On January 17, Egypt's tourism and antiquities ministry announced that a team of archaeologists had discovered an astonishing number of decorated coffins at the Unesco World Heritage site of Saqqara, near Cairo. Displayed proudly, the 50 wooden coffins looked magnificent: rendered in human form and with bright, colourful and sharp depictions of the mortuary gods of the ancient Egyptian pantheon.
For the Egypt-obsessed, such a discovery was exactly what was needed to distract from an endlessly Covid-19-filled news cycle. Ironically, despite their deep age, the coffins heralded progress, newness – the passage of time when life for so many during this pandemic is tired and repetitive.
The discovery was not wholly unanticipated, despite the fresh excitement. Lovers of Netflix will be aware that the streaming giant presented a documentary on finds made at Saqqara in 2018. And, in a press conference announcing the discovery of almost 100 coffins – some with mummies inside – in November 2020, archaeologists had hinted that yet another discovery at Saqqara would be announced “soon”. And it was.
The 50 coffins were found in 52 burial shafts at quite significant depths (between 10m and 12m – well over the height of a two-storey house) and belong to one of the most famous periods of Egyptian history, the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC).
This latter detail is particularly interesting because although the New Kingdom boasted legendary pharaohs such as Hatshepsut and Ramesses II, splendidly interred in Thebes, some 675 km to the south, the inhabitants of these coffins had decided to spend eternity located in Saqqara, near a pyramid belonging to an Old Kingdom pharaoh named Teti – the first king of the Sixth Dynasty, who reigned Egypt some 750 years earlier (2300-2181 BC).
It was not unusual for individuals of the later dynasties to choose burial locations close to the graves of earlier kings. Egyptians considered the aura of sacred power to be cumulative, and potent. And nowhere was Pharaonic power more manifest than in Saqqara. Its most well-known monument is the famous Step pyramid of Djoser, one of the earliest pyramids in Egypt and a prototype for the Giza pyramids. Saqqara's sacred appeal was such that it boasts over 15 pyramids and numerous other burial sites, all of which imbue the landscape with layers of divine power.
Nevertheless, as so many New Kingdom elites and royals were buried in Thebes, much of our knowledge about the period comes from there. Last month’s discoveries are important for archaeologists and historians because they will provide us with new information about life and death in the New Kingdom. As the team’s director, Dr Zahi Hawass, also noted, the coffins demonstrate that Teti was perceived as important even at that later date.
It is also great news because new discoveries generate valuable PR for Egypt, whose heritage-dependent economy has been suffering under the dual challenges of recovery from political instability since 2011 and Covid-19 since 2020. Reports suggest that Egypt is losing up to $1 billion per month due to the downturn of the tourism sector – a loss it can scarcely afford.
As this trend is unlikely to change any time soon, perhaps the more significant element of this discovery is not what was found, but who found it.
Many of the recent discoveries at Saqqara were made by an all-Egyptian team, with not a westerner in sight. Such teams are common across Egypt but are often grossly undervalued by – and relative to – their white, foreign counterparts. That is a shame particularly because while Egyptian artefacts are legacies of world history, they are most intimately legacies of Egyptian history. The absence of any focus on local people is another trend that is in dire need of reversing.
It also brings another issue to mind: I cannot help but wonder whether discoveries such as these exacerbate archaeologists’ shared and rather unhealthy obsession with excavating new archaeological “things”.
Perhaps the more significant element of this discovery is not what was found, but who found it
Of course, by its very nature, archaeology is a thing-centred industry. But its intellectual landscape is constantly changing. We are learning to distinguish when and when not to conduct excavations, particularly if they are targetting archaeological material that's proximate to what we already have (as in this case) or if the site is located within someone's land (which it is not, in this case).
As much as archaeologists are often taught otherwise, archaeology isn’t just about digging up everything that’s there.
This kind of over-excavating is arguably symptomatic of the way archaeology is funded. Antiquities ministries within national governments such as Egypt’s are chronically underfunded. The archaeologists that do get government funding are often expected to “discover” something visually spectacular.
Western archaeologists are also expected to generate their own budgets, and therefore in turn apply to their own governments and councils, many of which also emphasise the unearthing of material goods. Public interest in and consumption of the material past ensures this wheel keeps turning.
But “things” are only props in a place’s history. The people who inhabit it are what make it – the people then and the people now. The headlines for what we find in Egypt can go far beyond the objects, if we let them. They can be about the antiquities trade, community archaeology projects or the use of archaeology in diplomacy. They can be about not just what we find, but why we find it.
Dr Rebecca Bradshaw is an archaeologist and conflict researcher
Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
MATCH INFO
Uefa Nations League
League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Skoda Superb Specs
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse
more from Janine di Giovanni
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
