jueves, 15 de octubre de 2009

A new tomb in the Ancient Egypt?


The famous egyptoligist Martín Valentín,doctor in Egyptian religion by the Universtiy of Geography and History, gave us this amazing interview about the tomb of Sen en Mut, architect and lover of the pharaoh Hatshepsut. Sen en Mut was a so powerful man that he made build two monuments in his honor. Some historians (who are specialized on Egypt culture) have confirmed that one of that monument is his tomb.


Nevertheless, Martin Valentin (after spending 5 years working inside this monument) refuted this version and he has formulated another proposal.

INTERVIEWER: Winlock said in 1927 that the monument found was the second tomb of the Egyptian Sen en Mut. What information can you add to this theory?
MARTIN VALENTÍN: We have discovered that it´s not a tomb but a cript, a secret room used to do rites to the famous architect.

I: How have you discovered that supposition?

MV: Because a tomb has some specific characteristics like: funeral chapel, septic tank and chamber, and this room hasn´t got a chapel.

I: What more news does the project contribute?

MV: Deir el Bahari (a valley situated near the bank of the Nile) contains three well-known temples, one of them is the temple of Hatshepsut. That means that the area is full of a sacred spirit, not only of funeral places, so it can be useful in our investigation with the monument of Sen en Mut.

I: You also propose to follow the example of Altamira to conservate this place...

MV: Yes, we have proposed to build an exact replica to show it to the people. Egypt can not continue being as exploded as now.

I: Is the tourism putting at risk the Egyptian patrimony?

MV: Every day, thousands of tourists visits the pyramids and the tombs, and everyday, they are getting degraded. We have to serve as an example of patrimony conservation.
I: The Government does not take into account the culture of Egypt. Besides, if you desire to study Egyptology, you must go abroad.
MV: The number of students who want to learn about Egypt is growing day after day, but nobody make something to build an specific department. We should be at the same level as other countries like France or England, which own Universities specialized in this branch.
I: A lot of Tutankamon´s tombs have been discovered, but how much history about Egypt rest hidden?
MV: From the point of view of investigation and documentation, the 90% of the Egyptian history rest in the shadows.
I: Does the existence of pharaoh women revelate and ancient but modern society?
MV: People don´t know very much about the role of the women in the ancient Egypt. That is because the historians who have written about it came from England and a Victorian society...However, women position in that culture was even more important than men. Maybe if people started to study this history again, we would discover more interesting things about women....

For the full interview look here.

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario