Seen as my tickets arrived yesterday. It's still the sort of thing that you are likely to have the chance to see only very few times in a lifetime.

immediately has run in with tube ticket tout, pays over the odds for everthing, generally made to feel wholly unwelcome...fucks off back to tomb.

If it had been left up to the Egyptians all these items would have been melted down or flogged off for peanuts to private collections. We should never have left any of them in Egypt.

Free lunch indeed!

http://humorix.org/articles/2001/05/pyramid/

:-P

... where's the Cleopatra angle?

It might be worth reading the real history of the excavation of Tutankhamun before damning the Egyptians. It was Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon who wanted to break up the collection and sell to private collections and foreign museums; the Egyptians were adamant this would not happen.

Worse still, it appears that Carter and Carnarvon violated the terms of their licence to excavate in the Valley of the Kings. After opening the tomb they were under strict instructions to reseal the tomb and inform the authorities in Cairo. Instead they entered the tomb, broke a number of seals, moved objects and then covered their traces. It was at this time a number of items, never recorded in the official diaries, were removed from the tomb. They were discovered in Carter's home after his death (from lymphoma not a curse).

There is still some controversy over how much stuff was removed from the tomb. Regrettably it appears that Carter had intentions to take a much larger number of items, including the famous bust of the boy Tutankhamun. The statue found in a box destined for Carter's home in England when Egyptian authorities raided the site. It had not been recorded and Carter's excuse that it had been put there by mistake rings hollow when you see how meticulous he was elsewhere on the site.

So he was human too.

Come back with me coat!!

Hehe - I had quite forgoten I wrote that so long ago!

Zahi Hawass - does anybody trust this dude with the proceeds?

"Dr" Zahi Hawass has got a fucking cheek. Anyone watching that gorefest "Golden Mummy Tomb Opening - Live!" on Channel 5 a couple of years back would have seen him chucking human remains (bits of mummy) over his shoulder in a frantic scrabble for treasure.

Western Archaeologists weren't much better behaved at the beginning of the last century, but they could be forgiven for "not knowing any different". Hawass has no such excuse.

Mike - sounds interesting - can you recommend any good books on the subject?

"Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's supreme council of antiquities, said that it was time for the world to stump up some cash in return for the privilege of viewing the artefacts: "There are no more free meals," he said."

Is that quote correct? Well, with an attitude like that, I say "screw you" and I'll just catch the TV special, thanks much.

He should really hire a PR type to handle his public statements. Considering that exhibitions rely on promotion as much as curiosity, they really shouldn't let him talk.

(is "artefact" an approved alternate spelling for "artifact" - or is that a typo? <- just wondering)

"Ladies and Gentlermen, we apologise for the slight delay while you wait to enter the King Tutt Extravaganza And Fundraiser. This is due to increased security measures. Please listen carefully. All visitors are to undergo security checks before entering. These will be carried out by our team of four trained security checkers. We apologise for the slight delays this will cause, we are recruiting new checkers, subject to satisfatory illegal immigration status, and we hope to have doubled the number by December 2009. No liquids, powders, pastes or gels will be allowed into to the exhibition area, unless these are in a plastic bag not more than 1 litre in capacity, which renders them safe. Small bottles of acid, germ warfare agent or poison gas may be safely carried in your 1 litre plastic bag which you should wave vaguely at the security guard who will then ignore it. Confiscated drinks may be repurchased on the other side of security, and these will not be confiscated again until you are about to enter the subsequent area. All potentially dangerous items must be abandoned at the security check or left at the baggage check. The queue for the baggage check is on the other side of this building. Potentially dangerous items which will be confiscated include childrens plastic scissors, tiny nail clippers, all pens and pencils, makeup, under wired bras (please take your bra to a help station if you are in doubt) shoes, some ornamental socks, all cameras, mobile telephones, belts, change, combs, safety pins, cotton buds, and any over the counter medicines in those little foil sachets. In order to make the exhibition inclusive and reflective of UK society all signs will be in Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Arabic, Chinese, Polish, Thai, and Suoni. English translations are available as leaflets from the kiosk outside at three pounds each.The exhibition has also been maximised for social learning and integration, so the first row of viewing will be reserved for groups of schoolchildren below the age of eight, and will be equipped with paints, crayons, and musical instruments to help them express their wonder and awe. Finally, in order to reduce the risk of vandalism, the actual exhibition will now consist of a selection of photographs and old postcards from people who have seen the famous artefacts elsewhere and written home to Britain about them. The Artefacts are safely stored in a vault and may be viewed by webcam at www.WhatevershappenedtotheBM.biz There is a small Visa payment for the web viewing service.Thank you for your patience"

Is this just another pyramid scheme?