Ancient History: Egyptian Discoveries and Iraqi Museum Looting

This assignment delves into significant events and discoveries in ancient history. Part 1 focuses on recent archaeological findings in Egypt, detailing the discovery of new mummies, tombs, and artifacts near Luxor, providing insights into the New Kingdom period and the lives of ancient Egyptians. Part 2 examines the devastating looting of the Iraqi National Museum, analyzing the loss of invaluable Mesopotamian artifacts, including the Lady of Warka and the statue of Assyrian King Argon II, and their cultural significance. Part 3 explores the life and legacy of Pericles, the influential Greek statesman, highlighting his role in the Golden Age of Athens, his contributions to democracy, and the lasting impact of ancient Greek civilization. The assignment utilizes news articles and historical sources to provide a comprehensive overview of these key historical topics.

Assignment on Ancient History
Assignment on Ancient History
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Assignment on Ancient History
Part 1
"New Mummies Discovered In Tomb Near Luxor, Egypt," BBC News, September 9, 2017.
Excavations lead to uncover mysteries of several thousand years. Those secrets that had
been buried under the pressure of time and mud can only be brought to life when archaeologists
work on it. In 2017 many revelation were made after a team of archaeologists in Egypt found the
tomb of a royal goldsmith. It had mummies of a woman and two older children. The tomb is
dating back to 16th to 11th century of New kingdom, discovered near the Nile city of Luxor in
Africa. There was a statue of goldsmith Amenemhat, who was sitting by his wife. Three
mummies were found below the burial shaft in the main chamber. According to the research, the
tomb of the mother aged around 50, the reason for death was a bacterial bone disease (BBC
News, 2020). The next two bodies are claimed to be of her two sons who were in their 20s and
30s. The reason for their death is not revealed. All the bodies have been preserved in good
condition. It was not clear whether the three mummies were connected to Amenemhat or not.
Authorities say that the tomb of Amenemhat may lead to more discoveries of mummies
near Draa Abul Naga necropolis. It’s a well known area known for its temples and burial
grounds. Amenemhat was a goldsmith to god Amun who was considered the most powerful
deity of that period. Minister of Antiquities confirms that in the excavation many objects of the
funerary equipment, coffins, funerary combs, funerary masks, some jewelry, and statue were
found. The archaeologists had found four more names those are not yet found. Those tombs will
be expected to be unearthed after more excavation in near areas.
"Archaeologists Make Major Discovery In Egypt's Luxor," Al Jazeera, April 18, 2017.
The Egyptian authorities have found several mummies, ten colorful wooden sarcophagi
and more than thousand funerary statues near the city of Luxor. These are claimed to be in a
3,500-year-old tomb it is considered as an important discoveries by the archaeologists. By
analyzing the tombs of the mummies it was found that one of the mummies was 18th century old
and was discovered in the Draa Abul Nagaa necropolis near the famed Valley of the Kings. It
was of a nobleman named Userhat. He worked as the city judge. There are eight mummies and
three coffins and the excavation is still in the process (Aljazeera.com, 2020). It is believed that

Assignment on Ancient History
the tomb was opened to add more mummies about 3,000 years ago, 21st Dynasty. This was done
to safe gaurd the treasures of the mummies as at that time the tomb-robbing was very common.
A large amount of Ushabti (small carved figurines), was discovered. It is said that there was
more than 1000 Ushabti and it will unlock more mystery.
Ushabti figurines were known to be kept with the deceased in ancient Egyptian tombs.
This directed the soul to the responsibilities in the afterlife. The team excavated the sarcophagi
that were painted with intricate drawings in dark colors of red, blue, black, green, and yellow.
The carvings were of dead people on it. All the coffins were nicely preserved still many had
deteriorated due to time and pressure.
In the discoveries the archaeologists found a mummy wrapped in linen with white,
orange, green, and patterned pots on the tomb. The tomb is like a T-shaped shaped tomb that has
an open court leading into a rectangular hall, a corridor and an inner chamber. A nine-metre shaft
held the Ushabti figurines, along the wooden masks and a handle of a sarcophagus lid.
This was an important discovery as the excavations talks about the culture, religion,
community and social message that period of time followed. It is evidence that there are huge
amount of new mummies undiscovered. They whole discovering will lead to a clearer picture of
the society of that time. Their history can be unearthed for the new generations to learn about the
achievements of their ancestors.
Part 2
The looting of the National Museum of Iraq was one of the worst man directed acts of
cultural vandalism in 21st century. The first looting started on April 10 2003, when the US-led
invasion of Iraq started a public outcry destroying half of the country. The looters forced entry
into the National Museum of Iraq one by one after the 1st incident. The staff of the museum
vacated the placed two days before the US force advanced in to Baghdad. For next 2 days the
whole museum was ransacked and looted. The collection of antiques dating from 5000 years was
desecrated, damaging the cultural heritage. It was bravery of the staff that they foresighted the
destruction and they successfully removed safely 8,366 artifacts. It is estimated that around
14,000 objects went missing in 36 hours of looting. In the course of time only 7000 items are

Assignment on Ancient History
returned to the museum till date. The lost items included items of thousands years old from
disappeared sites of Middle East. The museum has been rehabilitated opened for the public in
Feb, 2015. The stolen items are sold in the international market at a very high price. Some of the
Artifacts that are easily recognizable are sold in the black market by the mafias. While
recovering the lost items many forged pieces were also discovered and concluded that this was
done to return the forge valuable items and sell the originals abroad. According to some of the
experts the ancient Mesopotamian artifacts are easily available online after the 2003 war.
The stolen artifacts
Some of the museum objects that priced a fortune are considered to be as old as 2070
B.C. These artifacts were excavated in city of Ur. One of them is a fluted gold and lapis bowl
from a royal cemetery in the city of Ur. It is an oval gold or silver vessel with lugs for attaching
handles. It was a significant object of the royal tombs. It has a chased design of twelve-petal
rosette circled with herringbones with zigzags circles the rim at the bowls bottom. It’s a
remarkable piece of creation as gold objects was not possible used except in royal ceremonies as
there is an absence of gold deposits in the southern Mesopotamia. The sources for these precious
metals are said to be Afghanistan, Iran, and Anatolia.
This bowl was used to do the rituals in the royal courtyard in 2070 Bc. The site of ancient
Ur is considered as the important part of the archaeological map of Iraq. At first it was explored
by the British Museum and then, by the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Lapis Lazuli is one
of the most precious stone. It is celestial blue colored stone. It is also a symbol of royalty and
honor. Anything that has to be resembled with gods and power was made with Lapis Lazuli
stone (Lippolis, 2017). All over the ancient world it was a symbol of wisdom and truth. Lapis
Lazuli was highly prized tribute paid to Egypt, obtained from around 4000 B.C.
The Lady of Warka also known as the Mask of Warka dates back to 3100 BC. Most of
the archeologist got struck by its modern look. Something so ancient looking so modern it is also
the earliest most representation of the human face. It is said to be the incarnation of the Goddess
Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, war and beauty. It represented skill of the first
organization of the ancient world and the sophisticated work of labour that defined activities that
of human community of that century. This was the time of revolution for the then human kind.

Assignment on Ancient History
At this period the wheel was invented, the first great agricultural revolution, formation of
language and writing was taking place. The Mask of Warka was a symbol of excellence at that
period of time. Today it has become an object for endless inspiration to artist and scientist. It is a
non measurable treasure that was once lost.
Statue of Assyrian king Argon II is one of the article to be stolen from the museum.
Assyrian sculpture represents the sculpture of the ancient Assyrian states, from 911 to 612 BC. It
was made of stone and gypsum alabaster that is a work of art of Mesopotamia labor. He was the
king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian king is recognized as one of the most important
Neo-Assyrian people due to their role in founding the Assyrian dynasty. This statue represented
symbol power and prosperity. They were like the image of justice, energy, intelligence and
strength along with military accomplishments.
All the statues represent the first Mesopotamia civilization in the world. The artifacts are
not normal, every single piece is made with highest skill and perfection. The precious metals and
stones used to carve the figure is in itself a master piece for appreciation. This represents how
educated, skillful and civilized was the first civilization. The lost treasures are a question to the
people of Iraq as they have lost the reason for their present culture. They are known to carry their
culture and preserve their heritage (Wengrow, 2018). The future of our civilization will never be
able to see some of the lost treasure that could unlock more mysteries of our ancestors.
Part 3
Pericles of Greek
Greek is a land of mystery, power, war and beauty. It was Pericles of Greek who brought
more glory to this land. He was born to Xanthippus, won Persian war and became a hero and his
mother who was a from a powerful Alcmaeonidae family. He was considered as the reason for
the golden age of Athenian culture that dates from 449 to 431 B.C. He brought peace between
Persian and Peloponnesian. He was known as the Greek statesman Pericles, the leader of Athens
from 460–429 B.C. In his reign he formed construction of the Acropolis, Parthenon and
developed a concept of democracy under his rule. He was very rich due to his parents and
ancestors wealth. He gained the wealth and became a pursuer of the arts. In 461, he became the

Assignment on Ancient History
ruler of Athens. He made development and prosperity as his major aim for the nation. He
recaptured Delphi, Samos and the invasion of Megara. He defeated Areopagus and Cimon in the
politics in 462. This event marked the real beginning of Athenian democracy. By 461 Bc he
became the ruler of Athens by seizing helm. The period from 460 to 429 Bc is known as the Age
of Pericles in Ancient Greek history.
Pericles was a lover of arts and literature, he commissioned many construction in Athens
to acquire the reputation the most educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. The
project of Acropolis beautified and protected the city. All his efforts exhibited glory, and
generated work for its people (Smart, 2020). Pericles is also known as populist for fostering
Athenian democracy. After his death due to plague in 429 the strength of the city weakened
giving ac chance for the enemy neighbors like Sparta to seize Athens. Athens is the capital of
Greece and the largest city and the world's oldest cities, recorded to be present since 3,400 years.
Athens has shown the sign of the earliest human presence from 11th and 7th millennium BC.
Our ancestors were rich in culture and heritage. They were the real civilized population that
taught the world appreciate art, design clothes, manufacture utensils and machines. All these
places were a center for the arts, learning and philosophy.
These ancient places of Greek are known to teach the western civilization many
undefined skills. We learned democracy, variant cultural and political knowledge due to their
reign. The historical people taught us rules of economic, finance, industry, political and cultural.
It is said to be the cradle of all these skills. It is called the first civilization to have all the modern
day knowledgeable sophistications. The overall conclusion can be that not only Egypt but along
with it other civilizations were as developed and active as today modern world. They had
commerce, finance, education and scientific development that defined their culture. The old
artifacts dating to that century is an evidence their complex civilization. Politics played the same
important role in carving the history. The descendent and rise of new blood line was the result of
intense politics. By analyzing the case the secret of the age old heritage and culture is unfolded.

Assignment on Ancient History
Reference
Aljazeera.com. (2020). Archaeologists make major discovery in Egypt's Luxor. Retrieved 23
February 2020, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/04/archaeologists-major-
discovery-egypt-luxor-170418132642659.html
BBC News. (2020). Mummies discovered in new Egypt tomb. Retrieved 23 February 2020, from
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41213024
Lippolis, C. (2017). The Iraq Museum in Baghdad.
Smart, A. (2020). Pericles of Athens: Democracy and Empire. In Historians on Leadership and
Strategy (pp. 255-267). Springer, Cham.
Wengrow, D. (2018). What Makes Civilization?: The Ancient Near East and the Future of the
West. Oxford University Press.