Getting over a boring day @azalais - Tumblr Blog

The Nao Victoria has sailed into London (1.07.2026) and is now open to visitors at St Katharine Docks

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It’s so funny to imagine Wicked from the perspective of one of the normal students at Shiz. There’s this girl and she’s weird and an overachieving nerd and no one likes her, but then the popular girl becomes best friends with her overnight so you guess she’s chill now. They might be sleeping together but no one’s really sure. They’re also low key dating the same guy but you’re not clear on if it’s a polycule situation or a love triangle. Whatever. You’re just trying to study for finals. Your history teacher gets arrested and no explains why. You just hope this won’t effect your grade in the class. The weird nerdy girl gets a letter from the president inviting her to come see him. Wow, that’s exciting. She and her maybe-girlfriend go off to the capitol and you go back to homework and dorm room parties. One day later one of your professors is on the national radio saying that the weird nerdy girl, who used to be her favorite student, is now a terrorist, has stolen the nuclear codes, and is on the run from the government. You are still expected to show up to class tomorrow.

#each time i cross pass with this post i laugh #wicked

rudjedet

Controversial Truths About Ancient Egypt Masterpost

The pyramids were built by contemporary workers who received wages and were fed and taken care of during construction

The Dendera “lightbulb” is a representation of the creation myth and has nothing to do with electricity

We didn’t find “““copper wiring””” in the great pyramid either

Hatshepsut wasn’t transgender

The gods didn’t actually have animal heads

Hieroglyphs aren’t mysteriously magical; they’re just a language (seriously we have shopping lists and work rosters and even ancient erotica)

The ancient Egyptian ethnicity wasn’t homogeneous

Noses (and ears, and arms) broke off statues and reliefs for a variety of reasons, none of which are “there is a widespread archaeological conspiracy to hide the Egyptian ethnicity”

thatlittleegyptologist

The carvings at Abydos aren’t modern machines but recarvings over old carvings. Sure they look like them but if you can read hieroglyphs and know that Ramesses II will even usurp the carvings of his own father just to be a little shit

rudjedet

‘No soot on the ceilings and walls of the Dendera temple!’ is actually because of extensive restoration works and not because Egyptians were in on shit like Baghdad “batteries”

While the Egyptians were fine-ass astronomers they didn’t align any of their enormous and/or important buildings to modern star constellations, because constellations look very different now than they did ~5000 years ago

The pyramid is the simplest, sturdiest shape with which to build and many different cultures discovered this in their own time. There were never any weird fish humans/aliens involved

rudjedet

The sphinx of Gizah is only an approximate 5000 years old; the 10,000 year/rain erosion nonsense is proven hokum

Speaking of that particular sphinx, the Napoleonic expedition is not responsible for its missing nose

Akhenaten was not a “heretic” by contemporary standards

Ramses II appropriated a lot of his predecessors’ buildings/reliefs and isn’t really deserving of the epithet “the Great”

The Battle of Kadesh ended in a stalemate (twice)

rudjedet

While they had feline deities throughout their history, Egyptians didn’t actually worship cats themselves. This was a later Greek/Ptolemaeic addition

It was not, in fact, practice to shave off eyebrows after cats died; Herodotus lied about that

Herodotus lied about a lot of things and many misconceptions about ancient Egypt can be traced back to his Greek ass

rudjedet

I can’t believe I forgot my favourite Hill to Die On

Seth was not the god of “evil”, and despite his chaos providing a foil to order, he wasn’t completely villified until very late in Egyptian history, when he became associated with despised foreign enemies

rudjedet

Hats off to the few of you who’re reblogging this with tags saying you’re going to check my claims later. You make me not entirely despair of this hellhole.

Here are some vetted Egyptological books/sources (that are by and large appropriate for a lay-audience) you can find most, if not all of the above:

Lehner, M., The Complete Pyramids

Wilkinson, R. H., The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt

Hornung, E., The One and the Many: Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt

Dunand, F. & Zivie-Coche, C., Gods and Men in Egypt

Kemp, B., Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization

Bard, K., An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt

Stevenson Smith, W., The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt

Kitchen, K. A., The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt

Sweeney, D., Sex and Gender (in Ancient Egypt)

McDowell, A. G., Village Life in Ancient Egypt: Laundry Lists and Love Songs

Te Velde, H., Seth, God of Confusion

rudjedet

Guys do me a solid and reblog this version instead of continuously asking for sources on the other versions thanks

bakenmut-the-tired-vulture

Any of you guys confirm some of this? I already knew about Set.

rudjedet

As both the second poster and I are Egyptologists I can confirm that all of the above is true because it’s our job to know this. If you want to confirm it for yourself, do look at the sources I listed.

thatlittleegyptologist

Can confirm it’s all true. I have a PhD in Egyptology and to everyone reading this comment in the notes: Congrats, you’re just learning that most of what you were taught at school was a load of crap because actual Ancient Egypt is far too complex to explain to 8 year olds. The sources provided above are as legitimate as you’re going to get for this site. They’re peer reviewed, and written by actual Egyptologists.

