Today,
the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquity went out with the press release of our
latest discovery, announced by Dr. Mostafa Waziri, General Secretary. Here is the
update!
The
Swedish-Egyptian mission at Gebel el-Silsila, Aswan Region, led by Dr. Maria
Nilsson and John Ward (Lund University), under the supervision of the inspectorates of Aswan and Kom Ombo, has discovered an undecorated shaft
tomb (5 m deep) with two chambers dating to the 18th Dynasty
(Thutmosid period). The tomb is water filled and requires pumping to allow
excavations. Since a recent looting attempt in the tomb is also filled with
sand and silt, and the extent of damage that was caused to the monument is
still to be assessed. Mr. Abdel Moniem, General Director of Aswan and Nubia,
says that the team is currently estimating the preservation of the tomb, as the
movement of water and sand has caused great disturbance to the interior,
artefacts and osteological remains, but it appears to be intact and undisturbed
from looting. So far, the team has discovered three sandstone sarcophagi, two
of which have been excavated, revealing an infant and a young child. The third
sarcophagus was also made for an infant; its contents await excavation.
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| View from the shaft into chamber 1. Photograph by Anders Andersson |
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| The team (l-r: Ibrahim, John, Ali, Ahmed) prepare one of the child sarcophagi to be lifted |
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| View to the south-east of chamber 1, including the niche |
The
burial goods contain several artefacts of importance, including dozens of
scarabs, amulets, beads, seals, bracelets, large amphorae, beer jugs, bowls,
pilgrim flasks, and various storage jars, etc.
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| Lotus-shaped amulet |
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| Men-Kheper-Re scarab, photograph by Anders Andersson |
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| Shabti figure |
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| Hair bead |
Chronologically, there are
indications of at least three generations, ranging from Thutmosis II to
Amenhotep II (c. 3400 years ago). Exceptionally,
the team has documented the remains of so
far a minimum of over 60 individuals (2/3 adults and 1/3 children) have
been discovered, but with excavations still ongoing the team estimates the
amount to increase. No other tomb documented at Gebel el-Silsila previously has
contained such a high number of entombed individuals. One of the more important
results of the discovery at Gebel el-Silsila is the amount of buried children
and women, indicating that there was a complete society with entire families
living and working in ancient Kheny. Excavations are scheduled to continue
until the end of the year.
