Museums

Ancient Animals of Egypt

/ Jet Eliot / 50 Comments

As a devoted fan of wildlife on earth, I am excited to share beautiful art depicting wildlife in ancient Egypt. We humans have been revering our wild animals for centuries.

Statue of Horus, Edfu, Egypt

Living in the land of the fertile Nile Valley, ancient Egyptians acquired an in-depth knowledge of the animals that surrounded them. Later, they transferred these animals and their characteristics to the divine realm; eventually the gods were taking animal forms.

Aside from wildlife, Ancient Egyptians also had pets, a big topic for a later date. But here is an interesting article about their pets, link below, and a cat display we saw at a U.S. touring Ramses II exhibit in 2022.

Link: Pets in Ancient Egypt

Coffin of cat mummy, Ramses touring exhibit

(All other photos are from an Egypt tour we made last year.)

The oldest pyramid complex in Egypt is called Saqqara and is an ancient necropolis dating back to the Third Dynasty (approximately 4,600 years ago). It was the seat of government and worship prior to Giza.

Saqqara Pyramid, Egypt

Inside Saqqara structures there are numerous tombs with limestone walls (photograph below) displaying carvings of animals, fish, birds, insects, vegetation and everyday scenes with people in hunting, herding and farming scenes. The small, catacomb rooms have walls and walls with floor-to-ceiling carvings. I have just included one tiny part of one wall here.

This is a hippo (left), in an underwater Nile River scene, accompanied by several different fish species including a Nile carp. We see underwater plants here too. Hippos were once common in the Nile River but there are none today.

In addition to these everyday scenes, animals were also prevalent in the characters of their writing language, aka hieroglyphs.

Below are six photos of hieroglyphs with animals used as symbols.

This is a wall, below, in King Ramses IV’s tomb. These are funerary texts intended to guide the pharaoh through the afterlife.

Cobras, on the top row, stand out. They symbolize divine and royal protection, sovereignty, and the power to ward off enemies and chaos in the afterlife. Also of notable interest here (below, lower third) is the snake between the two flanks of women–one head with a very long, curling body. Their snakes must have been very long!

There is a menagerie of animals below the cobras in the small hieroglyphs. This close-up, below, shows a hare (top left) and a vulture (bottom left).

These hieroglyphs, below, are photographed from a wall of the Kom Ombo Temple. Animal symbols here include the head of a cow, cobra, vulture, two lion heads and a viper.

This is an outdoor wall at Karnak Temple covered with hieroglyphs (below). The carvings, which have survived for millennia, tell of battle scenes, religious rituals and gods, providing a rich glimpse into ancient Egyptian culture and history. Animals are prominent.

As in most hieroglyphs, there were multiple meanings applied to the symbolic characters.

For example, carvings of bees could mean the words for beekeeper and honey. But in this carving, below, the bees are paired with two sedge plants, symbolizing the unification of Lower Egypt (bee) with Upper Egypt (sedge), a central theme in ancient Egypt. In the center is an ankh, symbol of life.

Bee hieroglyph, Karnak pillar, Egypt

In addition to hieroglyphs, individual animals were also highlighted, always as a symbol.

Inside King Tut’s tomb (below) in the same chamber as his sarcophagus, is a painted mural showing 12 baboons–one baboon for each hour, representing the 12 hours of the night. The baboons, honored as divine sentinels of the netherworld, are escorting the Boy King to the afterlife. The upper left-hand side also displays a black scarab representing the sun god in his form of rebirth. 

Additionally, animals depicted in tombs or other art were often half-man and half-beast, indicating the animal was expressed as a god or royal symbol. Ancient Egyptians combined the power of the animal with the intellect of a human.

The largest example of this is the Great Sphinx in Giza, a massive limestone statue famous for its lion’s body and human head. The lion symbolized strength and kingship.

Below is a half-man half-ibis representing the god Thoth, deity of wisdom, writing, science, magic, and the moon.

Thoth in Temple of Horus, Edfu

Also visible in the (above) photograph are hieroglyph carvings of falcons and a jackal, ibis, and viper.

In addition to carvings and wall writings there were many animals honored in jewelry, statues, door lintels, ceilings, sarcophagi and more.

The sarcophagus below, an exhibit at the Grand Egyptian Museum, has some of the most elegant carvings I have ever seen. It is the Sarcophagus of Nesptah belonging to Nes-Ptah, a noble and high-ranking priest and an influential son of the Mayor of Thebes, Montumhat. It is from the 26th Dynasty, around 2,500 years ago.

It is made of diorite, a very hard stone, and decorated with hieroglyphic texts from the Book of the Dead.

Human/animal gods as well as hieroglyphs cover Nes-Ptah’s beautiful resting place.

We will close with animal art in my favorite tomb, the Tomb of Seti located in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt.

Join me as we head down into the tomb of Pharaoh Seti I of the Nineteenth Dynasty (approximately 3,200 years ago).

I could’ve stayed down here for days, in this cosmic chamber of peace and grandeur with its richly decorated rooms.

My very favorite is Room J (above) with its depiction of circumpolar stars and constellations on the vaulted ceiling. Amazingly, this is a display of the ancient Egyptian understanding of the cosmos. 

The red dots, painted with red ochre, indicate these are rough sketches. They are construction marks used by the ancient Egyptian artists and in an unfinished state. The standard duration for the mummification process was 70 days; then the tomb had to be secured, and sometimes deadlines could not be met.

Today we looked at humans from thousands of years ago and the art and stories and values and reverences important to them. They used animals as a means of communication. What a pleasure it is to share a small bit of that here with you today.

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander.

Temple of Horus, Edfu

/ Jet Eliot / 52 Comments

On a grand Egyptian adventure last year, we had the joy of visiting many ancient temples. Let’s skip over to Egypt and take a look at Horus.

Photo courtesy of Univ. of Chicago

The Temple of Horus is one of the most well-preserved monuments of ancient Egypt and is the second largest temple in the country (after Karnak). It reflects a blend of ancient Egyptian and Greek traditions from the Ptolemaic era.

It is located on the west bank of the Nile River in the ancient city of Edfu. A bus transported us from our river cruise boat through Edfu (seen below), population 60,000, to the temple complex.

Edfu, Egypt

Construction for the great temple of Edfu was begun by Ptolemy III on August 23, 237 BC.

It is rare that the exact date of construction is known on a structure that is over 2,000 years old–only the beginning of a list of extraordinary features of this temple.

The date is known because there are writings (hieroglyphs) everywhere on the inside of the temple telling many stories including the date when construction began. It was built 2,082 years ago and constructed over a period of 180 years.

It was dedicated to Horus, the falcon-headed sky god, considered the protector of the pharaohs. In ancient times the Festival of the Living Falcon was held here to celebrate the crowning of a sacred falcon and symbolize the renewal of the pharaoh’s kingship.

Graphic courtesy Wikipedia.

The monumental facade is a large sandstone wall and gateway, referred to as a pylon by Egyptologists. It is approximately 120 feet high (37m).

In the photo below I am standing in awe (foreground far right, blue shirt).

This is the top of the pylon, below.

In the center is a prominent winged sun disk representing divine protection and royal power. There are also numerous scenes carved into the wall showing the pharaoh Ptolemy XII smiting his enemies and performing religious rituals.

It is flanked by two large falcon statues.

The falcon pair stand guard at the entry, each one carved long ago from black granite and standing approximately 10 feet tall (3m). They depict the god Horus in his falcon form.

Visitors walk through the entrance into a large open courtyard. Thousands of years ago the entrance was a door of Lebanese cedar wood covered with gold and bronze.

Today thousands of tourists walk through the gate of this highly popular destination.

In the courtyard are 12 huge columns crowned with a variety of floral motifs–palm leaves, lotus and papyrus.

This photo, below, shows the towering height of the courtyard walls and one column (left foreground). The group of tourists demonstrates size perspective.

The hieroglyphs tell stories of religious, mythological, and architectural beliefs and rituals of the Ptolemaic period.

This column, photo below, features the two mythical gods Horus (L) and Set (R) who had a mythical battle. The temple walls are covered with scenes and texts from the “Sacred Drama” of their conflict, commemorating Horus’s triumph over his uncle, Set.

The detail on these carvings is astounding. Originally they were painted in bright colors.

This is another carving of Set, below. The battle between Horus and Set is a core story in ancient Egyptian mythology.

This photo below of the courtyard shows the back side of the pylon and the aforementioned floral-topped columns.

This relief, below, shows Horus (on L) and Hathor (on R) and refers to the annual Festival of the Sacred Marriage. It celebrated the sacred marriage of Horus of Edfu and Hathor of Dendera.

In ancient times it was a 15-day festival including flotillas on the Nile. At the temple there was a public celebration, sacred rites and rituals, feasting and rejoicing. It was a marvelous festival celebrating fertility and prosperity and occurred every year.

The Temple of Horus had many other rooms and passageways: two hypostyle halls (i.e. rooms with columns supporting a roof), a Court of Offerings, a Vestibule and Sanctuary, side chapels and chambers.

There was once a library called the House of Books. Hieroglyph inscriptions describe chests of books and large leather rolls containing various temple literature like liturgical texts, manuscripts with the temple’s building plans, incantations and administrative documents.

There were 13 chapels and additional side chambers. One of the inner chambers was a laboratory where perfumes, incense, and ointments were made; the recipes are engraved on the walls.

Carved figures in the passageway ceilings, photo below, are over 40 feet (12m) high. How did ancient artisans create these intricate carvings so high off the ground?

Briefly, they worked from the top down. First they built the stone walls and roof and set them in place, then filled the structure with sand and rubble. The rubble was then used as scaffolding for the relief-carving stage, and gradually, in increments, it was removed until all the carvings were done.

The vulture in that relief symbolizes protection, and the beautiful blue paint is a recent result of a joint Egyptian-German mission to clean and restore the original vibrant colors that were obscured for centuries.

The activities I have highlighted here were pagan, but in 391 AD the Roman Empire put a ban on non-Christian worship. Many of the ancient reliefs were destroyed by religious fanatics.

Eventually sand, silt and mud buried the temple for centuries until 1860 when French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette discovered it and excavated. The obliteration by sand for centuries is what helped preserve the temple.

We all have our stories to tell–every century, every generation. How fortunate today that we have the ability to interpret and witness the ancient Egyptian story told here in all its elegant beauty.

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander except first one.

Athena photographing Temple of Horus walls

Abu Simbel, Egypt

/ Jet Eliot / 58 Comments

This is one of the most remarkable and grand temple sites in all of Egypt. I give you photos and a look at the iconic Abu Simbel from our visit last year.

In southern Egypt, built into sandstone cliffs are two temples: Abu Simbel built by Ramses II and beside it, a smaller temple dedicated to his favorite wife, Queen Nefertari. In the photo above, Abu Simbel is on the left and Queen Nefertari’s Temple is on the right.

Construction of the temple complex occurred in the 13th Century BCE. It started around 1264 B.C. and was completed around 1244 B.C., taking approximately 20 years to build.

Adjacent to Abu Simbel is Lake Nasser, a massive reservoir. In the photo below, you can see Abu Simbel on the right and a bit of the lake on the left.

The complex was originally built right on the Nile River, creating a commanding presence to intimidate enemies of Egypt. But over time problems arose with flooding; we’ll get to that.

Pharaoh Ramses II was the third Pharoah of the 19th Dynasty and ruled ancient Egypt for nearly 66 years (1279-1213 B.C.). He was a brave warrior and powerful ruler, lived a long life to the age of 90 or 91. Egypt reached the height of its military power during his reign. Trade, agriculture, art, and architecture also flourished under him.

Brief History. Much has happened here since Abu Simbel was built over 3,200 years ago. The Nile River has regularly flooded and there were earthquakes, weather. With the passage of time the temples fell into disuse and disrepair, became nearly lost by drifting sand. The temples were forgotten until March 1813 when a Swiss geographer and traveler rediscovered it.

Then in the 1950s the Egyptian government, under the leadership of President Nasser, made big decisions about the building of a new Nile dam. The Aswan Dam would protect local residents and agricultural crops by preventing irregular and unpredictable flooding that sometimes led to famine.

But with that pending construction was the scientific knowledge that the water would flood the two ancient temples built on the Nile. Many possible solutions were considered.

In the 1960s they began one of Egypt’s most successful national projects since the age of the pyramids: the relocation and reconstruction of the Abu Simbel temples. The project was a complex undertaking requiring the dismantling, moving, and reassembly of massive stone blocks. 

