Cambridge researchers find 4,000-year-old Egyptian handprint
Ms Strudwick, senior egyptologist at the Fitzwilliam Museum, said: "We've spotted traces of fingerprints left in wet varnish or on a coffin in the decoration, but it is rare and exciting to find a complete handprint underneath this soul house."This was left by the maker who touched it before the clay dried."I have never seen such a complete handprint on an Egyptian object before."
The exhibition concentrates on the people who made the ancient Egyptian crafts.While ceramics were widely used and vast amounts of pottery survive, there are relatively few details known about the potters themselves, in comparison to other ancient Egyptian craftsmen.The ready availability and generally low value of pottery may have affected their status, according to the museum, which cited a text known as the Teaching of Khet, comparing potters to pigs who wallow in mud.
Soul houses may have acted as offering trays or provided a place for the soul of the deceased to live within the tomb.They had an open front space where items of food were laid out, in this example loaves of bread, a lettuce and an ox's head.Analysis of the item suggested the potter who made it first created a framework of wooden sticks and then coated it with clay to make a building with two storeys supported by pillars.During firing the wooden framework burnt away, leaving empty spaces in their place.The handprint found underneath was probably made when someone, perhaps the potter, moved the house out of the workshop to dry before firing in a kiln, according to the researchers.The stories of Egyptian rulers, like Tutankhamun, have received a great deal of attention but the makers of the artefacts themselves are often overlooked.Made in Ancient Egypt aims to show who these people were, how they thought of themselves and what other Egyptians thought of them.
Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Great Pyramid timeline shattered as new clues point to older origins
A growing body of controversial evidence is challenging the long-accepted timeline of the Great Pyramid, and raising new questions about who may have built it. British author Graham Hancock recently appeared on the American Alchemy podcast, where he claimed geological and astronomical clues suggest the monument was not built 4,500 years ago by Pharaoh Khufu, but by a lost civilization 12,500 years ago. 'There's no doubt that parts of the Great Pyramid were completed and finished by the ancient Egyptians,' Hancock told podcast host Jesse Michels. 'I don't seek to take it away from them, but I think they were inheriting a very ancient tradition and completing a monument that already stood in basic form on the Giza Plateau.' One of Hancock's central arguments centers on the erosion patterns of the nearby Great Sphinx , saying that only heavy rainfall over thousands of years could have caused such deep weathering. 'No such rains were on the Giza Plateau 4,500 years ago, but they certainly were at the end of the last Ice Age,' he said. However, renowned Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass has disputed these claims . He told the Daily Mail he had discovered workers' tombs dating to the 13th century BC and dismissed the erosion theory, attributing the Sphinx's damage to millennia of wind, not rain. 'If someone built this pyramid 12,000 years ago, aren't you going to leave any evidence at the site to prove that?' said Dr Hawass. 'Me and my colleague, Mark Lehner, have excavated Giza for the last 50 years. All that we discovered until now has to do with the Fourth Dynasty.' The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid, and was constructed by Pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. It is one of three within the Giza plateau, the other two include the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure, as well as the Great Sphinx. All shrouded in mystery due to their unclear construction methods, precise astronomical alignment and still-debated purpose. Dr Hawass shared further insights during a July appearance on the Matt Beall Limitless podcast, including details about a planned excavation inside the Great Pyramid to search for Khufu's lost tomb. Hancock, however, remains unconvinced that any burial ever took place inside. 'It's well known that no burial of any Pharaoh was ever found in the Great Pyramid or, for that matter, in any of the 100 pyramids in Egypt,' said Hancock, who is known for his controversial theories about ancient civilizations. 'It's well known that no burial of any Pharaoh was ever found in the Great Pyramid or, for that matter, in any of the 100 pyramids in Egypt,' said hancock. 'Some of that can be attributed to tomb robbery, but in the case of the Great Pyramid, it was completely closed and sealed until Arab raiders under Khalif Ma'mun broke in. 'They were expecting to find enormous treasures and wealth, but instead, they found a completely empty building with nothing inside.' Hancock also rejected the mainstream view that the Great Pyramid was built in just 23 years during Khufu's reign, calling that idea 'absurd.' Instead, he proposed that the structure may have taken hundreds, even thousands, of years to complete. Adding to his theory, Hancock pointed to the massive bedrock foundations beneath the three pyramids at Giza, naturally existing formations that were leveled before construction. While most archaeologists believe the foundations are natural, Hancock believes the platforms themselves are much older. He linked the structures to a lost epoch known in Egyptian lore as Zep Tepi, or 'The First Time,' citing astronomical alignments between the pyramid platforms and Orion's Belt as it appeared 12,500 years ago. 'At 4,500 years ago, the stars of Orion's Belt didn't match up,' he said. 'The Great Sphinx was looking at the sun rising against the background of Taurus. But in 12,500 BC, it aligned perfectly with Leo.' Dr Hawass, however, dismissed Hancock's claims as unfounded, emphasizing that the ancient Egyptians left behind detailed records of the Great Pyramid's construction. 'The Wadi El-Jarf Papyri is a diary from an overseer named Merer,' he said. 'He wrote, 'I am from the Delta. I was hired by Khufu and held the title of inspector, with 40 workmen under me.' The papyri also describe how Merer led crews to the Tura quarries to cut fine white limestone, which was then transported on wooden sledges to cargo boats. These vessels docked at harbors built in front of each pyramid. 'Egyptian history has no gaps that would justify dating the pyramids to 12,000 or 20,000 years ago,' Hawass added. 'That era, known as the Epipaleolithic period, marked the earliest stages of civilization, far too primitive for monuments of this scale.'
