A Czech archaeological mission working near the Giza plateau has uncovered the tomb of an ancient Egyptian military official who commanded battalions made up of foreign soldiers, according to a statement from the Egyptian antiquities ministry.
The find has led experts to conclude that ancient Egypt was much more globalised than they once thought, the ministry said.
The tomb is believed to have belonged to Wahibre merry Neith, who lived between the late 26th dynasty and early 27th around 500 BC.
His tomb was found about 12km south-east of the Pyramids of Giza, very close to an embalming cache discovered in February, which also belonged to Wahibre-merry-Neith.
The tomb was found by a mission from the Egyptology Department at Prague’s Charles University, one of the oldest in Europe.
The tomb is divided into separate parts by narrow bridges cut into the natural rock.
Measuring 14 metres square, its main well was about 6 metres deep. However, as is the custom in ancient burial sites from the time, there was a smaller and deeper shaft in the middle of the main well that led to the double sarcophagus where Wahibre-merry-Neith was buried.
At the bottom of the deeper well, which measures 6.5 x 3.3 metres, at a depth of about 16 metres, the mission found two sarcophagi, one inside the other.
The outer sarcophagus is made of two large slabs of white limestone, said the ministry’s statement, while the inner coffin is made out of basalt rock and fashioned in the shape of the human body.
The upper part of the basalt sarcophagus was inscribed with excerpts from the 72nd chapter of the Egyptian Book of Dead, according to a statement from mission head Dr Marslav Barta.
The texts depict the resurrection of the deceased and his journey to the afterlife.
The basalt sarcophagus measures 2.30 metres long and 1.98 metres wide.
The sarcophagus did not contain a mummy, leading the mission to conclude that the tomb had been raided around the 4th or 5th centuries AD, Barta confirmed in a statement.
He said his team was able to approximately date the theft because of two ceramic vessels that were left behind in the main well. The upper part of the basalt sarcophagus was found smashed, said the ministry’s statement, suggesting that this was where the graverobbers entered the tomb.
Though the tomb was markedly light on artefacts, the mission was able to extract an intricately carved scarab, around 400 ushabti statues made of faience (a sintered-quartz ceramic material prevalent in ancient Egypt) and two alabaster canopic jars (containers that held the eviscerated organs of the deceased which were an important part of ancient burial customs).
Dr Muhammad Mujahid, deputy head of the Czech Mission, said that "although the archaeological excavations of the cemetery of Wa-ip-Ra Meri Nate did not provide us with many important archaeological finds or elaborate funerary items, this cemetery is considered unique and important".
He explained that it provides new insight into the turbulent period that marked the beginning of Persian domination over ancient Egypt.
On his part, Dr Waziri said: “The design of this well-tomb has no identical counterpart in ancient Egypt.”
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
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.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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RESULTS
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
Winner: Miller’s House, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Kanood, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Gervais, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Important Mission, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Firnas, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Zhou Storm, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
