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Daily Mail
a day ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Unravelling the mystery of Egypt's forgotten FEMALE Pharaoh: Scientists reconstruct the shattered visage of Queen Hatshepsut
Of all of ancient Egypt 's pharaohs, Hatshepsut is perhaps the most unfairly overlooked. An early pioneer of 'girl power', as a young woman she made the unusual move of crowning herself king and co-ruled Egypt for about 20 years. By the time of her death in 1458 BC, Hatshepsut had presided over her kingdom's most peaceful and prosperous period in generations. According to legend, evidence of her success was soon erased or reassigned to her male forbears – with her statues shattered and destroyed. But a new study now suggests that Hatshepsut was not quite as hated among her male successors as history has made out. An expert at the University of Toronto thinks statues of Hatshepsut – who was king and queen at the same time – were only destroyed so their materials could be reused. 'Hatshepsut was a prolific builder of monuments, and her reign saw great innovations in the artistic realm,' Jun Yi Wong, an Egyptologist at the University of Toronto, told MailOnline. 'My research indicates that a large proportion of the destruction to Hatshepsut's statues was actually caused by the reuse of these statues as raw material.' Hatshepsut ruled Egypt during the Eighteenth Dynasty, which is considered one of the most prosperous and powerful periods in ancient Egyptian history. Her remains were found in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in 1930, although they were not formally identified until 2007. Despite her successful reign lasting two decades, history has largely forgotten Queen Hatshepsut, who was a powerful woman in a man's world. Many monuments of her were destroyed, so images of her represented as a woman are extremely rare. But during the 1920s, excavations at the archaeological site of Deir el-Bahri in Luxor, Egypt found many fragmented statues of Hatshepsut. In the century since, this damage has traditionally been seen as a violent act carried out by her nephew and successor, Thutmose III. However, according to Dr Wong, many of the statues actually survived in relatively good condition, with their faces virtually intact. This challenges the idea that the destruction was motivated by Thutmose III's animosity towards Hatshepsut. To determine the true motivation behind the destruction of those that were found in fragments, Dr Wong examined unpublished field notes, drawings, photos and correspondences from the excavations in the 1920s. Who was Hatshepsut? Hatshepsut (c. 1505–1458 BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The daughter of Thutmose I, she became queen of Egypt when she married her half-brother, Thutmose II, when they were in their early teens. After Thutmose II's death, Hatshepsut initially acted as regent for his young son, Thutmose III, before eventually declaring herself pharaoh and co-ruling Egypt with him. By the time of her death in 1458 BC, Hatshepsut had presided over her kingdom's most peaceful and prosperous period in generations. His findings, published in Antiquity, indicate that many of the statues sustained damage that was done in a specific, methodical way – not caused by Thutmose III. Rather than being smashed haphazardly as if in anger, analysis suggested they were broken across their weak points – the neck, waist and knees. Many of the strategically broken-up statues were reused in later periods as building materials and tools. The historic practice, known as 'deactivation', was intended to neutralise any perceived worship or reverence towards a pharaoh that no longer reigns or exists. As he explains, damage to the statues took place largely as a result of their 'ritual deactivation' and subsequent reuse rather than malicious destruction. 'In other words, this treatment does not necessarily denote hostility towards the depicted individual,' said Dr Wong. As a result, we can assume Hatshepsut was treated in death more like her male predecessors than previously thought However, Dr Wong does acknowledge that there was the campaign of persecution against Hatshepsut – and it's possible at least some of this destruction was intended to damage Hatshepsut's legacy. 'Unlike the other rulers, Hatshepsut did suffer a programme of persecution, and its wider political implications cannot be overstated,' he said. 'Yet, there is room for a more nuanced understanding of Thutmose III's actions, which were perhaps driven by ritual necessity rather than outright antipathy.' American egyptologist and author Kara Cooney has called Hatshepsut 'the most formidable and successful woman to ever rule in the Western ancient world'. The only daughter of Thutmose I, one of ancient Egypt's most successful warrior kings, Hatshepsut attained unprecedented power for a woman. She was born into a society in which the crown was passed from father to son and royal children were expected to marry their siblings. In an unprecedented move, Hatshepsut assumed the title of king and exercised the full powers of the throne as senior co-ruler with Thutmose. She changed her name from the female version Hatshepsut – which means Foremost of the Noble Ladies – to the male version, Hatshepsu. To cement her position as the first female ruler, she donned the traditional clothes, head-dress and even the false beard traditionally worn by male pharaohs of Egypt. She made a name for herself due to being a female pharaoh, but also expanding trade, commissioning many building projects and largely keeping peace. She is thought to have reigned with little opposition for more than two decades before dying, said to be from bone cancer, in around 1458 BC. WHAT IS EGYPT'S VALLEY OF THE KINGS? The Valley of the Kings in upper Egypt is one of the country's main tourist attractions and is the famous burial ground of many deceased pharaohs. It is located near the ancient city of Luxor on the banks of the river Nile in eastern Egypt - 300 miles (500km) away from the pyramids of Giza, near Cairo. The majority of the pharaohs of the 18th to 20th dynasties, who ruled from 1550 to 1069 BC, rested in the tombs which were cut into the local rock. The royal tombs are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues as to the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period. Almost all of the tombs were opened and looted centuries ago, but the sites still give an idea of the opulence and power of the Pharaohs. The most famous pharaoh at the site is Tutankhamun, whose tomb was discovered in 1922. Preserved to this day, in the tomb are original decorations of sacred imagery from, among others, the Book of Gates or the Book of Caverns. These are among the most important funeral texts found on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Science
- Forbes
The Evolution Of Timekeeping: From Sundials To MEMS
Markus Lutz is CTO and Founder of SiTime Corporation. He is a MEMS expert, a prolific entrepreneur and inventor who holds over 100 patents. If there is one thing that modern society has in common with its ancient ancestors, it is the desire to measure time. Whether it's finding common ground between daylight saving time and standard time or tracking the sun's movement, humans have always looked for ways to develop timekeeping methods and track seasons, whether for agricultural reasons or religious celebrations. Scientists refer to this need to measure time as time consciousness, and humans have been chasing this need to track the hours and seasons for more than 5,000 years. One of the earliest signs of timekeeping was discovered in 2013 when researchers found an ancient sundial in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Over the millennia, the ability to measure time has become increasingly precise, driven by technological and societal advancements that have shaped the rise of civilizations around the world. If sundials revolutionized time measurement in the 1400s BC, quartz brought timekeeping into the 20th century and silicon brought it into the 21st century. The Role Of Precision Time Measurement Modern time measurement is dependent on oscillators, which work as the heartbeat of the clock. The earliest clocks to use mechanical oscillators were pendulum clocks, based on observations recorded by Galileo. The first successful pendulum clock was built in 1657 and improved precision from minutes to mere seconds per day. For the first time, mechanical clocks became more reliable than the astronomical observations that had been used for centuries and generally lost 15 seconds per day. In the 1880s, brothers Pierre and Jacques Curie discovered that quartz crystals can generate a consistent electrical signal when subjected to mechanical stress. It took until 1927 to see the invention of the quartz crystal oscillator and the ability to apply an electric charge to induce precise vibrations at a stable frequency. Quartz crystal resonators harnessed this effect, and the new quartz clock provided a level of consistency far superior to mechanical timekeepers. By the 1970s, quartz technology dominated electronic timekeeping, powering wristwatches, household clocks, computers and telecommunications systems—where precise synchronization was crucial. In the never-ending search for the most accurate and precise time measurement system, researchers began to explore silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) as a replacement for quartz, given how susceptible it can be to environmental stressors, including temperature, vibration and shock. By the early 21st century, silicon MEMS oscillators began being commercialized, building a new foundation of precision timing solutions offered by companies like Microchip, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices and SiTime, where I am the founder and CTO. Advantages Of Silicon MEMS Technology MEMS starts with the word micro, and this offers an advantage over crystal oscillators. In this case, a silicon MEMS can create oscillators the size of small semiconductor chips. The small size means the ability to be used in more applications, creating more timekeeping devices. Silicon is also more customizable and scalable than crystal and is manufactured to meet very specific demands. Silicon MEMS is also more environmentally resistant. As mentioned, quartz oscillators are susceptible to extreme temperature changes and other factors. More locations are now vulnerable to these extreme shifts—40- or 50-degree swings in temperature in a matter of hours are not uncommon. An increasing number of devices that rely on time measurement also rely on infrastructure like cell towers that are impacted by extreme weather. However, it isn't just the outside environment. Because of the energy consumption required by servers, data centers generate a lot of heat that impacts the performance quality of oscillators. The same scenario applies to industrial plants with high-tech machinery that produce excessive heat. At the other extreme, the aerospace and defense industries need to battle temperatures that plunge hundreds of degrees below zero while ensuring that the time measurement systems in airplanes, satellites and rockets remain accurate. Transitioning To New Applications And Innovations AI and edge computing are the buzz in technology right now because they are changing the way we do everything. Both AI and edge computing require precision timing technologies, and silicon-based MEMS clocks and oscillators can play a pivotal role in the synchronization of systems. Quartz-based device oscillators have played an important role in timekeeping for nearly 100 years, but quartz's limitations and inability to remain accurate outside of stable environmental conditions make it a less desirable choice for a variety of electronic systems. It comes down to this one bit of research: Crystal oscillators have a mean time between failure of approximately 30 million hours, while silicon MEMS is reliable for over 500 million hours. This suggests MEMS-based timing solutions can offer longer operational lifespans in some use cases like AI, edge computing and autonomous systems. Advances in technology to support AI and edge computing will likely drive a shift away from quartz timing and begin the era of silicon MEMS and precision timing. Key Considerations When Selecting Precision Timing Devices While silicon MEMS timing solutions bring notable benefits in areas like reliability, size and environmental robustness, quartz technology continues to play an important role in specific use cases. For example, quartz oscillators may offer lower phase noise at certain frequencies and remain a practical choice for maintaining compatibility with legacy systems. Additionally, their established presence in global supply chains can make them a cost-efficient option for high-volume, less performance-intensive applications. As timing technologies evolve, selecting the right solution depends on the unique demands of each design. Choosing the right precision timing components is critical to system performance and reliability. Key factors to evaluate include frequency stability, phase noise, jitter, power consumption, size, temperature tolerance, cost, underlying technology and supplier support. A highly stable frequency ensures consistent accuracy across varying conditions, while low phase noise and jitter are essential for reliable performance and precise data synchronization. Low power consumption is vital for energy efficiency, especially in portable or thermally constrained designs, and compact form factors are preferred for space-limited applications. Finally, selecting a trusted supplier with strong technical support and long-term availability ensures continuity throughout the product lifecycle. By carefully weighing these parameters, designers can choose timing solutions that deliver long-term accuracy, synchronization and operational reliability. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
