Two newly discovered tombs in Luxor

CAIRO – 9 December – 2017: Two tombs dating back to the era of Thutmose I (reigned from 1493 to 1482 bce) have been discovered at Draa Abul Naga in Luxor, announced Minister of Antiquities Khaled el-Enany in a press conference on Saturday.

The two newly discovered tombs are located nearby the Osrahat Tomb and the Amenemhat tomb

El-Enany formally announced the discovery these tombs in addition to announcing the start of the restoration of the compartment of the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut known as Djeser-Djeseru (Holy of Holies).


The newly discovered tomb collections – Ahmed Marei/Egypt Today

The two tombs belonged to two top officials from the ‘New Kingdom’, contained a rich funerary collection, a large number of ushabti funerary figurines, gilded coffins, mummies wrapped in linen and funerary mask and as well as colored inscriptions on the walls and corridors of the two tombs and a wall painted with a dazzling gold.

The two newly discovered tombs were discovered by an Egyptian mission headed by Mostafa Waziry the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. The mission has previously discovered the tomb of god Amun-Re’s goldsmith in Draa Abul Naga in September.


Mostafa el Waziry inside one of the newly discovered tombs – Ahmed Marei/Egypt Today

In September all eyes were on Egypt as news of the discovery of an 18th dynasty
(1549/1550 BC to 1292 BC) tomb was announced. The tomb, unearthed in Luxor,
Upper Egypt, belonged to Amun-Re’s goldsmith, Amenemhat (Kampp 390), Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities Khaled Anani announced in a press conference last month.

The tomb was found to contain a number of coffins carrying the remains of the goldsmith, his wife and his son. It also housed a large well with a depth of eight meters, as well as artifacts, pottery vessels and ushabti statues and equipment used by the famous Pharaonic gold trader.


The newly discovered tomb collections – Ahmed Marei/Egypt Today

‘’The newly discovered tomb has lead the archaeologists to the entrances of new tombs that are about to be discovered,’’ recounted Waziri, during the conference that followed the discovery, which was attended by Governor of Luxor Mohamed Badr, the Cypriot ambassador and members of both local and international media.

Famed Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass described this discovery as “one of the most important discoveries in the modern era.” Waziri agrees, announcing he is confident that this tomb, which is located in the West Bank in Luxor, will be an even more important find than the Osrahat cemetery, which was discovered last April.


The newly discovered tomb collections – Ahmed Marei/Egypt Today

The number of ushabti statues discovered was about 1,400 as well as to mummies and masks belonging to the owner of the tomb that are plated with different colors.

It is worth mentioning that Some 27 statues and parts of Goddess Sekhmet’s statue were discovered in the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep in Kom el-Hettân area located in Luxor’s left bank by the Egyptian-European mission on December 3.

Waziry announced that the discovered statues are made of black granite, the largest of which is two meters in height.


The newly discovered tomb collections – Ahmed Marei/Egypt Today

Some of the statues depict the Goddess Sekhmet sitting on the throne holding in their left hands ‘The Ankh’, which is a pharaonic hieroglyphic ideograph symbolizing life, while the others show Sekhmet standing holding a mace of papyrus, their heads decorated with the sun and Ouroboros snakes.

Professor Sorozyan, the head of the mission, recounted that some of the statues were discovered in a good condition while the others were in a bad condition as they were found in the deep layers of the ground.

Sorozyan added that the mission is currently cleaning and restoring the statues with the intention of displaying them in the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep.