18th Dynasty tomb unearthed in Egypt
EGYPTIAN archaeologists have unearthed several mummies, colourful wooden sarcophagi and more than 1 000 funerary statues in a 3 500-year-old tomb near the city of Luxor.
The 18th Dynasty tomb containing at least eight mummies was discovered in the Draa Abul Nagaa necropolis near the famed Valley of the Kings, the antiquities minister, Khaled el-Enany, said yesterday.
It belonged to a nobleman who worked as the city judge and 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.
“It was a surprise how much was being displayed inside,” el-Enany said.
“We found a large number of Ushabti [small carved figurines], more than 1 000 of them.This is an important discovery.”
Ushabti figurines were often placed with the deceased in ancient Egyptian tombs to help with responsibilities in the afterlife.
Archaeological mission head Mostafa Waziri said: “There are 10 coffins and eight mummies.”
Inside the tomb, archaeologists 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 wellpreserved.
Archaeologists were also examining a mummy wrapped in linen which was inside one of the coffins.
White, orange, green, and patterned pots were also found in the tombs.
The necropolis is located across the Nile from Luxor, on the west bank, where many of the famous ancient Egyptian pharaohs were buried, including Tutankhamun.
The age of the tomb was determined through the drawings on the ceiling, Waziri said.
He said the mummies dated back to an age called the era of the tomb robbers.
The T-shaped tomb consists of an open court leading into a rectangular hall, a corridor and an inner chamber.
“It’s evident that someone with a conscience, the priests or a high-profile government official, made an opening to the chambers, and put the coffins there,” Waziri said.
Archaeologists were able to enter the tomb after removing almost 450m of debris out of the open court.