Esna Temple

Esna The “town of the fish"

 The town of Esna (Ta-senet to the ancient Egyptians and Latopolis to the Greeks).
Its name Ta-senet and Latopolis means “town of the fish” where the Nile perch was worshiped.
The agricultural town of Esna is on the west bank of the Nile 55km south of Luxor. Cruise boats often make this town their first port of call after leaving Luxor to visit the remains of a Ptolemaic temple in the centre of the town.

The temple was built almost nine metres below ground level and although the hypostyle hall was excavated by Marriett, the rest of the temple is still buried underneath the modern town. As a result the temple appears to sit in a large pit hollowed out from the town.
it was dedicated to the god Khnum and several other deities, including Neith, Heka, Satet and Menheyet.
 Esna Temple would once have been built to a plan similar to the temples at Edfu and Dendera but all that now remains is the hypostyle hall which was built by the Roman Emperor Claudius who extended earlier buildings. The oldest part of the structure seen today is the west (back) wall which would have been the façade of the original temple, depicting reliefs of Ptolemy VI Philometer and Ptolemy VIII Neos Philopator. The earliest king mentioned here is Ptolemy V, who is being offered a libation by his son Ptolemy VII. The part of the temple we see today is around a quarter of the size of the original building.
The roof of the hypostyle hall is still intact, supported by 24 columns each with varied floral capitals. They are decorated with texts describing the religious festivals of the town and several Roman emperors before the gods. One of the columns shows the Emperor Trajan dancing before the goddess Menheyet. Another nearby temple which was also mentioned in the texts, has been excavated at Kom Mer, south of Esna.

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Gebel Silsila

Gebel Silsila is the name given to a rocky gorge between Kom Ombo and Edfu where the River Nile narrows and high sandstone cliffs come right down to the water’s edge. There was probably a series of rapids here in ancient times, dangerous to navigate, which naturally formed a frontier between the regions of Elephantine (Aswan) and Edfu. In Pharaonic times the river here was known as Khennui, the ‘place of rowing’. On the West bank there is a tall column of rock which has been dubbed ‘The Capstan’ because of a local legend which claims there was once a chain (Silsila in Arabic) which ran from the East to the West Banks. Arthur Weigall in his ‘Antiquities of Egypt’ states that the name Silsileh, is a Roman corruption of the original Egyptian name for the town, Khol-Khol, meaning a barrier or frontier.

 

 It is hardly surprising that by Dynasty XVIII, travellers had developed the custom of carving small shrines into the cliffs here, dedicating them to a variety of Nile gods and to the river itself. Smaller shrines were cut by Tuthmose I, Hatshepsut and Tuthmose III, before Horemheb constructed his rock-cut temple here, then many of the Dynasty XIX or later kings left their mark in some way. Gebel Silsila became an important cult centre and each year at the beginning of the season of inundation offerings and sacrifices were made to the gods associated with the Nile to ensure the country’s wellbeing for the coming year.

 On both banks of the Nile the massive quarries produced the sandstone needed for the prolific construction of monuments during Dynasty XVIII, at first in small quantities and as the skills of the workmen grew, the stone was more extensively quarried to build great monuments such as the colonnade of Amenhotep III at Luxor, the Karnak Temple of Amenhotep IV, the Ramesseum and Medinet Habu, to name but a few. By Ptolemaic times most of the Upper Egyptian temples contained monuments built from Gebel Silsila sandstone. Because of the sanctity of the site, the sandstone was considered to have an extra holiness.
Gebel Silsila West
The steep sandstone cliffs of the West Bank are cluttered with grafitti, shrines and stelae, including 33 rock chapels. Dynasty XVIII saw the construction of shrines by Tuthmose I, Hatshepsut, Tuthmose III and Horemheb and in Dynasty XIX, Rameses II, Merenptah, Siptah, Seti II, Rameses III and Rameses V had elaborate stelae carved on the rocks. Seti I left an inscribed Hymn to the Nile and inaugurated two festivals, which were continued to be endowed by Rameses II and Merenptah.

The most prominent deity depicted here appears to be Sobek the crocodile god, ‘Lord of Khennui’, who with Haroeris (Horus the Elder) is one of the twin gods of Kom Ombo. Hapi as god of the Nile also received a large share of offerings. The site’s proximity to Aswan meant that the Triad of Elephantine, Khnum, Satet and Anuket were worshipped here. Tauret the hippopotamus goddess is also featured at Gebel Silsila, especially in the Speos of Horemheb.

Towards the southern end of the west bank of the river, three shrines were constructed by Merenptah, Rameses II and Seti I (from north to south), with a quay in front of them, but Seti’s shrine and the quay were destroyed by an earthquake. These shrines are now most easily accessible by boat. To the north, sheer quarried rock faces that look like sliced blocks of cheese, contain mason’s marks, artisans’ drawings and other evidence of ancient workings. A rock-cut staircase leads hopefully up one side of these cliffs, only to vanish at the top leaving you almost stranded. There is, however a rough rocky path that leads past ‘The Capstan’ and on to the royal shrines.

The first monument here is a large rock stele at right-angles to the river, built by Rameses III and dated to Year VI of his reign. The first of the royal shines was built in the first year of Merenptah and like the other two was recessed deep into the rock behind two columns and a cornice. The king is seen worshipping a variety of gods and the inscription depicts a Hymn to the Nile. To the south is a small stele of Merenptah on which the king offers a figure of Ma’at to Amun-re. Behind him stands the Vizier Panahesy and another official. Sadly in June 2012, the lower part of this stele has been badly damaged by thieves attempting to remove it from the rock.

The second shrine belongs to the early reign of Rameses II and also shows the king worshipping several deities. Queen Nefertari is seen before a figure of the hippopotamus goddess Tauret who is dressed in a very unusual robe. To the south of the Rameses shrine is another small stele to Merenptah on which the King is joined by the High Priest of Amun, Roy. A small figure of King Amenhotep I stands beside this stele.

The third shrine and the earliest in the group was mostly destroyed by an earthquake. It was built for Seti I and seems to have been in a similar style to the other two royal shrines.

Further north, the visitor can see the majority of rock-shrines, some with elaborate chapels containing statues of the owners and with beautiful decorated ceilings. Many of these shrines have been damaged by quarrying or earthquakes and are now open to the elements, but they can be seen from the wide path that runs along the river bank. The shrines belong to high officials, priests, royal scribes and nobles of the time. There is also a Dynasty XVIII tomb belonging to Sennefer, a libation priest from Thebes who was buried here with his wife Hatshepsut. The tomb is now open to the sky, and the remains of five seated statues as well as hieroglyphic inscriptions can be seen, close to the water’s edge.

At the northern extent of the quarries there are three large rock-stelae carved for Rameses V, Shoshenq I and Rameses III (from north to south). The stele of Rameses V, one of his largest known monuments, contains an inscription dedicated to Amun-Re, Mut, Khons and Sobek-Re of Khennui. Shoshenq’s stela tells of how the king quarried here for his building works at Karnak in year 21 of his reign. On the stele of Rameses III, the king is seen offering a statue of ma’at to Amun-Re, Mut and Khons.
The Speos of Horemheb
Horemheb was the last king of Dynasty XVIII and he carved a much larger rock-chapel, or speos, out of the hillside at the northern end of the site. The chapel was dedicated to Amun-Re as well as other deities that were connected to the River Nile.

The monument consists of a façade of five doorways separated by pillars of differing widths, behind which is a long transverse hall with vaulted roof and a smaller oblong chamber, the sanctuary, to the rear. All the walls are covered in reliefs and inscriptions, in some places quite damaged, but in others there are some very fine high quality reliefs. Horemheb himself never finished the speos, and the decoration was later completed by subsequent kings and nobles who carved their own stelae and inscriptions on the walls.

The deities depicted on the walls, besides Amun-re, are Sobek in the form of a crocodile, the ram-headed god Khnum of the First Cataract, Satet of Elephantine, Anuket, goddess of Sehel, Tauret as a hippopotamus and Hapi, god of the Nile. As well as those of Horemheb, cartouches of Rameses II, Merenptah, Amenemesse, Seti II, Siptah and Rameses III appear in the reliefs.

On the southern end wall, the benevolent goddess Tauret is seen in rare human form, suckling the young King Horemheb. Behind her is a damaged figure of Khnum and to her left, Amun-Re and Sobek of Kennui.

