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Egyptian Archaeologists Continue Searching for Ancient Treasures in Minya

A handout picture released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities on Sept. 20, 2020, shows one of 14 2,500-year-old sarcophagi discovered in a burial shaft at the desert necropolis of Saqqara, south of the capital Cairo. (Reuters Photo)
A handout picture released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities on Sept. 20, 2020, shows one of 14 2,500-year-old sarcophagi discovered in a burial shaft at the desert necropolis of Saqqara, south of the capital Cairo. (Reuters Photo)
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Egyptian Archaeologists Continue Searching for Ancient Treasures in Minya

A handout picture released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities on Sept. 20, 2020, shows one of 14 2,500-year-old sarcophagi discovered in a burial shaft at the desert necropolis of Saqqara, south of the capital Cairo. (Reuters Photo)
A handout picture released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities on Sept. 20, 2020, shows one of 14 2,500-year-old sarcophagi discovered in a burial shaft at the desert necropolis of Saqqara, south of the capital Cairo. (Reuters Photo)

Egyptian archaeologists have been searching for four years to find more pharaonic treasures in al- Ghoreifa area, Minya province (Upper Egypt).

Excavations carried out in the three past years helped unearth antiquities that belong to prominent statesmen from the Late Period of ancient Egypt and the Ptolemaic dynasty.

The Egyptian mission, headed by Dr. Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the supreme council of antiquities, launched its fourth excavation season with the discovery of belongings of Jahouti Umm Hoteb, supervisor of Thrones in the 26th dynasty (664-525 B.C.) that ruled 2,500 years ago.

The antiquities ministry announced Monday that the mission found his sarcophagus in a well at a depth of 5 meters in Tuna el Gebel archaeological site, in al- Ghoreifa. It was found in good condition near a collection of Ushabti statues made of faience, said Waziri noting that "the excavations in the region are ongoing to unearth more treasures and secrets."

The first examinations indicate that this person was called Jahouti Umm Hoteb from the 26th dynasty; he was the supervisor of Thrones and his father was Guarda East, whose coffin was revealed by the mission in its first excavation season in 2018.

According to Jamal al-Samastawi, director-general of Middle Egypt Antiquities, "Al-Ghoreifa region is an expansion of the Tuna el Gebel archaeological site. It's an ancient cemetery in the 15th province of Upper Egypt."

"When the mission started its excavations in the area, it targeted the cemeteries of prominent statesmen of the New Kingdom and the Late Period of ancient Egypt. Over three seasons, it managed to unearth sarcophagus that belong to statesmen and priests from the Late Period of ancient Egypt and the Ptolemaic dynasty, and it is currently searching for antiquities from the New Kingdom," he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

"The mission has launched the fourth excavation season in early August and found a stone sarcophagus from the 26th dynasty. The excavations are expected to continue in the region within the next five years because it is a promising area rich in Egyptian treasures," Samastawi concluded.

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Scientists Seek Miracle Pill to Stop Methane Cow Burps

A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Scientists Seek Miracle Pill to Stop Methane Cow Burps

A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)

A scientist guides a long tube into the mouth and down to the stomach of Thing 1, a two-month-old calf that is part of a research project aiming to prevent cows from burping methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Paulo de Meo Filho, a postdoctoral researcher at University of California, Davis, is part of an ambitious experiment aiming to develop a pill to transform cow gut bacteria so it emits less or no methane.

While the fossil fuel industry and some natural sources emit methane, cattle farming has become a major climate concern due to the sheer volume of the cows' emissions.

"Almost half of the increase in (global) temperature that we've had so far, it's been because of methane," said Ermias Kebreab, an animal science professor at UC Davis.

Methane, the second largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide, breaks down faster than CO2 but is more potent.

"Methane lives in the atmosphere for about 12 years" unlike carbon dioxide which persists for centuries, Kebreab said.

"If you start reducing methane now, we can actually see the effect on the temperature very quickly."

Filho uses the tube to extract liquid from Thing 1's rumen -- the first stomach compartment containing partially digested food.

Using the rumen liquid samples, the scientists are studying the microbes that convert hydrogen into methane, which is not digested by the cow but instead burped out.

A single cow will burp roughly 220 pounds (100 kilograms) of the gas annually.

- 'Social critters' -

Thing 1 and other calves receive a seaweed-supplemented diet to reduce methane production.

Scientists hope to achieve similar results by introducing genetically modified microbes that soak up hydrogen, starving methane-producing bacteria at the source.

However, the team proceeds cautiously.

"We can't just simply cut down methane production by removing" methane-making bacteria, as hydrogen could accumulate to the point of harming the animal, warned Matthias Hess, who runs the UC Davis lab.

"Microbes are kind of social critters. They really like to live together," he said.

"The way they interact and affect each other impacts the overall function of the ecosystem."

Hess's students test different formulas in bioreactors, vessels that reproduce microorganisms' living conditions in a stomach from movements to temperature.

- More productive cows -

The project is being carried out at UC Davis as well as UC Berkeley's Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI).

IGI scientists are trying to identify the right microbe -- the one they hope to genetically alter to supplant methane-producing microbes.

The modified microorganisms will then be tested at UC Davis in the lab and in the animals.

"Not only are we trying to reduce methane emissions, but you also increase the feed efficiency," said Kebreab.

"Hydrogen and methane, they are both energy, and so if you reduce that energy and redirect it to something else... we have a better productivity and lower emissions at the same time."

The ultimate goal is a single-dose treatment administered early in life, since most cattle graze freely and can't receive daily supplements.

The three research teams have been given $70 million and seven years to achieve a breakthrough.

Kebreab has long studied sustainable livestock practices and pushes back against calls to reduce meat consumption to save the planet.

While acknowledging this might work for healthy adults in developed nations, he pointed to countries like Indonesia, where the government is seeking to increase meat and dairy production because 20 percent of children under five suffer from stunted growth.

"We can't tell them to not eat meat," he said.