The tomb of Kha and Merit is the funerary chapel and burial place of the ancient Egyptian foreman Kha and his wife Merit, in the northern cemetery of the workmen's village of Deir el-Medina. Kha supervised the workforce who constructed royal tombs during the reigns of the pharaohs Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III (r. 1425 – 1353 BC) in the mid–Eighteenth Dynasty of the early New Kingdom of Egypt. He died in his 60s, while Merit died before him in her 20s or 30s. The couple's pyramid-shaped chapel has been known since at least 1818. The tomb was cut into the base of the cliffs. This position allowed the entrance to be quickly buried by debris deposited by landslides and later tomb construction, hiding its location from ancient robbers. Almost all of the contents of the tomb were awarded to the excavators and were shipped to Italy soon after the discovery. They have been displayed in the Museo Egizio in Turin since their arrival, and an entire gallery is devoted to them.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Kha_and_Merit

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1693:

The most powerful earthquake recorded in Italy struck the island of Sicily, causing 60,000 deaths and prompting a period of architectural revival. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Baroque

1914:

The Karluk, the flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, sank after being crushed by ice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_voyage_of_the_Karluk

1964:

In a landmark report (cover pictured), U.S. surgeon general Luther Terry issued a warning that tobacco smoking may be hazardous to health, concluding that it has a causative role in lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and other illnesses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_and_Health

2003:

After Chicago police detective Jon Burge was discovered to have extracted forced confessions from more than 200 suspects, the governor of Illinois commuted the death sentences of 167 prisoners and pardoned four others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Burge

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

fascine knife: (military, weaponry, historical) A large, heavy knife or short sword used by 17th- to 19th-century artillery and infantry soldiers as a sidearm and a tool for cutting fascines (“cylindrical bundles of small sticks of wood, used for strengthening purposes”) and other things. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fascine_knife

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity.   --Jimmy Carter https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter