古代エジプト、ヒクソス王朝（紀元前1870〜1569年）の王と王女の名が刻まれた、同時代のものとみられる高さ70センチ幅60センチの彫刻（2005年7月27日提供、資料写真）。(c)AFP/SPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES
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【6月21日 AFP】エジプトの首都カイロ（Cairo）北東部のナイル川下流域の町テルエルダバア（Tal al-Dabaa）付近で、オーストリアの考古学チームが3600年前の古代エジプト・ヒクソス王朝の首都アバリス（Avaris）とみられる地下都市を確認した。エジプト考古最高評議会（Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities）のザヒ・ハワス（Zahi Hawass）事務局長が20日発表した。
ニューヨーク（New York）のディスカバリー・タイムズスクエア・エクスポジション・センター（Discovery Times Square Exposition Center）での「ツタンカーメンとファラオたちの黄金時代展」に展示される、ツタンカーメン王のミイラのレプリカ（2010年4月21日撮影）。(c)AFP/Getty Images/Jemal Countess
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【6月24日 AFP】古代エジプト王朝のツタンカーメン（Tutankhamun）王は、マラリアではなく、遺伝性の血液疾患「鎌状赤血球症（SCD）」で死亡した可能性があるとの研究が23日、米医学誌「米国医師会雑誌（Journal of the American Medical Association、JAMA）」オンライン版に発表された。
エジプト・ルクソール（Luxor）近辺で発掘され、カイロ（Cairo）の博物官に保管されている、Tabaketenmutという名の女性のミイラの右足にくくりつけられていた人工親指（2011年2月14日提供）。(c)AFP/UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
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【2月15日 AFP】古代エジプトの女性のミイラの足に付けられていた人工親指は、これまでに見つかったなかでは最古の実用的な人工器官だとする英マンチェスター大（University of Manchester）の研究チームの論文が、14日の英医学専門誌｢ランセット（The Lancet）」に発表された。
エジプト・カイロ（Cairo）の考古学博物館から略奪された銛を持つツタンカーメン像（2011年2月13日提供）。(c)AFP/Griffith Institute-EGYPTIAN SUPREME COUCIL OF ANTIQUITIES
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【2月17日 AFP】エジプトの首都カイロ（Cairo）で反政府デモによる混乱のさなか、熟練した泥棒たちがエジプト考古学博物館（Egyptian Museum）に天窓から侵入した――。前月、デモに乗じて貴重な収蔵品が多数略奪された状況について、エジプト考古最高評議会（Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities）のザヒ・ハワス（Zahi Hawass）事務局長が16日語った。
発表を行った米カリフォルニア大学アーバイン校（University of California, Irvine）のグレゴリー・トーマス（Gregory Thomas）氏は「普通われわれは、心臓疾患や動脈硬化が現代のライフスタイルに起因するものだと考える。というのも、西洋化された先進国で、これらの症状が増加したからだ」と述べた一方で、「今回のデータは、心臓疾患についての我々の理解に、欠けている部分があることを示している。われわれは、先祖たちとあまり変わっていないのかもしれない」と指摘した。
Explosion near Egyptian pyramids, 3 injured
Police and forensic officials say a small bomb exploded near Egypt’s iconic pyramids, injuring three peddlers
AP, Wednesday 6 Apr 2011
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The officials say the explosives were leftover munitions, but they couldn't provide more details about when or why the bomb was planted. They say Wednesday's explosion occurred some 500 feet (150 meters) from the pyramids outside Cairo.
The officials say the explosion was triggered by peddlers who saw metal glinting out of the sand and began hitting it with iron sticks, thinking the casing might conceal valuable goods. Three of them were seriously wounded.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't allowed to release the information.
研究の共同責任者で、カリフォルニア大学アーバイン校の循環器学教授グレゴリー・トーマス氏によると、「月の子ども（Child of the Moon）」、「アメン神に愛されし者（Beloved of Amun）」とも言われるアーモセは、脳や心臓に血液を送り込む動脈を含めた主幹動脈5本にプラークがあったという。「私がいま王女を診断できたとしたら、脂肪分の摂取を控えて適度な運動を行うよう指示したうえで、心臓手術を行う。2カ所のバイパス手術が必要な状態だ」。
だが、テーベ第17王朝のファラオに名を連ねる「セケネンラー・タア2世（Seqenenre Tao II）」の娘である王女は、調査対象の他のミイラと同様、高い地位にあった。通常より心臓病にかかる確率は上がると言えるだろう。「地位が高いため、欲しいものはなんでも手に入るような生活を送っていただろう。特に体を動かす必要もなく、肉類に代表される高カロリーな食事を摂っていたはずだ」。
古代エジプトの王女アーモセ・メリエット・アモン（Ahmose-Meryet-Amon）のミイラ（2010年5月撮影、2011年5月17日提供）。(c)AFP/EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF CARDIOLOGY/MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
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【5月19日 AFP】診断は3500年ほど手遅れだったが、驚くべき事実であることには違いない。
米カリフォルニア大学アーバイン校（University of California, Irvine）のグレゴリー・トーマス（Gregory Thomas）氏のチームが、古代エジプトの王女アーモセ・メリエット・アモン（Ahmose-Meryet-Amon、紀元前1580〜1550年）のミイラをCTスキャンし、冠動脈性心疾患の診断を下した。詳細は、今週開かれた欧州心臓病学会（European Society of Cardiology）で発表された。
CAIRO - He enters a big room, where about a dozen people, all wearing white lab coats, are busy with their work. He walks up to a lady who is peering through a microscope at a coin. In her hand, she’s holding something like a needle.
A priceless treasure: Japanese Ambassador Norihiro Okuda (C) examining one of the artifacts in the Conservation Centre at the Grand Egyptian Museum, due to open in 2015.
"What are you doing?" he asks. She removes the mask she’s wearing. "I'm cleaning the rust from this coin," the young Egyptian archaeologist replies.
"How old is it?" he asks. "It’s from the Roman era."
The Ambassador takes off his glasses and examines the coin. "Wonderful!"
Last week, Japanese Ambassador Norihiro Okuda toured the Conversation Centre, established for the purpose of conserving Egyptian artifacts, including those destined for the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), as well as to develop the capacities of the conservators.
He roamed the laboratories and stores to see what has been done so far, speaking with the Japanese expert, as well as the Egyptian staff.
The story of the GEM began when it was decided to construct a new museum, because the Egyptian Museum in Al Tahrir Square is too small.
It contains statues, stone sarcophaguses, Pharaonic mummies and much more, but many large artifacts are in storage, because there isn’t room to display them.
Also, given the site limitations in Al Tahrir, it would be very difficult to expand the museum.
In 2002, former president Mubarak laid the foundation stone for the GEM, located 2km west of the Giza Pyramids, near a motorway interchange.
The building's north and south walls line up directly with the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Menkaure. The GEM will allow Egypt to become a major worldwide hub for Pharaonic history and the most sought-after place for Egyptologists.
In 2007, $550 million had been secured for building the GEM, including a $392 million soft loan from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). The Egyptian Government contributed around $150 million, while the remaining would be funded through donations and international organisations.
The GEM is being built on 486,000 square metres of land.
This space will not only include the exhibition galleries, but also an archaeological study storage and educational centre; a library, children’s museum, children’s school and outdoor children’s recreational gardens, a museum for people with special needs and an educational centre containing a 3-D cinema, a theatre, arts and crafts workshops for adults and children; in addition to retail shops, and food and beverage and recreational areas.
In co-operation with the Executive Authority of the GEM, the Ministry of Culture, JICA is providing technical assistance to the GEM’s Conservation Centre, which opened in 2010 and is attached to the museum.
"The GEM is going to collect 100,000 artifacts for the exhibition and research," said Mikio Nakamura, an expert and the chief adviser and co-ordinator for the Conservation Centre project.
"Of the 100,000 artifacts, we have already checked more than 22,000, including King Tut’s Golden Mask, allowing us to make an accurate database," he told The Egyptian Gazette.
The museum will be ready in 2012, but the opening has been delayed till 2015.
Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass said in a press conference held in the Conservation Centre earlier this month: "It’s not politics, it’s culture, so the project must take its time to be implemented well.”
"We are facing difficulties because of the sudden change in the schedule. I hope that well-managed co-ordination, a good information-sharing system and a clear division of responsibility among the concerned organisations and agencies will improve things," Nakamura said.
The database for the artifacts must also be finished before the GEM opens, because the selection of the artifacts for display and their transfer to the museum can only be done on the basis of accurate information about the place of storage and the size of the artifacts.
The Egyptian side created a database for the artifacts, which will be transferred to the GEM. But there were mistakes and duplications in the entered data, due to a lack of rules governing the procedures for data entry.
Therefore, JICA decided to create the Archaeological Database Department (ADD), in order to reconstruct the database.
The ADD is visiting other museums and storehouses at archaeological sites, in order to identify the artifacts registered in the database, confirm the registration numbers and sizes, and also take photos of them, which is standard procedure.
Atsushi Suzuki, an IT expert who is revising the database, has a lot to say about it.
The JICA-GEMCC project is now employing almost 20 staff, engaged in revising the database. Suzuki is working with the manager, who is Egyptian and an Egyptologist, managing the staff and the database.
“After discussions with the manager, I have developed a simple database. We had problems with duplication and inputting errors," he told this newspaper.
"Even if we go to a site, it takes time to find the artifacts because of the wrong information. Sometimes an artifact is completely different from what we are led to believe.
“It's like we’re training every day. I believe that, in the near future, the Egyptian staff in ADD will be able to handle the work without JICA experts,” he added, smiling.
As I ended my tour of the JICA-GEMCC project, Nakamura stopped me and said:
“I’ve written a poem to express my feelings about working here. I feel really honoured and privileged to be working to preserve Egypt’s wonderful treasures.”
He gave me a copy of his poem and it went like this:
‘Receiving the light
From the world far past
On the plateau of Giza
I devote my profound delight
For preserving human heritage.’