Every inch of the site was meticulously cut into large blocks, each one weighing an average of 20 tons, and reinstalled to higher ground further back from the river.

It was accomplished by a multinational team of archeologists, engineers and skilled heavy equipment operators with the financial assistance of 50 countries. It is considered one of the greatest archaeological rescue missions in history.

Photo courtesy egyptforward.org

Fast forward to 2024 when we visited.

We walked about a mile from the parking lot to the site in a hot, barren desert-like expanse. Then we turned a corner and there it all stood–this towering, majestic work of ancient art.

Below is the temple of Queen Nefertari. The facade features six colossal statues; each statue is approximately 33 feet (10m) tall.

Unusual in ancient Egyptian art, Ramses and Nefertari are of equal height, demonstrating her divine status alongside the pharaoh.

It is dedicated to the goddess Hathor and Queen Nefertari.

The interior is adorned with intricate carvings and scenes depicting Nefertari’s divine status and Ramses II’s affection for her. There are six square columns, each surmounted by a head of the goddess Hathor.

Queen Nefertari is seen below in two relief scenes, presenting gifts to the Gods.

The temple was completed after her death, and she never saw it in its finished form.

Next door was Abu Simbel–the Great Temple of Ramses the Great, one of Egypt’s most famous and successful rulers.  Photo below.

Here at the entrance are four colossal figures, each of them Ramses II. The second figure from the left lost its head in a long-ago earthquake. Visitors enter and exit through the door in the center.

The figures are 66 feet (20m) tall.

When visitors leave the harsh African sun behind and enter the temple, everything changes. We are in a sacred sanctuary.

The 26-foot (8m) high walls are decorated with reliefs and hieroglyphs depicting Ramses II’s reign and religious beliefs.

The ceiling is decorated with the vulture goddess Nekhbet spreading her wings.

We walk through an ancient hypostyle hall (above), typical of ancient Egyptian architecture, measuring 59 feet (18m) long and 55 feet (16.7m) wide. Eight massive pillars support the roof, each depicting the deified Ramses II.

Further into the temple there are many different rooms. Characteristic of many Egyptian temples, the rooms get progressively smaller as you move further from the entrance toward the sanctuary.

This room, in the photo below, features four rock-cut statues and was yet another marvel of engineering.

These are four deities, from left to right: Ptah, Amun-Re, Ramses II as a god, and Re-Horakhti. Remarkably, the temple was masterfully engineered to align with the rays of the sun.

On February 22nd and October 22nd, the sun’s rays penetrate directly into this room, illuminating three of the figures. The fourth deity, Ptah, the god of the underworld, remains in shadow. Most sources concur these dates are the king’s birthday and coronation day, respectively.

The northern wall of the temple portrays many events from the Battle of Kadesh. It was a major military conflict between the Egyptians and the Hittites.

The temple’s reliefs provide a visual narrative of Ramses II’s reign and his military campaigns, solidifying his image as a powerful and victorious pharaoh. 

This relief below shows the mighty warrior king in his chariot firing arrows at a fortress.

By the time we left, it was about 90 degrees. We walked the mile back to the parking lot, almost silently, our heads full of scenes and imaginings.

So many centuries of human ingenuity, bravery, conviction, and reverence.

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander.

Abu Simbel doorway and ankh key

Land of Lincoln

/ Jet Eliot / 50 Comments

While there are many places across America where our 16th president is still celebrated, it is the state of Illinois where Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) really comes alive. It is here, in the prairies of Illinois, where he spent the majority of his life.

While visiting family last week, I visited Springfield and have five Lincoln sights to share.

In Springfield he established himself as a successful lawyer, married Mary Todd and raised a family, and launched his political career. He left Springfield when he was elected president, moved to the White House.

#1–Lincoln’s home.

Lincoln lived in this Springfield house below where he and Mary raised their family.

Today this house is open to the public free of charge. This is remarkable in itself (free!) and is due to his son Robert’s donation of this house to the state on the condition it be open to the public at no cost. It has been part of the national park system since 1971.

Included in this Lincoln Home National Historic Site are also four adjacent blocks preserved from Lincoln’s time as well as a visitor center. The Lincolns lived here from 1844 to 1861.

Every day Lincoln walked a few blocks from his home to his law office and sometimes the nearby state capitol, seen below. Both are open to the public.

Today, under shady deciduous trees, this is a serene and contemplative walk to take as you walk where Lincoln walked.

#2–Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices.

Built in 1841, this law office (below) is where Lincoln and partner William Herndon practiced law from 1844 to 1852. He handled a wide variety of cases, civil and criminal, and was a well-respected lawyer, considered one of the best trial lawyers in the state.

#3–Old State Capitol.

Lincoln pleaded cases at the Illinois Supreme Court in the State Capitol building, seen below.  It’s notable for being the location where Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous “House Divided” speech addressing the nation’s conflict over slavery during his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat against Stephen Douglas.

Today there is a “new” operational state capitol, built 1868-1888, where the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate conduct business.

#4–The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

The most popular tourist attraction in Springfield is the Lincoln Library and Museum. They are in two different downtown buildings across the street from one another.

The Presidential Library has an impressive collection of Lincoln letters, artifacts, manuscripts, books, and much more. It is open to students, scholars, researchers and tourists by appointment only.

The Museum is a tourist attraction with numerous exhibits and a gift shop. One of the first exhibits a visitor sees are life-size replicas of the Lincoln family. Other exhibits highlight Lincoln in his early years, Lincoln’s presidency and the Civil War, an original handwritten copy of the Gettysburg Address, and much more.

The exhibit below depicts First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln in a ballgown, surrounded by mannequins representing politically connected women of the Civil War era.

#5–Lincoln’s Tomb.

Across town about two miles from Lincoln’s home is his tomb, located in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

After his tragic assassination, construction began on the tomb while his body was placed in a receiving vault at Oak Ridge Cemetery.

His tomb is a grand monument and is open to the public. Entrance and parking fees are free.

Below is the burial room and memorial monument of Abraham Lincoln. This is the final resting place of President Lincoln. His wife and three of their children (Edward, William and Thomas) are also buried here. Due to attempted theft and desecration, his coffin was eventually placed in a cage ten feet deep and encased in 4,000 pounds of concrete.

Lastly, my favorite part.

The inside of the Lincoln home. Visitors walk where Lincoln walked, climb the steps he climbed, see the rooms where he lived, the dining room where they entertained guests, the fireplaces that warmed him.

