The Head of an Emperor, the Shrine of a God: Two Contrasting Finds at the Egyptian Sites of Luxor and Aswan

Ancient Origins

Recent discoveries at two of the major ancient sites in Egypt emphasize the diversity of culture and power that existed in the region over time. In Aswan, the head of a marble statue of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius was uncovered, while at the Karnak Temple site of Luxor, a Late Period shrine to the god Osiris was found.

An Out of Place Shrine
In an announcement yesterday, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities told of the two recent finds. At the Luxor site, researchers with the Archaeological Egyptian Mission from the Ministry of Antiquities working at the southern part of Karnak Temples’ 10th pylon uncovered ‘architectural elements’ of a shrine or chapel of god Osiris (or Osiris-Ptah-Neb). This was a surprise discovery, as other Osiris compartments have only been found in the northern or eastern parts of temples.

The Ministry of Antiquities announcement records Dr Ayman Ashmawy, Head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector as highlighting the importance of the shrine at this location.

According to Dr Ashmawy, “the shrine is one of the most important shrines to be constructed for god Osiris inside the temples of Karnak during the Late Period, because it is located at the southern side of god Amun-Re Temple and not to the east or north side as known in the ancient Egyptian belief.”

Panorama of the Osiris shrine that has be uncovered in Luxor. (Image: Ministry of Antiquities)

Dedicated to the Dead
 Osiris was a prominent god in the Egyptian pantheon . He was born of Geb and Nut, along with his siblings; Set, Isis, and Nephthys. He is believed to have been the first ruler of Egypt but was murdered by his brother, Set, and eventually became the god of the Underworld.

The exact location of the shrine is to the south of the 10th pylon of god Amun-Re temple, in the area between the temples of Amun and Mut, to the east of the Avenue of Sphinxes. According to Essam Nagy, Head of the Mission, the shrine dates back to the late 25 th Dynasty which might help explain its unconventional location. In this period, the god appears to have had important links to the Avenue of the Sphinxes and Mut Temple.

The announcement includes photos of the shrine ruins, showing the architectural elements that were found. These are an entrance building, foundations including those of a third room, the remains of columns, and paving stones from the shrine floor.

Collection of pottery found at the shrine site. (Image: Ministry of Antiquities)

Nagy also mentions some of the artifacts that have been found include a collection of pottery, the lower part of a statue, and part of a stone relief which depicts an offering table along with a ram and a goose and a winged sun-disk. The ram and the goose are symbols of the god Amun who is the master of the Karnak temples.

Stone tablet found at the Karnak site depicting offering table, ram, goose and winged sun-disk. (Image: Ministry of Antiquities)

The site at Karnak is made up of many temples and was the most important religious site in ancient Egypt. Many consider it to continue to be Egypt’s most significant ancient site.

The shrine can be fairly confidently dated, as it depicts the names of Kings Taharka and Tanout Amun, the last king of the 25th Dynasty (the Nubian Dynasty), in the 7th century BC.

 Head of an Emperor

The second noted find, that occurred in Aswan, was the marble head of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, a rare find in the area, according to Dr Ashmawy. The head could once have been part of a statue or a bust and shows the emperor, as he is represented in many other statues, with wavy hair and a beard. As is so often the case, the nose is now absent.

The find was made at the Temple of Kom Ombo as a result of work being carried out to protect the site from groundwater damage. This complex was constructed in the Ptolemaic Dynasty and additions were made in the Roman period.

The Head of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius that was found in the Temple of Kom Ombo, Aswan. (Image: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities)

Marcus Aurelius was the 16 th emperor of Rome and reigned from 161 AD until 180 AD. This was over two centuries into the Roman rule of Egypt, which began after the death of Queen Cleopatra VII in 30 BC.

Although discovered in different spots and with around a millennium and several changes of power separating them, the contrast of these finds provides a good example of how this territory was contested and ruled by many differing empires during this period in its history.

Top image: Head of Marcus Aurelius found at Aswan/Site of the newly discovered shrine at Luxor, Source: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities

By Gary Manners

Rich Pickings in Luxor As Two Family Tombs are Found Including that of a Royal Goldsmith

Ancient Origins

In ongoing explorations of a necropolis at Luxor, archaeologists have opened a new tomb and the findings have been rich. Amongst the 3,500-year-old treasures are jewels, sarcophagi, pottery and four mummies, known to be the remains of a goldsmith and his family.

