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The Medinet Habu Records of the Foreign Wars of Ramesses III is a new translation in metric format, and commentary, of the texts describing the attempted invasions of Egypt by the Sea Peoples and their congeners.

Ultimate control over its design and operations, including its research functions, rests with the Egyptian Armed Forces Engineering Authority. The museum also houses one of the world's biggest archaeological conservation research centres. Both the museum and the conservation centre aim to boost local research on the artefacts, with a target of producing 20 papers each year about their archaeology, preservation and restoration. Armour analysis On the day of Nature's visit, researchers at the organic lab at the conservation research centre are hard at work.

Nicotine, the primary psychoactive agent in tobacco leaves, has led to the widespread use of tobacco, with over one billion smokers globally. This article provides a historical overview of tobacco and discusses tobacco dependence, as well as the biological effects induced by nicotine on mammalian cells. Nicotine induces various biological effects, such as neoangiogenesis, cell division, and proliferation, and it affects neural and non-neural cells through specific pathways downstream of nicotinic receptors (nAChRs). Specific effects mediated by α7 nAChRs are highlighted. Nicotine is highly addictive and hazardous. Public health initiatives should prioritize combating smoking and its associated risks. Understanding nicotine’s complex biological effects is essential for comprehensive research and informed health policies. While potential links between nicotine and COVID-19 severity warrant further investigation, smoking remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Effective public health strategies are vital to promote healthier lifestyles.

Drawing on methods and theories from the history of emotions, this paper examines the Twin Stelae that flank the entrance into Ramses II’s Great Temple at Abu Simbel in order to investigate the feelings associated with ancient Egyptian kingship from an ideological perspective. As the ruler, what was the king himself supposed to feel, and what feelings was he meant to elicit in his subjects? How did the feelings of the king differ from those of his subjects, and how did all these feelings reinforce and reify the institution of kingship and royal power? In order to propose some answers to these complex questions, I offer a close reading of key words and passages on the Stelae, considering the choice of hieroglyphic signs that the artists used to write them, the ways in which the artists depicted these signs, and the context of the words and passages within the inscriptions. I then use the Stelae’s text to consider how ancient viewers were meant to see and experience the monumental façade of the Great Temple.

The combined acquisition of 3D ultrasonic tomography and radar scans is growing for cultural heritage diagnostics. Both methods proved to be efficient in the detection and location of fractures and weaknesses within the investigated artefacts. Although the two techniques are widely applied together, an integrated approach for data interpretation is still missing. We present the results of radar and ultrasonic prospections carried out on the statue of the young Ramses II, an absolute masterpiece of the Egyptian art preserved in the collection of the Museo Egizio of Torino (Italy). Geophysical results are incorporated within the 3D model of the statue retrieved from total station measurements, ground-based and handheld laser scanning. A data integration approach is then proposed for the joint interpretation of the geophysical results, exploiting the final ultrasonic velocity model and radar attribute analysis (i.e. local dissimilarity computation) to define a combined damage index. The proposed methodology is efficient in fracture detection and location and improves the readability of the final results also for non-expert geophysical interpreters, offering guidance to the museum for preservation and restoration of the masterpiece.

Obelisks presented an important element in the architecture of ancient Egypt. This research is concerned with the re-erection of an obelisk that belongs to the famous Pharoah Ramses II. It was found broken and was transported to the Grand Egyptian Museum for restoration and display. An observation of Ramses II Cartouche at the bottom side of the obelisk base inspired the authorities to provide an innovative architectural design to display the obelisk elevated. The supporting structure was designed to allow the visitors to walk underneath the obelisk and observe Ramses II's signature. The idea of elevating the obelisk presented several challenges including evaluating the obelisk's current condition, restoration and fixation methodology, structural stability, and uncertainties of material characteristics, amongst others. To control the obelisk deformations under lateral loading, state-of-the-art base isolators were introduced. For the task to be achieved, a multidisciplinary team including historians, conservators, archaeologists, architects, and engineers with different specialties was appointed. The team performed the task successfully and currently, the obelisk stands at the entrance piazza of the Grand Egyptian Museum representing the world’s first elevated obelisk.

A field intercomparison was conducted at the Acqua Alta Oceanographic Tower (AAOT) in the northern Adriatic Sea, from 9 to 19 July 2018 to assess differences in the accuracy of in- and above-water radiometer measurements used for the validation of ocean colour products. Ten measurement systems were compared. Prior to the intercomparison, the absolute radiometric calibration of all sensors was carried out using the same standards and methods at the same reference laboratory. Measurements were performed under clear sky conditions, relatively low sun zenith angles, moderately low sea state and on the same deployment platform and frame (except in-water systems). The weighted average of five above-water measurements was used as baseline reference for comparisons. For downwelling irradiance ( E d ), there was generally good agreement between sensors with differences of <6% for most of the sensors over the spectral range 400 nm–665 nm. One sensor exhibited a systematic bias, of up to 11%, due to poor cosine response. For sky radiance ( L s k y ) the spectrally averaged difference between optical systems was <2.5% with a root mean square error (RMS) <0.01 mWm−2 nm−1 sr−1. For total above-water upwelling radiance ( L t ), the difference was <3.5% with an RMS <0.009 mWm−2 nm−1 sr−1. For remote-sensing reflectance ( R r s ), the differences between above-water TriOS RAMSES were <3.5% and <2.5% at 443 and 560 nm, respectively, and were <7.5% for some systems at 665 nm. Seabird-Hyperspectral Surface Acquisition System (HyperSAS) sensors were on average within 3.5% at 443 nm, 1% at 560 nm, and 3% at 665 nm. The differences between the weighted mean of the above-water and in-water systems was <15.8% across visible bands. A sensitivity analysis showed that E d accounted for the largest fraction of the variance in R r s , which suggests that minimizing the errors arising from this measurement is the most important variable in reducing the inter-group differences in R r s . The differences may also be due, in part, to using five of the above-water systems as a reference. To avoid this, in situ normalized water-leaving radiance ( L w n ) was therefore compared to AERONET-OC SeaPRiSM L w n as an alternative reference measurement. For the TriOS-RAMSES and Seabird-HyperSAS sensors the differences were similar across the visible spectra with 4.7% and 4.9%, respectively. The difference between SeaPRiSM L w n and two in-water systems at blue, green and red bands was 11.8%. This was partly due to temporal and spatial differences in sampling between the in-water and above-water systems and possibly due to uncertainties in instrument self-shading for one of the in-water measurements.

