New Discovery, Sakkara: Egypt Uncovers Tomb of Great Ramesses II Era General in Saqqara

Material found so far at the site testifies to the high status of its General Iwrkhy and his family. Written by/ Nevine El-Aref.

Professor of Egyptology at Cairo University Ola El-Aguizy has announced the discovery of an important tomb belonging to the great Ramessess II era General Iwrkhy in Saqqara, in a speech delivered to attendees of the Faculty of Archaeology Prom 2017. The tomb was discovered in the New Kingdom necropolis south of the Causeway of King Unas in Saqqara, during the last excavation season in 2017/2018.

El-Aguizy, head of the mission that uncovered the tomb, said it most likely dates to the reigns of both Sethi I and Ramesses II. The site has yet to be fully excavated, but has already provided a wealth of material testifying to the high status of its owner and his family.

The tomb belongs to General and High Steward of the estates of Ramsses II in the Domain of Amun. His name is inscribed on the tomb along with that of his son Yuppa and grandson Hatiay -- the latter occupying a significant position in the inscriptions on the walls still in place.

Iwrkhy began his military career under King Sethi I and reached the highest positions in Egyptian court during the reign of Ramesses II. His tomb appears to mimic the style of contemporary tombs in the area, which include a forecourt, statue room with adjacent plastered vaulted storehouses, perystile court and western chapels (which have yet to be excavated), El-Aguizy said.

Archaeologists believe the general came to Egypt as a foreigner, one of many who settled here and managed to reach high positions in the court of the New Kingdom.

The scenes that remain on the walls of the statue room and on blocks found buried in the sand show a number of unusual scenes, many related to Iwrkhy's military career, and foreign relations with neighboring countries. These include an image of moored boats unloading Canaanite wine jars.

One block, most likely detached from the northern wall, shows an exceptional scene of an infantry unit and charioteers crossing a waterway with crocodiles. Preliminary studies of the scene determined that its fortified walls represent the eastern borders of Egypt.

The scene has only one parallel, depicted on the outer north wall of the hypostyle court of Karnak temple in Thebes. The scene shows Sethi I coming back from a victorious campaign against the Shasu Bedouins, entering Egypt by the same waterway with crocodiles.

The remains of such fortified walls were recently discovered by archaeologist Mohamed Abdel Maksoud and his team on the site known as Tell Heboua I and II on the Pelusian branch of the Nile in Eastern Qantara, North Sinai.

Discoveries in the Saqqara tomb also show signs of active daily life in this garrison, including wine cellars and livestock depicted on the walls. The scenes of the high steward's tomb are quite exceptional, with artistic features characteristic of the time of Sethi I and Ramesses II. This indicates that the tomb was constructed over a number of phases.

The prominence of the names of Iwrkhy's family -- Yuppa and Hatiay -- suggests that this may have been a family tomb. Further excavation of the sanctuary and shaft are needed to confirm this.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Dakhla Oasis: Seven Mummies of El-Mezawaa Necropolis Restored as Part of Ministry of Antiquties Preservation Initiative

Three of the mummies reveal deliberate desecration. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

A team from the Egypt's Mummies Conservation Project has finished restoring a group of seven mummies in the El-Muzawaa necropolis in Dakhla oasis, completing the first phase of the project, Gharib Sonbol, head of Ancient Egyptian restoration projects at the Ministry of Antiquities, told Ahram Online.

The restoration of Al-Muzawaa necropolis mummies came within the framework of the project, which launched three years ago by the ministry to preserve and maintain all mummies stored in Egyptian storehouses.

Aymen Ashmawi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities sector at the ministry, explains that the project started with the conservation of mummies in the Mostafa Kamel gallery storehouses in Alexandria and at the Alexandria National Museum, as well as those in the Kom Ushim stores in Fayouom.

According to Sonbol, the second phase of the project will begin shortly and will involve the restoration of several more mummies. He explained that during the recently completed work, the team noted that two mummies have "screaming" faces, a term used to describe mummies with open mouths. The hands of a third mummy were bound with rope.

“This is not the typical form of mummification, but it indicates that those people were cursed by the god or the priests during their lifetime,” Sonbol said. He continued that the project offers a great opportunity for restorers to learn more about the death and life of those mummified people.