Small groups of 15 people at a time are allowed in, so there is waiting and tickets involved, but once in, you experience a guided walk that lasts about 20 minutes.

For an online virtual tour of Lincoln’s home, go to the link below.

Link: Virtual Tour of the Lincoln Home

For an abbreviated version, we start by walking through his front door.

When you cross the threshold you see the stairway leading upstairs (below). The foyer has a chair and hooks where he presumably hung his hat.

The parlor is on the left and the sitting room is on the right.

Toward the back of the first floor is the kitchen, shown below.

Although this house is modest, it was considerably roomier and more comfortable than the log cabins of his younger years. Abe and Mary moved here in May 1844 when Lincoln was 35 years old. This was the only house he ever owned.

On the upstairs level we stood in Lincoln’s bedroom, photo below, and walked through the doorways that we were assured his 6’4″ frame could clear. Although there are numerous furniture pieces in his home that are original from his time here, this bed is not one of them. Mary did, however, purchase this bed for the White House years.

If you are ever in or near Springfield, Illinois, put aside a day to go back in time to the strife of the days of the Civil War, a fractured time. You’ll get a chance to immerse yourself in the life of this incredible man who dedicated his life to preserving the Union of the United States.

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander.

The Egyptian Museum, Cairo

/ Jet Eliot / 54 Comments

A few months ago I had the honor of visiting the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Here are some of the astounding antiquities we saw.

Egyptian antiquities have been a fascination to humans for thousands of years–the Romans, the Greek historian Herodotus, Napoleon and many, many more. Then in 1835 the Egyptian government established a museum for its antiquities which eventually developed into what is today the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

More info: Egyptian Museum Cairo

Located in downtown Cairo, the Egyptian Museum has long had the distinction of housing the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world.

In the last few years, however, this museum, built in 1902, became so crowded with antiquities that some of it was transferred to additional nearby museums, mainly the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat and the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.

After much renovation and these ongoing transfers, the Cairo Egyptian Museum continues to be a premier display of ancient Egyptian artifacts. The immensity of the collection is staggering.

This photo below shows the museum’s Central Hall. Visitors here are viewing statues, a pyramid, sarcophagi, and more, primarily from the Old and Middle Kingdoms.

In the center of the (above) photo toward the back of the hallway, you see a sculpture so large that it reaches to the second floor. It is 23 feet tall (7 m).

This colossal statue, made of limestone, depicts the royal couple, Amenhotep III and his wife, Tiye, along with their three daughters. This is the largest known ancient Egyptian family group statue ever carved. Amenhotep reigned in the 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom, circa 1390-1352 BCE.

The King Tut exhibit is the most popular exhibit here. While the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is under construction and will eventually house a huge Tutankhamun collection featuring over 5,000 artifacts from his tomb, the Cairo Egyptian Museum currently remains the primary location for experiencing this world-famous collection.

The young pharaoh’s iconic gold funerary mask was displayed in a dark room where no photos were allowed. Therefore, below is a photo of a photo.

Other notable King Tut displays we observed at the Cairo Egyptian Museum included his sarcophagi, jewelry and throne.

Shown below is the young pharaoh’s Usekh collar. It was found inside his innermost coffin draped over the young king’s thighs. It is made of tubular beads and colored glass with a gold falcon head at each end.

Below is the ceremonial throne of Tutankhamun. It is made of wood and overlaid with an embossed gold sheet 3 mm thick and semi-precious stones.

The back of the throne, seen below, depicts the royal wife of Tutankhamun rubbing an ointment on his shoulder while the sun god spreads his rays on the couple. Howard Carter, the British archaeologist who discovered the Tutankhamun tomb, stated it was “the most beautiful thing found to date in Egypt.”

There was a very long line of visitors winding around the corner (photo below) waiting to see the King Tut exhibit room.

Side rooms on both floors included more extraordinary exhibits including caskets stacked from floor to ceiling, papyri, coins, friezes, wall paintings, various vessels and tools and even mummified pets and crocodiles. One of my favorites was a solid silver coffin but again, no photos were allowed in that room.

One of their most prized treasures is the Narmer Palette. Photo below. It is one of the oldest documents in the world, about 5,100 years old.

It is a carved slab of siltstone dating from about the 31st century BCE and contains some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found. It depicts the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under King Narmer, and is considered a masterpiece of early Egyptian art.

Below is the statuary head of Queen Hatshepsut, c. 1505–1458 BCE. She attained unprecedented power for a woman, adopting the full titles and regalia of a pharaoh. Made of painted limestone and displayed on a pedestal, it is approximately 2 feet tall (61 cm).

This iconic statue below is King Khafre shown in frontal and profile views. Discovered in a pit under his valley temple in Giza, it is known for its intricate details and the powerful presence of the pharaoh. Made of diorite, it is 5’6″ tall (168 cm).

In the profile view, below, you see a falcon behind Khafre’s head. It is a symbol of the god Horus with spread wings in a gesture of protection. It is approximately 4,500 years old.

King Khafre, who reigned during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt’s Old Kingdom, is best known today for constructing the second largest pyramid at Giza. Of all the rulers of the Old Kingdom, Khafre has the greatest number of statues. Many experts claim it is his face on the Great Sphinx in Giza.

Below is a photo of the Khafre Pyramid where the statue was found, as well as the Giant Sphinx.

The exhibit below is a painted sandstone statue of the goddess Hathor protecting King Amenhotep II. Hathor is depicted as a cow. It dates back to the 18th Dynasty in the New Kingdom.

The arched room behind this statue, known as the “Shrine of Hathor,” is a small, vaulted chapel dedicated to Hathor and built by Thutmose III. The ceiling is painted blue with yellow stars to mimic the sky; the back wall features depictions of the king making offerings.

This exhibit below of King Djoser, the first ruler of the Third Dynasty, is the oldest known life-size statue in Egypt. It is approximately 4,600 years old. Ancient robbers removed the eyes that were originally inlaid with rock crystal and obsidian.

Behind the King is a panel of blue tiles symbolizing the “field of reeds,” the afterlife paradise, and are meant to represent the king’s eternal dwelling. The blue tiles are made of a material called Egyptian faience–a ceramic material composed of crushed quartz, alkaline salts, and copper which gives the color.

After soaking up these antiquities–room and rooms full of ancient statues and artifacts–visitors are funneled into an excellent gift shop, seen below.

Over the centuries humans have expressed themselves, and within the walls of this magnificent museum we pay tribute to our earnest race. Thanks for joining me on this journey through time to ancient Egypt.

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander.

Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Fairbanks, Alaska (Part 1 of 2)

/ Jet Eliot / 57 Comments

We landed last week in Fairbanks at 8:00 pm and it was a frigid 10 degrees Fahrenheit. In nearly a week there, temperatures never got warmer than 25 and frequently dipped below 0…but it was a fine visit.

We sought out Fairbanks in winter to see the aurora borealis, and to my complete delight, we saw it. Twice. I will tell you about it next week in Part 2. For today we’ll take a look at some of the other interesting spots in Fairbanks.

An Alaskan interior city, Fairbanks is situated on the Chena River approximately 196 miles (315 km) south of the Arctic Circle. The Fairbanks 2023 population: 31,856.

More info: Wikipedia

The first photo above, with the “Love Alaska” sign, has been Fairbanks’s starting point for Iditarod Dog Races several times when there wasn’t enough snow in the traditional start town, including this year in early March, 2025. Photos indicated it was a celebratory sight with loads of people cheering on the dogs and mushers.

While there are many accomplished sportspeople who have competed in this brutal 950+ mile (1,510 km) race, of note is Susan Butcher, the first person to win four out of five sequential Iditarods.

Fairbanks history stems back to Alaska Native peoples of the Athabaskan group as well as European settlers. The discovery of gold in 1902 started the Fairbanks Gold Rush that transformed the town.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Chena River while there, and witnessed it in numerous forms, though never was it completely frozen when we were there.

This is the river from downtown, below.

Fairbanks’s downtown is relatively small with the courthouse, office buildings, shops, restaurants, museums, monuments and more.

The roads were icy and sidewalks were treacherous. Instead of renting a car we took cabs and were entertained by quirky locals, all of whom drove with ease.

To stay upright we wore ice cleats. The cleats are devices with a rubber frame and small metal studs or spikes that attach to each boot sole to provide improved traction. Photo below.

We strolled the downtown on a Sunday, many stores were closed. It was 10 degrees and brisk, but sunny, and we were dressed for it and wearing cleats. These are some of the downtown sites, below.

Their downtown has a central plaza: Golden Heart Plaza. It has lots of space for folks to gather. In winter it is all snow-covered, as you can see below, and there were few people.

This area is a lively, crowded scene of people celebrating the Midnight Sun Festival in summer when the sun never sets. But on our day here it was blissfully quiet and refreshing.

We had many serene moments along the river, as the Westminster chimes and church hymns drifted from the carillon inside this clock tower.

The “Unknown First Family” statue is also in the Golden Heart Plaza, below. In summer it is a fountain bubbling with water.

This is a vibrant mural in a downtown parking lot.

Also downtown is the Cultural and Visitors Center with helpful information and numerous dioramas.

Near the visitor center is this antler arch sculpture, below. It has more than 100 moose and caribou antlers collected from all over the interior of Alaska.

The above photo of the antler arch was taken on March 30th. Below is a link to a live web cam photo of the same arch. Interestingly, you can see how much snow has fallen at this spot in the last week.

Live Web Cam Link to Fairbanks Antler Arch

Due to its closeness to nature and the outdoors, Fairbanks changes every day. One day the river was water, the next day it was ice. The sky constantly changes–sometimes stormy and sometimes cloudless and blue. Roadway surfaces changed, temperatures fluctuated constantly. This gave it a lively feeling even in the dead of winter.

The University of Alaska is a prominent presence in Fairbanks. They have a fantastic museum, the Museum of the North. It has a wide array of exhibits highlighting cultural, artistic and scientific aspects of Alaska. They are the only research and teaching museum in Alaska and have an immense research collection with 2.5 million artifacts and specimens. Link to Univ. of Alaska Museum of the North

This is the sign that greets you at the museum’s front door.

My favorite part of the museum was an excellent video with a thorough and precise explanation of the aurora borealis phenomenon. I also liked the late-1800s walrus ivory carvings and other art in the Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery. There were many impressive natural history exhibits, too.

The photo below shows gold nuggets and objects from the museum’s C.J. Berry Gold Exhibit.

Lastly, it was the night skies that lured us to Fairbanks. Swirling waves of green, pink and occasional purple as well as a universe of glittering stars. We will celebrate the Fairbank skies next week, my friends, and a few other outdoor scenes.

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander.

King Tutankhamun

/ Jet Eliot / 64 Comments

Ever since the tomb of King Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922, people have been enthralled by this ancient Egyptian King. Today we will visit his tomb.

Also known as King Tut, he was an 18th Dynasty pharaoh of the New Kingdom, lived approximately 3,300 years ago, circa 1332-1323 B.C. More info: PBS King Tutankhamun, Life, Death, & Family

His tomb rests beneath the mountains in the Valley of the Kings, a long, narrow valley in Egypt. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. It is a necropolis on the west bank of the Nile River, once used for ritual royal burials during Egypt’s New Kingdom era.

You can see the distant sunlit mountains of the Valley of the Kings in the photo, below. This photo was taken on the Nile near the city of Luxor, once known as the ancient city of Thebes.

The Valley of the Kings. Above ground it is dusty mountains and desert, but below ground there is a vast labyrinth of opulently decorated ancient tombs with about 500 years of celebrated pharaohs, queens, high priests and nobility.

There are approximately 65 discovered tombs and chambers, and more are discovered every year.

King Tut died unexpectedly at age 19 and had only reigned for about nine years, so his tomb was not a lifelong project as it was for many pharaohs back then. The reason for his death is heavily debated.

Info: King Tutankhamun Wikipedia

His tomb is one of the least impressive tombs in comparison to other royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. He died young and unexpectedly and there was less time for preparation. I will show you a few other royal tombs in this Valley another time.

What was and still is so exciting about the Tut discovery, however, are the riches found still intact.

British archaeologist Howard Carter and his team, funded by the Earl of Carnarvon, had been searching for the tomb of Tutankhamun for five years when they at last found a step. 1922.

After that the tomb stairway was unearthed and a seal containing Tutankhamun’s cartouche was found on the outer doorway. A cartouche, below, is a sort of hieroglyphic nameplate for royalty, describes him. The recognizable ankh in the middle corresponds to the ankh in the middle of his name.

More than 5,000 objects–from miniature model agricultural tools to room-size shrines–were packed in the 1,200-square-foot four-room tomb. Six chariots, clothing, games, jewels, weapons, furniture, cosmetics, food and wines were found. Most were inscribed with his name. Having walked through here, I understand why all the sources say these items were jammed in, because the space is not that big.

These items accompanied the pharaoh, they believed, to give him a safe and comfortable afterlife.

Over this past century, every item has been meticulously recorded and secured, most ended up in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, seen below.

We visited this museum’s King Tut exhibit four months ago. There is a heavily guarded room of King Tut artifacts. They have a strict no-photo policy so the objects below are photos of photos.

This museum has an astounding collection, but the building is old with poor ventilation and no air conditioning and has more exhibits than it can house. A new museum is in the making, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). Many of the Tut artifacts have been moved there already but are not yet on display.

Below are a few of the many artifacts we saw in the Cairo museum’s King Tut exhibit, items that were buried with the pharaoh.

It was determined that robbers had entered the tomb twice in the years immediately following the burial, but Tutankhamun’s mummy and most of the burial goods remained.

King Tut’s burial mask, the most popularly familiar item, is in this Cairo museum exhibit. (First photo at top.)

There was also a collar and other jewelry, as well as his dagger and sheath (photographed from National Geographic magazine, November 2022.)

This broad collar, below, a type of necklace, was found wrapped with Tutankhamun’s mummy.

This Golden Throne, below, is displayed in a glass exhibit case in the museum’s corridor. The King Tut exhibit here is so popular that there are extremely long lines to get into the artifact room. And even this throne in the corridor had so many people clamoring around it that we waited five minutes just to get close enough to quickly snap a photo.

Below is a close-up of this throne on which King Tut rested his back. Photo taken from an excellent book, “The Great Book of Ancient Egypt” by Zahi Hawass, 2018.

Deeper inside the tomb in the Burial Chamber, Carter and his team discovered a set of four gilded shrines, one placed inside another, and the sarcophagus.

They opened the sarcophagus and inside it found three nesting coffins.

In October and November 1925, medical experts, archaeologists, and other scientists meticulously conducted the historic examination of Tutankhamun’s mummy. It took seven days just to unwrap the mummy.

The outermost coffin was made of gilded wood portraying the king with arms crossed upon his chest holding the flail and ornamented crook, items signifying pharaonic authority. This coffin was originally left in the tomb until recently. In July 2019 it was guardedly transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum for restoration, preservation and eventual exhibit.

Inside the outermost coffin were two more coffins. Coffin #2 was made of gilded wood and inlaid with multicolored glass. Coffin #3, the innermost coffin, was made of solid gold with linen cradling King Tutankhamun’s mummy. In the Cairo Museum we stood beside both of these coffins, displayed on stands about waist high, photo below.

Originally, his mummy was covered with protective amulets and jewels, many in avian, scarab, and serpent forms. Ancient embalmers had concealed more than 140 precious objects between 17 layers of thin linen bandages wrapped around Tut’s remains.

Both of these inner coffins were transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo soon after the discovery of the tomb in 1922.

Again, because photos in the museum exhibit were strongly prohibited, this is a photo of a photo (National Geographic November 2022).

When the new exhibit is completed, the pharaoh’s three coffins will be displayed together at the GEM for the first time since their discovery.

About 400 miles (650 km) south of this Cairo museum, in King Tut’s Tomb in the Valley of the Kings, are King Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus and mummy. This is where they were originally found, and this is where they remain.

We also visited his tomb. Tomb visitors are allowed to take photos and stand behind a rope and security devices.

The sarcophagus, carved from a solid block of quartzite, is dimly lit and temperature controlled (below). Visitors can access this chamber after descending many steps into the earth.

The sarcophagus is closed, topped with a cracked lid, and decorated with winged goddesses on each corner. All of Tutankhamun’s coffins were originally inside this sarcophagus but have since been redistributed as mentioned above.

Ancient wall frescoes were lovingly painted to protect the “boy king” as he ascended to his next life.

This fresco (above) in the burial chamber depicts a series of phases for Tutankhamun’s body and spirit as he is escorted into the Netherworld.

Painted on an adjacent all are 12 baboons, photo below. Each baboon represents an hour for his first 12 hours of transition to the afterlife.

A few steps away in a separate room is Tutankhamun’s mummy encased in a clear, temperature-controlled case. It is coal-black and shriveled, head and feet showing. I chose not to show it here, out of respect.

Soon the Grand Egyptian Museum (photo below) will have a celebrated immersive King Tut exhibit for visitors from around the world. Many King Tut relics have already been moved here but are not yet available to visitors.

For now, visitors can see some of the relics in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo or visit the Valley of the Kings tomb near Luxor. Today you got both.

Lastly, here’s a little fun for ending this essay: a link to the Saturday Night Live 1978 YouTube video of Steve Martin’s comedic “King Tut” song.

Link here: YouTube “King Tut” by Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons.

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander.

The Grand Egyptian Museum

/ Jet Eliot / 48 Comments

A new archaeological museum has been built in Giza near Cairo, and it is absolutely stunning.

The Grand Egyptian Museum, aka The GEM, is the largest archaeological museum in the world. It is located 1.2 miles (2 km) from the Giza Pyramids.

This is the entrance.

The museum is situated on a sprawling 120-acre (49 h) site. In a large outdoor courtyard, many beautiful features accompany the visitor while walking toward the entrance: ticket booths, date palms, a 50-foot (15 m) obelisk, and a ground-level geometric water feature.

More info: Grand Egyptian Museum, Wikipedia

The obelisk, photo below, is the world’s only hanging obelisk. The base’s underside, uniquely visible, has King Ramses II’s signature (cartouche) that was hidden from view for more than 3,500 years. The obelisk rests on a pedestal adorned with the word “Egypt” in every language.

The water feature is like no other. Glittering, moving water trickles over tiny pyramids in a long, ground-level fountain (below).

The entryway, in the first photo, is decorated with an elaborate series of dark gray cartouches. In the middle of the cartouches is a pyramid-shaped overhang crafted with locally sourced translucent marble.

This is a close-up of the cartouches that bear the names of Egyptian pharaohs.

This museum was breathtaking from the first moment of entry to the last, starting with the colossal statue of King Ramses II, seen below. Carved from red granite, it is 39 feet tall (11 m) and weighs 83 tons.

The photo below shows the golden open-air entrance as well as the back of the statue. The hieroglyphs on the statue’s back translate as Ramses II’s royal titles and describe his identity and position as a pharaoh.

King Ramses II was the third Pharoah of the 19th Dynasty and ruled ancient Egypt for nearly 66 years (1279-1213 B.C.). He was one of Egypt’s most powerful rulers and warriors and was paramount in expanding Egypt.

This statue was originally discovered in 1882 in six broken pieces near the former capital, Memphis. Before its perilous transfer to the GEM in 2018, it was displayed for several decades in a traffic circle in Cairo.

Surrounding the Ramses II statue is an elegant floor-level reflecting pool. I know this water is shallow because during my five hours spent here, I witnessed two different people accidentally fall into the water. Taking selfies.

This billion-dollar building was designed by Dublin-based Heneghan Peng Architects and has 872,000 square feet (810 sq.m.) of footage.

Inside the Grand Hall the visitor is regaled by the lofty ceiling, natural light and gentle breeze of the open-air construct.

Link: Architecture Info from the architect.

This central atrium, with its abundance of natural light, looked different every hour.

Also in the Grand Hall are artifacts and Ptolemaic statues recovered from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. Visitors have access to retail shops, restaurants and the museum gift shop.

For the next level, visitors can walk up the Grand Staircase or glide on a moving sidewalk. There is also a wheelchair accessible elevator.

The Grand Staircase is a vertical gallery on steps with three intermediate landings. It displays remarkably old statues, columns, lintels, an obelisk, sphinxes, a sarcophagus and more. All are exquisitely lit. The theme is prominent pharaohs and gods from the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms.

The photo below shows granite doorway jambs and a lintel from a palace or temple in the 12th Dynasty during the reign of Amenemhat I, 1985-1956 BCE. On each side are sphinxes.

The grandness continues as the visitor reaches the top of the ascending gallery to find floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Giza Pyramid Plateau.

Also on this second floor are 12 galleries showcasing artifacts from different periods of ancient Egyptian history. This section was only recently opened to the public in mid-October 2024. We were lucky to visit only two weeks after it had opened–fresh and new with relatively small crowds.

There were many, many statues and artifacts here on the second floor, below are just two photos.

Gallery 2: This is a gneiss statue of King Khafre from the Fourth Dynasty. It is approximately 4,500 to 4,700 years old.  Khafre was the builder of the Great Sphinx and one of the three famous Giza pyramids.

Gallery 8: The Kneeling Statue of Hatshesput is made of granite from the 18th Dynasty. She was one of the rare female Egyptian rulers. Here she is shown offering nu pots to Amun-Re, the state god of ancient Egypt.

Other sections of the museum are still being developed including a King Tutankhamun exhibition, children’s museum, solar boat exhibits and more.

Many people are especially interested in the King Tut exhibit. The King Tut exhibit is not completed at this facility and there are currently no artifacts here yet. They remain housed primarily in the original Egyptian Museum in Cairo and will be transferred when the new exhibit is completed and opened.

Construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum has taken 20 years and the exhibits are not all open yet, delayed by many factors. Egypt is not a wealthy country and with the current war close to their borders, there is much travail.

But fortunately, with great tenacity and vision, this massive and extraordinary museum undertaking progresses.

Due to the museum’s recent opening, what you have seen here today remains unvisited by most people…and what a pleasure it is to share it.

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander.

The Giza Plateau

/ Jet Eliot / 73 Comments

Last month I had the honor and joy of visiting Egypt and have much to tell my valued readers. While in the Middle East I also spent a half-week touring Jordan. Over the ensuing weeks I will share some of the highlights of my trip.

For today I offer you an overview of the Giza Plateau. This is a large area on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt in northern Africa, in the city of Giza. It includes the famous ancient pyramids and sphinx from the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, approximately 4,500 years ago.

The Giza Plateau complex encompasses 62 square miles (16,000 ha) and includes three major pyramids; The Great Sphinx; and over 70 other pyramids as well as temples, cemetery fields and a workers’ town.

In the photo above, what you and the resting camel are looking at is the three major pyramids (from L to R above: Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure) surrounded by sand dunes and in the far background, the sprawling city of Giza.

Of all the dozens and dozens of temples, sites, cities and museums I visited in our 2.5 weeks in Egypt, my favorite was the Giza Plateau complex. The history is astonishing.

It is so old that the places where I stood were also visited by long-ago people like the Greek historian Herodotus, as well as Cleopatra and Alexander the Great. Pliny the Elder, a Roman author in the first century AD, wrote about the Pyramids of Egypt in his encyclopedia Natural History.

The colossal size is breathtaking. The Great Pyramid, in the four photos below, consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks including 5.5 million tons of limestone and 8,000 tons of granite. In these photos you can see each block as the man-made structure rises into the sky.

Although the Nile River was close in ancient times and used for transporting construction materials, today the Nile is not within sight of the pyramids.

The Great Pyramid is the largest pyramid. The ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu built it for his tomb circa 2600 B.C., 4,600 years ago. His granite sarcophagus is still inside, but his body was stolen centuries ago by grave robbers.

This pyramid is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that still exists today.

We’ll go into more about this great structure another time. For now you can get a glimpse of its massive size.

The three pyramids were built for three generations of Egyptian kings.

Due to the differences in building height and perspective, the pyramids look closer together than they really are.

The other two major pyramids, both smaller, are spread so far apart that there are many forms of transportation to explore the complex including tourist buses, private cars, tuk-tuks, horses, horse carriages, and camels.

The Pyramids of Giza, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are Egypt’s most visited tourist attraction and one of the most popular tourist sites in the world. They attract over 14.7 million tourists a year.

In addition to the millions of tourists, there are hundreds of vendors, guides, and school groups here.

There was everything from turban-topped Arab men hawking their wares to scantily clad Tik-Tok tourists enlightening their followers. One day a parade of dignitaries in black limousines caused enormous traffic snags.

For an extra fee, visitors can go inside the Great Pyramid, which I did. Below you see the line leading into the cave-like entrance and then visitors on the right, exiting.

In addition to the Pyramids, the Great Sphinx is also part of this complex, built on the western side.

A limestone statue built around 2500 B.C. (about 4,500 years ago), the Great Sphinx is a mythical creature with the head of a man and body of a lion. You can see the curling lion tail at the rear on the left (above). The considerably large front paws are 241 feet long (73.5 m).

Below is the Great Sphinx in the foreground, and looming in the background is the second-largest pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, built by the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre around 2570 B.C. (about 4,500 years ago).

My first sighting of the Great Pyramid, a memorable one, occurred through the windshield of our tourist van. It was 8 a.m. in Giza and we were driving past apartment buildings, highway ramps, shops and commuters. We turned a corner and suddenly the Great Pyramid appeared before us. I gasped.

Athena and I visited Egypt with friends and engaged a private guide, a female Egyptologist, for several days. Then we joined a tour group to visit many other sites in Egypt and Jordan. I will go into more details and photos in time.

Time.

Over 4,500 years have passed since these kings chose this spot in the sand dunes for their resting places. The pyramids were built, grave robbers descended, blowing sand buried some structures, humans excavated, and folks of all kinds have been visiting for centuries.

Today I share my pyramid visit with you via blog on the internet. Years ago the news was written on stone, then papyrus, then in books. Maybe one day humans will visit here with drones attached to their feet or wings on their backs or who knows what else.

We live the mystery and share our findings, century after century.

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander.

Mammoths Everywhere

/ Jet Eliot / 72 Comments

There is an extraordinary site in Hot Springs, South Dakota with the remains of at least 60 mammoths buried in the dirt. While on vacation, we had read an obscure paragraph about it in our Fodor’s guidebook, gave it a try and walked away absolutely astounded.

The Mammoth Site quietly rests atop a small hill between the rolling prairies and Black Hills of South Dakota’s southwest corner.

Here, over 140,000 years ago, was a pond. Towering mammoths and other wildlife of the Late Ice Age came to this watering hole to drink.

This is a Mammoth Site drawing, below, of what it looked like back then. The pond is in the middle of the drawing.

It wasn’t a pond, though. It was a deep hole, about 65 feet (20m) deep–a sinkhole that had filled in with water. Once the animals waded into the shallow end, they slipped into the water hole and couldn’t get back out. The sides were sheer and made of shale, slippery shale.

Sadly, the animals became trapped and drowned.

Over the millennia, layer upon layer of sand, silt, and clay filled in the sinkhole, encasing and preserving the remains of the mammoths.

Then in 1974 George Hanson, a heavy equipment operator on a backhoe, was excavating for a future housing development. His blade struck something that turned out to be a seven-foot-long tusk. He stopped, contacted the landowner, Phil Anderson, and the two of them did a wonderful thing.

When four nearby colleges took no interest in their find, they persisted, knowing they had something. They watched over the site, protected it, and contacted the backhoe operator’s son’s former archaeology professor, who did show an avid interest.

Within the next year, the archaeology professor and renowned paleontologist, Dr. Larry Agenbroad, secured the scene and started a non-profit. Amazingly, landowner Phil Anderson donated the land with the help of solicited contributions.

This was the genesis for The Mammoth Site, and this Ice Age sinkhole became, and still is, a dig site for studying mammoths and other extinct animals.

The bones are not truly fossilized since they have not been replaced by minerals and are therefore fragile. Due to the fragility, instead of moving the bones, a facility was eventually built over the site.

During the Ice Age there were two North American species of mammoths: the Columbian and the Woolly. The Columbian species (Mammuthus columbi) is the predominant mammoth found at this excavation pit. So far 58 have been found. Three woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) have also been unearthed here.

In the photo below you can see some tusks, plus rib and spine bones in the center. Behind the blue #10 flag is the original tusk found in 1974.

Walkways around and over the site allow visitors to observe the bones, while simultaneously, archaeologists and students work on-site. This is the largest concentration of mammoth remains on Earth.

You can walk around the entire sinkhole. Walking around the site, it is easy to imagine the gargantuan size of these mammoths when you see their bones and tusks.

The mammoths weighed 14 tons each and their tusks were 12-14 feet long.

Male Colombian Mammoth Drawing by Asier Larramendi, courtesy Wikipedia

Over the years, Agenbroad and his team found that most of the mammoths so far have been males in their prime years.

In this part of the “bonebed” below, you can see tusk pairs in the upper right-hand and lower left-hand corners of the photo.

Note the crane in the ceiling rafters in this photo, below. If the bones are not completely friable, archaeologists encase a piece, like a skull, in a plaster jacket. They use the crane to lift it, relocate it to the downstairs lab for further research, and carefully remove the plaster.

This display below shows composites of both mammoth species. The Columbian, on the left, was bigger, standing up to 13 feet (4m) tall and weighing up to 10 tons (9,000 kg).

The woolly mammoth, on the right, stood 9-11 feet (2.75-3.4m) tall, weighed about 4-6 tons (3,600-5,400 kg).

Links to more info: Columbian Mammoth Wikipedia and The Mammoth Site

The photo below shows the sinkhole wall on the right. It is an accumulation of sediment that has been dated, identified by the flags. The oldest layers of sediment are at the bottom, and layers get progressively younger toward the top.

Bore holes show the pond was at least 65 feet (20m) deep. So far, only about 20 feet (6m) of the former pond has been excavated.

To the left of the wall lies the entire body of a Columbian mammoth except for the skull. The mammoth was laying on his side. They are still trying to find the skull.

The photograph below demonstrates mammoth footprints in the sediment. Each green arrow points to where the behemoth’s foot sunk in the mud.

Columbian mammoths became extinct about 12,000 years ago, when most other megafauna mammals disappeared.

The remains of 87 other species have also been discovered in this bone graveyard, including a rare Giant short-faced bear, the American camel, llama, wolves, coyotes, shrub oxen, and a myriad of other smaller mammals, bird, fish, and invertebrates.

In 2014 Dr. Agenbroad passed away at age 81. He led a full life uncovering bones, primarily mammoths, and sharing his research. He led a team in the Channel Islands that excavated the most complete pygmy mammoth skeleton yet found. He was invited and once travelled to Siberia as part of a team of international scientists to excavate the corpse of a woolly mammoth that had been locked in ice for more than 20,000 years.

He founded The Mammoth Site and was deeply engaged in it for 40 years. The interest he generated in this extraordinary find continues to live on.

We continue to evolve in this world, all of us, and what a fascinating world it is.

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander.