Lost Persian Army Found?

[Kineas]

If accurate, and if this leads to a major find, this could be quite useful for us 500BC reenactors!

[url:381gtnzs]http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/cambyses-army-remains-sahara.html?dtc=dsc-hp-drl-dn-news[/url]

Anyone else seen anything on this?

[Epictetus]

It's quite remarkable, isn't it? I'm eager for more information.

There is an existing thread here: 2,500 year old Persian army found.

[Paralus]

I'm afraid that it's bunkum lads.

Dr Zahi Hawass has clealry highlighted the "find" as a complete beat-up. The brothers head no approved archaeological expedition and "anything they claim is not to be believed". Perhaps they need to be renamed the Brothers von Daniken?

In any case, what does this say about Herodotus or the Lybiabs? It only took some 1,700,000 to fail in Greece!

[Kineas]

C'est dommage! I wondered why, with 50K dead, all they had was a sword and some earrings...

People need a license to dig in Egypt? :wink:

[Paralus]

Given the rapine and pillaging that characterised some of the "archaeological" digs of the past in Egypt, I'm not surprised a "license" is required. I'm sure the Supreme Council of Antiquities monitors all such activity closely nowadays.

[Kineas]

Sorry, my sarcasm was lost in e-space. I agree....

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

Dr. Zahi Hawass......

The man who claims to have found the grave of Marcvs Antonivs and as proof he has some tiny tiny figurine heads........

The man who identified Hatsjepsut on the basis that some tooth found in some case carrying the Glyph of the great queen was a perfect fit with some other mummy of a woman they also had in storage somewhere.....

And you think his ideas on this Cambyses story are authoritative?

The army is there somewhere, wether or not these two Italians claim to have found it or not.

Hawass is simply jealous.

M.VIB.M.

[Jona Lendering]

Dr. Zahi Hawass...... The man who claims to have found the grave of Marcvs Antonivs and as proof he has some tiny tiny figurine heads........

To be fair: it's not his claim, but the claim of an archaeologist from one of the Caribean isles. He has acted as her mouthpiece, as he always does: he is the one who announces the finds made by other archaeologists. it is not his task to endorse or contradict those claims.

Hawass is simply jealous.

That is certainly possible, and in the postscript to my own piece on the subject (here), I have mentioned the possibility that he was mudslinging.

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

As always Jona, great article and good view on the matter, especially the idea that many Persians must have gotten in trouble in the Aegyptian deserts.

M.VIB.M.

[Kineas]

Very good blog, nice article, and all I can say in my own defense is that I merely wish for an army of 525 BC Greek mercenaries to appear out of the desert--or perhaps just two or three. Textiles preserved, please.

[Jona Lendering]

I merely wish for an army of 525 BC Greek mercenaries to appear out of the desert

Yup, so do I. If only because I find it so hard to believe that the Persians were so lightly armed as is always said. And I also hope they will have a copy of some Persian literature with them... :wink:

[Kineas]

Ooh! I agree! And some more Alcaeus and Sappho, please.

In fact, I'll just start compiling a list....