Breaking News: 3000-year Tomb Contains Intact Coffins discovered in Luxor

A team of Egyptian archaeologists discovered a 3000-year-old Ramesside tomb in Assasif area on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, Egypt. 

The work started in March 2018 and stopped in May 2018 then resumed in August 2018 and still ongoing. 

During the work, over 300 cubic meters of debris was cleared. The tomb shows depictions of Queen “Ahmos-Nefertari” and her son “Amenhotep I” according to minister of antiquities, Dr. Khalid El-Enany.

The tomb belongs to a man called “Shu En Khet.ef” (Thaw-Irkhet-if )meaning “North Wind in his back” who was a “Scribe of the mummification chapel in Mut temple” as Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said during the press conferece held this morning a couple of hundred meteres away from the famous temple of Deir Bahari in the background and a few steps of the said discovered tomb. 

Dr. Waziri added that the Scribe’s wife was a “Chantress of Mut”. 

In their tomb, over 1000 ushabtis, coloured wooden masks, faience figurines and papyri bears a part of chapters 125 of Book of the Dead were found.

Then during the work and in September 2018, a side room was discovered and it was sealed with mud bricks. 

 Inside that room, 2 wooden coffins were found with flowers on top of them and in perfect condition of preservation. The coffins are dated to 25th or 26th Dynasty. 

First one for a man called “Padiese” who was a high priest of Amun and the other coffin for his wife who was a chantress of Amun. 

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Exclusive photos: Recently discovered antiquities exhibited for the first time at Luxor museum

Instead of storing the recently discovered antiquities as it would usually happen, the ministry of antiquities decided to temporary exhibit a collection of the antiquities discovered in Userhat tomb at Luxor museum.

Dr. Khalid El-Enany inaugurated the exhibition at Luxor museum on “International Museum Day 2017”

The exhibition features a large number of objects were discovered in the tomb of Userhat including ushabtis figures, pottery, wooden masks and papyri.  

The tomb of Userhat (-157- Kampp) is located in Dra Abu El-Naga on the west bank of the Nile as a part of the Theban necropolis. On April 18, 2017, Minister of Antiquities, Dr. Khalid El-Enany made a special announcement on the re-discovery of the tomb. You can check the details HERE 

Also watch the exclusive interview with the minister on that day HERE

Ancient Egyptian noblemen were buried at Dra Abu El-Naga from as early as the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030-1660 BC). The tomb was discovered last century and its location was known but it was buried under the rubble. It was not excavated till 2017.

The tomb was numbered -157- in the 1990s by German Egyptologists Friederike Kampp-Seyfried. This numbering system picks up where Bertha Porter and Rosalind Moss left off in 1920s.

Userhat was a counsellor of the city of Thebes and he lived during the 18^th Dynasty. The tomb was reused during the 21^st and 22^nd Dynasties.

The discovered wooden coffins are made of wooden planks of doum or tamarisk trees. The planks were connected using small pieces of dowel pegs made of acacia wood. The spaces between the wooden planks in some coffins were filled with filler substance made of silt and organic materials to ensure their strength, while remaining lightweight. A white wash later of gypsum was added, followed by the colours and then finally a sort of varnish was placed as protection.

It is worth mentioning that the tomb walls are not inscribed, except for the walls’ upper parts, where a decorative frieze is pained. The ceiling is vividly painted with geometrical patters. The second hall also has faded remnants of a painted scene featuring different deities.

Hundreds of pottery vessels were found in the tomb of Userhat. The collection from his tomb is especially interesting because of how they are painted; some of them are patterned in a way to emulate hard stones like alabaster.

Most of these vessels were made of Nile clay. They clay would have been coiled and pinched into shape with the aid of a slow turning wheel. The colours and glazes were made of different materials such as copper oxides or ochre. 

(1)  Linen fragments with funerary scenes, as well as mourners.

(2)  Two linen fragments depict men.

(3)  Basket made of palm leaves.

(4)  Papyrus with hieratic – a cursive form of hieroglyphs with red and black ink.

Funerary stelae typically show the deceased and his family, often being presented with offerings. They are usually carved with the titles of the deceased, and texts related to the offerings and the gifts bestowed upon the deceased by royalty. From the left, you can see the legs of the chair the deceased is sitting on, following by his wife. At the right side, you can see the stand of the offering table.

Video of the exhibition at Luxor Museum

Please note that the descriptions of the artefacts exhibited are taken from the labels and catalog produced by the Ministry of Antiquities.  

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