EGYPTOLOGY IN IDAHO  - Egypt and Roman Artifacts  

The College of Idaho's Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History opened an exhibit in 2011 by Archaeologist and Curator, Jan Summers Duffy which was preceded by a lecture about her work in Egypt.  The exhibit will continue into 2012. Following the lecture was the unveiling of the first Ancient Egypt exhibit at the college and museum including Falco tinnunculus, a mummy of a kestrel falcon.

The Falcon was very important in Egyptian history. HORUS was the name of the Ancient Egyptian God associated with the falcon and the most popular; This bird was the perfect symbol for the Egyptian god of the sky, light and goodness who soared above and protected the land of the Pharaohs. It was believed that each Pharaoh became Horus on Earth and was reborn as Horus after death. To Ancient Egyptians, Life after Death was as important as living.  Falco tinnunculus is a small falcon and cousin to the larger peregrine falcon. Kestrels (once called sparrow hawks) belong to the kestrel group of the falcon family – Falconidae. Also known as the European, Eurasian and Old World Kestrel, it covers large range and is widespread in Europe, Africa and Asia. Their smaller size is what separates kestrels from peregrines.

The exhibit features artifacts from ancient Egypt and Rome (18th Dynasty-1st Century A.D. ) Faience Ushabti figures, inscribed Scarabs, Beads, and 2 Roman pots from the ruins of Pompeii belonging to the museum's collection, both were donated to the Museum in the early 1900s. Highlighting the Exhibit and exciting for children is the falcon mummy (described above) dating from the 20th Dynasty, 1,069 B.C.  According to the Archaeologist and Curator, the exhibit took almost a year in planning stages with preservation continually of the falcon which is in poor but mummified condition. Sitting alongside the falcon mummy is a colorful modern day Kestrel Falcon, from the museum's Ornithology collection.  The lovely Egyptian motif needlepoint wall hanging made in the late 1970s highlights the exhibit and was donated to the Museum.