The western wall depicts one of the most noted reliefs of Horemheb, the king’s ‘Triumphal Procession’ after his victory in Nubia. Horemheb is shown seated on a portable lion-chair which is carried by twelve soldiers wearing plumes of feathers. At the front and back of the king are his fan-bearers, protecting Pharaoh from the sun. His entourage include rows of priests, soldiers, a trumpeter and several groups of captured prisoners, all depicted in a very natural style, almost echoing some of the Amarna Period reliefs. The inscription above the king extols his victory over the people of Kush.

Another important relief here depicts a list of four Heb-sed festivals of Rameses II in the 30th, 34th, 37th and 40th years of his reign, which were supervised by his eldest son, Prince Khaemwaset. This prince, renowned for his priestly wisdom as well as his restoration works, appears in several places in the chapel, along with his mother Queen Asetnefert and Princess Bentanta, as well as other favoured officials of the reign. Khaemwaset presumably died before the 42nd jubilee of Rameses II was celebrated at Gebel Silsila as this was conducted by the Vizier Khay, who also has a presence in the speos. Merenptah, the son and successor of Rameses II is depicted on a stele with his wife Asetnefert and his Vizier Panehesy adoring Amun-Re and Mut.

 On the northern end wall there is a niche with six figures cut in high relief, depicting (from west to east) the Vizier Panehesy, the goddess Ma’at, a male relation Amennakht, a female relation ‘Songstress of Hathor’, the god Ptah and finally Ra’y, a female relation with the title ‘Songstress of Re’. This is a rare relief where a private family is seen in the presence of the gods. Many other stelae and reliefs line the walls of the hall, giving the names of Dynasty XIX kings and their officials.

The sanctuary to the rear of the vaulted hall contains seven very damaged figures which are said to depict Sobek, Tauret, Mut, Amen-Re, Khons, Horemheb and Thoth. The side walls show a wide variety of gods and demi-gods, while the walls inside the doorway have reliefs of the Elephantine Triad, Khnum, Satet and Anuket as well as Osiris and the scorpion goddess Selkhet. Tauret presides over a symbolical representation of the union of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Gebel Silsila East
The east bank of the Nile contains the more spectacular quarries of Gebel Silsila which were most exploited during the New Kingdom, particularly under Rameses II, who employed three thousand workers to cut stone for the construction of the Ramesseum on the west bank at Thebes. Many shrines and stelae were cut into the rock here too and the names of kings who worked the quarries are attested by their officials who gave detailed accounts of their work.

 The inscription on a large stele of Amenhotep III records the transport of stone for the construction of a temple of Ptah. His son Amenhotep IV, who later became Akhenaten, also has a stele here on which he worships Amun and records that he quarried stone for an obelisk to be erected in his Temple of the Sun at Karnak. Stelae of Seti I and King Apries can also be seen. Among the grottos and shelves of quarried sandstone, several unfinished sphinxes remain, of both the ram and human-headed variety, forever rooted to the bedrock. At the foot of the hills, there are a number of small rock-cut tombs. Rameses II built a temple at Gebel Silsila East, but this has now been destroyed.

Unfortunately, the east bank quarries are now officially closed to visitors without special permission.

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El-Kab | A tour from Luxor

On the east bank of the Nile 100km south of Luxoris one of the oldest settlements of Upper Egypt. The ancient town of Nekheb was called Eleithyiaspolis in classical times and comprises of monuments spanning periods of Egyptian history from Predynastic through to Ptolemaic. El-Kab and its sister site of Hierakonpolis on the west bank of the river were the home of Nekbet, the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt.

 Driving south along the road between Luxor and Aswan the visitor comes first upon the huge mudbrick walls of the town enclosure, 12m thick, which still contain within them the ruins of temples, cemeteries and a sacred lake. The central temple is the oldest of the remains, with its origins possibly dating to the Early Dynastic Period. Of the two ruined structures remaining today, the Temple of Thoth was begun by Amenhotep II in Dynasty XVIII and enlarged by later New Kingdom pharaohs. A contiguous monument, a larger Temple of Nekhbet built during the Late Period, partly overlays the older structure and many blocks from the Middle and New Kingdoms have been re-used. It is difficult to make out the plan of monuments within the town site as the inside is very overgrown and confusing, but the remains of a birth-house and a small Roman temple can still be seen. One interesting feature is the drainage system which is exposed in front of the second pylon of the Nekhbet Temple.

