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• UNESCO has removed the Abu Mena archaeological site in Alexandria – an ancient location for Christian pilgrimage – from the World Heritage in Danger List following work to reinforce key structures and the installation of a groundwater management system.
• Twenty-two massive blocks from the Lighthouse of Alexandria have been extracted from the seabed, together with elements of a previously unknown structure that included a pylon.
• Polish researchers have discovered a salty palaeolake in the Bayuda Desert in Sudan which was a source of natron for mummification and for glass and ceramic production.
• Traces of Yersinia pestis have been found in a mummy from the Museo Egizio in Turin – the first evidence for the presence of bubonic plague in ancient Egypt.
• Scientists at Washington State University have discovered how to recreate ‘Egyptian Blue’ after testing 12 different recipes.
• A 4,000-year-old handprint has been found on the base of a clay soul house that was being prepared for an upcoming exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (see here).
Text: Sarah Griffiths / Image: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, CC BY 2.0 via Wikicommons
