Friday 30 October 2020

We are the World Blogfest # 42: Cracked It …

 

Josh Babarinde OBE, a local Eastbourne social entrepreneur, has recently been recognised, in the Queen’s Honours, for his work with disaffected young people in East London.

 

Josh Babarinde

Cracked It is an award winning technology business that has supported more than 200 ex-offenders away from crime and towards employment.

 


The Smartphone repair services supports these youngsters in developing their skills, enabling them to take responsibility, realise their potential and take their first steps towards the labour market.



 

Early Eastbourne
Josh was born and bred down here and during the lockdown he has launched a scheme to provide free video phones to Eastbourne’s care home residents … so they can stay connected with their families and see their doctors online.

 

He has also led the Liberal Democrats (one of our main political parties) to establish a campaign to telephone over 5,000 elderly residents in his home town (Eastbourne) during the lockdown.

 

Bourne stream
from which Eastbourne
gets its town name


We are lucky to have such a local achiever in these times … his focus has always been to ‘roll up his sleeves’ to achieve the best for his community and small business enterprises he has established in East London, and here in Eastbourne.

 




Covid has changed the world - and we must change with it. That’s why we’re devoting all of our resources to incubating new projects to seed systemic change beyond the lifetime of Cracked It.

 

Cracked Its' Values:

Tough Love    Empowerment    Empathy

 




We are the World Blogfest

In Darkness, Be Light

 

Cracked It: London’s best iphone fixers …

Shackleton Foundation – working with Josh Babarinde


Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories


Friday 23 October 2020

Write … Edit … Publish … Bloghop / IWSG hop: Grave Mistake …



We don’t know do we … we had a love that spread across the deep space of time … the earthy scent of autumn, the spring green essence of life, while in summer it bloomed … how do we know that love ... it is just us.  Time is ahead …




… is it?   No … a bruised darkness descends - one of us is gone … bereavement for the other … 

 



Time passes … slowly, gloomily – there is no joy, just the desolation … leaning against her gravestone – the hanging emptiness of days, then months, years … 




Hermann Hosaeus
1875 - 1958


… at last the fading light eases into his body … his heart slows … he joins the love of his life … in her for-ever winter sleep … no more as a grave mistake …


WEP/IWSG – see here for entry parametersand contributors … everyone welcome …


Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Saturday 17 October 2020

London Visits pre lockdown – the A-Z on Tutankhamun’s exhibition … part 9 …

 

The treats on show focused on the significance and meaning of the king’s burial items … a few here in the A-Z format …

 

Calcite vases on show in exhibition

A is for Antiquities … the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has over recent decades let museums around the world exhibit specific treasures – and this one was to commemorate the centennial of Tutankhamun’s discovery … as well as the construction of his final resting place in 2022 in the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza within the Cairo metropolis.

 

A is for Ankh symbol of life – is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol, used in writing and art.

 

A is for Akhenaten, Tutankhamun’s father … the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt: family tree here …

 

B is for Boomerang – some found in the tomb would work as returning boomerangs, others were decorative … Tutankhamun, as the teen child he was, loved playing with these …

 

Gilded Bow case

B is for Bows – beautiful gilded wooden compound working bows with glass, calcite inlays, horn and sinew … there were more than 30 of these, along with 47 older style bows and more than 400 arrows in the tomb …

 

C is for Lord Carnarvon (1866 – 1923) of Highclere Castle, who had married an illegitimate daughter of millionaire banker Alfred de Rothschild: his debts were paid off and there was a substantial settlement – he was an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist and was able to finance many excavations …

 

Carnarvon, his daughter and Howard Carter at tomb

C is for Howard Carter for whom a dream came to pass … the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the restoration of his place in Egyptian history.

Howard Carter had originally come to Egypt in 1891 as an artist to copy and paint the colourful scenes in the Middle Kingdom tombs … at this time the “father of modern Egyptology” was Sir William Flinders Petrie – who, once that spark of interest in Egyptology had been lit, guided Carter’s future passion.

 

C is for Calcite … calcite alabaster was the kind primarily used in ancient Egypt …

 

D is for Dynasties – chronology of Ancient Egyptian History: pre-dynastic period ca 4400 – 3100 BC;

Tutankhamun’s dynastic period occurs in the New Kingdom of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties ca 1550 – 1070 BC.

 

E is for Eighteenth Dynasty founded by Ahmose 1 (ca 1549 – 1524 BC) – he came to the throne when he was ten, then reigned for over 25 years.

Ahmose’s Eighteenth Dynasty was one of the strongest to ever rule Egypt.  He reorganised the administration, reopened quarries, mines and trade routes, and began massive construction projects … determined that Egypt would never again fall prey to outsiders.

Egypt’s wealth was secured and added to until Tutankhamen inherited the kingdom where foreign rulers claimed that “gold was like dust – Egypt was the most powerful and wealthiest empire of the ancient world, when the Egyptian civilisation was at its zenith.

 

Gold, Lapis, and Carnelian bead bracelet
with Amethyst scarab clasp

F is for Faience … widely used for small objects from beads to models found in tomb …  all necessary for the journey into the Afterlife. 

 

F is for Flinders Petrie – the father of modern Egyptology.   ‘A Digger’s Life’ … and the Petrie Museum –see my post Sept 2013.

 

G is for Gold … the illuminating, glinting gold espied by the flashlights - through that first ‘break’ into the tomb … these ranged in size from the enormous shrines of gilded wood that surrounded the sarcophagus, to tiny individual beads.

When Carter and Carnarvon entered the first room (Antechamber) they encountered this life-size figure of the king …

 

This life-size statue -
wooden guardian statue
of the Ka of the King
(found in the Antechamber)

H is for Herwer (Horus the Elder) ... a falcon headed deity found in a wooden box in the form of a shrine in the Treasury.

 

H is for Hieroglyphics - the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt.  A cartouche is an oval with a line at one end at right angles to the oval … indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. 

 

Calcite vase with hieroglyphics
and cartouches

I is for Ivory – ebony and ivory inlays are very Egyptian and used in many of the items found in the tomb, including child-sized furniture … an armchair, a lion-shaped ritual bed, boxes …

 

A child's armchair
found in tomb

J is for Jewellery … all forms of unimaginable items … amethyst, faience, glass, gold leaf, ebony, ivory, cedar, lapis lazuli, carnelian, turquoise, obsidian, green feldspar, electrum (gold and silver alloy – green gold), travertine, resin …

 

Pectoral, Chain, and 
Counterpoise with Lapis
Scarab flanked by Uraei

K is for King and KV – is the standard Egyptological designation of each tomb – KV62 - for the young pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

 

L is for Tutankhamun Lying Peacefully undisturbed in his nest of coffins for over 3,000 years … the young golden pharaoh.

 

Howard Carter examining
Tutankhamun's innermost coffin -
it was solid gold, with his gilded
embalmed body within - 


L is for Lotus … the white lotus blossoms open at night, associating it with the moon and the sun.

Around the cups run the hieroglyphic signs proclaim a well wish for the king’s ka (his life force, which persisted after death).

 

Ay performing the Opening
of the Mouth Ceremony
for Tutankhamun

M is for the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony … an essential for the Mummy so it could breathe and speak in the afterlife … the Book of the Dead contains a spell for this process … more information can be found here

 

M is for Maat – the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality and justice.  Maat was the goddess who personified these concepts, and regulated the stars, seasons, and the actions of mortals and the deities who had brought order from chaos at the moment of creation.

 

N is for the River Nile – where cultures rose and flourished, until one king ruled the entire Nile valley from the first cataract at Aswan to the Mediterranean … the first pharaoh had emerged.

      

N is for the Netherworld … the Afterlife … the realm of the dead in ancient Egyptian mythology. 

 

Nefertiti

Nefertiti – ruled after her husband’s death before her step-son, Tutankhamun inherited on her death.

 

O is for Oils – perfumed oils essential for rituals were highly valued … as they were pressed from plants or steeped in liquids and fats for prolonged periods … the art of distillation was not known.

 

Tutankhamun's Perfume Oil
jar - symbolising the Unions
of Upper and Lower -
made of alabaster (calcite)


O is for Ostriches … hunted by Tutankhamun in his chariot; they were an important bird - for their feathers and eggs were prized as luxury items.  It was a royal sport that allowed the king to demonstrate his control over nature.  The Egyptian pharaohs were also known to hunt hippopotamus in the Nile.

Gilded Wooden "Ostrich Hunt" Fan
 

P is for Pharaoh – the common title now used for the monarchs of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty (c 3150 BC) until the annexation of Egypt by the Roman Empire in 30 BCE.


 

P is for Pschent – the double crown worn by rulers in ancient Egypt – representing the pharaoh’s power over all of unified Egypt.

 

It combined the White
Hedjet Crown of Upper
Egypt and the Red
Deshret Crown
of Lower Egypt

Q is for Queen Ankhesenamun (ca 1348 – after 1322 BC), who was the daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti, and who became the Great Royal Wife of her half-brother Tutankhamun.

 

R is for Rituals – through a series of rituals performed in the temple of Amun at Karnak, the young prince was transformed into the king of Egypt, the living Horus, representative of the gods on earth.

The forces behind the decisions regarding the young king were the adults in the royal court.

 

R is for Religious calendar … this kept the court on the move throughout the country … as well as royal duties, the young king and his wife would have had time to boat, play board games, drive chariots, hunt … he did not allow his deformed foot, nor his scoliosis, to interfere with his pleasures.

 

Miniature Board Games box

R is for the foremost Responsibility of an Egyptian king – that of maintaining ‘maat’ – see ‘M’ above.

 

S is for Spells to help with the transition on death through the underworld … Afterlife Texts as they are tended to be known … or Ancient Egyptian funerary texts …

 


T is for Tutankhamun’s Tomb and Treasures – it’s been fascinating to learn about the tomb, its rooms and treasures …

 

U is for Unbelievable exhibition exquisitely put together … displaying on the walls a fantastic show of art found in the tombs, projecting relevant notations for us …

  


V is for Valley of the Kings … where for nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, rock –cut tombs were excavated for the pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (Eighteenth – Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt).  The valley contains at least 63 tombs …

 

W is for the “Wondrous Things”: that Carter and Carnarvon saw illuminated through the hole they had bored to see into the tomb.

 

Gilded Wooden and Ivory
Pen Case in the form of a
column inlaid with glass

W is for items related to Writing that were found in the tomb.  The gilded wooden and ivory pen case, inlaid with glass, would have stored reed pens. 

Being able to write, and read, ensured the deceased access to the magical tests required to travel safely in the netherworld.

 

X is for x facts: 5,366 objects excavated, recorded, conserved and transported.

These exquisite precious items, imported woods, linen, leather, petals, leaves, and ore … all crammed into the entrance passageway and the four chambers known as the Antechamber, Burial Chamber, Treasure, and Annex. 

 

Y is for years – five of them when Carter searched for the tomb, ‘unravelling’ the rubble over the site – every item found was photographed in situ and recorded; a further three years was spent similarly photographing, recording every item from each part of the tomb. 

 

Tutankhamun ready for hunting -
see boomerangs in background
(from LA exhibition 2019)

Y is for being so young – he needed the assistance of experienced courtiers, many of whom had served his father and even his grandfather – to rule for his short tenure.


He was buried with a solid gold coffin, face mask, thrones, archery bows, trumpets, a lotus chalice, two Imuit fetishes, gold toe stalls, furniture, food, wine, sandals, and fresh linen underwear ... and more ... 

 

Z is for Zahi Hawass – who is the world’s foremost Egyptologist.  He has been and continues to be instrumental in all things about Tutankhamun and his family … including this spectacular exhibition that I saw in early 2020:

The Golden Mask - did not travel
out of Egypt for this exhibition

Saatchi Gallery's exhibition site in London early 2020 - there are some beautiful photos here (unfortunately no longer available) ... worth having a look at - the 'Wooden Guardian statue of the KA of the King'; the Gilded Wooden "Ostrich Hunt" Fan; photos of the tomb as it appeared at various stages; treasures, and faience ... 


Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories



Friday 9 October 2020

London Visits pre-lockdown, Saatchi Gallery: Tutankhamun – Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh … part 8 …

 

I wasn’t expecting to be bowled over by Tutankhamun … I guess I should have been ready to be truly amazed … but I was really visiting because I thought I should … not understanding ‘why’ … boy have I lots to learn.


Replica of wall painting found in tomb

 


At school we’d have all come across the Egypt with its pyramids and pharaohs … and I knew about Howard Carter – maybe learnt after school …

 

Howard Carter - 
archaeologist and Egyptologist

 



… and as there’d been an exhibition in London in the 1970s, which the world and its mistress seemed determined to visit (I gather over 1.6m people visited), Tutankhamun was on my radar … but hence my realisation I’d better take a closer look.  I’ve never liked queuing … and the queues in the 1970s are today described as “nightmarish” … so I’m glad I never went then!

 

 

Poster for film

 

The strange thing is … last Sunday (4th Oct) there was a film on tv entitled ‘Agatha and The Curse of Ishtar’ … a typical Agatha History alternative history – it revolved around archaeological digs in Iraq – and where it suggested Agatha met the love of her life – the archaeologist Max Mallowen.  It was a delightful romance … but now looking at the Tutankhamun blurb reminds me how little I know – apologies an unnecessary note!

 

 

Thankfully I went at the end of the day … when there were fewer visitors – which made viewing easier …

 

I was just astonished at the workmanship on show.  The exhibition was so well arranged … I hadn’t realised that Tutankhamun’s name was (totally) forgotten … suppressed by Horemheb, the general who commanded the Egyptian army, who had been appointed by the experienced courtiers/elders, to serve as Crown Prince, while Tutankhamun was young.


