Posted on 02/10/2006 3:57:33 PM PST by aculeus
Archaeologists have discovered an intact, ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings, the first since King Tutankhamun's was found in 1922.
A University of Memphis-led team found the previously unknown tomb complete with sarcophagi and five mummies.
The archaeologists have not yet been able to identify them.
But Egypt's chief archaeologist Zahi Hawass says they "might be royals or nobles" moved from "original graves to protect them from grave robbers".
"We don't really know what kind of people are inside but I do believe they look royal. Maybe they are kings or queens or nobles," he told Reuters news agency.
Bob Partridge, of the Ancient Egypt Society, said it could possibly be the tomb of Queen Nefertiti, who co-ruled Egypt between 1379 and 1358 BC. Her tomb has never been found.
"Nefertiti was probably buried to the north of Egypt at a place called Akhetaten," he told BBC News24.
"It's believed that the burials there, which included Nefertiti and some of her daughters, were brought back to the Theban area, and the Valley of the Kings would be the obvious place."
The Valley of the Kings, near the city of Luxor in southern Egypt, was used for burials for around 500 years from 1540BC onwards.
Surprise find
The newly-found tomb is thought to date from the 18th Pharaonic Dynasty, the first dynasty of the New Kingdom which ruled between 1539BC and 1292BC and made its capital in Thebes, now Luxor.
It is the 63rd tomb to be discovered since the valley was first mapped in the 18th century, and was unexpectedly found only five metres away from King Tutankhamun's.
The team of archaeologists had not been looking for it.
"The excavation team was focused on the tomb of a 19th Dynasty pharaoh, King Amenmesses," Patricia Podzorski, curator of Egyptian Art at the University of Memphis, told the BBC's World Tonight.
"They were working in front of the tomb looking for foundation deposits possibly related to that tomb, and clearing away some workmen's huts from the 19th Dynasty that were both to the left and right side of the tomb," she explained.
"Underneath these workmen's huts, they found a shaft."
Four metres below the ground was a single chamber containing sarcophagi with coloured funerary masks and more than 20 large storage jars bearing Pharaonic seals.
The sarcophagi were buried rapidly in the small tomb for an unknown reason.
The discovery has come as a surprise to many, Ms Podzorski said.
"People have been saying the valley was done for 100 years," she said.
"They said it before Howard Carter found King Tutankhamun's tomb and they said it after. But, obviously, they are still wrong."
Story from BBC NEWS Published: 2006/02/10 23:26:27 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Elderberry, Oh yeah.. I always buy some when in
Alaska, they grow 'em nice and plump up there.
I remember picking choke cherries as a kid, they have a nice zing to them too when ya cook and can 'em..
Like a good jam or jelly, finds like those in Egypt don't come along much anymore , it will be a pleasure to share and savor the finds.
Alaskan elderberries... hmm... there are also buffalo berries which are edible, and one variety of elderberries which isn't. :') Berries iz goood.
Hey, look what Thinkin' Gal posted...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1576212/posts?page=40#40
No comment.
What'd I say? :-)
Do you have that book? I bought it years ago.
Grabbed it off the bookcase a couple feet away from me.
This is going to be interesting.
Sort of like, "Ricky Butler says..."
(allusion to The 'Burbs)
For some reason, Zahi Hawass reminds me of Geraldo.
They call it "carbon dating."
Everyone take a drink.
I was told that book is mighty hard to come by these days, when I brought my copy to the David Rohl seminar two years ago. However, I don't think the figure on the cover (the Biblical Joseph) is in the newly discovered tomb. Isn't he supposed to be somewhere under Nablus?
Dateline Cairo -- Geraldo Rivera teamed up with Zahi Hawass to open a crypt where they found a carniverous critter cruising in the crapper in an ancient cave near Cairo. Workmen are standing by to excavate the site after a cartouche was discovered on the ceiling of the cave. Heiroglyphic experts are expected to make an announcement today after deciphering the ancient script.
"Pharoic Tomb Find Stuns Egypt"
I, as well, am stuned. Fortunately my beeber is still OK.
I wish I'd known it was going to be so hard to find, I'd have stocked up on a few cases and sold the copies one by one on eBay. :')
First peek at ancient tombThe door was partly opened last week to reveal the simple burial place, believed to be from the first dynasty of the New Kingdom, which ruled between 1539BC and 1292BC and had its capital in Thebes, the present city of Luxor. One of the coffins had toppled towards the door, revealing its white painted face, and another was partly open, showing a brown cloth covering the mummy inside... Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt's supreme council of antiquities, said: "Maybe they are mummies of kings or queens or nobles, we don't know. But it's definitely someone connected to the royal family."
by Nic Fleming
February 12, 2006
The Age
Very interesting book.
Joseph was brought back to Israel.
I lived and worked in Egypt for over 3 yrs. 20 years ago. Remarkable place. I wouldnt go today.
I know, I was talking about his previous (Egyptian) tomb, where he could have stayed for as long as three hundred years before the Exodus. You may remember how the Palestinians destroyed his more permanent tomb in Israel, when they took over Nablus in 2000. I never could understand that behavior; isn't Joseph a hero in the Koran, too?
Found by University of Memphis Team huh? How appropo, Memphis being the ancient Capital of The Old Kingdom Dynasties and all that ... :)
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