Please stop harassing Rudjedet calling all this ‘fake’, ‘untrue’, or even ‘asking for sources’ when you’ve got them on the post. We’re not lying to you, we’re not trying to be edgy for the notes, we’re actual Egyptologists, educated in this subject for over a decade, and we’re telling you this is the reality of Ancient Egypt.

jenniferrpovey

Right. Hatshepshut was not a trans man. She was a woman who had to act as a man during certain ceremonies, because she was king and that was part of her job.

When she was representing the Pharoah, she wore male clothing and presumably used male pronouns, but it was ritual theater. She was acting. She also may have died from complications of diabetes because of an overly-rich diet.

Also, the Pyramids (I believe, if I’m getting the project wrong, correct me), were the site of a strike that at first mystified Egyptologists.

Workers struck because they weren’t getting “cosmetics.”

Eventually somebody found reside in a mortar and reverse engineered it, because archaeologists do cool things like that.

Turned out that what we were translating as “cosmetics” was…sunscreen. Dang important safety gear if you’re doing construction work in the desert!

So, yes. The ancient Egyptians had sunscreen. They had sunscreen pretty much as good as anything we have today, in fact.

rudjedet

The Turin Strike Papyrus you’re referring doesn’t come from the time of the pyramids, no. It’s from Deir el-Medina, during the time of Ramses III. By this time, they had stopped building pyramids and were burying their dead rulers in the Valley of Kings. The village of Deir el-Medina was a workman’s village whose purpose was to cut, decorate and otherwise prepare the rock tombs in the Valley.

I’ve seen the Tumblr post that claims the whole “cosmetics-turns-out-to-be-sunscreen” and it’s just not accurate.

The word that post refers to is sqnn, found on recto 2, line 3 of the Turin Strike Papyrus*:

This word is translated as “oil/ointment”. It was used to denote any type of oil or ointment that they weren’t or didn’t want to be too specific about. If you’re curious, you can find all the attestations of the word here.

So we can’t and shouldn’t translate sqnn as sunscreen. Moreover, I’ve yet to come across a recipe in the medical papyri (my specialisation) that can be interpreted as sunscreen - especially something that’s as good as the stuff we have right now!

*Translation can be found in The Strikes in Ramses III’s Twenty-Ninth Year, by William F. Edgerton (Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Jul., 1951), pp. 137-145 (The University of Chicago Press).)

scrollofthoth

Well I’ve got to say a few things. I’m not going to argue any of the particular points made. Some are good, others are plainly ignorant.

The number one thing most of these points should be followed by is, “we don’t fucking know.” Because we don’t. All of this is a best guess.

Your degree in Egyptology does earn you the right to have some respect for your sources and opinions. But you also should never forget you are being taught the opinion of academia, which is highly conservative, and incestuous, and gets plenty of shit wrong all the time.

And the opinion of those who currently work within these spiritual practices are totally valid and necessary. In fact, in some cases better than those who don’t because the Egyptians themselves wholly accepted the reality of their gods and spirits.

rudjedet

Everyone, I’d like to take this opportunity to point out the following:

If you want to disagree with me or engage in a discussion with me about the things I write, either in this post or in others, that’s fine. You can do that. I only ask for two things if you do: be sure you did your own research, and make a clear point. Don’t, for example, write “some of this is plain ignorant” without specifying what is ignorant and why you think so. Don’t cast aspersions on what I say unless you can and are willing to back your opinion up with a substantive argument.

And as another general note: a lot of what I said in the original post we actually “do fucking know” because the Egyptians themselves told us so. Egyptians wrote their stuff down. We can read the Pharaonic Egyptian languages. We have, for example, the Diary of Merer, which tells us about the workforce that built the pyramids. It’s true that there are gaps in our knowledge, but even if we don’t have unequivocal evidence for something it doesn’t mean we’re only guessing and hoping for the best. Usually we like to form our theories based on proper methodology. Does that leave things still uncertain? Yes. Does that mean that we “don’t fucking know” anything about ancient Egypt ever? No.

Now on a less general note - wtf does “academia is incestuous” mean?? Am I sleeping with my professors who are also suddenly my dad? I’m confused.

scrollofthoth

Let’s go with two that are egregious.

Hieroglyphs aren’t mysteriously magical; they’re just a language (seriously we have shopping lists and work rosters and even ancient erotica)

Of course, the Egyptians absolutely used writing for mundane purposes. But the act of writing itself was seen as a magical act. There are numerous sources and examples of the names of pharaohs being erased or destroyed in order to attack them in the afterlife. This is another good example of how some scholars are unable to put themselves in the entirely magical worldview of the Egyptians. Magic wasn’t a game, it wasn’t a weird hobby, it was totally real and effected everything in their lives. Writing was a gift from the gods and seen as inherently magical, even when it was used to write a receipt. If you really need sources on this, I can probably find dozens.

