Archaeologists find ancient Middle Kingdom tomb with 11 sealed burials & ‘perfectly intact’ jewellery
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed an ancient Middle Kingdom tomb with 11 sealed burials and "perfectly intact" jewellery.
Teams from the US and Egypt made the shocking discovery near the famed city of Luxor, home to some of Egypt's most sacred monuments and temples.
Local authorities said the tomb was found in the South Asasif necropolis, next to the Temple of Hatshepsut on the Nile’s West Bank in Luxor.
Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said on Friday it is the first Middle king tomb found in the area, dating back to between 1938 B.C.-1630 B.C.
The joint Egyptian-American mission excavating the necropolis discovered coffins for men, women, and children.
This could mean that it was a family tomb used for generations during the 12th and early 13th Dynasties, according to Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
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He said that historic floods had ruined the majority of the tombs' wooden coffins and linen wrappings.
But some items remained almost perfectly intact including a finely crafted women’s necklace with 30 amethyst beads and two cylindrical agate beads framing a hippo-head amulet.
The archaeologists also found armlets, bracelets, scarab rings, and girdles made of amethyst, and many more artefacts.
A total of 11 tombs were uncovered, along with other significant artefacts such as a green-blue glazed faience fertility figurine with truncated legs.
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The figurine is embellished with a variety of jewels, including holes placed in three sections for the attachment of "hair".
All of the jewellery was found among the female burials, except for one.
A remarkable necklace was discovered in the men's tombs, Burial 9, which is now of particular interest to archaeologists because the man's body alludes to seniority.
This family tomb may have been utilised for numerous generations between the 12th and early 13th Dynasties, according to archaeologists and scholars.
With the discovery of the first of its tombs, South Asasif is now part of the necropolis of the Theban Middle Kingdom, sparking a whole new set of questions about life during that time.
It comes after archaeologists uncovered a 4,000-year-old dagger in Italy and said it might give great inside into Copper Age Europe.
The rare leaf-shaped copper dagger measures just under 10cm and was found in the Tina Jama Cave, near the northern town of Trieste.
The excavations also unearthed stone artefacts and ceramic remnants from the second half of the third millennium BC.
archaeologists from Ca' Foscari University in Venice, who are examining the artefacts alongside colleagues from Slovenia, think they are important for comprehending the social, cultural, and technological changes that occurred in Europe at that time.
Elena Leghissa, of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences, said: “The discovery of a rare copper dagger is an exceptional event that raises questions about the use of the cave, given that such precious artefacts are generally found in sepulchral contexts.”
Frederico Bernardini, the excavation director, added: “[The purpose is to] clarify different aspects of the recent prehistory of the northeastern Adriatic regions, adopting a modern and rigorous approach.”
Meanwhile in the Middle East, a 4,000-year-old settlement was discovered tucked away in a Saudi Arabian oasis.
The Bronze Age town, which is believed to have housed roughly 500 residents, sheds light on ancient societies transitioning from a nomadic lifestyle to a more urban one.
French archaeologist Guillaume Charloux, in collaboration with Saudi researchers, unearthed the al-Natah settlement near the Khaybar Oasis.
Researchers believe al-Natah, spanning roughly 2.6 hectares (6.4 acres), was built around 2400 BCE and remained inhabited until roughly 1300 BCE.
“Our findings suggest that the people of al-Natah engaged in a slower, region-specific process of urbanisation,” Charloux told AFP.
He noted the town's structure and stone barriers suggest that inhabitants were socially organised - more so than nomadic communities which traditionally dominated the area.
The settlement was carefully planned, with a central administrative zone, a residential district with interconnected streets, walled gardens and a necropolis.
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The necropolis contained circular stepped tower tombs and dozens of artefacts.
Daggers and axes were found, as well as pieces of pottery and precious stone rings made of agate, which were likely part of jewellery.
