New Web page for abefreepublishing

Very pleased with this, but what do YOU think? Is it easy to navigate. It includes my books and books from friends that we published, poems and songs, free MP3s, video links, bio and more
New Web page for abefreepublishing

Introducing MyHat in Egypt, Through The Eyes of a God, a book on Amazon by Alun Buffry

My second book about Ancient Egypt "Myhat in Egypt, Through the Eyes of a God", is available on Amazon as a paperback and on Kindle and also as a free mp3 for those that cannot or don't want to read. This one is the true account of Ed and Ana's visits to Egypt as tourists in 1989, 1990 and later. They went to Cairo, saw and entered the pyramids of Khufu and Kharfe, Saqqara and other sites. In Luxor they saw the great temples of Karnak and Luxor, that of Hatshepsut on the West bank, The Valley of the Kings and much more, before exploring a hidden tomb and finding themselves 4000 years in the past, where they met people who spoke English and the boy Ameny who was about to become King. As they travelled up the Nile with Ameny they realised that they were not the first people to visit from the future. They solved the mystery of a missing boy and witnessed the murder of their travelling companion, Professor Bertie, lucky to escape with their own lives. The story is told by the strange "MyHat". I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing i!.

Links for Books, Kindles and MP3s

Visualisation from 'Myhat in Egypt: Through the Eyes of a God' by Alun Buffry

This is a short visualisation of a few pages of the book that tells of the visits and adventures of Ed, Ana and Myhat, to Cairo and Luxor in 1989, 1990 and 2013, including an unexpected journey over 4000 years back in time where they met the boy Ameny, who was to become a Pharoah and were lucky, maybe, to escape with their lives after a companion was murdered on the Nile. A book of travel, adventure, a love story and a murder mystery! I hope you enjoy this video and the book itself.

ON AMAZON AND KINDLE HERE

ALSO AVAILABLE AS FREE A VOICE-READER MP3, FOR THOSE UANABLE OR NOT WANTING TO READ

ABeFree Publishing - books by Alun Buffry - Happy Readers' Album - leave YOUR pic in the comments please

 

ABeFree Publishing

MY LIFE IN A SHELL

 MY LIFE IN A SHELL

I laughed a lot and shed a tear,

Felt some anger, felt some joy,

Turning from dreaded fear,

Looking back to me the boy.

 

Never had an earthly wife,

Yet for some I felt the Love,

Felt the bliss and felt the strife,

Down below and up above.

I climbed some mountains,

Kissed the sky,

Bathed in fountains,

And got high.

Walked some roads,

Went underground,

Sailed on Norfolk’s Broads

And listened to nature’s sweet sounds.

Drank some wine and Holy Water,

Took some drugs

When I thought I oughta,

Had some bumps and caught some bugs.

Gotten old and lost my teeth,

Slowing down upon the streets,

Daily seeking inner peace,

Look inside the thoughts to beat.

Life lies between two sturdy walls,

That breath keeps apart through grace,

Listening as divine light me calls,

As I rest within my space.

 

LIBERATION - a poem by Alun Buffry, April 29 2026

LIBERATION

 

Death is liberation

From all consternation.

Some think reincarnation.

Some think devastation.

But beyond expectation,

Defying explanation,

Is a transformation

That is liberation.

 

Have no fear, shed no tear,

Ask no seer, it’s where we’re,

Heading for that wall,

We’ll rise, we will not fall.

 

The gift that is creation,

Through joy and trepidation,

We travel to cessation

As here and now our destination.

We give some consideration,

In temporal adoration,

Imagine situations,

Beyond perpetuation.

 

Just focus on the light within,

That frees us from imaginary sin,

Let gratitude for life begin,

And clarity and love will win.

Some of my poems to music

 

I would really appreciate likes and comments on the YouTube site - the songs are set to autoplay one after another

The Unspelling of Words by Alun Buffry - new book

 Hoping to have this up for sale on Amazon next week - a collection of poems and thoughts over the decades.

 

5 songs on YouTube

 I hope that you will enjoy these songs, the words were written by me (Alun Buffry) and the vocals and music by ai.

I hope that you will tick the LIKE button and maybe even leave a comment below and onon YouTube

POSITIVITY  https://youtu.be/su2E_XgKxSw?si=MkgvaF27LuYvt9kj

I CAN SEE YOU & RIVER OF LIFE (2 songs)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYBP5fPdeJo

PUT IT RIGHT YOURSELF https://youtu.be/WoQJ4ES9ci8?si=lznt1FNsBDcijBXn

HIDDEN BY THE SMOKE https://youtu.be/V081TFEwAv0?si=wfisgpmyeU84Ql25

Also I am still looking for a HUMAN BEING to play and sing the songs!!

Sketch by Rocky van der Benderskum
 

Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Notes and Receipts

 Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Notes and Receipts 

17 March 2026

A vast archive of everyday writing from ancient Egypt is reshaping how historians understand life beyond temples, tombs, and royal courts. At the Upper Egyptian site of Athribis, archaeologists have now documented more than 43,000 inscribed pottery fragments, or ostraca, many of them containing receipts, short notes, name lists, school exercises, and practical reminders that resemble ancient “to do” lists. The discovery, announced in March 2026, offers an unusually detailed record of administration, education, religion, and daily routines across multiple eras of Egyptian history.

A Record-Breaking Discovery at Athribis

The headline development behind “Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Receipts, Notes, and ‘To Do’ Lists” centers on Athribis, an archaeological site near Sohag in Upper Egypt. A joint Egyptian-German mission working at the site has recovered roughly 13,000 additional ostraca in the latest phase of excavation, bringing the total documented there to more than 43,000. According to coverage citing the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the cache is considered one of the largest collections of inscribed pottery fragments ever found at a single Egyptian site. 

 Ostraca are broken pieces of pottery or limestone reused as inexpensive writing surfaces. In the ancient world, they often served the same function as scrap paper: quick notes, tax records, receipts, labels, accounts, and drafts. Britannica describes ostraca as fragments commonly used to jot down business matters, a definition that helps explain why the Athribis material is so valuable to historians of ordinary life.

The Athribis project itself has been active for years. The University of Tübingen has said its team has worked in Athribis since 2003, and excavations have produced a steadily growing body of inscribed material. A 2022 university release reported more than 18,000 ostraca from the site at that stage; by October 2024, a papyrology conference abstract placed the total at almost 34,000; and the March 2026 announcement pushed the figure above 43,000. That sequence shows how quickly the archive has expanded and why the latest milestone has drawn international attention.

Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Receipts, Notes, and ‘To Do’ Lists

What makes this discovery especially compelling is not only the number of texts, but their content. Reports on the Athribis finds describe inscriptions in Demotic, Hieratic, Coptic, Greek, and Arabic, indicating that the site remained active across a long historical span and under changing political and cultural conditions. The texts range from administrative records to personal and educational writing, creating a layered archive of life over more than a millennium.

Many of the fragments are mundane by design. They include receipts, accounts, lists of names, and short memoranda. Earlier reporting from the University of Tübingen on the same excavation highlighted examples such as billing records and receipts, while other summaries of the Athribis corpus point to school texts and routine written exercises. These are the kinds of documents that rarely survive in large numbers, yet they are often the most revealing for social history because they show how people worked, learned, paid, counted, and organized their days.

The phrase “to do lists” captures public imagination because it makes the ancient material feel instantly familiar. Although the exact wording of each ostracon varies, the broader category includes practical reminders and short working notes rather than literary compositions. In effect, the Athribis archive preserves the paperwork of ordinary existence: the ancient equivalent of receipts in a drawer, a note on a wall, or a list left on a table. That is why the discovery resonates far beyond specialist archaeology circles.

Why pottery fragments were used for writing

Papyrus was available in ancient Egypt, but it was not always the cheapest or most practical material for quick writing. Broken pottery was abundant, durable, and easy to reuse. For temporary records, calculations, and short messages, ostraca were a practical solution. The survival of so many examples at Athribis gives researchers a rare chance to study not just formal documents, but the disposable writing habits of the ancient world.

What the Texts Reveal About Daily Life

The importance of the Athribis ostraca lies in their ability to illuminate people who usually remain invisible in monumental history. Royal inscriptions tell historians how rulers wanted to be remembered. Receipts and notes, by contrast, show how communities actually functioned. They can reveal who paid taxes, how goods moved, which languages were used, and what kinds of institutions shaped local life.

