Dr Jay's Musings

A Dog's Death.  The logical interpretation of this scene is that this poor fellow was carving on this obelisk at Tanis when he met his demise.   I will post the true solution of how why this dog met his end shortly.

           It's a dog's life in the ancient world.  While it could be subject to other interpretations, it seems pretty clear that it was neither enslaved Jews, craftsmen, peasants, nor priests who made brick, but rather pooches.  We have multiple examples of their paw-work in fired bricks at Tell Timai. Reference:  (PDF) With & without straw: How Israelite slaves made bricks (researchgate.net)

        As promised, I have conducted my first test of a Matterport camera on on outdoor archaeological site.  We know it is good for tombs and the like but outdoors does pose some problems. I cannot wait to test it some more, but I did learn a few lessons.  Notes for use; 1) I shot the images at about 5:30am a perfect time.  By 6:30 the sun was starting to get strong and it was more difficult for the sensor to align the images. 2) I did it hasty so that means the halfa grass was thick, holes were hidden, and it was a bit treacherous.  When going about a formal non-test case, make sure you do the preliminary work of clearing obstacles and anything you don't want in the model.  Note my police escort appears in various places in the distance. 3) keep your points close, I think 1-2 m intervals. 4) Choose your elevation.  Because it is a large structure I set the tripod at a high level.  If you are more interested in t...

Yesterday, as I took up residence in the new project director's room on the 3rd floor, I noticed an old bird's nest between the window and the shudder. I began to open the shudder when there were some shouts from my Egyptian colleagues. In the corner was a cluster of gorgeous blue eggs. I pulled the window closed again before they tumbled to the ground.   Marawa has come back to work for us and take care of the house...dear sweet brave soul taking care of an archaeological dig house. She held a dustbin and I thought asked if I wanted my room swept and I responded yes. She walked in and went for the nest.  Apparently, my misstep that nearly wiped out the nest yesterday had been interpreted as my desire to have the nest gone.  I stopped her, again just before the moment of doom for the nest, and explained that we should guard the babies there.  She seemed relieved that she was not being asked to commit avicide.  Now the mother bird is often popping up to chec...

I have seen the famous wooden prosthetic toe in textbooks on ancient medicine, on social media, and in academic talks, but I was surprised and thrilled to see it for myself at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.  The foot and toe date to 950-710 BCE and we’re recovered from the mummy of a woman found near Luxor.  There is another toe of cartonnage at the British Museum as well. I recall my ancient history professor at San Jose State University decades ago discussing Henri Frankfort's Kingship and the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of Society .  I was a bit incredulous about Frankfurt's interpretation of the relationship between the icons of gods and the spiritual essence of the deity. Whether wood, cartonnage, straw, faience, or stone, these representations were not merely representations but the embodiment of the spirit, no less real than the connection of your mind and body.  For example, there is an account of a man mak...

 Well, today I signed the permit to finally after more than 2 years get back to work at Tell Timai!                                                                                              There are some amazing and wonderous things that we are working on in the seasons to come, but surprises are coming even before we have had a chance to get started.       As we stepped out of the Ministry to take a few congratulatory pics with the Pyramids--they never get old...I mean they are old and we get old, but taking photos of the pyramids never gets old--as we finished we had one hell of a surprise. We saw a 'UFO' fly right between the Pyramids.  For security reasons I cannot show my pics or disclose what we saw, but it is fair ...

      This week in Alexandria there was a meeting to discuss the identity of this statue.  The finder, Dr. Calliope Papakosta, Director of the Hellenic Research Institute of the Alexandrian Civilization, has very strong feelings about it.  Some of the experts in attendance made some interesting points and comparisons in disagreement.   I thought it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on it and why you think so. Thank you National Geographic Society for co-sponsoring this.

 I think every archaeologist walks around plagued by the curiosity of what lies underfoot!      Increasingly we are seeing archaeological features left in situ with modern surfaces constructed from transparent materials to allow the casual passer-by to experience that sensation of the history that lies beneath their feet. One of my mentors, Martin Carver, published Underneath English Towns: Interpreting Urban Archaeology  in which he explored the dimensions of archaeological data that underlies our modern world.  It is easy for us to live in the moment and forget that we work and live upon a foundation made of ghosts of past lives and lost ages. England has always been a leader in integrating archaeological discoveries as part of the urban geography, but it is perspective that is catching on globally.            The tradition of urban planning has been to destroy, bury, or relegate archaeological sites to a fenced off tour...

       I want to share this article which is a bit of a wrap-up of recent work on ancient Smellscapes. The article references our work at Tell Timai and the work of our colleagues, Sean Coughlin and Dora Goldsmith.   Science News For more detail, do see our article: Near Eastern Archaeology Volume 84, Number 3 September 2021 ( the image right is from the perfume room at the temple of Edfu dedicated to Horus )      The relief on the left is a perfume offering of Ptolemy at the Temple of Isis at Behbeit el Hagar. For a 3D reconstruction of a Tell Timai (Thmouis) fragrance factory see: 3D models by drjsilverstein (@drjsilverstein) - Sketchfab      Not discussed in the article linked above is the wonderful recreation of Mycenean perfumes from Linear B ingredients lists.  A couple of references are made below.  I love the spicy scent of the Mycenaean fragrances and the contrast sharply to the Egyptian perfumes form Mendes....

       Nubian acrobats were all the rage in the Roman Empire and it seems that a troupe paid a visit to Thmouis (Tell Timai).  A group of lamps, surely sold as souvenirs to the audience, were found in an offering pit or foundation deposit in the central tell...my speculation is that the gymnasium was in this area (note, there was a dedication stone for the gymnasium recovered early in the 20th century at Tell Timai, but we do not know from where. the stone is now at the newly re-opened Graeco Roman Museum ).  The baths are about 80m from the offering deposit, so not too far for men to run naked through the city to soak after a workout. For more details do see the Tell Timai publications in print due to the efforts of our figurine expert, Dr. James Bennett!  J. Bennett, A Troupe of Six Terracotta Acrobat Figurines found in a Votive Pit at Thmuis    J. Bennett, R. Littman, and J. Silverstein,  The Terracotta Figurines from Tell Timai: 200...

Sack of Jerusalem, in this part of Titus' triumphal procession on the Arch of Titus in Rome, the treasures of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem are  displayed to the Roman people.        When we tell the story of the present to the future, how will we do it?   If we go back far enough in the past we rely on the mute stones of archaeology to teach us how cities and civilizations met their doom. As the written word took hold, history was often fortunate enough to have a chronicler who could share the drama of the past through vivid descriptions of the ruin of cities, whether by the hand of God or Man. The quality and accuracy of such accounts vary depending on the level of knowledge and experience of the author and their political motivation. Consider Josephus' (Book 6) description of the sack of Jerusalem by the Roman forces of Titus in 70 A.D. as compared to the more glorious depiction on the Triumphant Arch of Titus. But when they went in numbers into th...