An
Egyptian-Australian mission from Maquarie University has accidently uncovered early
this month the burial chambers of Rimushenty and Baqet II, who were top
officials during ancient Egypt's Middle Kingdom and rulers of the country's
16th Nome. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref
The
discovery was made while the team was carrying out cleaning work inside a tomb
at the Beni Hassan necropolis in Minya governorate. No mummies or sarcophagi
were found in the burial chambers.
Ayman
Ashmawi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department at the Ministry of
Antiquities, said that Rimushenty's burial chamber was found at the bottom of a
three-metre-deep shaft.
Ashmawi
told Ahram Online that no funerary collection was found inside the main burial
chamber, explaining that the collection "was probably removed by British
Egyptologist Percy E. Newberry, who worked in Beni Hassan necropolis between
1893 and 1900." Ashmawi said that the burial chamber has an empty
rectangular space that likely once housed the now-missing sarcophagus.
A
collection of clay food containers was also found in two side burial chambers
located to the east and west of the main chamber.
Gamal
El-Semestawi, General Director of Middle Egypt Antiquities, said that Baqet
II's burial chamber has the same design as Ramushenty chamber. El-Semestawi
added that the walls of the main chamber are painted with well-preserved
coloured scenes dedicated to Baqet II. A collection of clay vessels was also
found in the chamber.
Egyptologist
Naguib Kanawati, the head of the mission, said that the team will resume its
work in January to clean, restore and study the wall paintings as well as
inspect the shaft and burial chambers as the first step towards scientific
publication. The mission has been working in Beni Hassan necropolis since 2009.
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