Egypt: Cemetery of ‘New Kingdom’ Priests Discovered in Minya

Egypt: Cemetery of ‘New Kingdom’ Priests Discovered in Minya
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Egypt: Cemetery of ‘New Kingdom’ Priests Discovered in Minya

Egypt: Cemetery of ‘New Kingdom’ Priests Discovered in Minya

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced the discovery of an ancient cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt in the Al-Ghuraifa area of Tuna El-Gebel necropolis, in southern Egypt's Minya governorate.

The find consists of antiquities and the wooden coffins of “the singer of deity Djehuti” and “daughter an esteemed priest”.

“The Egyptian expedition working in the area found a cemetery that belonged to senior officials and priests, containing several rock-carved tombs and different antiquities. This is the first time a cemetery from the New Kingdom was found in the 15th nome of Upper Egypt,” said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Although many cemeteries from the Old Kingdom, the First Intermediate Period, and the Middle Kingdom were unearthed in the Sheikh Said and Deir El Bersha areas, the cemeteries from the New Kingdom and the Late Period were still unknown.

“According to ancient texts, the area embraced the cemetery of deity Djehuti. But the excavations in Tuna El-Gebel necropolis, five kilometers from southern Al-Ghuraifa, revealed a cemetery of sacred animals and high-ranking statesmen from the Ptolemaic Kingdom. But the cemetery of the New Kingdom remained unidentified and that’s why the expedition was searching for it,” Dr. Maysara Abdullah, professor of antiquities, told Asharq Al-Awsat. The excavation expedition of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, started its mission in 2017, with the aim to locate the cemetery of the 15th nome of the New Kingdom.

According to Waziri, “evidence suggests that a segment of this cemetery was repurposed during the Late Period.” The expedition also found amulets, ushabti figurines, statues and coffins containing mummies from that era.

The discovery included two tombs, one that belonged to a woman named “Nani” known as “the singer of deity Djehuti”, and the other belonged to Tadi Essah, the daughter of High Priest Djehuty.

Two wooden boxes containing Canopy containers that belonged to Tadi Essah were found next to her coffin, in addition to a full collection of ushabti figurines.

The minister of antiquities said “it is the first time a full papyrus in good condition was found in Al-Ghuraifa. Primary studies reported that it is 13 to 15 meters long, depicting extracts from the Book of the Dead,” noting that “it will be exhibited at the Grand Egyptian Museum.”

Al-Ghuraifa region was used as a cemetery in the Late Period, starting with the 26th Dynasty until the Ptolemaic era. Excavations in the region debuted in 1925, but it witnessed several looting incidents, which prompted the ministry of antiquities to launch rescue excavations in 2002 and 2003, before officially adding the area to its properties in 2004.

Dr. Maysara Abdullah said “Al-Ghuraifa is a major antiquities site. It wasn’t on the ancient antiquities maps and didn’t see large-scale excavations,” noting that “it’s a virgin area far from urbanization, and no one expected to find antiquities there.”

The past year, an expedition working in the region found a cemetery from the Late Period in the far north; the find consisted of wells leading to burial chambers housing wooden coffins, over 25,000 ushabti figurines, a large number of Canopy containers, thousands of amulets, and some wooden statues that have been displayed in Egyptian museums.



Remains of Mayan City Nearly 3,000 Years Old Unearthed in Guatemala

The city takes its name, 'Los Abuelos,' from two human-like sculptures of an 'ancestral couple' found at the site. Handout / Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sports/AFP
The city takes its name, 'Los Abuelos,' from two human-like sculptures of an 'ancestral couple' found at the site. Handout / Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sports/AFP
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Remains of Mayan City Nearly 3,000 Years Old Unearthed in Guatemala

The city takes its name, 'Los Abuelos,' from two human-like sculptures of an 'ancestral couple' found at the site. Handout / Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sports/AFP
The city takes its name, 'Los Abuelos,' from two human-like sculptures of an 'ancestral couple' found at the site. Handout / Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sports/AFP

Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a Mayan city nearly 3,000 years old in northern Guatemala, with pyramids and monuments that point to its significance as an important ceremonial site, the Central American country's culture ministry said Thursday.

The Mayan civilization arose around 2000 BC, reaching its height between 400 and 900 AD in what is present-day southern Mexico and Guatemala, as well as parts of Belize, El Salvador and Honduras.

The city named "Los Abuelos," Spanish for "The Grandparents," once stood some 21 kilometers (13 miles) from the important archaeological site of Uaxactun, in Guatemala's northern Peten department, the ministry said in a statement.

It is dated to what is known as the "Middle Preclassic" period from about 800 to 500 BC, and is believed to have been "one of the most ancient and important ceremonial centers" of the Mayan civilization in the jungle area of Peten near the Mexican border, it added.

"The site presents remarkable architectural planning" with pyramids and monuments "sculpted with unique iconography from the region," said the ministry.

The city takes its name from two human-like sculptures of an "ancestral couple" found at the site.

The figures, dated to between 500 and 300 BC, "could be linked to ancient ritual practices of ancestor worship," said the ministry.

'Unique canal system'

The city, which covers an area of about 16 square kilometers (six square miles) was discovered by Guatemalan and Slovak archaeologists in previously little-explored areas of the Uaxactun park.

Nearby, they also found a pyramid standing 33 meters (108 feet) high with murals from the Preclassic period and "a unique canal system," according to the statement.

"The set of these three sites forms a previously unknown urban triangle... These findings allow us to rethink the understanding of the ceremonial and socio-political organization of pre-Hispanic Peten," said the ministry.

In April, scientists discovered a 1,000-year-old altar from Mexico's ancient Teotihuacan culture at Tikal, elsewhere in the Peten department.

That find was interpreted as proof of ties between the two pre-Hispanic cultures, which lived about 1,300 km apart.

Tikal, about 23 km from Uaxcatun, is the main archaeological site in Guatemala and one of its biggest tourist attractions.