Source: Ahram Online

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Short Story: A Year of Many Discoveries

Egyptian and foreign Egyptologists excavating at archaeological sites across Egypt have made more than 30 discoveries this year, reports Nevine El-Aref.

Coincidence has always played a major role in making new discoveries. Among the most famous examples are the uncovering of the tomb of the boy-king Tutankhamun on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, the funerary collection of the Pharaoh Khufu’s mother Hetepheres, the Pyramids Builders’ Cemetery on the Giza Plateau, and the Valley of the Golden Mummies in the Bahareya Oasis.

This year, coincidence led to the discovery of more than 30 treasures, something which made the Ministry of Antiquities describe 2017 as “the year of discoveries”.

“It seems that our ancient Egyptian ancestors are bestowing their blessings on Egypt’s economy, as these discoveries are good for the country and its tourism industry,” Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany told Al-Ahram Weekly.

He said that many new discoveries had been made. In the Gabal Al-Selsela area in Aswan, 20 tombs were discovered by a team from Lund University in Sweden, for example, while in Luxor an Egyptian-Japanese mission discovered the tomb of a royal scribe.

An Egyptian-German mission in Matareya outside Cairo made international headlines when it discovered fragments of a colossal statue of the Pharaoh Psamtick I.

An Egyptian mission from the Ministry of Antiquities discovered the inner parts of a pyramid from the 13th Dynasty, as well as the remains of a burial that would once have been inside the pyramid.

At the Tuna Al-Gabal archaeological site in Minya, a mission from Cairo University stumbled upon a cachette of non-royal mummies of men, women and children buried in catacombs eight metres below ground level in the desert neighbouring the local bird and animal necropolis.

“This discovery has changed our understanding of the Tuna Al-Gabal site,” El-Enany told the Weekly, adding that in Luxor several other important discoveries had been made. An Egyptian-European mission working at the Colossi of Memnon and the funerary temple of Amenhotep III had uncovered 136 statues of the goddess Sekhmet, most of which are life-size, as well as a beautiful alabaster statue of queen Tiye, wife of Amenhotep, carved on the side of a colossal statue of the king.

A team from Jaen University in Spain also discovered the tomb of an official in Aswan. A Spanish mission in western Thebes discovered the remains of a funerary garden, a first in the area’s history.

A mission from the Ministry of Antiquities stumbled upon the almost-intact funerary collections of Amenemhat, the goldsmith of the god Amun-Re, and of Userhat, chancellor of Thebes during the 18th Dynasty, in the Draa Abul-Naga Necropolis at Luxor. The mission also uncovered two yet-unidentified tombs that are particularly rich in their funerary collections.

“These finds are not only a matter of luck, but are the result of the hard work of archaeologists across the country working in sometimes very difficult conditions,” El-Enany said. “Antiquities are the soft power that distinguishes Egypt,” he added, remarking that news of new discoveries always catches the headlines and the attention of the whole world.

TOMB DISCOVERIES: Among these discoveries were the three major ones made by the Egyptian mission in the Draa Abul-Nagaa Necropolis on Luxor’s west bank, which provide a better understanding of the history of the Necropolis and the lives of the tomb-owners.

The tomb of Userhat housed a collection of ten well-preserved painted wooden coffins and eight mummies in various states of preservation, for example. A collection of more than 1,000 ushabti figurines and wooden masks were also uncovered alongside with skeletons, wooden anthropoid masks, figurines in faience, terracotta and wood and various clay pots.

Archaeologist Sherine Shawki, a specialist in osteology, told the Weekly that early studies carried out on the mummies and skulls had revealed that one of the individuals had been anaemic and probably suffered severe toothache while a second had undergone primitive surgery.

The tomb of the goldsmith houses a collection of stone-and-wood ushabti figurines of different types and sizes, mummies, painted and anthropoid wooden sarcophagi, and jewellery made of precious and semi-precious stones.....READ MORE.

Source: Al-Ahram Weekly

News: Ancient Egyptian Tomb Resurrected Using 3D Printer 2,000 Miles Away in Switzerland

Archaeologists and artists working to create perfect copy of one ancient world's greatest wonders

         Facsimiles of two chambers of Pharaoh Seti's tomb are on display Ruedi 

Habegger,  Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig

An Ancient Egyptian tomb has been resurrected using a 3D printer - 2,000 miles away in Switzerland. A team of archaeologists and artists is working to create a perfect copy of the tomb of Pharaoh Seti I, one of the largest and most elaborate in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. 

