Some Breaking News on the Pharaonic Front

Some recent discoveries relating to Ancient Egypt if you're tired of modern Egypt news:

1. Tomb of chief beer-maker discovered in Egypt's Luxor, from Ahram Online:

A Japanese mission from Waseda University uncovered the tomb of Khonso-Im-Heb, who was the head of beer production for goddess Mut and the head of the galleries during the Ramesside era.A Japanese mission from Waseda University uncovered the tomb of Khonso-Im-Heb, who was the head of beer production for goddess Mut and the head of the galleries during the Ramesside era.

Mut was a mother goddess. Did he get his job in a personal interview?

2. Egyptian pharaoh’s tomb discovered by American archaeologists; The Art Newspaper:

The tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh King Sobekhotep I, believed to be first king of the 13th Dynasty (1781BC-1650BC), has been discovered by a team from the University of Pennsylvania at Abydos in Middle Egypt, 500km south of Cairo.

Since new royal tombs are rarely discovered, and as only ten from the 13th Dynasty are known—all at Dahshur, just south of Cairo—this is an important find. King Sobekhotep I ruled for only about three years, at a time when Egypt was entering a period of decline. In fact, the chronological evidence for this period is so complex that scholars are still debating the order of the 13th Dynasty kings.

3. And last but not least, from livescience: "King Tut's Mummified Erect Penis May Point to Ancient Religious Struggle."

The latter story suggests the unusual features of Tutankhamun's embalming were meant to identify him with Osiris (who was famously resurrected with a golden version of the organ in question), to distinguish the break with his presumed father Akhnaton's religious heresy. It's a serious piece. Though as an Editor I'd suggest that in writing headlines, if your subject is "erect penis," having it followed immediately by the words "may point to" could create the wrong image in the reader's mind.

Egypt's King Tutankhamun was embalmed in an unusual way, including having his penis mummified at a 90-degree angle, in an effort to combat a religious revolution unleashed by his father, a new study suggests.
The pharaoh was buried in Egypt's Valley of the Kings without a heart (or a replacement artifact known as a heart scarab); his penis was mummified erect; and his mummy and coffins were covered in a thick layer of black liquid that appear to have resulted in the boy-king catching fire.
- See more at: http://www.livescience.com/42290-king-tut-mummified-penis-explained.html#sthash.O4WQucxz.dpuf

King Tut's Mummified Erect Penis May Point to Ancient Religious Struggle

- See more at: http://www.livescience.com/42290-king-tut-mummified-penis-explained.html#sthash.O4WQucxz.dpuf