Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Cambyses' Lost Army

Italian archaeologists Angelo and Alfredo Castiglioni claim that they have found the remains of an army sent into the Egyptian desert by the Persian king Cambyses around 525 BC. According to Herodotus, the army was sent to conquer the shrine of Amun at the oasis of Siwa but vanished into a sandstorm.

The finds include a mass grave, bronze weapons, hundreds of broken water pots, and jewelry. So even if this isn't Cambyses' army, or part of it, it is a very cool discovery.

I might add that the mass grave that drew the archaeologists' attention was actually found by local Bedouin, who dug it up and sold the best objects they found to tourists. As the Bluffer's Guide to Archaeology puts it, "the easiest way to find sites is to ask somebody who knows where they are."

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