11th Dynasty tomb and cachette discovered in Dra Abu El-Naga

The discovered tomb is for a member of the royal family or a high official of the 11^th Dynasty and consists of a well carved square burial chamber which is still being excavated and cleaned.

The Minister of Antiquities said the tomb was discovered during the excavation work done by the Spanish mission directed by Dr. José Manuel Galán in 3 burial shafts to the west of the court leading to Djehuty's tomb of 17^th Dynasty.

During excavation in one of the shaft which is 6 meters deep, a passage or corridor was uncovered. The corridor is 20 meters with height and width of two meters; it starts from one of the rooms in the shaft and ends in the newly discovered tomb.

Ali Al Asfr said "This Tomb might have been used as a cachette which is a logical conclusion to explain the large number of human remains found. Also the 17^th Dynasty pottery and tools found refer that although the tomb was carved on the 11^th Dynasty but it was reused in the 17^th Dynasty.

Dr. José Manuel Galán, director of the mission, said that there are many tombs are dated to 11th Dynasty in Dra Abu El-Naga which reveals more information on the dynasty in Thebes. We discovered 5 years ago a small but intact burial of the same dynasty contained a marvellous red coffin and a mummy in good condition beside a number of arrows and arcs which are in display at Luxor Museum now. 

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Photographs are courtesy of MSA

29 Byzantine gold coins found in Deir El Bakhit in Luxor

Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of Antiquities, announced during his visit to Luxor today the discovery of 29 Gold coins all dated back to the 5th and 6th century A.D. (Byzantine era)

The discovery is a result of the German mission working in Deir El Bakhit in Dra Abu ElNaga.

The Minister said during his visit to the site that the coins were found in a tomb in the site. A part of a column was found which has a hole and inside the hole, there were the coins wrapped in linen.

17th Dynasty Rishi coffin discovered in Dra Abu El Naga

Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of Antiquities announced the discovery of a 17th Dynasty (ca. 1600 B.C.) wooden coffin in Dra Abu El-Naga.

The sarcophagi has the mummy of its owner in a good state of preservation. The lid bears a hieroglyphic inscription shows the name of the deceased.

The Minister said "This discovery is important because this type of coffin is rare, it is called Rishi coffins (Rishi is the Arabic word for Feathery) as it is decorated with a feather design which is typical type of the Second Intermediate Period."

The Minister referred that more studies needed to define the name and titles of the coffin owner but initially we can tell he was a High official.

The coffin was discovered under the front yard of the tomb of Djehuty by the Spanish mission working on the site (directed by Dr. Jose M. Galan) while excavating the layers dated back to the Middle Kingdom.

Ali Al Asfar, director of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities department, said "The coffin measures 2 meters long , 50cm width and 42cm hight. The lid has exquisite carvings and the colours are very well preserved."

Abd El hamid Karar, director of Luxor antiquities said "The work started last month. In the beginning of this week, we discovered 3 burial shafts of which two were robbed by ancient tomb robbers while the third was found intact. The third burial shaft is 4 meters deep and it ends with a room in the southern side. That room was sealed with uneven mud bricks and when it was removed, the coffin was discovered."

As for Dr. Jose Galan, he said "The mission has been working on Dra Abu El-Naga for 13 years. Last year, a wooden coffin for a 5 years old child was found dated back to 17th Dynasty beside a group of wooden Ushabtis wrapped in linen."

Djehuty's latest discoveries, A 17th Dynasty sarcophagus and more

Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister State of Antiquities, announced the discovery of a wooden sarcophagus of a child dated back to 17^th Dynasty in Djehuty’s tomb in Dra Abu el-Naga, West bank, Luxor.

 The Spanish mission headed by Dr. Jose Manuel Galan, has discovered the sarcophagus during the ongoing excavation and documentation of the tomb.

The sarcophagus dimensions 20cm x 28cm x 90cm prove that it was made for a child. It doesn’t bear any engravings or decoration.

Mansour Boraik mentioned that the mission also found a group of pottery as well as a number of wooden Ushabiti figures wrapped in linen were beside the child’s sarcophagus.

They represent Ahmose a priest who played an important role during the 18^th Dynasty. Mansour referred that the same priest could possibly be the famous Ahmosa Saya Ir who was worshipped later in the New Kingdom.

More about the work on Djehuty Project including the work diaries and photo gallery of the latest discovered objects, please visit The Project site

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