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The goddess Taweret was a protector of women and children. Like the Egyptian god Bes, she offered protection to pregnant women.   During the Discoveries team's visit to the Luxor Museum, we saw several small amulets resembling a standing Taweret. It was an awesome suprise to turn the corner into the newer part of the museum and find an impressively large statue of Taweret from the late dynastic period. (See photo) This statue had seen many centuries out in the elements and most detail was gone but we still were in awe of the size and presence. It is apparent the importance this deity...

Papyrus is a plant that grows along the Nile River in the delta region of northern Egypt. The natural juices in the tall stalks (also known as reeds) of the papyrus plant form a durable glue when dried. The ancient Egyptians discovered this and created the world’s first paper from papyrus thousands of years ago. The plant is harvested from the marshy banks of the Nile, and the stalks are cut down to size according to the final paper size needed. The stalks are then peeled and cut into thin strips using filament as a knife. The strips are soaked,...

On a recent trip to Luxor, Egypt, I was in the backseat of a van on the way to Medinet Habu. I looked out the window and noticed two giant statues sitting in an open field by the road. Our guide turned the car around so we could get a closer look. This was the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III.   The two 60 foot statues of Amenhotep III stand at the gates of the pharaoh's funerary temple. Behind the large statues, you can see that archeologists are working to excavate and reconstruct the rest of the temple. The...

When we went to Egypt, we noticed on the walls of temples and tombs that there were many images of birds. It is clear that the swallow played an important role in the afterlife of ancient Egyptians. In ancient Egypt, birds served many purposes. In the Book of the Dead, there are instructions for the deceased on how to transform into a swallow. Swallows were associated with stars and the souls of the dead.  

Ancient Egypt was cat country. The fertile Nile Valley and the arid surrounding desert were home to no less than seven species of cat, ranging from big cats like the great lion to the small desert cat that came to live with humans thousands of years ago. Cats, big and small, became an important part of daily life and religion in ancient Egypt.  Ancient Egyptians loved animals and kept many different species of cats. Lions were the companions of kings; nobles hunted with servals, caracals and cheetahs, while leopard skins clothed lector priests. Families viewed their cats as an essential...