Kigango returned

A sacred memorial post stolen from a Kenyan family in the 1980s that ended up at the Illinois State Museum was returned to its rightful owners last week.

The prized artifact, called a kigango, had been retrieved from the museum in September 2006 by a delegation from Kenya. On June 20, the roughly 4-foot-tall, carved wooden statue along with a second stolen post was presented to the family of the late Kalume Mwakiru, who had erected the statues to memorialize deceased relatives, during a ceremony at the family’s homestead in Chalani village. . .

The museum’s kigango was one of two carved in the 1960s for the Mwakiru family. In 1985, these vigango (plural for kigango) were stolen. They were sold to an art dealer and actor Powers Boothe later bought them. He eventually donated one kigango to Illinois State University and the other to Hampton University in Virginia, Reyman said.

I see you, you see me . . .

Amazingly sharp picture of the space shuttle Atlantis docking with the International Space Station -- shot by high school astronomers! If this is what amateurs can see looking up, you can image what the professionals can see looking down . . . .

Theft at whaling museum

Local police and the FBI are investigating the theft of 18th Century whaling artifacts stolen earlier this month from the Cape May County Historical Museum in Middle Township.

Museum Curator Pary Woehlcke said the thief was selective in choosing items, stealing artifacts worth as much as $1,500 to $2,000, while leaving behind others that are worthless.

Mummy of Matshepsut identified?

The mummy of an obese woman, who likely suffered from diabetes and liver cancer, has been identified as that of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt's most powerful female pharoah, Egyptian archaeologists said Wednesday.

Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt in the 15th century B.C., was known for dressing like a man and wearing a false beard. But when her rule ended, all traces of her mysteriously disappeared, including her mummy.

Discovered in 1903 in the Valley of the Kings, the mummy was left on site until two months ago, when it was brought to the Cairo Museum for testing, Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said.