Faience vessels for perfumed oil


 

Horemheb was away fighting when the young king unexpectedly died … which may be why at that time he did not succeed to the throne.

 

Statue of boy king makine
his way in the Netherworld



Tutankhamun’s closest advisers were Ay, his vizier, and Maya (the overseer of the treasury and royal building projects) … it was they who oversaw the preparations for the burial and performed the rituals.  This also established as Ay as Tutankhamun’s heir and, consequently, as rightful king of Egypt.

 


Ay ruled for four years, then Horemheb assumed the throne … whereupon he ordered the names of Tutankhamun, Ankhesenamun (his widow and his half-sister), Ay (his vizier), Akhenaten, his Pharaoh father, to be destroyed from all monuments, statues et al … or replaced their names with his own – he also ordered that the city of Amarna be dismantled – where Akhenaten’s tomb was found.

 

Valley of the Kings found at Luxor


Horemheb ruled for 14 years and was the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt.

 

Horemheb nearly succeeded in removing Tutankhamun’s reign from history … but for the intrepid dream of an Englishman – Howard Carter, Lord Carnarvon’s assistant when he was sponsoring excavations in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.

 

Lord Carnarvon reading



Carter began to work with Lord Carnarvon in 1907, supervising excavations of nobles’ tombs in Thebes … in 1914 Carnarvon received the concession to dig in the Valley of the Kings.  Work was suspended during WW1 …

 


By 1922, Lord Carnarvon had had enough with the lack of results trying to find Tutankhamun’s tomb and returned to Highclere Castle (perhaps best known today as the setting for the Downton Abbey franchise).

 

Highclere Castle
(aka Downton Abbey)


Carter not one to give up on a dream … decided to personally finance one last clearance… whereupon Carnarvon confirmed he’d actually sponsor the last dig in the Valley of the Kings.

 


The area in front of the tomb of Ramesses V and Ramesses VI, was still crowded by the remains of the huts occupied by the workers, who had built this later tomb.

 

Highly decorated tomb walls


Carter supervised the work of recording the workers’ huts, photographing, documenting and finally clearing them.  Then the 1920s workmen were ordered to dig through the debris on which the huts once stood …

 

 

… hey presto, Carter turned up on November 4th 1922 for a regular day of work … but silence reigned … a flat stone surface had been uncovered … this was the uppermost step of the stairway leading underground …

 

 

Hawk carving with Horus

… Carter just knew that a momentous moment had been reached in archaeological history … Lord Carnarvon was telegraphed – he returned to Luxor on November 23rd … then they could explore further, find the contents … learn more about the history of the boy king.

 

The treasures of Tutankhamun’s tomb are quite extraordinary … all 5,366 objects (“wonderful things” – as described by Carter) give us an understanding of the importance of ritual and of his life, albeit entombed here with him … and serving to help him find his way to and thrive in the netherworld … to live forever.

 

Tile Faience


Incredibly the mummy of the young golden pharaoh had remained in its nest of coffins, lying peacefully and undisturbed for more than 3,000 years.

 

Zahi Hawass – the world’s most famous Egyptologist – wrote the catalogue accompanying the Exhibition – which celebrates the centennial of Tutankhamun’s discovery and in 1922 the return of all the Treasures, presently meant to be travelling to ten exhibition cities, for permanent display in the new Grand Egyptian Museum.

This is Life's Egyptian
Number celebrating
Tutankhamun's tomb find

 


I dithered about adding this visit to that ‘long’ day … but am so glad I did … and depending what suppression Covid does to their other appearances … I consider myself extremely fortunate that I went before lockdown.

 

This has got quite long … but I wasn’t sure what to do … and suddenly thought I could write an A-Z about Tutankhamun and his golden treasures … which will bullet point aspects of the workmanship of those times, the history of this most famous of Pharaohs, and snippets that I found fascinating …

 

It’s been interesting to note in the comments that four of you have remembered seeing previous exhibitions or wanting to … Swedish Inger, who when her mother visited Los Angeles in 1970 – went to the exhibition that year; Aussie Denise visited in London in 1972 – when I wouldn’t brave the nightmarish queues … kudos to her for doing so, Canadian Deniz, now in Switzerland, is keen to visit the exhibition currently on in Zurich.  I thought there was a.n.other … but apologies I have forgotten.

 

Right – I’d better get writing my A-Z … after I’ve got back into the blogging vein and getting over to comment on your sites …

 

Saatchi Gallery's website for the Tutankhamun exhibition


More reference sites shortly, or on the A-Z post ... I just want to publish this!


Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories