M.J. Rose

The scans of King Tut’s tomb are to begin today!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

Hidden Chamber Theory to be Confirmed or Denied by Radar Scans beginning Thursday in Tutankhamun Tomb

(April Holloway/Ancient Origins)

“A three-day operation to scan behind the walls in the burial chamber of Tutankhamun is set to begin this Thursday with the results being announced by press conference on November 28. The official investigations are designed to test out the theory by archaeologist Nicholas Reeves that the tomb of Tutankhamun contains two hidden chambers and that one of them is the final resting place of Queen Nefertiti.

The Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt launched high-tech analyses within the boy king’s tomb on November 4 and initial infrared scans of the walls of Tutankhamun’s tomb detected an area of greater heat, which may indeed point to a hidden chamber. Excitement among historians is mounting that the long lost queen, and no doubt her wealth of treasures, may finally be found.

Ahram Online reports that the new operation “will involve the use of radar signals and infrared thermography to probe the north and west walls of the boy king’s burial chamber”. Antiquities Minister Mamduh al-Damati explained that these techniques will not cause any damage within the tomb, but are designed to reveal whether there are hidden chambers behind the walls or not…”

Read more here.

Suspenseful, stunning, and somehow extremely compelling to watch…

Pure emotion?

Incredible Ballerina Performs En Pointe with Knife Shoes

(from My Modern Met)

“En Puntas is a video installation by artist Javier Pérez featuring ballerina Amélie Ségarra performing an incredible dance atop a grand piano, entirely en pointe, wearing a customized set of pointe shoes that extend beyond the toe box with a pair of sharp kitchen knives. As if dancing on the tips of your toes for an extended period of time isn’t enough, Ségarra has the added pressure of balancing on a thinner platform, from an even greater height.

The thought of someone even managing to stand on the potentially dangerous footwear is absolutely astounding. The fact that Ségarra maintains her balance and even leaves her mark as she purposely scrapes the sharp-edged blades across the piano is both exhilarating and frightening to watch. The intense performance is made all the more gripping as the elegant dancer tiptoes closer to the edge, making it difficult to avert one’s eyes….”

For the rest, click here. The film is below…

(The artist’s website is here.)

Javier Pérez – EN PUNTAS (extracts) from Javier Pérez on Vimeo.

“Not only are many of the members of the project in period dress, but there is also a medieval restaurant.”

We are intrigued…

From Atlas Obscura
Treigny, France
Guedelon Castle
Despite centuries of architectural innovation, this French castle is being built like it’s the 13th century

“In a remote forest clearing in Burgundy, France, a 13th-century castle is slowly being constructed using only the tools, techniques, and materials that would have been available to the builders of the day. It’s archaeology in reverse.

The Guédelon project was started in 1997 at this location, which was chosen because it was near an abandoned stone quarry, a pond for water, and in a forest that could provide wood. The whole exercise is an experimental archaeology endeavor that seeks to discover what it would have been like to create a castle centuries ago, not by making guesses from artifacts from the past, but by experiencing it in real time. Knotted rope is used to make measurements, stone is imperfectly cut to denote the station of the castle’s owner, and rock is chiseled by hand.”

For the rest, and pictures, click here.