The eventual aim of the five-year project is to install the facsimile on a site close to the original, near Luxor.

For now, the two first two chambers have been reproduced and gone on display at a museum in Basel. The Scanning Seti exhibition at the Swiss city's Antikenmuseum contains an exact copy of the pharoah's 3,300-year-old royal sarcophagus, in rooms adorned with intricate etchings and paintings. 
It was created by Factum Foundation, a specialist art company which has previously worked on a facsimile of facsimile of Tutankhamen's tomb.

The team created a copy of Seti I's sarcophagus based on the 

original at Sir John Soane’s Museum, London

Founder Adam Lowe told CNN Seti's tomb was "the most important library of Pharaonic religion, philosophy, art, poetry and science" in existence. His team used state-of-the-art 3D scanning and printing technology, as well as photogrammetry - the science of taking measurements from photographs - to resurrect the chambers. 

They conducted a 3D survey of the walls of the original tomb and worked from fragments removed from Seti's burial chamber in the 19th century, now displayed in museums including the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum in London, and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

They also studied watercolors created by Giovanni Belzoni, a former circus strongman who discovered the tomb in 1817 more than 3,000 years after Seti's death. 

Belzoni found the tomb in immaculate condition, but years of improperly conducted excavations, looting, and tourism have since taken their toll.  Mr. Lowe said facsimiles had an important role to play in the future of tourism and conversation.

Source: Independent UK

New Discovery, Aswan: Ancient Wall Markings of Wild Animals Uncovered in South Aswan

Pre-Dynastic wall markings have been uncovered in Subeira Valley near Aswan. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

During an archaeological survey in the desert of Subeira Valley, south Aswan, an Egyptian archaeological mission from the Ministry of Antiquities stumbled upon pre-Dynastic rock markings.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that the markings can be dated to the late pre-Dynastic era, and were found engraved on sandstone rocks. They depict scenes of troops of renowned animals at that time, such as hippopotamuses, wild bulls and donkeys, as well as gazelles. Markings showing workshops for the production of tools and instruments were also found on some of the rocks.

Nasr Salama, director general of Aswan and Nubia Antiquities, described the newly discovered markings as "unique and rare" in Egypt. He pointed out that similar markings were previously uncovered at sites in Al-Qarta and Abu Tanqoura, north of Komombo town.

"These markings helped archaeologists to determine the exact dating of the newly discovered ones in Subeira Valley," Salama asserted. He added that 10 new sections of wall markings at around 15,000 years old had been discovered.

Adel Kelani described the discovery as important because it dates to the same period of markings founds in caves in southern France, Spain and Italy, which confirms the idea that art and civilisation during that time spread from Africa to Europe and not vice versa.

Source: Ahram Online

Find More About New Discoveries in Egypt Here

New Discovery, Nubia: Ancient Tomb of Gold Worker Found Along Nile River

A 3,400-year-old tomb holding the remains of more than a dozen possibly mummified people has been discovered on Sai Island, along the Nile River in northern Sudan.

Archaeologists discovered the tomb in 2015, though it wasn't until 2017 that a team with the Across Borders archaeological research project fully excavated the site.

The island is part of an ancient land known as Nubia that Egypt controlled 3,400 years ago. The Egyptians built settlements and fortifications throughout Nubia, including on Sai Island, which had a settlement and a gold mine. 

The tomb, which contains multiple chambers, appears to hold the remains of Egyptians who lived in or near that settlement and worked in gold production.

The artifacts found in the tomb include scarabs (a type of amulet widely used in Egypt), ceramic vessels, a gold ring, the remains of gold funerary masks worn by the deceased and a small stone sculpture known as a shabti. 

The ancient Egyptians believed that shabtis could do the work of the deceased for them in the afterlife. Some of the artifacts bore Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions that revealed the tomb was originally created for a man named Khnummose, who was a "master gold worker."

The remains of Khnummose (which may have been mummified) were found next to those of a woman who may have been his wife. Some of the other people found in tomb may have been relatives of Khnummose, the researchers said, adding that they planned to conduct DNA analyses of the remains.

