dead was removed in little bits from the skull during mummification and discarded, as it would be in a modern western country:
Prescription for the eye, to be used for all diseases which occur in this organ:
Human brain, divide into its two halves, mix one half with honey, smear on the eye in the evening, dry the other half, mash, sift, smear on the eye in the morning.


Ebers Papyrus
G. Maspero, Etudes de mythologie et d'achéologie égyptiennes III, 1898, p.290.

The hard physical toil, often repetitive, caused great harm to the bones and joints of the labourers after only a few years of being subjected to it. Those who survived into old age were victims of the same infirmities that still plague the aged like cardio-vascular diseases, arthritis, from which Ramses II suffered, and probably dementia.


Congenital diseases were not infrequent and often brought about early death as the burials of infants bear out. Their causes may have been environmental, nutritional or social.

Inbreeding, not infrequent among the royals, was probably also not rare among the common people largely bound to the soil: the occurrence of a sixth finger or toe in mummies, interpreted by some as the result of inbreeding, has been noted a number of times, as has the high incidence of spina bifida occulta in the Bahariye Oasis during Graeco-Roman times; but there is no evidence that the union of healthy close relatives would result in defective offspring in populations which are not isolated.


Open wounds were often treated with honey, but sepsis was one of the commonest causes of death. When lockjaw set in due to a tetanus infection, physicians knew they were powerless against this affliction:


Thou shouldst say regarding him: "One having a gaping wound in his head penetrating to the bone, perforating the sutures of his skull; he has developed ty, his mouth is bound, (and) he suffers with stiffness in his neck. An ailment not to be treated."


The Edwin Smith papyrus, case 7

Instances of diseases, which are rare today, were also found: in a First Intermediate Period cemetery at Abydos the skeleton of a child has been discovered which had suffered from osteoporosis.

Little is known about pregnancy and childbirth in ancient Egypt, and on the basis of a few literary hints one surmises that, unless there were extraordinary problems, physicians were not involved. There was a store of knowledge concerning women, as is reflected in the Kahun Gynecological papyrus, the Greater Berlin Papyrus and others, which dealt with urinary problems, pains in the abdomen, legs and genitals, fertility and conception.


Dietary deficiencies


A restricted diet caused or aggravated a number of ailments, some with fatal outcome. There were times when malnutrition was widespread. Prehistoric dental records suggest that health was poor during much of that period, and improved with the increasing adoption of agriculture; but even in historic times when the supply of food was generally assured, the growth of the population was often stunted. Grown males reached a height of about 1.60 m and females 10 cm less during the early Middle Kingdom. Because of vitamin and other deficiencies.


Herbal Medicine

Herbs played a major part in Egyptian medicine. The plant medicines mentioned in the Ebers papyrus for instance include opium, cannabis, myrrh, frankincense, fennel, cassia, senna, thyme, henna, juniper, aloe, linseed and castor oil - though some of the translations are less than certain. Cloves of garlic have been found in Egyptian burial sites, including the tomb of Tutankhamen and in the sacred underground temple of the bulls at Saqqara. Many herbs were steeped in wine, which was then drunk as an oral medicine.



Egyptians thought garlic and onions aided endurance, and consumed large quantities of them. Raw garlic was routinely given to asthmatics and to those suffering with bronchial-pulmonary complaints. Onions helped against problems of the digestive system. (e.g. Ebers 192


Garlic was an important healing agent then just as it still is to the modern Egyptian and to most of the peoples in the Mediterranean area: Fresh cloves are peeled, mashed and macerated in a mixture of vinegar and water. This can be used to gargle and rinse the mouth, or taken internally to treat sore throats and toothache. Another way to take garlic both for prevention as well as treatment is to macerate several cloves of mashed garlic in olive oil.

Applied as an external liniment or taken internally it is beneficial for bronchial and lung complaints including colds. A freshly peeled clove of raw garlic wrapped in muslin or cheesecloth and pinned to the undergarment is hoped to protect against infectious diseases such as colds and influenza.


Coriander, C. Sativum (e.g. pHearst 102, 124 was considered to have cooling, stimulant, carminative and digestive properties. Both the seeds and the plant were used as a spice in cooking to prevent and eliminate flatulence, they were also taken as a tea for stomach and all kinds of urinary complaints including cystitis.

Coriander leaves were commonly added fresh to spicy foods to moderate their irritating effects. It was one of the herbs offered to the gods by the king, and seeds were found in the tomb of Tutankhamen and in other ancient burial sites.
Cumin, Cumin cyminum (e.g. Hearst 28, 55, 125 is an umbelliferous herb indigenous to Egypt. The seeds were considered to be a stimulant and effective against flatulence.

They were often used together with coriander for flavoring. Cumin powder mixed with some wheat flour as a binder and a little water was applied to relieve the pain of any aching or arthritic joints. Powdered cumin mixed with grease or lard was inserted as an anal suppository to disperse heat from the anus and stop itching.


Leaves from many plants, such as willow, sycamore, acacia (e.g. Ebers 105, 415 or the ym-tree, were used in poultices and the like (e.g. Smith 46. Tannic Acid derived from acacia seeds commonly helped for cooling the vessels (e.g. pHearst 95, and heal burns. Castor oil, (e.g. Ebers 25 and 251 figs (e.g. Ebers 41 and dates, were used as laxatives.

Tape worms, the snakes in the belly, were dealt with by an infusion of pomegranate root in water, which was strained and drunk. The alkaloids contained in it paralyzed the worms' nervous system, and they relinquished their hold. Ulcers were treated with yeast, as were stomach ailments.


Some of the medicines were made from plant materials imported from abroad. Mandrake (e.g. pHearst 109, 168, 185, introduced from Canaan and grown locally since the New Kingdom, was thought to be an aphrodisiac and, mixed with alcohol, induced unconsciousness.

Cedar oil, an antiseptic,originated in the Levant. The Persian henna was grown in Egypt since the Middle Kingdom, and - if identical with henu mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus - was used against hair loss. They treated catarrh with aloe which came from eastern Africa. Frankincense , containing tetrahydrocannabinol and used like hashish as pain killer (e.g. Kahun 12, was imported from Punt.

Minerals and animal products were used too. Honey and grease formed part of many wound treatments, mother's milk was occasionally given against viral diseases like the common cold, fresh meat laid on open wounds and sprains, and animal dung was thought to be effective at times.


A cosmetics jar at the Cairo Museum bears the legend: "Eye lotion to be dispersed, good for eyesight." An Egyptian papyrus from 1500 BCE discusses recipes for treating conjunctivitis and cornea, iris, and eyelid problems. Lead-based chemicals like carbonates and acetates were popular for their therapeutic properties.


Malachite used as an eye-liner also had therapeutic value. In a country where eye infections were endemic, the effects of its germicidal qualities were appreciated even if the reasons for its effectiveness were not understood.




hotep:

4 Symbolic Elements

In these four elements symbolic of four supreme beings combined with the fifth element, The Human being (a source of creative will) (Hu). This is the source of all life forms on this great planet.

Ta (Earth), with Ma (Water) , ¾ of the planet earth surface is occupied by water. And re-aligned ourselves with Neteru, and even “Mother Nature”.


All from the primordial waters. And our etherian parents the (8) Eight Rashunaat (Ogdoad).

The life forces, Sekhem and find our way home, through the energies as ether on into the boundless universe as cell life forms beings. Universal Ba (inner soul) to give or sustain life Neb (spiritual masters of individuals) Bes. (Master, physical image of a deity.

Protected by the Ba (inner soul) Ba gives life and Neb (spiritual masters) sustains Ka. (Etheric double, spiritual body) , Sa (protect , guard), Hu (The Neter of offering) Khaibit (shadow).

Sekhem – Chi, energy from the root seat, Setekht , Khu (fire, flame) sustains Neb (spiritual master). The Khat (physical dead body). To our physical parent Sedjet (Enneads).

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We must attune ourselves with the elements that are in and around us daily. Through each awakening , sleeping and fleeting moment. As we elude ourselves that time is in motion. Time does not move forward, nor has it come from behind.

It has always been. Time does not ascend upward; nor has it descended from above. Time is now, now is the time, time is.
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We must learn the realities of existence and reverse the process of self deterioration. , both physically and mentally, and with the “confirmed fact” become a part of all. The essence of our being is that we exist and with that confirmation existence is as we are. Time is as we be. All is , all acts, all does, all things are a part of all on into allness.

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The baby of (Allness) is found in the womb of Quantum Physics, born inside-out in Ethernic existence.

So as a devoted Kemetic of the ancient Egyptian and order of Neter A’aferti known as…. Atum Re.

Sekhem – Chi Tepi – Hesp (Aura)


Each time you begin this journey it’s the first time.....
A Neter yourself , from which derives the word 'Nature'.

You maybe initiated, and re-initiated until Meskhenet vibrating all 4 Tepi Hespaat (Auras).

1. Blue, 2. Yellow, 3. Green, 4. Red

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And then you may reverse the cycle, until the ancient ones arrange your existence in the great sight to flow in order. Once that perfected state has been reached. The inner being begins to elevate itself back into Kuluwm (All).

And back to Meshenet short paths of faith, belief and your diligent quest for facts and confirmation, has led you to the end of belief, faith and to the beginning journey on the path of truth and facts and Rennet - fortune.

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The Golden City , Egypt


(Tama-Re)
(Egypt of the West)

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The Great Re Sun (Ra) with its thousands (1000’s) of Rays (‘Re’) of mental energy protecting each era of what’s called time.

A great crystal city must be born, on earth as it is in heaven, for the higher learning when the spiritual Neteru (Masters) must descend and ascend to seek those worthy of the best kept secrets; best kept sacred.

Atum-Re. I am he who will harold in this great resurrection of the children of the Neter (Deity’s) with the great alignment of the planet at the millennium 5/5/2000 A.D.



The element site, this like El Maguraj is not a new rite, A fabricated initiation, but a long thought forgotten rite,, that was a part of our ancient but now resurrected to present day culture.

When we ruled....... in the heavens and came to the earth, and in due respect of utilizing the provisions of this new environment, we gave thanks and showed appreciation through this most sacred and ancient ritual.

If you prove to be worthy, you many continue to walk the path, stand amongst the Nebu, Neteru, the Anunnagi, the Nommo, the Eluls.

It is these four ancient and supreme races of beings who are responsible for bringing the Homo Sapien into existence and clicking on the light called Ba (soul).

Which is that state of expression that was needed to show through, Taful (prayer) , Through Maguraj, (the journey within) and again through this great ritual.

Our appreciation for the boundless gifts, and our willingness to cooperate, participate in nature and its generosity. The Source, which is ever nourishing us with the fruits in which they bring forth from Ta, (Earth), substance, and the Mu (water).

Which through moistness germinates and kindles life in Nature, and the Nefu (Air) which transports the seeds for growth, to sustain the body and trigger the ether, through proper breathing.

Through Sutukh (fire) the sun that stimulates growth, and the flames that cooks our food, we must remember we were not alone, we are never alone.

El Juzrun Dakka – The element site.

The Maguraj site, is directly aligned with the star constellation Sabtu (Orion)

It is no coincidence that the element sight, El Juzrun Dakka is directly aligned with the Taurus star constellation consists of the Zeta star, Al Natu, Alderbaran, Pleiades, Hyades and Lambda.

The key to measure the distance of star’s in star clusters, Taurus is the symbol of “The bull”.



It is also the Greek symbol of Tau, which was adapted from the Egyptian symbol the Shen. (Refer to amulets.

Taurus the bull is one of the 12 constellations of the zodiac, which is Mentu. Its brightest star Kiymah ‘pleiades’ is positioned approximately 500 light years away from Ta (earth).

Pleiades is the 7th star system in Orion,the 16th galaxy. The brightest star of Pleiades is called ‘Eta Tauri”.

The star cluster of Taurus constellation

1. Zeta Star 2. Al Natu 3. Alderbaran 4. Pleiades 5. Hyades 6. Lambda ….

Is the key to measuring the distance between stars.




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Did you know?
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How Halloween started….
Halloween custom goes back 2,000 yrs. It was based on a ceremony that was held around the first of November. The ceremony was led by Druids, who were Celtic priests in Great Britain, Ireland and parts of France.

During the event, they honored the souls of the dead who returned to Earth that night. As part of the celebration, people burned bonfires and wore costumes.

In some parts of the world, black cats are thought to be good luck.






hotep!

Ninetjer (Nynetjer) The Third King of Egypt's 2nd Dynasty

by Jimmy Dunn


As we descend into the murky far past of Egypt's history, there is no surprise that historical details become blurred, and this certainly applies to the period between the death of Qaa at the end of the 1st Dynasty and the accession of Netjerikhet Djoser in the 3rd Dynasty. Most of the kings of the 2nd Dynasty remain obscure, and we frequently know little more about them than Egyptologists of a generation past. However, the identity and order of the first three kings is certain, thanks to an inscribed statue in the Cairo Museum, and other contemporary monuments and later kings lists can be reconciled with reasonable certainty for the first five rulers.



However, the Palermo Stone records a significant drop in the average height of the annual inundation of the Nile River, and therefore it is possible, if not likely, that ecological factors may have produced tensions and for a while, at least towards the end of the Dynasty, Egypt may have even been divided. Yet, up until and through the reign of Ninetjer, the Two Lands seems to have been ruled as one.



A granite statuette of the mortuary priest named Hetepdief, implies (because their names are listed on his shoulder) that there was continuity between the first three kings of the 2nd Dynasty, for their mortuary cults were served by only one individual, and it is known that Ninetjer maintained the mortuary cult of at least one predecessor.An inscribed stone vessel discovered in the Step Pyramid juxtaposes the serekh of Ninetjer and the ka-chapel of Hetepsekhemwy.


Ninetjer (Nynetjer) was this kings Horus name, and simply means "godlike", or "He Who Belongs to the God". The term god probably in this instance references Re, the sun god.

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Ninetjer is actually by far the best attested king of the early 2nd Dynasty. Given the position of his titulary on the Palermo Stone, he must have ruled Egypt for at least thirty-five years, though Manetho gives him forty-seven.


In fact, most of what we know of this king is derived from the annals recorded on the Palermo Stone, where the whole fourth register records events between his fifth or sixth year through his twentieth or twenty-first.


However, the king is also evidenced by three fine tombs in the elite cemetery at North Saqqara containing sealings of Ninetjer, as well as one across the Nile in the Early Dynastic necropolis at Helwan.


There were additionally five different jar-sealings of the king discovered in a large mastaba near Giza. However, more sealings of Ninetjer eventually led to the identification of the king's own tomb at Saqqara (though some scholars doubt that this is clearly his tomb).


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From the Palermo Stone, we learn of the foundation of a chapel or estate named Hr-rn during the king's seventh year on the throne. Otherwise, most of the events evidenced on that record are regular ritual appearances of the king and various religious festivals.


A festival of Sokar apparently was held every six years during his reign, and the running of the Apis bull was recorded twice during years nine and fifteen of his reign. Most of the festivals recorded during his reign were held in the region of Memphis, with the exception of a ceremony associated with the goddess Nekhbet of Elkab during year nineteen.



The fact that most activity associated with this king occurred in the region of Memphis may be important. Little evidence of the king is found outside of this region and it may be that his activities was largely, if not completely confined to Lower Egypt. Towards the end of his reign, there was a good deal of internal tension in Egypt, perhaps even civil war.


The Palermo Stone tantalizes us with the possibility of this beginning in Ninetjer's thirteenth year. It records the attack of several towns including one who's name means "north land" or "House of the North" (the other city was Shem-Re). Some have interpreted this entry in the Palermo Stone to mean that Ninetjer had to suppress a rebellion in Lower, or Northern Egypt.



Unfortunately, the Palermo Stone ends with the nineteenth year of his reign. However, inscriptions on stone vessels, which probably date to the latter part of his reign, appear to record several other events, such as a four occurrence of the Sokar Festival, which probably took place in year twenty-four, and the "seventeenth occasion of the [biennial] census", which may have occurred in his thirty-fourth year on the throne.


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Other than the various inscribed stone vessels, only two other artifacts have been unearthed that bear the king's name. One of these is a small ivory vessel from the Saqqara area, but the other is a small statue of considerable significance, both to the king's history and especially Egyptian art.


The statuette is made of alabaster, depicting the king on his throne and wearing the close fitting robe associated with the Sed-festival. Upon his head rests the White Crown of Lower Egypt.

This crude stone statuette of unknown provenance, now in the Georges Michailides Collection, represents the earliest complete and identifiable example of three-dimensional royal statuary from Egypt.



It also provides evidence that the king celebrated at least one Sed-festival, which would have been likely given the apparent long reign of Ninetjer.

While no contemporary inscriptions evidence this celebration, there was also a stock of stone vessels discovered in the Step Pyramid galleries that may have been prepared for this event.


Some scholars theorize that this further evidences the difficulties late in the king's reign, suggesting that these were never distributed due to domestic unrest which disrupted communications and weakened the authority of the central administration. Hence, the stone vessels were later appropriated by subsequent kings of the late 2nd and early 3rd Dynasties.



The name of Ninetjer's successor to the throne, Peribsen (Seth-Peribsen), unusually referencing the god Seth, is another piece of evidence indicating unrest. However, it is likely that Peribsen did not directly replace Ninetjer.


It is likely that as many as two or more shadowy rulers (Weneg, Sened and Nubnefer) took the throne of perhaps a divided Egypt. in the interim. However, most modern kings' lists do not reference all of them, and some list only one or two.


Atlas of Ancient Egypt

Ash

Ash was the ancient Egyptian god of oases, as well as the Vineyards of the western Nile Delta and thus was viewed as a benign deity. Flinders-Petrie in his 1923 expedition to the Saqqara (also spelt Sakkara) found several references to Ash in Old Kingdom wine jar seals: I am refreshed by this Ash was a common inscription.

In particular, he was identified by the Ancient Egyptians as the god of the Libu and Tinhu tribes, known as the people of the oasis.

Consequently Ash was known as the lord of Libya, the western border areas occupied by the Libu and Tinhu tribes, corresponds roughly with the area of modern Libya. It is also possible that he was worshiped in Ombos, as their original chief deity.

In Egyptian Mythology, as god of the oases, Ash was associated with Set, who was originally god of the desert, and was seen as protector of the Sahara.

The first known recorded mention of Ash dates to the Protodynastic Period, but by the late 2nd Dynasty, his importance grew, and he was seen as protector of the royal estates, since the related god Set, in Lower Egypt, was regarded as the patron deity of royalty itself. Ash's importance was such that he was mentioned even until the 26th Dynasty.

Ash was usually depicted as a human, whose head was one of the desert creatures, variously being shown as a lion, vulture, hawk, snake, or the unidentified Set-animals. Indeed, depictions of Ash are the earliest known depictions, in ancient Egyptian art, to show a deity as a human with the head of an animal.

On occasion, Ash and Set were depicted similarly, as the currently unidentified Set-Animal.

Some depictions of Ash show him as having multiple heads, unlike other Egyptian deities, although some compound depictions were occasionally shown connecting gods to Min. In an article in the journal Ancient Egypt (in 1923), and again in an appendix to her book.

The Splendor that was Egypt, Margaret Murray expands on such depictions, and draws a parallel to a Scythian deity, who is referenced in Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia universalis.

The idea of Ash as an import God is contested, as he was the God of Ombos far before Set's introduction sometime in Dynasty II. One of his titles is "Nebuty" or "He of Nebut" indicating this position.


Ash is sometimes seen as another name for Set-- similarly as one might give the name Ta-Bitjet for Serket, Dunanwy for Anti, or Sefkhet-Abwy for Sheshat.

King Tutankhamen’s Funerary Mask

King Tutankhamen’s Funerary Mask



Icon of ancient Egypt, the teenage pharaoh's funerary mask immortalizes his features in gold, glass, and semiprecious stones.

This and other treasures from his tomb, now in Cairo's Egyptian Museum, attract a constant swirl of visitors.

See more photos from the September 2010 story "King Tut’s Family Secrets."




See more photos of Egypt »



Photograph by Kenneth Garrett, National Geographic

Khaba, Shadowy King of the Third Dynasty

We know very little about the King, who probably occupied the throne of Egypt near the end of the 3rd Dynasty, named Khaba, who's name means "The Soul Appears". His nswt-bity and nbty names are unknown. It has been suggested that the king's birth name might have been Teti.



In the Turnin King List, this king's name is marked as "erased", but is credited with a reign of six years. The fact that his name was marked as "erased" may mean that there were dynastic problems, or simply that the scribe who composed the Turin King List was unable to read his name from more ancient records.



Khaba is attested to at four, and perhaps five sites in Egypt, including a mastaba (Z-500) at Zawiyet el-Aryan, where eight alabaster bowls inscribed with the king's serekh in red ink were unearthed. This mastaba is located in an area about two kilometers south of the Giza Plateau, halfway between Giza and Abusir on the west bank of the Nile, adjacent to the so-called "layer pyramid". While there is no evidence from this unfinished pyramid itself to link it with Khaba, it is generally attributed to him on the basis of the inscribed stone bowls found nearby.


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Evidence of Khaba in Southern Egypt is attested by sealings found at Hierakonpolis and Elephantine. Those from Hierakonpolis come from the Early Dynastic town, either from houses or from the Early Dynastic stratum beneath the Old Kingdom temple of Horus.

The Elephantine sealing was unearthed from the eastern town, and depicts a divine figure, perhaps the god Ash, holding a long scepter, flanked by serekhs of Khaba. There is also a diorite bowl of unknown provenance inscribed with the serekh of Khaba that is now in London's Petrie Museum, and another diorite bowl now in a private collection which is said to have come from Dahshur is likewise inscribed.



Unfortunately, even Khaba's position within the order of succession has not been established beyond doubt, though he most certainly ruled in the latter part of the 3rd Dynasty. Most scholars appear to believe that he was the next to last king of the dynasty, though it has been suggested that Khaba could be the Horus name of the last king, Huni. Stone bowls inscribed with the name of a king were common during the 1st and early 2nd Dynasties ending with the reign of Khasekhemwy, but are not attested to again until the reign of Sneferu. Hence, this appears to suggest that Khaba preceded Sneferu of the 4th Dynasty by only a short period.

Furthermore, the sealings of Khaba come from two sites where Huni erected small step pyramids, which also tends to suggest that Khaba might be identified as Huni.

Nevertheless, most scholars identify Khaba as one of Huni's predecessors. Because of the close architectural similarity between Sekhemkhet's unfinished pyramid and the one at Zawiyet el-Aryan, Khaba may be most plausibly identified as Sekhemkhet's immediate successor, provided that the layer pyramid indeed belongs to Khaba. The substructure of this pyramid is so very similar to the pyramid of Sekhemkhet that it must have been built very near in time to his.




Little else is know about this king, one of many Egyptian rulers who remain mostly anonymous. However, as a king ruling within a major dynasty, Khaba actually stands out for our lack of knowledge about him. Though almost always listed as one of the last kings of the 3rd Dynasty, many modern references otherwise ignore his reign. We know nothing of his family, or for that matter, any of his building projects beyond the uninscribed Layer Pyramid, nor do we have much idea about his foreign or domestic policies.

This is perhaps another reason that it is tempting to equate him with Huni. He was apparently never buried in the layer pyramid, and his body has never been identified. While we may never know much about this king, hopefully archaeologist will someday provide us with more information than is now currently available.


James Dunn



References:
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Title Author Date Publisher Reference Number
Atlas of Ancient Egypt Baines, John; Malek, Jaromir 1980 Les Livres De France None Stated
Chronicle of the Pharaohs (The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt) Clayton, Peter A. 1994 Thames and Hudson Ltd ISBN 0-500-05074-0
History of Ancient Egypt, A Grimal, Nicolas 1988 Blackwell None Stated
Monarchs of the Nile

Imhotep Theory Of Relativity

He Comes In Peace (IMHOTEP)- is the name of the first recorded architect.

The earliest known roots of the scientific method trace as far back as Imhotep (c. 2600 BC), who is credited as the orginal author of the Edwin Smith papyrus; though this work is believed to be based on earlier material as early as circa 3000 BC.

The methods entailed in the Edwin Smith papyrus reflect the basic components of the scientific method: examination, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. A basic structure of the scientific method is also highlighted in the Ebers papyrus (c. 1550 BC); though this work is not considered as rational as the Edwin Smith papyrus, because its remedies rely heavily upon magic and superstition.


The development of the scientific method is inseparable from the history of science itself. Though earlier documents describe methods resembling that of the scientific method, it is not until ancient Greek culture that the first elements of the scientific method clearly become well established. Nevertheless, the ancient Greeks themselves are known to have studied in Egypt.


The earliest recorded scientific practices can be traced back to Egypt in North-East Africa. Isaac Asimov (a Russian-born American author) in his book Biographical Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology reports that science is a gift from "Ancient Africa" to the modern world.

Imhotep (an Egyptian priest) was the first recorded person to practice Medicine. The earlest scientific centre could possibly have been the Library of Alexandria in Egypt (North-East Africa), where many notable early scientists like Euclid and Heron of Alexandria came to study. The Greeks also practiced science in its early forms but the oldest trace of science still lies in Egypt.



The fundamental tenets of the scientific method at last crystallized no later than the rise of the modern physical sciences, in the 17th and 18th centuries. In his work Novum Organum--a reference to Aristotle's Organon--Francis Bacon outlined a new system of logic to improve upon the old philosophical process of syllogism. These writings are considered critical in the historical development of the scientific method.



General Relativity



Einstein's prediction (1907): Light bends in a gravitational field


Einstein's theory of General Relativity makes several specific predictions about the observable structure of space-time, such as a prediction that light bends in a gravitational field and that the amount of bending depends in a precise way on the strength of that gravitational field. Arthur Eddington's observations made during a 1919 solar eclipse supported General Relativity rather than Newtonian gravitation.



Early history of science



The Djoser funerary complex was meant to be a house for a god and a metaphor for the sky. Today, it is usually understood that this original work of classical architecture is a vacant house of stone "from which the gods have field."

This difference does not have to be understood as a further sign of an irrecoverable loss of meaning. It is a historical doubling of meaning, or a duplicity.