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Great Pyramid timeline shattered as new 'evidence' reveals who really built them
A growing body of controversial evidence is challenging the long-accepted timeline of the Great Pyramid, and raising new questions about who may have built it. British author Graham Hancock recently appeared on the American Alchemy podcast, where he claimed geological and astronomical clues suggest the monument was not built 4,500 years ago by Pharaoh Khufu, but by a lost civilization 12,500 years ago. 'There's no doubt that parts of the Great Pyramid were completed and finished by the ancient Egyptians,' Hancock told podcast host Jesse Michels. 'I don't seek to take it away from them, but I think they were inheriting a very ancient tradition and completing a monument that already stood in basic form on the Giza Plateau.' One of Hancock's central arguments centers on the erosion patterns of the nearby Great Sphinx, saying that only heavy rainfall over thousands of years could have caused such deep weathering. 'No such rains were on the Giza Plateau 4,500 years ago, but they certainly were at the end of the last Ice Age,' he said. However, renowned Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass has disputed these claims. He told the Daily Mail he had discovered workers' tombs dating to the 13th century BC and dismissed the erosion theory, attributing the Sphinx's damage to millennia of wind, not rain. 'If someone built this pyramid 12,000 years ago, aren't you going to leave any evidence at the site to prove that?' said Dr Hawass. 'Me and my colleague, Mark Lehner, have excavated Giza for the last 50 years. All that we discovered until now has to do with the Fourth Dynasty.' The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid, and was constructed by Pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. It is one of three within the Giza plateau, the other two include the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure, as well as the Great Sphinx. All shrouded in mystery due to their unclear construction methods, precise astronomical alignment and still-debated purpose. Dr Hawass shared further insights during a July appearance on the Matt Beall Limitless podcast, including details about a planned excavation inside the Great Pyramid to search for Khufu's lost tomb. Hancock, however, remains unconvinced that any burial ever took place inside. 'It's well known that no burial of any Pharaoh was ever found in the Great Pyramid or, for that matter, in any of the 100 pyramids in Egypt,' said Hancock, who is known for his controversial theories about ancient civilizations. 'It's well known that no burial of any Pharaoh was ever found in the Great Pyramid or, for that matter, in any of the 100 pyramids in Egypt,' said Hna 'Some of that can be attributed to tomb robbery, but in the case of the Great Pyramid, it was completely closed and sealed until Arab raiders under Khalif Ma'mun broke in. 'They were expecting to find enormous treasures and wealth, but instead, they found a completely empty building with nothing inside.' Hancock also rejected the mainstream view that the Great Pyramid was built in just 23 years during Khufu's reign, calling that idea 'absurd.' Instead, he proposed that the structure may have taken hundreds, even thousands, of years to complete. Adding to his theory, Hancock pointed to the massive bedrock foundations beneath the three pyramids at Giza, naturally existing formations that were leveled before construction. While most archaeologists believe the foundations are natural, Hancock believes the platforms themselves are much older. He linked the structures to a lost epoch known in Egyptian lore as Zep Tepi, or 'The First Time,' citing astronomical alignments between the pyramid platforms and Orion's Belt as it appeared 12,500 years ago. 'At 4,500 years ago, the stars of Orion's Belt didn't match up,' he said. 'The Great Sphinx was looking at the sun rising against the background of Taurus. But in 12,500 BC, it aligned perfectly with Leo.' Dr Hawass, however, dismissed Hancock's claims as unfounded, emphasizing that the ancient Egyptians left behind detailed records of the Great Pyramid's construction. 'The Wadi El-Jarf Papyri is a diary from an overseer named Merer,' he said. 'He wrote, 'I am from the Delta. I was hired by Khufu and held the title of inspector, with 40 workmen under me.' The papyri also describe how Merer led crews to the Tura quarries to cut fine white limestone, which was then transported on wooden sledges to cargo boats. These vessels docked at harbors built in front of each pyramid. 'Egyptian history has no gaps that would justify dating the pyramids to 12,000 or 20,000 years ago,' Hawass added. 'That era, known as the Epipaleolithic period, marked the earliest stages of civilization, far too primitive for monuments of this scale.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Civilization collapse now 'inevitable' after chilling patterns in past empires are uncovered
The collapse of human civilization is now seen as inevitable, according to a research who said 5,000 years of history have exposed clear and alarming patterns. Dr Luke Kemp of the University of Cambridge found inequality, environmental damage, reckless leaders and fragile systems lead to ancient collapse, and every warning sign is currently flashing. ' We can't put a date on Doomsday, but by looking at the 5,000 years of [civilization], we can understand the trajectories we face today, and self-termination is most likely,' he told the Guardian. Kemp's new book, Goliath's Curse, details the rise and fall of ancient powers, including imperial China, Rome and the Classical Lowland Maya. While those collapses were often regional and survivable, Kemp said the next one will be global, and devastating. His research found that every fallen empire shared the same fatal traits, including top-heavy regimes dominated by elites, fueled by inequality and held together by violence. He referred to these societies as 'Goliaths,' vast, brittle power structures built on hoarded grain, monopolized weapons and populations trapped in place with nowhere to run. 'History is best told as a story of organized crime,' Kemp said. 'It is one group creating a monopoly on resources through the use of violence over a certain territory and population.' A research analyzed the rise and fall of more than 400 empires throughout history, uncovering alarming patterns that he said are visible today Kemp analyzed the rise and fall of more than 400 societies, coming to the theory that inequality kills civilizations. As elites extract wealth from the masses and destroy the environment, societies become hollow shells, vulnerable to war, disease and collapse. And it's not simple greed driving the fall, he said, but a small number of individuals exhibiting the 'dark triad' of narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. These toxic traits, found in past ruling classes, are now surfacing in global leadership, The Guardian reported. Kemp named Donald Trump as the narcissist, Vladimir Putin as the psychopath, and Xi Jinping as the Machiavellian, claiming the most powerful leaders on Earth now embody the very traits that historically trigger collapse. One of the most consistent red flags Kemp found through hundreds of collapsed societies was extreme inequality. In ancient empires, wealth and power became concentrated among a small elite while the majority were left impoverished and burdened. Kemp said today's widening wealth gap and corporate monopolies mirror that pattern, eroding social cohesion and weakening resilience. Another alarming parallel was humanity's total dependence on complex, global systems. In the past, people could return to hunting or farming when governments fell. Now, most humans rely on fragile global supply chains, if they collapse, everything collapses, Kemp warned. Environmental destruction was also following the same trajectory. Historical collapses were often preceded by regional climate shifts of just 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists now project a global rise of 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit or more, along with massive deforestation and resource depletion. Kemp also warned the next collapse could be far more violent as in the past, power struggles were fought with swords or muskets. That is because the the modern world has more than 10,000 nuclear weapons, and far more destructive technology. Kemp outlined three reasons why the next collapse could be far more devastating than anything humanity has faced before. First is elite violence. In the past, power struggles were fought with swords or muskets. Today, world leaders have access to more than 10,000 nuclear weapons. Second is our dependence on complex systems. Ancient populations could return to farming or hunting to survive. But modern societies rely heavily on fragile global supply chains, if they fail, we fall with them, he shared. Third is the scale of the threats themselves. Historical climate shifts typically involved a one-degree change. While past collapses sometimes led to better conditions, healthier, taller, and freer populations after empire fell, Kemp warns that today's single, globalized system leaves nowhere to hide.