I would certainly say you can debate this, but do you think that guys like Graham Hancock didn’t account for the changes in placement of the constellations? Have you read Graham Hancock?

Of course we have sources to confirm a lot of what Ancient Egyptians did and believed. But it is infinitesimal compared to the body of work they actually created, and comes no where close to describing the purpose of much of what we have found. Most likely, the purpose of certain artifacts were never written down, because their purpose was taken for granted.

Wtf does “academia is incestuous” mean??

It means students often regurgitate what they are taught in order to get grades and grants. This becomes the “accepted” truth, when in actuality, it’s the opinion of influential professors and institutions. A student goes against those theories at their own peril. Sure, there’s wiggle room, but either you follow the party line or you get excluded from the club.

rudjedet

Graham Hancock’s work is pseudoscience in its purest form. Frankly, I’m baffled that a Kemetic believes what is a nearly Victorian-in-its-ridiculousness attempt to mystify the ancient Egyptians and their culture/history. None of his theories have ever been peer-reviewed or published academically, which should set off a whole carillon of alarm bells. This has nothing to do with the fact that Hancock “stepped out of line” and was therefore excluded from the Exclusive Egyptology Club (which sadly doesn’t even exist, a fact that bothers me every day of my life). We’re willing to fight him because his methodology is non-existent and his theories based on something he pulled out of his ass on a rainy day.

In fact, in academia we’re encouraged to think outside of the box rather than regurgitate old ideas. Research Master/PhD degrees basically exist to either re-examine existing ideas/theories, or to formulate entirely new theories. If we didn’t fully challenge already existing theories as you say we don’t, we’d still be teaching that the pyramids were built by slaves! Or we’d still consider Wallis Budge’s translations totally accurate!

I for one absolutely disagree with James Henry Breasted - who was a well-respected and influential Egyptologist and the first to fully translate the Edwin Smith Papyrus, the subject of my own thesis - on many things, but most specifically that Egyptian medicine was in any way “superstitious” (a common line of thought, even now!). I’ve told my thesis supervisor this, I wrote it into my thesis, and I was not ostracized. This distinct lack of exclusion is a common experience among my peers.

We are also taught to, first and foremost, refrain from exactly the kind of condescending holier-than-thou attitude you’re currently displaying. Like I said I’m willing to discuss, but that willingness ends when you start making assumptions about my ability to check my modern bias or my access to reputable Egyptological books and (primary) sources. Besides, you claim we’re only making “best guesses”, but you yourself use predominantly absolute statements. What happened to “we don’t fucking know”?

The next time you disagree with me do so without the supercilious behaviour, then I’ll be inclined to address your arguments. As it stands, all I have to say about it now is that you misunderstand the point I was making in the first case; and fuck Graham Hancock in the second case.

#for later #ancient Egypt

la-mombey

Glinda "The Good", rival pirate and counterpart to Captain Elphaba Thropp

The two protagonists of the Gelphie pirate au fic that exists mostly in my head so far.

#wicked #gelphie #love the art #i have a crush

ouatsqincorrect

Ok guys! Here are my first 4 recommendations:

All Tapped Out by AOBZ

Drinking Buddies and Bedfellows by queenssaviour

Journey to the Past by taare

Past the Reflection by DelicatePoem

Don’t forget to leave kudos!

And if you’ve got any fics you want to add this week, send them my way!

#for later #swan queen

maliwart

This is all i’m going to be able to get done this week. I’m really excited to finish these!!

#i really love this one #hicsqueak #hecate hardbroom #pippa pentangle #the worst witch #hicsqueak my beloved

novelistparty

Baby Globe, Wikipedia’s 25th birthday mascot

mtndewpitchblack

#hum #i want to adopt it

trans-ralsei

caughtthedarkness93

I love my job, but reblogging employment jelly for someone else I love.

#let's hope so

heyjudeart

Hardbroom and pentangle in the big 2026

Pose by gonzais

#hicsqueak my beloved #hecate hardbroom #pippa pentangle #the worst witch

vibraph0ny

Everyone's all "ohhh 2026 bring back physical media" until I start talking illuminated manuscripts and then suddenly we're not on the same page anymore

memorizingthedigitsofpi

I made an illuminated manuscript skin for AO3? So im doing my part!

#this is pretty cool #ao3 #ao3 skin

miggylol

Spin the wheel.

You have been offered a full-ride scholarship to get a four-year degree in this field, specifically. Upon graduation, you will be guaranteed a job in this field at the 75th percentile of average salary for the field, with the possibility of further advancement as the years go on.

However, you will never be able to get a job in any other field.

Do you take the offer?

100% yes!

Probably yes

I'm honestly torn, this is a hard choice

Probably not

Absolutely fucking not

Random other option for people who want to ramble in the tags

Voting ended onJan 26

#naval architecture #like yes #let me help build ship