 

A short distance away on the other side of the road are several rock-cut tombs, ranged on a terrace in the side of the cliff at the entrance to the Wadi Hellal. These are the burial places of New Kingdom officials of the region and are now open to visitors. The style of the early New Kingdom wall-paintings is similar to those of the nobles tombs from the same period at 

Thebes. Tomb of Ahmose Pennekhbet (EK2)
Ahmose Pennekhbet was ‘Overseer of the Seal’ in early Dynasty XVIII. Biographical texts and portrayals of Ahmose with his son and other relatives can be seen around the door jambs.
Tomb of Paheri (EK3)

 

 Paheri was a Mayor of Nekheb during Dynasty XVIII. The well-preserved paintings in his tomb show scenes of offerings at his funeral procession and agricultural scenes of daily life. In a niche in the rear wall is a statue of Paheri with his wife and mother.
Tomb of Setau (EK4)

    

Setau was a priest in the service of Nekhbet during the reign of Rameses III. On the outside wall of his tomb is a stela showing Setau and his wife adoring Re-Horakhty and Khepri. The paintings inside show the tomb-owner with his relatives in various offering scenes and a depiction of the Barque of Nekhbet with jubilee texts of Rameses III on the west wall.
Tomb of Ahmose, son of Ibana (EK5)

Ahmose in his biographical texts is described as ‘Captain of Sailors’ and was prominent in the wars of liberation against the Hyksos rulers when the southern princes laid siege to the town of Avaris in the Delta. The text tells of the favours Ahmose was granted for his part, including the award of the ‘gold of honour’ and tells that he was given four slaves by His Majesty from the booty he carried off. He was the Grandfather of Paheri (EK3) who is seen offering to him in the tomb. A separate burial chamber opens off to the east.

Tomb of Renni (EK7)

 

 A mayor of Nekheb during the reign of Amenhotep I, Renni’s tomb depicts the usual agricultural scenes, banquet scenes and funeral procession. The remains of a statue of the tomb-owner flanked by two jackals can be see in a niche in the rear wall. The ceiling of this tomb is beautifully painted to represent the cloth roof of a tent or canopy.
There are also Middle Kingdom tombs at El-Kab which are presently inaccessible.

 

 If you have time (and permission) to drive down the Wadi Hellal road which runs 4km west towards the desert, there are many other sites to visit. You will need to collect a guard with the keys to the monuments at the resthouse. At the entrance to the valley is a Ptolemaic rock-sanctuary dedicated to Seshmetet. Just to the southeast higher up the hillside, is a temple of Nekhbet consisting of two halls with Hathor columns and a rock-cut sanctuary. This was built by Rameses II, restored by Ptolemies VIII-X and has a stela of Rameses II cut into the façade. The reliefs inside the temple are not well-preserved, but the steps leading up to it and the courtyard have been recently restored. Back towards the road is a structure called locally el-Hammam (the bath), a square single roomed chapel dedicated to local gods and to the deified Rameses II by his Viceroy of Nubia, Setau (a different person to the owner of tomb EK4).

 

Further along the valley road is ‘Vulture Rock’, so-called because its shape seen at a certain angle (and with imagination) resembles the shape of a vulture. The faces of the rock are covered with petroglyphs and Old Kingdom inscriptions probably made by pilgrims passing this way on the ancient desert road. Several Old Kingdom kings are named on smooth panels cut into the rock, the earliest cartouche is that of Snofru. There are also Late Period primitive rock-carvings.
A little further on is a small temple dedicated to Hathor and Nekhbet, built by Tuthmose IV and Amenhotep III. The single chamber was apparently a way-station for the barque of Nekhbet when the statue of the goddess was brought to her desert valley. Quite a lot of colour still remains on the wall reliefs inside the temple, depicting Tuthmose IV and his son Amenhotep III. The building was restored in late antiquity and brightly painted scenes of rituals as well as the vulture goddess still can be seen. On the chapel façade is a text by Prince Khaemwaset, the son of Rameses II, announcing his father’s jubilee in year 42, as well as graffiti by other passing travellers.

 

 There is also a destroyed temple built by Tuthmose III to the west of the nobles tombs, and Old Kingdom mastaba tombs of Kiamen and Nefershemem of Dynasty IV. In December 2000 news was announced that Belgian archaeologists have discovered a small and mostly intact cemetery at El-Kab which has been dated to Dynasty II. The 35 graves, mostly belonging to infants, are reported to be circular stone structures sometimes arranged around natural boulders and 18-20m in diameter. This type of tomb has not been seen before in Egypt and they have been compared to Neolithic burial mounds in Europe. Although there is no evidence of wrapping or mummification, the largest tomb contained fragments of a pottery coffin. It is suggested that the new cemetery represents a ‘missing link’ between the Late Predynastic and Early Dynastic burial ground found within Elkab’s town walls and a recently discovered Third Dynasty mastaba.
During 2003 a team of conservators led by Vivian Davies of the British Museum, began work on the Dynasty XVII tomb of Sobeknakht, a governor of Nekheb. The cleaning process revealed an inscription of a previously unknown attack on Egypt by the Kingdom of Kush and their allies from Punt. The biographical text tells of the Kushite raid and subsequent counter-attack by the Egyptians. Egyptologists are regarding the text as one of the most significant inscriptions about Dynasty XVII military history found to date. Evidence corroborating these events have also recently been found in Sudan, where archaeologists discovered a vessel that was once in Sobeknakht’s tomb.

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Tomb of Kheruef at Asasif on the West Bank at Luxor

The private tomb of Kheruef (Kheruf), TT 192 in the Asasif district, is the largest such tomb on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes). Even though there is no evidence that Kheruef was ever buried here and it was unfinished, the tomb is one of the most important, both religiously and historically, in the Theban necropolis. It has helped us understand the history of rituals celebrating kingship. The owner was most likely an significant individual who organized the first and third jubilees for Amenhotep III, though he probably died in during the reign of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten). He was a Royal Scribe and First Herald to the King, he was later appointed Steward to Queen Tiy.

 

 

The tomb is entered through a descending corridor that first leads to a large open court with pillared porticoes on both the east and west sides. This is the only portion of the tomb that is decorated. There is a possibility that, though most of the tomb had been constructed, at this point in its decoration the roof collapsed, and work was halted. For some reason, apparently enemies, we are told of Amen, Amenhotep IV and Kheruef, later defaced images of all three.

 

The most important scenes within the tomb are those on the west wall of the court. However, in the corridors we find scenes of Kheruef adoring Ra, Amenhotep IV with Tiy offering wine to Ra-Horakhty and Matt, Amenhotep IV and Tiy offering incenses before Atum and Hathor, and a scene of Amenhotep IV adoring Ra- Horakty and also with Amenhotep III and Tiy.

 

Perhaps foreign princesses at Amenhotep III's jubilee

 On the west wall of the court are a number of elegant scenes. South of the rear doorway are important scenes that document Amenhotep III's first jubilee, which was held on the 27th day of the second month of the third season of his 30th year of rule, according to the inscriptions. These include separate scenes depicting Kheruef, Amenhotep III and queen Tiy, along with others. Here, we find, dressed in his jubilee clothing, Amenhotep II on his throne beside Hathor and Queen Tiy. The king is awarding Kheruef the gold of Honor. We also find a scene of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy leaving their palace and another scene where the king and queen, along with Kheruef, are being towed in a boat and met by their daughters and a number of priests. Another scene shows singers, dancers and musicians, including the first known occurrence of a round drum, or tambourine.

 To the north of the rear door of the court we find similarly styled scenes depicting Amenhotep III's third jubilee. This took place in his 37th year, and one important scene depicts the raising of the djed-pillar by the king and priests. This ritual is accompanied by singers, dancers, bought from the Western Desert Oases, as well as ritual combat involving boxing and stick fencing.

 

Dancers and Flutists taking part in Amenhotep III's Jubile

The erection of the Tet(Djed)-pillar was performed on the Thirtieth day of Khoiakh, as the final rite within the festival of this month. It was a symbol of stability and the act of erecting it on this day probably represented the resurrection of Osiris and the rebirth and accession of the new king. The Tet(Djed)-pillar was one of the most significant symbols of the Egyptian religion. It symbolized the idea of stability and duration.

Also on this wall are scenes of cattle and donkeys ritually walking around the walls of Memphis, and the preparation and transport of offerings. All of these scenes were so important to the ancient priests that a thousand years later they surrounded these images with a wall and still visited this tomb.

 

Dancers from the Western Desert

From there, one passes through a doorway at the rear of the first hall into a second, broad columned hall. Here, fragments of two gray granite and quartzite statues of Kheruef were discovered. In the southwest corner of this broad hall is a shaft that descends, making several right hand turns, before passing through one burial chamber before ending at a second burial chamber. From a doorway in the rear of the broad, columned hall, one passes through a final doorway that leads to long, pillared hall that has a statue niche at on the rearward, western side.

The tomb was first explored by the German Egyptologist Adolph Erman in 1885. This investigation was later published by Heinrich Brugsch in his Thesaurus Inscriptionum Aegyptiacarum in 1891. In the 1940s, Alan Gardiner also worked the tomb and then after it was robbed in the 1940s, the Egyptian Department of Antiquities in association with the Epigraphic Survey of the University of Chicago cleared, recorded and finally published their results in 1980.

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Egypt Armed Forces Day 6th October -(Yom Kippur War )

Public holiday observed in Egypt on October 6, celebrating the day in 1973 when combined Egyptian and Syrian military forces launched a surprise attack on Israel and crossed into the Sinai Peninsula, which marked the beginning of the October (Yom Kippur) War.

Egyptian Pres. Anwar el-Sadat planned the attack in an attempt to bolster Egyptian and Arab morale and to regain control of the Sinai territory that had been lost to Israel during the June (Six-Day) War in 1967. The plan met with initial success when more than 80,000 Egyptian soldiers crossed the Bar Lev line—massive fortifications built by the Israeli on the east side of the Suez Canal.

The 1973 war is the fourth round in the Arab-Israeli armed struggle since 1948. In 1967, Israel occupied Syria's Golan Heights, the West Bank and Jerusalem, Sinai and the Suez Canal and for six years, it spent a lot on fortifying its positions on the East Bank, in what later came to be known as the Barlev Line.
 Preparations for the October victory began very early in 1968 with the war of attrition. After President Anwar al-Sadat assumed power in 1970 and Israel having rejected the Rogers Initiative, war was the only option to recover Sinai and Suez Canal.

A surprise attack was carried on both the Egyptian and Syrian fronts. Intelligence Authorities in both countries relied on a plan to confuse the enemy.

 At exactly 14:00 hours on October 6, 1973, 222 Egyptian fighters crossed the Suez Canal, undetected. Their target: radar stations, air defense batteries, fortified points on the Barlev line, oil refineries and ammunition depots.



Meanwhile, Egyptian artillery across the Canal turned the front line into an inferno in what was a show of force not soon to be forgotten. 10,500 rockets were fired in the first 60 seconds at an average of 175 rockets/seconds.



1000 rubber boats crossed the Canal carrying 8000 soldiers who climbed the Barlev Line and stormed into enemy defenses. The Egyptian Engineer Corps built the first bridge 6 hours after the war began. 8 hours later they cut a path into the Barlev Line, set up another 12 bridges and operated 30 ferries.

 The success of the air strike, at the beginning of the war, made it possible for Egyptian soldiers to penetrate the Barlev Line in no more than six hours causing heavy losses among Israeli troops. But had it not been for the air bridge of military equipment and supplies launched by the US on October 10, the Israeli Army would have been heavily defeated.



On October 22, 1973, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 338 calling on all parties to stop fighting, to cease all firing and terminate all military activity and begin negotiations aimed at establishing a just and durable peace in the Middle East.

false toes, dating back to ancient Egypt- the world's earliest-known prosthetic devices.

  Two false toes, dating back to ancient Egypt, are believed to be the world's earliest-known prosthetic devices. Both are big toes from the right foot, and both were found near present-day Luxor. One toe, found in the 19th century, is thought to have been made in about 600 BC. It is crafted from one piece of cartonnage - a linen and animal glue version of papier-mache. The other toe dates back to between 950 and 710 BC. It was found attached to the foot of a mummy in a tomb just over ten years ago. This toe is comprised of three pieces, two are wood, the other possibly leather. It had been suggested that because ancient Egyptians believed the body should be prepared for the afterlife in a complete state, the toes were purely decorative. But new research by Dr. Jacky Finch at the KHN Centre for Biomedical Egyptology at the University of Manchester, England, proves otherwise. The toes were recreated to fit amputee volunteers and tested for flex, pressure, gait and comfort. Both performed remarkably well as functioning prosthetic toes so artificial big toes were likely used by their owners for walking, and not simply placed on their dead bodies for religious or ritualistic reasons .