Based on published descriptions of the finds, the Athribis texts touch on several areas of daily activity:

• Administration: accounts, receipts, and official notations tied to local management.
• Education: writing exercises and school-related texts that show how literacy was taught.
• Religion: material linked to temple life and later Christian occupation in the region.
• Language change: inscriptions in several scripts and languages that track cultural transitions over centuries.

This breadth matters because Athribis was not a single-period site frozen in time. The material spans the Ptolemaic period, the Roman era, the Coptic period, and into the Islamic era, according to Egyptian press coverage of the excavations. That long chronology allows scholars to compare how administration, literacy, and local society evolved.

According to the University of Tübingen’s earlier statement on the excavation, the ostraca provide “diverse insights” into everyday life in the ancient settlement. That assessment is consistent with the latest reporting: the value of the discovery is cumulative. One receipt may seem minor, but tens of thousands of such fragments can reveal patterns in economy, language, and social organization that no single monumental inscription could provide.

Why the Discovery Matters to Archaeology

For archaeologists and historians, the Athribis archive is significant because it broadens the evidence base for ancient Egypt. Popular attention often focuses on gold, statues, tombs, and elite burials. Yet written fragments from ordinary settings can be just as important. They help scholars reconstruct the mechanics of daily life, from taxation and trade to schooling and household management.

The discovery also matters methodologically. Large groups of ostraca can be studied statistically as well as philologically. Researchers can sort them by language, date, handwriting, content type, and archaeological context. That makes it possible to ask larger questions: When did one script overtake another? How did local bureaucracy function? What kinds of texts were common in temple or settlement areas? The Athribis material is especially useful because of its scale and chronological range.

There is also a preservation story here. Ostraca survive where more fragile materials may not. Because they are ceramic fragments, they can endure harsh conditions and remain legible long after papyrus has decayed. In that sense, the Athribis finds preserve a documentary record that might otherwise have vanished.

For Egypt, the discovery adds to a broader pattern of archaeological announcements that support heritage research and cultural tourism. While the scholarly value comes first, major finds also reinforce international interest in Egypt’s archaeological landscape and in long-running collaborations between Egyptian authorities and foreign research institutions.

Challenges of Interpreting 43,000 Ancient Texts

The scale of the discovery is also its challenge. Recovering more than 43,000 inscribed fragments is only the beginning. Each piece must be cleaned, cataloged, photographed, read, translated where possible, and placed in context. Some texts are complete, but many are fragmentary. Others may be difficult to date precisely or may preserve only names and numbers.

That means the public headline — Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Receipts, Notes, and ‘To Do’ Lists — captures only the first stage of a much longer research process. Specialists in Demotic, Greek, Coptic, Arabic, and other scripts will continue working through the material for years. New interpretations are likely as more fragments are joined, compared, and published.

There is also a caution against oversimplification. Describing some texts as “to do lists” is useful shorthand, but not every short list or memorandum has the same function. Some may be inventories, some school exercises, some administrative notes, and some personal reminders. A careful scholarly approach requires distinguishing among those categories rather than treating all brief texts as identical. That nuance is part of what makes the archive so valuable.

What Comes Next

The next phase is likely to focus on documentation and publication. The Oxyrhynchus papyri project in Oxford shows how long-term publication efforts can transform fragmentary finds into major historical resources over decades. Athribis may follow a similarly extended path, with specialists gradually editing and publishing groups of texts.

As more of the Athribis ostraca are studied, researchers may be able to map local networks of officials, workers, students, and religious communities with greater precision. They may also identify shifts in language use and administration across centuries. Some fragments will remain obscure, but others could become key evidence for understanding regional life in Upper Egypt. That is a major reason the discovery has drawn such strong interest from both archaeologists and the wider public.

Conclusion

The discovery at Athribis shows why small objects can produce big historical insights. More than 43,000 inscribed pottery fragments, including receipts, notes, and practical lists, now offer one of the richest documentary windows into everyday life in ancient Egypt. Rather than focusing on kings and monuments alone, the archive captures the routines of administration, education, religion, and ordinary communication across many centuries.