 Multiple Finds
This is the latest in a series of interesting tombs that archaeologists have unearthed in Egypt in the last few months. It is the tomb of Amenemhat, a prominent goldsmith from the 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom period (1550 BC to 1292 BC). It has been found on the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor, in the Draa Abul Naga necropolis, an area which is known to contain the burials of many prominent noblemen and top officials, reports the Telegraph. According to Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Director General of Luxor, who is leading the dig, the tomb’s entrance is located in the courtyard of a Middle Kingdom tomb. Found in the same exploration was another burial shaft containing the mummies of a woman and two children, revealed the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities in an announcement on Saturday, reports the Telegraph.

A researcher studies a hoard of remains found at the necropolis (Ministry of Antiquities)

 Amenemhat’s Complex
The Ministry claims the tomb is of ‘Amen’s Goldsmith’, as it seems that Amenemhat dedicated his work to the most revered deity of the time, Amen. Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anani told reporters that the tomb is not in the best condition, reports stthomastimesjournal but as infiltrators of the burial place enter, they are immediately confronted by a slightly damaged sandstone statue of both the goldsmith and his wife, Amenhotep seated next to each other, overlooking their final resting sanctuary beyond. At the feet of the couple, the image of one of their sons is carved as a relief.

The daughter, or as they used to refer (to daughters) 'the precious,' is usually the one pictured in this place. If the family have no daughters, they would take their daughter-in-law. It is unusual to see the son," said Waziri reported CNN.

Moving past this point, Waziri explained you find two burial shafts. The one to the right is 7 meters (23 ft) in length and was probably to house the goldsmith and his wife. In it were found several mummies, sarcophagi, funerary masks, together with several other statues of the couple.

In the shaft to the left, the evidence was quite clear that the tomb had been reused at a later date, as in this second chamber there were sarcophagi from the 21st and 22nd Dynasties or the Third Intermediate Period (1070BC to 664BC) reported the Guardian.

One of several statue representations of Amenemhat, the goldsmith, and his wife Amenhoteb (Ministry of Antiquities)

 Another Family Resting Place
Along another burial shaft that was found close-by this tomb were found the mummies of a woman and two children. According to the ministry bone specialist, Sherine Ahmed Shawqi, the woman looks to have died at the age of 50 and showed signs that she had a bacterial bone disease, said the Telegraph. In this instance, the bodies were in two separate coffins with the children sharing one and the mother in the other according to the Ministry of Antiquities.

The lady seemed to have endured an uncomfortable end. “This woman probably cried extensively as the size of her carbuncles are abnormally enlarged,” postulated Shawqi.

The two other bodies, presumed her children, seem to be of two males aged between 20 and 30. It is thought that these would have been added to the burial place at later dates to the parent.

An Egyptian archaeologist looks at a newly-uncovered sarcophagus in the Draa Abul Naga necropolis (Ministry of Antiquities)

More to Come
Other items exposed during the excavation included a cache of 50 funerary cones. Of these cones, 40 are believed to belong to other officials from the time, whose remains have yet to be found. “This is a good sign,” said the leader of the excavation, Mostafa al-Waziry, as reported by the Guardian, “It means if we keep digging in this area, we are going to find more tombs.”

Although this find is not of a very high-profile personage from the past on the level of a pharaoh, the discovery is seen to be important by the Antiquity Ministry as it was found by Egyptian archaeologists working independently of the international research community.

“We used to escort foreign archaeologists as observers, but that’s now in the past. We are the leaders now,” said Mustafa Waziri, the ministry’s chief archaeologist in Luxor.

The continuation of archaeological investigations in Egypt are of high importance and these new finds add to the momentum. Egyptian minister of antiquities, Khaled Alnani, called it “an important scientific discovery” and went on to call 2017, “a year or archaeological discoveries.”

And he is not exaggerating. To mention just a few examples of finds, Ancient Origins reported on a huge tomb find in April, containing mummies and thousands of artifacts that belonged to a city advisor. In March, an 8 meter (26 ft) statue of Psamtek I was unearthed. Last month, a Roman-era tomb was uncovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Minya.

These recent finds have come after a quiet time for archaeology in Egypt since the disruption of the Arab Spring protests in 2011 and subsequent terrorist actions. According to the Guardian, such a loss of tourist revenue has severely reduced the capacity for of the Antiquities Ministry to maintain the ancient monuments. It is hoped that tourism, which is currently at a third of previous levels, will be encouraged by the recent flurry of finds.

