Mummies discovered in ancient Luxor tomb
Print Edition
EGYPTIAN archeologists have unearthed several mummies, colorful wooden sarcophagi and more than 1,000 funerary statues in a 3,500-year-old tomb near the city of Luxor hailed as an “important discovery.”
Antiquities officials had initially said six mummies along with partial remains were discovered near the southern city, but said they had later identified two more mummies.
“There are 10 coffins and eight mummies. The excavation is ongoing,” Mostafa Waziri, the head of the archeological mission, said.
The 18th Dynasty tomb, discovered in the Draa Abul Nagaa necropolis near the famed Valley of the Kings, belonged to a nobleman named Userhat who worked as the city judge, the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
It was opened to add more mummies during the 21st Dynasty, about 3,000 years ago, to protect them during a period when tomb-robbing was common, said Waziri, the head of the archeological mission, at the site.
“It was a surprise how much was being displayed inside” the tomb, Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Enany told reporters outside the tomb. “We found a large number of Ushabti (small carved figurines), more than 1,000 of them.
“This is an important discovery,” he added.
Ushabti figurines were often placed with the deceased in ancient Egyptian tombs to help with responsibilities in the afterlife.
Inside the tomb, archeologists, wearing white masks and latex gloves, inspected the sarcophagi, which were covered with intricate drawings in red, blue, black, green, and yellow, and featured the carved faces of the dead.
The coffins were mainly well-preserved, though some had deteriorated and broken over the years.
Archeologists were also examining a mummy wrapped in linen which was inside one of the coffins.
Nevine el-Aref, the antiquities ministry spokeswoman, said “there is evidence and traces that new mummies could be discovered in the future.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
