London Sightseeing Pass: Westminster Palace and Abbey & St Margaret’s Church continue… August 25, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Air Tickets, Cars, Destination, Ireland, Library, London, Museum, Rail Pass, Scotland, Sightseeing, Tickets, Tour, Trip, Wellington , 5commentsA cult developed around Edward. There were accounts of him healing the sick while he was alive, and rumours of cures at his tomb continued. In 1102 it was opened and his body found incorrupt. After a campaign lasting for decades, Edward the Confessor was canonized in 1161. His body was raised from the tomb before the high altar and replaced in a richly ornamented shrine, the key, sacred focal point of the Abbey. (more…)
The Interior of a New Kingdom Temple April 19, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Egypt, Flight Schedule, Museum, Travel Insurance, Travellers Cheque , add a commentBefore entering the temple, let us again emphasize its image as a “house of god,” because this is the simplest and most useful way to look at it. Consider the temple organized like a human dwelling. There is one part for private living, another for supporting Services, and a third for “public reception.” So with the New Kingdom temple, we have three roughly analogous parts: one where the god lives; another where the preparatory ceremonies (or functions not directly connected with the cult) take place; and the third, which is public, a place where the god and worshiper can meet. In order to avoid confusion it would be better to use the technical names for these three parts : the sanctuary, the hypostyle hall, and the courtyard. (more…)
The Dawn of Moden Archaeology in Egypt continue… April 5, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Egypt, Embassy, Europe, France, Museum, Paris, USA , add a commentEven the Rosetta Stone did not automatically solve the problem. Scholars assumed correctly that the three forms of writing contained the same text, but this was not enough to decipher the Egyptian language in detail. It was here that the figure of Champollion emerged in all his greatness.
Born in France in 1790, Champollion, even as a child, dreamt of deciphering the hieroglyphic signs. He began to study assiduously in order to learn all he could about ancient Egypt and Coptic Egypt. By the time he was twenty-one, Champollion was already a professor at the University of Grenoble and when copies of the Rosetta Stone inscriptions appeared in France, he was among the many scholars who examined them. Although various other European scholars made contributions — particularly the English physician, Thomas Young — it was Champollion who persisted, and after years of indefatigable work, he was able in 1822 to announce the decipherment of the tablet as well as a system for reading hieroglyphic script. (more…)