Top image: Mummies of a woman and two children found in burial chamber at Draa Abul Naga, Luxor (Ministry of Antiquities)

By Gary Manners

3,200-Year-Old Ancient Egyptian Mummy Discovered in Great Shape in Luxor

Ancient Origins

A Spanish mission has just announced an exciting new discovery of a 3,200-year-old mummy in a highly decorated sarcophagus at Thutmose III's temple in Luxor, a city on the east bank of the Nile River in southern Egypt. The discovery was from the tomb of the servant of King Thutmose III’s house. The Spanish Mission stated that the mummy cartonnage is in an extremely good state of preservation. Thutmose III’s Reign and the Temple Project Thutmose III’s tomb was discovered by Victor Loret in 1898, in the Valley of the Kings. He was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty and his reign lasted from 1479 to 1426 BC. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most dominant kings of ancient Egypt, which is the reason why many archaeologists and historians often refer to him as the Egyptian "Napoleon". He is described as a very skilled warrior who brought the Egyptian empire to the zenith of its power by conquering all of Syria, crossing the Euphrates to defeat the Mitannians, and invading south along the Nile River to Napata in the Sudan. When Thutmose III died, he was buried in the Valley of the Kings as were the rest of the kings from this period in Egypt, also called the "mansions of millions of years" by the Egyptians. The excavation, restoration and enhancement project of these royal tombs was orchestrated by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the Academy of Fine Arts Santa Isabel of Hungary of Seville and began in 2008. The team is led by Dr. Myriam Seco Álvarez, who coordinates researches in the Temple of Millions of Years of Thutmose III.



Temple of Millions of Years in Luxor. Credit: Thutmose III Temple Project Millennia-Old Mummy Found in Egyptian Tomb The ninth archaeological field season, which only launched a few weeks ago, is already considered successful after the joint Spanish-Egyptian mission discovered the tomb of the servant of the king’s house, Amenrenef, near a temple from the era of the great warrior king Thutmose III at Al-Deir Al-Bahari on Luxor's west bank. The mummy had been bound with linen stuck together with plaster and placed in an ornate, colored wooden sarcophagus.

The newly-discovered mummy and sarcophagus in Luxor. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities Mahmoud Afifi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department at the Ministry of Antiquities told Ahram Online that the tomb was uncovered at the southern enclosure wall of the temple and is in an excellent state of conservation. A deteriorated wooden coffin was found inside the tomb, he continued, but inside a beautiful and well-preserved mummy cartonnage was found.

Entrance to the tomb where the mummy was found. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities The archaeological team’s head, Myriam Seco Alvarez, said that the mummy was decorated with "many colorful decorations recalling religious symbols from ancient Egypt, such as the goddesses Isis and Nephtys displaying their wings, and the four sons of Horus". She also added that the cartonnage includes its almost complete polychrome painted decoration and inscriptions with some of the most characteristic symbols and elements of the ancient Egyptian religion.

Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

 Luxor, a city of nearly half a million people, has been battered by political instability and jihadi violence since the 2011 revolution that toppled the longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. However, many archaeologists are being optimistic and consider Luxor a city of treasures that only small part have been discovered and more is waiting to be discovered.

Top image: The newly-discovered mummy and sarcophagus in Luxor. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities
By Theodoros II

Eight More Statues of the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet Found in Luxor

Ancient Origins

Eight statues of the goddess Sekhmet have been discovered in the temple of Amenhotep III at Kôm El-Hettan on the west bank of the Nile. The black granite statues were found during excavations which are a part of the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project led by Armenian Egyptologist Hourig Sourouzian.

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According to Ahram Online, the statues show Sekhmet with a with a tripartite wig and a long, tight-fitting dress. The tallest of the newly-discovered statues is 1.9 meters (6.2 ft.) tall. They are 0.5 meters (1.6 ft.) wide and about 1 meter (3.3 ft.) deep.

A statue of Sekhmet in situ. (Egypt Antiquities Ministry)

In ancient Egypt, Sekhmet was a solar deity and a warrior goddess who was very popular, especially during the New Kingdom Period. She was also a goddess of healing for Upper Egypt.
Egypt's Antiquities Ministry says that the statues are grouped in two main categories. The first group contains six statues which show the lion-headed goddess seated on a throne and holding a symbol of life in her right hand. Three of them are almost complete, one is just the upper part, and two others are lower parts.

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The second group contains two middle parts of statues which present the goddess standing – these are headless and without the lower parts. Nonetheless, it is still possible to recognize that the goddess is depicted holding a papyrus scepter in her left hand and a life symbol in her right.

