Posted on 02/09/2006 7:32:55 AM PST by AdmSmith
CAIRO (Reuters) - An American team has found what appears to be an intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings, the first found in the valley since that of Tutankhamun in 1922, one of the archaeologists said on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT
The tomb contains five or six mummies in intact sarcophagi from the late 18th dynasty, about the same period as Tutankhamun, but the archaeologists have not yet had the time or the access to identify them, the archaeologist added.
The 18th dynasty ruled Egypt from 1567 BC to 1320 BC, a period during which the country's power reached a peak.
The Valley of the Kings in southern Egypt contains the tombs of most of the pharaohs of the time but the archaeologist said the mummies in the newly found tomb need not be royal.
"There are lots of non-royal tombs in the valley. It wouldn't be the only one by any means," said the archaeologist, who asked not to be named because the Egyptian authorities are planning a media event at the site on Friday.
"The archaeologists haven't been inside properly yet. It's very small and cramped but it is late 18th dynasty," she added.
A statement from the government's Supreme Council of Antiquities said the tomb was found by a team from the University of Memphis in the United States.
The five sarcophagi, which are carved to human form, have coloured funerary masks and the tomb contains a large number of big storage jars, the statement said.
"For an unknown reason they were buried rapidly in the small tomb," it added.
The tomb, 5 km (three miles) from that of Tutankhamun, was covered with the rubble of workmen's huts dating from the latter part of the 19th dynasty, more than 100 years after the tomb was sealed, it said.
"Raiders of the lost tomb" ping
"Mummy Dearest"
No time to ID? The sarcophagi don't have any cartouches on them?
Gee, I hope that Dr. Zahi Hawass turns up :).
I have a renewed interest in egypt after seeing the Hatshepsut exhibit in San Franfreakshow last weekend.
It was great seeing hatshepsut's artifacts and thinking to myself she no doubt knew Moses and likely could have been the one who drew him out of the river.
God's plan is so perfect...
Wow, the first new tomb discovered since 1922... and the liberals would have us believe that because no large stockpiles of WMD have been found in a country the size of California in the last two years, that no such stockpiles exist. Go figure.
Seriously tho , I eagerly await the obligatory documentary about this find on the discovery channel. Finding tombs isn't unusual. Finding unplundered tombs however, is quite another. Can't wait!
CC
Rapidly buried, untouched grave, group burial.
I say they died of a very contagious disease.
No Nobel prize for naming the head of the media event tomorrow. ;-)Heh heh... Yeah, gotta be "Zowie" Hawass.
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Yahoo! This is great! Thanks for the ping.
Zahi Hawass?
That was my first thought as well. Hope it's not still contagious! :)
No way! How sweet is this? (I'm such an Egypt geek. Camels, mummies, the gold King Tut mask, and pyramids are instant remote-control stoppers for me.)
Camels used to get my attention. Then I switched to Marlboros.
Fortunately, I can operate the remote and light one up at the same time.
I actually have a soft spot for ol' Zowie. He's such a shameless self-promoter and Indiana Jones type...and his enthusiasm is infectious.
Watch out for preserved symbiotes in the coptic jars...
Yup, that's strange. Not even a picture of Dr Hawass.
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