Recent results within the framework of the collaborative project The Complete Geophysical Survey of the Valley of the Kings (VOK) (Luxor, Egypt) are reported in this article. In October 2018, a team of geomatics and geophysics researchers coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Turin worked side by side in the VOK. Topographic measurements in support of geophysical surveys and the achievement of a very large-scale 3D map of the Eastern VOK were the two main objectives of the geomatics campaign. Innovative 3D metric technologies and methods, based on terrestrial laser scanning (both static and mobile) and close-range photogrammetry were employed by the Geomatics team. The geophysical campaign focused on the acquisition of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and high spatial density Geomagnetic (GM) data. ERT new data around KV62, both inverted in 2D sections and added to the previous ones to perform a new global 3D inversion, confirm the previous results showing both conductive and resistive anomalies that have to be explained. GPR timeslices showed some interesting features in the area in front of the KV2 entrance where GM gradient map also presents localized anomalies. In the area SSW of the KV2 the GM gradient maps evidenced also a large semicircular anomaly which, up to now, has no explanation. The potentialities of using magnetic techniques as a complement to other non-invasive techniques in the search for structures of archeological significance have been explored. The application of modern and innovative methods of 3D metric survey enabled to achieve a complete 3D mapping of what is currently visible in the valley. The integration of 2D/3D mapping data concerning visible elements and hypothetical anomalies, together with the recovering in the same global reference system of underground documentation pertaining to the Theban Mapping Project, prefigure the enhancement of multi-temporal site representation. This strategy enables the fruition development of the already discovered archaeological heritage, using modern criteria of valorization and conservation.

Egyptian temples are profusely decorated with scenes showing the pharaoh performing animal sacrifices, offering food, or presenting various objects with symbolic value. In this last case, the image of what is offered is usually easy to identify, but the image alone is not sufficient to explain the purpose of the offering. Texts accompanying the offering scene explain the role of the pharaoh and gods involved, the nature of the offering, and its role based on mythological events and their theological interpretation. Some lists of materia sacra, unfortunately, almost all from the Hellenistic or Roman period, give information of this kind but in a very laconic form. In some cases, the offered object is not immediately recognisable. Discovering its identity as a real object, then as a symbolic one, leads to revealing its apparent multiplicity of roles and even materialities. The example of the object called mnpḥ is particularly illustrative in this respect. It is an oryx skin, but it was also regarded as a cloth and as a part of boats belonging to different gods. This article aims at explaining the logic that links these different roles.

The Heliopolis temple is considered one of the most important temples of ancient Egypt, as it was built at the beginning of the dynastic era and continued until the Greco-Roman era, moreover every Egyptian king during that period was keen to establish his own part inside this temple dedicated to the worship of the sun god Ra, Unfortunately, most of the features of this temple have disappeared for urban sprawl.One of the most important remaining parts of Heliopolis Temple is the remains of the stone entrance gate of King Ramses Ill, which was discovered by Professor Dr. Abdel Aziz Saleh during excavations at Cairo University in 1974. The site of the Heliopolis Temple is one of the most important archaeological sites that tell us an important part of the history of modern state. The site contains valuable and unique stone monuments such as a stone statue in the shape of the Sphinx and a number of unique stone pieces such as a stone pillar, two limestone cornices, and others pieces that are considered the architectural elements of the gate, and the site was called (Abo Alhol) due to the presence of a statue of the Sphinx. This study aims to determine the actual state of the remains of the stone pieces of King Ramses 5 Gate as a starting point for developing a plan to restore and rebuild this gate. In addition to some examinations and analyses that were achieved through field studies such as visual examination, recording field observations, monitoring the climatic elements at the site. Furthermore, determining the nature of the soil and its relationship to the remains of the archaeological temple. Upon closer investigation with a polarizing and digital microscope, two types of limestone are discovered, Wacke stone is the first kind, mudstone is the second, and the Halite salt crystals appear on the sample surfaces. SEM investigation were used to determine the grain morphology and surface damage aspects. To identify the crystalline mineral components, calcite, quartz, gypsum, and halite, XRD analysis had been performed. The study concluded that the remains of the archaeological site were damaged as a consequence of direct contact with the soil and the saline environment. The analyses showed that the remains of the stone gate stones consist of calcite and a small percentage of gypsum and halite salts. The limestone was classified according to the petrographic study into three types: Fossiliferous limestone, packed biomicrite, and sparse biomicrite.