A head and torso of one of the statues. (Egypt Antiquities Ministry)

Near the statues of Sekhmet, the team discovered the middle part of a statue of Amenhotep III wearing a jubilee cloak. It was carved of the same black granite.
The discovered statues are not that unique. During the previous seasons of works by the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project and other groups, many similar statues were discovered. Due to the orders by Amenhotep III, seven hundred statues of Sekhmet were placed on the west bank of the Nile.

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All the statues were surrounding the large peristyle court and the hypostyle hall of the vast temple, and each statue is a typical example of art from the times of the New Kingdom Period. The ones discovered recently will be cleaned, desalinated and documented, then put on display in the temple.
The Temple on Luxor’s west bank was the largest of the mortuary temples in the Theban area at the time of its construction. It covered the area of around 350,000 square meters (376,7369 sq. ft.) and could be the most expensive palace in the history of Egypt.
Amenhotep III is known as sort of the Louis XIV of Ancient Egypt. He was an important builder and founder of many impressive palaces and temples. He ruled in the 13th century BC and was one of the most important kings of the 18th dynasty. He was also the father of Akhenaten and grandfather of Tutankhamun. His reign was a time of prosperity for all the Kingdom.

Colossal granite head of Amenhotep III at the British Museum. (Public Domain)

The German-Armenian team led by Hourig Sourouzian made several important discoveries during the last few excavation seasons. In 2014, archaeologists unearthed two colossal statues of Amenhotep III - another two examples of the so-called Colossi of Memnon. The statues are similar to two other 3,400-year-old colossi twin statues of Amenhotep III, both of which present the pharaoh seated.
“The world until now knew two Memnon colossi, but from today it will know four colossi of Amenhotep III,” Hourig Sourouzian commented on her success to AFP.

Pharaoh Amenhotep III's Sitting Colossi of Memnon statues at Luxor, Egypt. (Than217/ CC BY 3.0)

The restored statues are 11.5 meters tall (37.7 ft.), 3.6 meters (11.8 ft.) wide, and weigh 250 tons. The archeologists told AFP that the original statues would have reached a height of 13.5 meters (44.3 ft.), but they are missing a double crown, which would have decorated the top of the pharaoh’s head in the past. The statues depict Amenhotep III wearing a royal pleated kilt that is held at the waist by a large belt.
Excavations in the Temple will continue.
Featured Image: Two of the statues of the goddess Sekhmet. Source: Egypt Antiquities Ministry
By Natalia Klimczak

Discovery of high official tomb points to reuse of tombs and burial goods in ancient Egypt

Ancient Origins

The discovery of an ancient tomb belonging to a vizier (high official) in the Upper Valley outside Luxor, Egypt, points to a curious practice among ancient Egyptians: reuse of burial goods and coffins in subsequent burials and even recycling of tombs.
Perhaps the most famous case that came to light recently was the tomb of Tutankhamun, who, researcher Nicholas Reeves believes, was entombed in part of a space meant for Nefertiti. Nefertiti possibly assumed her famous husband Akhenaten’s burial goods, Reeves said.
Reeves posits that when Tutankhamun died in 1332 BC, his tomb displaced part of Nefertiti's tomb and assumed some of her burial goods and space because of his untimely and unexpected death. Further, though he says it can't be proven yet, he speculates Nefertiti herself “will have inherited, adapted, and employed the full, formal burial equipment originally produced for Akhenaten.”
Other researchers say the ancient Egyptian practice of recycling mortuary goods and spaces was common at certain times, especially during times of financial hardship.
“Even for elites, the reality was that mortuary cults were short-lived, tombs were robbed from the time of burial onwards and burial places were reused,” says a 2002 paper in the Journal of Social Archaeology, written by John Baines and Peter Lacovara.
Great care was taken to ensure a good afterlife for elites, but burial practices for less-prominent Egyptians are unknown because their remains and graves have not survived. Much of society was mustered to participate in constructing the tombs of the ancient royal personages and other elites, Baines and Lacovara’s paper says. Ancient Egyptians considered proper burial necessary for salvation in the afterlife, but the people doing the work on elaborate and even grandiose tombs had no part in the elaborate rituals of embalming, protection of the body in a stone tomb and the burial goods that would ensure the deceased was in comfort.

The ancient Egyptian outer coffin of Meret-it-es (Photo by Daderot/Wikimedia Commons)

In other words, the workers who did the work of ensuring the noblemen and –women had a safe comfortable afterlife had no such salvation for themselves.
In this latest case, vizier Badi-Bastet’s tomb was discovered in the South Asasif Conservation Project area. The vizier apparently had some influence in the court of Karabasken, the ruler or a mayor in Upper Egypt during the 25^th Dynasty, which ruled from the mid-8^th to 7^th centuries BC. Badi-Bastet’s tomb was inside the tomb of Karabasken.
"Such a find highlights that Badi-Bastet reused the tomb," Mahmoud Afifi, the head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department, told Ahram Online. From the decorations in the tomb, it appears Badi-Bastet was an important person, Afifi said. An archaeological survey was recently done on the court of Karabasken’s tomb that revealed several paintings and architectural designs made just for Badi-Bastet.
Badi-Bastet’s body has not been found, but Elena Pischikova, the chief of the archaeological mission, said he could be buried in the court of Karabasken’s tomb or even in the main burial chamber. She said the mission will do more cleaning and further archaeological explorations of the tomb, which may reveal more secrets.
Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty told Ahram Online that the discovery is important. He added that the tomb has shed more light on design and architecture of the tombs of government officials of the period.

The South Asasif Conservation Project area near where the Badi-Bastet tomb was discovered (Credit: South Asasif Conservation Project)

From a study of his titles, scholars have ascertained that Badi-Bastet was the grandson of nobleman Babasa, whose tomb is east of Asasif.
The South Asasif Conservation Project began in 2006. At that time two Kushite tombs of Karakahamun and Karabasken along with the early Saite tomb of Irtieru were found. The tombs had not been cleaned and restored until this most recent project now underway.
A tomb of a much earlier era and another place, Senebkay’s tomb of the 13^th Dynasty of the 17^th century BC in Abydos, was found to have objects from previous tombs. Senebkay’s tomb was found near the tomb of an 18^th century BC pharaoh, Sobekhotep. The discovery of recycled grave goods indicated that the Abydos Dynasty, as it is called, had a comparatively weak economy, says IBTimes in an article from 2014. The discovery of Senebkay’s tomb was the first tomb from that dynasty ever found, and the era of the rule of Senebkay and others was dubbed the Abydos Dynasty.
Archaeologist Kathlyn Cooney wrote an article on the website of the American Research Center in Egypt that says her survey of 21^st Dynasty coffins turned up evidence that half of them were reused. She said these coffins are spread out around the world. She wrote that some Egyptologists may consider the reuse of coffins rare and immoral, but her research showed it was common for that period.

“I suspect there were magical spells and rituals involved to keep the dead at peace before and after they were removed from the container, but the Egyptians did not leave any such information preserved for us,” Cooney wrote.

Featured image: This relief shows Badi-Bastet holding lotuses. (Ahram Online photo)
By Mark Miller

Polish Archaeologists Discover Rare Gift from Father of Cleopatra

Ancient Origins

A linen cloth that was once given as a gift by the father of legendary Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII has been discovered by Polish archaeologists during excavations in Western Thebes, now the modern city of Luxor. The cloth was given to an Egyptian temple.
The archaeologists were exploring a deep shaft in a tomb belonging to a dignitary from Ancient Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (around 2000 BC). The tomb is located in the necropolis of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, later occupied by Coptic Christian monks living on the site as hermits during the 6^th century AD.
“Probably the monks living in the hermitage, who were bringing everything they could use from the surrounding area, found the canvas in the ruins of a nearby temple and took it with a practical use in mind” Deputy Head of Mission Andrzej Ćwiek told Science In Poland. “We were lucky to discover this unique object.”
Ćwiek is employed by Adam Mickiewicz University and the Archaeological Museum in Poznań. The excavations have been conducted under concessions obtained by the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw.

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The linen fragment has a hieroglyphic text painted on it in ink. Two columns of cartouches with ornamental borders surrounding the name of the Pharaoh, Ptolemy XII Auletes (80-51 BC) who was the father of Cleopatra VII. In the 3^rd century, a scribe added the name of the goddess Isis. The fragment is from a velum, a curtain that was used to cover a holy image, such as a statue of a deity, in the Temple of Hathor near Deir el-Medina. The velum was probably Ptolemy XII’s gift to the deity, given that his cartouches can be seen on the gate of the temple. According to Dr. Ćwiek, this indicates that the Pharaoh was involved in the creation of the temple. He could have funded temple equipment including the provision of the velum.

Temple of Hathor, Deir el-Medina (Wikimedia Commons)

Deir el-Medina is the site of a workman’s village, once used to accommodate workmen employed in the construction of the royal tombs in the famous Valley of the Kings, where the tomb of Tutankhamen is located. Although the temple is primarily dedicated to Hathor, the Egyptian cow goddess, it also has sanctuaries in honor of Amun-Sokar-Osiris and Amun-Re-Osiris – Osiris and Amun or Amun-Re respectively. Osiris was the Egyptian god of the dead and god of the underworld, but he was also a god of fertility and agriculture.
The identification of the item was assisted by Prof. Ewa Laskowska-Kusztal from the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Culture PAS.
The archaeologists also found other artifacts among the debris in the shaft, which is several meters deep. These included fragments of mud brick from the Pharaonic and Coptic period, wooden coffins, small faience beads and amulets, and ushebti clay figurines (funerary figures intended to serve the deceased in the afterlife). Large quantities of these figurines were placed in tombs in order to assist the deceased after his death, in accordance with a command by the god Osiris. The investigation is far from over and excavations of the site will continue in February 2016.

Ushebti clay figurines discovered in the shaft, Luxor, Egypt (M. Kaczanowicz)

Cleopatra was the last Ptolemaic ruler of Ancient Egypt. After her death, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire. The Ptolemaic dynasty was of Macedonian Greek origin. It ruled the country following the death of Alexander The Great in the Hellenistic Period. Although the Ptolemies refused to speak Egyptian, preferring Greek, Cleopatra herself did learn Egyptian and presented herself during her rule as the reincarnation of the goddess Isis, the consort of Osiris. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra allied herself and Egypt with Marc Antony in opposition to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, later called Augustus. After Antony committed suicide when he lost the Battle of Actium to Octavian, Cleopatra also committed suicide. She had three children: twins, a daughter, Cleopatra Selene II and son, Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus.

Drawing of Cleopatra by Michelangelo (1534) (Wikimedia Commons)

Cleopatra has been made famous through her depiction in many works of literature and art, from the famous Shakespeare play through to the 1963 Hollywood movie of the same name, Antony and Cleopatra, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.
Featured image: Cloth Gifted by Ptolemy XII Auletes to the Temple of Hathor, (A. Ćwiek)

Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old tomb from 11th dynasty in Luxor

 

Spanish team find large pharaonic tomb that was probably built for a member of the royal family or a high-ranking statesman

 

The entrance of the tomb found by Spanish archaeologists, who said the discovery would reveal new details about the 11th dynasty. Photograph: AFP/Getty

         

The entrance of the tomb found by Spanish archaeologists, who said the discovery would reveal new details about the 11th dynasty. Photograph: AFP/Getty

Spanish archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old pharaonic tomb belonging to a leader from the 11th dynasty of Egypt in Luxor, the antiquities ministry said on Monday.
The wide surface of the tomb showed it was that of "someone from the royal family or a high-ranking statesman," the antiquities minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said.
The Spanish team was led by José Galán, who said the tomb would provide new insights into the dynasty that ruled in Luxor, the modern site of the city of Thebes, which was then the capital of ancient Egypt.
"This discovery confirms the presence of many tombs from the 11th dynasty in the Deraa Abu Naga region," said Galán.
One tomb dating back to the same period was discovered in the area five years ago. It contained a red sarcophagus, a well-preserved mummy, as well as arrows and arches that are now on display in Luxor's museum.
"The tomb may have been used as a mass grave, given the high number of human remains [discovered in it]," Ali al-Asfar, an antiquities ministry official, said on Monday, referring to the newly discovered site.
But it was also used during the 17th dynasty as pottery tools and utensils from this period were discovered in the tomb, Asfar added.
Luxor, a city of some 500,000 people on the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt, is an open-air museum of intricate temples and pharaonic tombs.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/09/archaeologists-discover-4000-year-old-pharaonic-tomb-luxor-egypt
 

Team of European archaeologists find alabaster statue of Egyptian pharoanic princess in Luxor

March 7, 2014: (AP Photo/Egypt's Antiquities Ministry)

CAIRO –  Egypt has announced that a team of European archaeologists have found a nearly 6 ½-foot-tall alabaster statue of a pharoanic princess, dating from approximately 1350 B.C., outside the southern city of Luxor.

Minister of Antiquities Mohammed Ibrahim said in in a statement Friday that the statue was once part of a larger statue that was nearly 456 feet tall and guarded the entrance to a temple.
Ibrahim says the statue is of Iset, the daughter of Amenhotep III, and is the first found that depicts her without her siblings. Archaeologists uncovered the statue next to the funerary temple of Amenhotep III, who was worshipped as a deity after his death.
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/03/07/archaeologists-find-alabaster-statue-egyptian-princess/