• The interior of the tomb of an ancient Egyptian nobleman called Khuwy, which was discovered in 2019, about 35 kilometres south of the capital Cairo. The mummified body of Khuwy has been found to be older than previously thought. AFP
    The interior of the tomb of an ancient Egyptian nobleman called Khuwy, which was discovered in 2019, about 35 kilometres south of the capital Cairo. The mummified body of Khuwy has been found to be older than previously thought. AFP
  • Mohamed Mujahid, head of the Egyptian team that discovered the tomb, inspects the interior. AFP
    Mohamed Mujahid, head of the Egyptian team that discovered the tomb, inspects the interior. AFP
  • Recent work on the mummy excavated from the tomb suggests that ancient Egyptians living during the time of the Old Kingdom – between 2700BC and 2200BC – were already carrying out sophisticated burials. AFP
    Recent work on the mummy excavated from the tomb suggests that ancient Egyptians living during the time of the Old Kingdom – between 2700BC and 2200BC – were already carrying out sophisticated burials. AFP
  • Evidence for the mummy's age includes hieroglyphs on the wall of the tomb. AFP
    Evidence for the mummy's age includes hieroglyphs on the wall of the tomb. AFP
  • The latest findings may completely change the world's understanding of the evolution of mummification, experts say. AFP
    The latest findings may completely change the world's understanding of the evolution of mummification, experts say. AFP
  • A set of miniature vessels found in the burial chamber. EPA
    A set of miniature vessels found in the burial chamber. EPA
  • Tools, jewellery and stones found in the tomb. EPA
    Tools, jewellery and stones found in the tomb. EPA
  • People look at miniature vessels and other objects found in the burial chamber. EPA
    People look at miniature vessels and other objects found in the burial chamber. EPA

Egyptian mummy could help archaeologists rewrite the history books


Kamal Tabikha
  • English
  • Arabic

The mummified remains of a dignitary, possibly dating from more than 4,000 years ago, could rewrite the history of ancient Egyptian burial practices.

Recent work on a mummy excavated in 2019 suggests that ancient Egyptians living during the time of the Old Kingdom – between 2700BC and 2200BC – were already carrying out sophisticated burials.

This is 1,000 years earlier than previously known.

The discovery featured in a 2020 episode of National Geographic’s Lost Treasures of Egypt.

Dr Salima Ikram, a professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo and one of the primary researchers in the recent study, told The National that “circumstantial evidence” suggested the mummy dated from the Old Kingdom.

Evidence for the mummy's great age included hieroglyphs on the wall of the tomb.

These indicate that it was the final resting place of Khuwy, a high-ranking official of the Fifth dynasty – a 150-year period from the early 25th century BC until the mid 24th century BC – and a relative of the royal family.

Dr Salima Ikram, a professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo. Photo: Dr Salima Ikram
Dr Salima Ikram, a professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo. Photo: Dr Salima Ikram

Pottery and canopic jars – containers used during the mummification process to store parts of the body – found in the tomb also appeared to have been made in the Old Kingdom.

“If this is indeed the mummy of Khuwy, this will truly be a unique discovery that dramatically shifts our understanding of the history of the Old Kingdom,” said Dr Ikram.

The sarcophagus where the mummy was found was housed in an austere burial chamber separated from the main tomb by a wall. The chamber was severely damaged by ancient gravediggers.

The tomb complex, Dr Ikram said, features a layout that is characteristic of the architecture of royal pyramids built during the Fifth dynasty.

Despite the strong case suggesting that the mummy does indeed date back to the Old Kingdom, Dr Ikram and her colleagues are conducting further tests which will confirm whether the remains are indeed those of Khuwy.

  • An ancient Egyptian mummy lies next to its coffin at the Civic Archaeological Museum in Bergamo, Italy. All photos: Reuters
    An ancient Egyptian mummy lies next to its coffin at the Civic Archaeological Museum in Bergamo, Italy. All photos: Reuters
  • Researchers at the museum prepare to move the mummy to Policlinico, a hospital in Milan, to undergo a CT scan.
    Researchers at the museum prepare to move the mummy to Policlinico, a hospital in Milan, to undergo a CT scan.
  • The project has been carried out to help uncover the history of the mummy.
    The project has been carried out to help uncover the history of the mummy.
  • A researcher prepares to move the mummy to the hospital in Milan.
    A researcher prepares to move the mummy to the hospital in Milan.
  • The mummy is believed to have been Ankhekhonsu, an ancient Egyptian priest.
    The mummy is believed to have been Ankhekhonsu, an ancient Egyptian priest.
  • The mummy undergoes a CT scan at the hospital.
    The mummy undergoes a CT scan at the hospital.
  • Researchers hope to shed light on the life of the priest and ancient Egyptian burial customs.
    Researchers hope to shed light on the life of the priest and ancient Egyptian burial customs.
  • The project could also reveal more about the products used to mummify the body.
    The project could also reveal more about the products used to mummify the body.
  • Medics monitor the results of the CT scan.
    Medics monitor the results of the CT scan.
  • Researchers behind the project say mummies are 'practically a biological museum'.
    Researchers behind the project say mummies are 'practically a biological museum'.

One possibility is that another person could have been mummified and buried centuries later in a re-purposing of the tomb.

“I remain hesitant until we can conduct carbon-14 dating,” Dr Ikram said.

She said that everything about the discovery points to the funerary practices of much later dynasties.

Dr Ikram and her colleagues were astonished by the amount of resin used to preserve the body. Such generous use of resin is virtually unheard of in Old Kingdom burials, she said.

The quality of the linen used to wrap the body is uncharacteristic of Old Kingdom funerary practices, which she says were markedly less sophisticated than in later dynasties.

In later practices, organs were properly removed and more precise tools were used throughout the process.

“When I first saw the mummy, my first thought was it was from the Twenty-first Dynasty [1069BC to 945BC],” Dr Ikram said.

The findings may also expand experts’ understanding of international trade during the Fifth Dynasty, she added.

“The resin used to preserve the body would have been imported from the Near East, from Lebanon most likely.”

The existence of these materials in Egypt at the time would mean that trade with neighbouring empires was much more extensive than previously thought.

Dr Ikram said dating analysis would take six to eight months.

Her work on the mummy is due to feature on an upcoming series of Lost Treasures of Egypt that launches in November.

If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.

 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

RESULT

Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)

Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule

Thursday December 27

Men's quarter-finals

Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm

Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm

Women's exhibition

Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm

Friday December 28

5th place play-off 3pm

Men's semi-finals

Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm

Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm

Saturday December 29

3rd place play-off 5pm

Men's final 7pm

LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES

Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)

FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm

Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm

Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm

Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm 

Thursday

Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm

Sevilla v Roma  (one leg only)  8.55pm

FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm 

Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm 

MATCH INFO

Schalke 0

Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')

Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)

WHAT ARE NFTs?

     

 

    

 

   

 

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.

 

An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.

 

This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.

 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

MATCH INFO

Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Six large-scale objects on show
  • Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
  • The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
  • A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
  • Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
  • A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
  • Torrijos Palace dome
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202-litre%204-cylinder%20turbo%20and%203.6-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20235hp%20and%20310hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E258Nm%20and%20271Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh185%2C100%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: October 25, 2021, 3:40 PM