From an Egyptian temple to a Roman sarcophagus

Yesterday, there was a tour of the antiquities museum by Esther Holwerda, Egyptology student.

We started at the Taffeh temple.

It became a Christian church in 710.

In the nineteenth century, it was a stable.

And now, since President Nasser of Egypt gave it as a present to the Dutch government in recognition of Dutch archaeologists’ work to save Egyptian national treasures, it is the biggest exhibit of the museum.

There used to be religious paintings in the temple.

Unfortunately, these had been made on plaster; which could not stand the water when the Nile flooded.

Then, we went to the Egyptian mummies.

There are 31 human and 70 animal mummies here, which is more than in many bigger museums.

Some of those museums used to have more.

However, in the nineteenth century many mummies were searched for amulets and other objects, in ways which destroyed the mummies.

That did not happen here, so the mummies can still be seen.

Among the animal mummies is one of two crocodiles in one mummy, making it look like one big crocodile.

A baby crocodile.

Various cats.

Mice; and fish.

There are also mummies of sacred ibises.

This bird does not occur in Egypt any more now, only more to the south in Africa.

Introduced and escaped specimens also fly over The Netherlands.

In the Middle East department of the museum, there is a cylinder with a cuneiform text from Babylonian King Nebuchadnesar; a way to reproduce texts before printing presses existed.

In the Roman department, there were Roman age mosaics from the Greek island Melos.

Interesting in the Greek department was the funeral monument of the Athenian woman Archestrate, who had died young.

She was represented by a life-size statue, her monument being much bigger than most others.

One of the other monuments had originally been for a woman.

Later, when a man died, the monument was appropriated for him, by superimposing his sculpted head.

We finished our tour at the Simpelveld sarcophagus.

Other Roman age sarcophaguses have been found.

Decoration, if there is any, is on their outsides.

The inside decoration makes the Simpelveld sarcophagus unique.

I walked back from the museum.

In a canal, a great cormorant swimming.

Nubian temple of Debod, now in Spain: here.

Archaeology of Meroe: here.

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