"We will try to extract ancient DNA from the [bones] of the bodies in question," said Julia Budka, professor for Egyptian Archaeology and Art History at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. "If the [ancient] DNA is preserved, this will help us a lot. 

Otherwise, it all remains tentative," said Budka, who noted that the samples are already at the Department for Archaeogenetics at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany.

The archaeologists said they aren't sure how many of the bodies were mummified.

"The state of preservation is very difficult here," Budka said. "I am waiting for the report of my physical anthropologists. For now, the position and also traces of bitumen speak for some kind of mummification for all persons in Tomb 26 who were placed in wooden coffins." 

Bitumen is a type of petroleum that the ancient Egyptians sometimes used in mummification.

Many of the coffins are also poorly preserved, and it's uncertain exactly how many of the people were buried in coffins, Budka said.

Source: LiveScience.com

Find More About New Discoveries in Egypt Here

New Discovery, Aswan: Ten Late Period Tombs Uncovered in Aswan

The tombs were uncovered on Aswan's West Bank. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

During excavation work in the area neighbouring the Agha Khan mausoleum on Aswan’s west bank, an Egyptian mission from the Ministry of Antiquities stumbled upon ten rock-hewn tombs.

Mahmoud Afifi, dead of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities at the ministry, said that the tombs can be dated to the Late Period and early studies reveal that the site is probably an extension of Aswan necropolis on the west bank where a collection of tombs belonging to Aswan overseers from the Old, Middle and New kingdom are found.

Nasr Salama, director-general of Aswan and Nubia Antiquities told Ahram Online that the tombs have similar architectural design. they are composed of sliding steps leading to the entrance of the tomb and a small burial chamber where a collection of stone sarcophagi, mummies and funerary collection of the deceased were found.

He said that during the next archaeological season which starts in September, the mission will continue the excavation and begin comprehensive studies and restoration work on the funerary collection uncovered to learn more about who the tombs contain.

Source: Ahram Online

Find More About New Discoveries in Egypt Here

New Discovery, Luxor: Tomb of Ramesside-Era Royal Scribe Uncovered in Luxor

A Japanese mission from Waseda University discovered a private tomb in the Theban necropolis in Luxor, Mahmoud Afifi, the head of the antiquities ministry's Ancient Egypt Department, said on Tuesday. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Photo: Courtesy of Waseda University

Afifi says that the tomb, located at the El-Khokha area on the west bank of the Nile, is beautifully decorated and likely dates to the Ramesside period, based on its style. Early inspection of the tomb suggests that it belonged to a royal scribe named Khonsu .

Jiro Kondo, the head of the Japanese mission, told Ahram Online that the tomb was discovered while excavators were cleaning the area to the east of the forecourt of the tomb of Userhat, a high official under king Amenhotep III. He added that the team aslso stumbled upon a hole hewn connected to the south wall of the transverse hall of the previously unknown tomb of Khonsu. The tomb is built on a T-shape on an east-west axis, with the main entrance, currently covered in debris, facing the east.

The tomb measures approximately 4.6m in length from the entrance to the rear wall of the inner chamber, while the transverse hall measures approximately 5.5 m in width.

Decoration scene & The scene of the baboons

Kondo explains that on the north wall of the entrance doorway, a scene shows the solar boat of the god Ra-Atum being worshipped by four baboons in a pose of adoration.

On the adjacent wall, hieroglyphic texts are inscribed vertically describing Khonsu as a “true renowned scribe.” On the southern part of the eastern wall in the transverse hall, Khonsu and his wife worship the gods Osiris and Isis in a kiosk, behind which is a depiction of the two ram-headed deity, likely Khnum or Khnum-Re.

On the upper register of the northern part of the tomb, there are carved seated figures of Osiris and Isis, though the upper parts of their bodies are broken. On the lower register, a portion of the paintings shows the followers of the tomb owners. "Regretfully, most of the wall paintings on the western wall of the transverse hall are no longer there," says Kondo.

Hani Abul Azm, the head of the Central Administration for Upper Egyptian Antiquities, says that the wall where the hole hewn is found hold vertical inscriptions at the top. The name and title of tomb's owner are identified. The frieze pattern near the ceiling shows a typical khekher-frize of the Ramesside period.

The ceiling decorations are better preserved than the wall paintings, while more images may be discovered in the inner chamber once the debris is cleared.

Source: Ahram Online

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