Wrocław archaeologists discovered unknown structures in Egypt

A team of scientists from the Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław discovered an about 4 thousand years old burial chapel with partially preserved equipment in one of the ancient necropolises in the area of Luxor in Upper Egypt.

The discovery was made in the yard of the rock tomb of an important pharaonic official - Horhotep in the Asasif necropolis adjacent to the famous Hatshepsut temple in Deir el-Bahri. The deceased lived during the reign of the pharaohs Amenemhat I and Senweseret I of the 12th dynasty.

"This is the first known deposit of monuments of this type known from the period of the Middle Kingdom (2055 - 1773 BC). Within the surviving fragments of walls built of dried mud bricks we discovered a fragment of limestone altar where sacrifices were offered and where ancients prayed. We found dozens of shattered pottery pieces, in which the family of the deceased had brought gifts for the deceased"- explains Patryk Chudzik, head of research.

The discover was made despite excavations previously conducted on the site by two expeditions - the French expedition in the mid-nineteenth century and the American expedition in the 20th century led by Herbert Winlock of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The chapel was located in the courtyard surrounded by walls made of mud brick and stone, a few meters above the entrance of the tomb complex. The tomb was robbed in antiquity. The more surprising was the discovery of sacrifices made after the funeral by Horhotep’s relatives.