Minister of
Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty described the discovery as “important” because it
is the first time tombs from the Late Pharaonic period have been found in the
area. All the tombs previously discovered have been dated to the Old and Middle
Kingdoms.
“With this tomb
collection the ancient Egyptian necropolis in Aswan is complete,” Eldamaty
said. He added that a collection of limestone and wooden sarcophagi was found
with the mummies of the deceased.
Faience
statuettes of the four sons of the god Horus and wooden statuettes of the
falcon god himself were also unearthed, along with amulets of different shapes,
sizes and colours.
Nasr Salama,
director-general of Aswan Antiquities, said that each tomb contains a 30-step
stairway leading to the main entrance. The tombs are divided into three or four
undecorated rooms, he said.
Mostafa Khalil,
the head of the archaeological mission, said the architectural style of the
tombs is consistent with the 26th-Dynasty period, having been excavated in the
stony hillside rather than being rock-hewn.
Khalil said
that the tombs were robbed in the aftermath of the 2011 Revolution, part of an
upsurge in illegal excavations that occurred in the Aswan area during the
security vacuum that followed the removal of president Hosni Mubarak.
Source:
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/12487/47/--th-Dynasty-tombs-uncovered-in-Aswan.aspx
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