For readers in the US and beyond, the significance is clear: this is not simply another archaeological headline about a spectacular artifact. It is a record of how ancient people organized work, tracked payments, learned to write, and managed daily obligations. In that sense, the story behind “Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Receipts, Notes, and ‘To Do’ Lists” is both academically important and deeply human.

Testimonial: the experience of Knowledge techniques shown by Prem Rawat

I feel that practising the techniques of Knowledge shown to me by Prem Rawat over 50 years ago has led me a feeling of contentment in my life and enabled me to feel a blessed peace within, and escape from the everyday noise that otherwise fills my mind.

 Prem Rawat offers a wealth of video resources to inform and inspire. 

 

Prem Rawat Teaches Self-Knowledge:
Techniques to Experience Personal Peace

Prem Rawat teaches a simple method to help turn your senses from the outside world to an inner experience of peace, an experience unique to each person. He offers guidance and practical tools he calls the “techniques of Self-Knowledge”, or just “Knowledge.” Practicing these empowering techniques daily helps you to better understand your true self, revealing an ever-evolving experience of heartfulness and contentment.

Throughout this self-paced video course, Prem Rawat facilitates a journey of self-discovery. Rather than describing or defining personal peace, the course materials engage you to reach your own understanding.

The self-paced course aims to help you get in touch with your inner strength whether you opt to learn the techniques of Knowledge afterwards or not — the decision is all yours.

My Piece of Peace 

 

My My - a song by Prem Rawat

Egypt discovers 4,300-year-old body wrapped in pure gold inside limestone coffin

Egypt discovers 4,300-year-old body wrapped in pure gold inside limestone coffin 

Business Insider Africa,  Olamilekan Okebiorun, 22 February 2026

 

 Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a 4,300-year-old mummy wrapped in gold inside a sealed limestone coffin at the Saqqara necropolis, south of Cairo, in a discovery that highlights the enduring link between gold, power and belief in one of Africa’s most historically influential civilisations.

•  Archaeologists discovered a 4,300-year-old gold-wrapped mummy in a sealed limestone coffin at Saqqara, Egypt.

• The mummy belonged to Heka-shepes and dates back to the Old Kingdom’s Fifth and Sixth Dynasties.
• Gold symbolized divinity and eternal life in ancient Egypt, and its use in burial rites indicated elite status.
• The find coincides with the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, enhancing Egypt’s appeal to tourists.

 According to Earth.com, the mummy was found at the bottom of a 15-metre shaft inside a rectangular limestone sarcophagus that had remained sealed with ancient mortar for more than four millennia.

Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, working with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, identified the deceased as Heka-shepes based on inscriptions within the burial chamber.

The tomb dates back to Egypt’s Fifth and Sixth Dynasties during the Old Kingdom period.

Gold as a symbol of divinity and status

Earth.com reported that the body was wrapped in sheets of gold leaf that had remained undisturbed since burial. In ancient Egypt, gold symbolised the flesh of the gods and eternal life.

Artisans hammered the metal into thin sheets and pressed it onto the wrappings using resin, a process reserved for a small elite.

The use of gold in burial rites signalled both immense wealth and spiritual aspiration. Most Old Kingdom tombs were looted over time, making intact discoveries of this scale rare.

For modern Egypt, gold remains economically strategic. The country is among Africa’s notable gold producers, with mining exports contributing to foreign exchange earnings.

The ancient association with gold continues to shape Egypt’s global brand as a cradle of wealth, craftsmanship and civilisation.

The mummy belonged to Heka-shepes and dates back to the Old Kingdom’s Fifth and Sixth Dynasties.

Cultural capital and tourism

The discovery comes as Egypt expands its tourism offering with the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, a landmark project near the Giza Pyramids that is now welcoming visitors.

The museum, one of the largest archaeological museums in the world, houses more than 100,000 artefacts and is expected to significantly boost visitor numbers.

ourism remains a key foreign currency earner for Africa’s second-largest economy, and high-profile discoveries often fuel renewed global interest in Egypt’s heritage.

Saqqara, located near the Step Pyramid of Djoser, has produced a series of major finds in recent years. Each announcement reinforces Egypt’s soft power and its status as a global centre of ancient civilisation.

Officials say conservation teams are now working to stabilise the mummy and associated artefacts. Preserving fragile materials such as wood, textiles and pigment requires controlled conditions and detailed scanning before items are moved or displayed.

For Egypt, the gold-wrapped mummy is more than an archaeological milestone.

It is a reminder that gold has long been intertwined with the country’s wealth, belief systems and global standing, from the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom to modern export markets across Africa and beyond. 

 

 

 

Facebook deleted my account without good reason and refused my appeal - out-of-yor-face book

Facebbok suddenly deleted my account without warning or good reason beyond saying that I had broken their community rules - after almost twenty years with them, many thousandsof posts, a  dozen pages and groups that I can l longer administrate, my life events, hundreds of photos and my friends list of over 2500, many of whom I no longer have any way of contacting.  This came as a complete shock and distrurbing as they do not provide any means of contacting an actual human being, if any still work there.

Of course, I could try to set up a new profile but I have to ask myself "why bother?"

 

Facebook closed down my book about my arrest, trial and imprisonment for cannabis conspiracies

 Facebook closed down my book about my arrest, trial and imprisonment for cannabis conspiracies
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0993210767/ 

Kicking Balls, a poem by Alun Buffry

 

KICKING BALLS

by
Alun Buffry
(May 2025)

That day did come I said goodbye,
And daily since I'd want to cry,
'Cos heaven's not in cloude on high,
And Angels not up in the sky.

The Master said it's all within,
No Karma comes from past lives sins.
The world we take upon the chin,
And on we struggle thick and thin.

Those that passed on from our sight,,
We wonder if perhaps we might
Meet once more on lofty height
Beyond this world and all its plights.

Illusion, monks tell us, is all around
As beaten gongs that speed their sounds,
Vibrating air and through the ground
To free us from our temple mounds.

One day each one of us must go
And only then se'll surely know
The crops that grew from seed we'd sowed.
And answers to our lifetime's woes.

Welive our lives between two walls.
We walk our paths with its pitfalls.
In truth I said, all in all,
What fund I had kicking life's balls.

 

Stardust, a poem by Alun Buffry

 STARDUST

by
Alun Buffry
(May 2025)

In a mountain village far from the sea,
Grows an ancient family tree,
From those people long ago,
To those who nowadays we know.

The youngsters say "Who really cares,
What one says or what one wears?"
Whilst elders say "Listen here my sons,
Who really cares? Well you'll be one!"

You risk your lives in sport and play,,
You hope, I think, you'll survive the day,
To live and prosper well and long
And keep that youthfulness so strong.".

The world we see is not the same
The good old days we seldom blame,
For throwing hope into the trash
And base our lives on counting cash..

We throw out all the children's toys
Seek transient pleasure for our joys
Forgetting who we truely are,
Just dust from some faint and distant stars.

San Salvadore Market, Monferrato

 

MARRAKECH SUNRISE 1977, a poem by Alun Buffry

MARRAKECH SUNRISE 1977
by
Alun Buffry

Many times we've sat,
And watched a good sunset,
But the beauty of the skies,
Of the Marrakech sunrise!
Behind the Atlas Mountains,
There's a desert full of fountains,
Lakes of pale blue ice,
And golden coloured spice
And yellow sparkling sand,
Suspended from God's hand.
Today a brand new life,
Completely free from strife.

IF ONLY SUOMI - A Story of Love Through Time

A couple of years ago I woke up crying.

I had dreamt that I had "gone back" to 1972, to Leeds (a place I have never otherwise been to) and was 22 years old again.

 

I fell in love with a student French girl called Suomi and spent just 36 hours with her - that included attending a Donovan concert at Leeds University, some time in a park and a meal ina Chinese restaurant and .... well I won't tell you everything here.

 

I also met Paddy, a man that I did not actually meet for several years in my "other lfe" and became life-long friends with.

In 1972 in my "other life" I was actually on the way to India, so I could not meet or contact myself or in fact any friends or family. Then I had to leave Suomi and return to 2028.

 

That led me to writing this book, about dreams within dreams, time travel and love.

 

I hope you will give it a chance and read and enjpy it. It's on Amazon or if you want a signed copy just message me.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/191631077X/ref=nosim?tag=webbooks05

ABeFree Publishing