An archaeological team led by Professor Emily Ross-Slater, antiquities specialist at the Archaeologist Field School in Luxor, has discovered a significant insight into the lives of ordinary ancient Egyptians after unearthing a unique series of 'humorous' hieroglyphs.
“With the current socio-political upheavals in present day Egypt, the population doesn’t have much to giggle about these days,” Said Professor Ross-Slater, “but it seems that their ancestors managed to see the funny side of things even in the face of eons of adversity.”
Hieroglyph experts have begun to interpret a number of wall paintings which have been revealed in the recently excavated Luxor tomb. “The figures we have found seem more like real people rather than flat images walking around side-ways doing sand-dances,” continued Professor Ross-Slater. “One of the figures even appears to sport a large red nose and a very funny hat and if you squint he could even be mistaken for the hilarious British comic, Lenny Henry.”
Another man with a pot belly and a handful of sea-weed has been identified as the Egyptian god Hapy who brought annual floods to the Nile Valley. “We can conclude from this that jokes about the weather were just as prevalent then as they are today,” said the professor.
One character, Tawaret or 'The Great One' had the head of a hippopotamus with the arms and legs of a lion, the back and tail of a crocodile, and the breasts and stomach of a pregnant woman. “In my opinion even Reeves and Mortimer could not have invented such a splendidly comedic character.”
Professor Ross-Slater has forwarded her findings to experts at the British Museum who have concluded that the images are not strictly hieroglyphs but are more like comic reliefs.
