Unique funerary garden unearthed in Thebes

For the first time, an almost 4000 year-old funerary garden is uncovered in Draa Abul Naga necropolis on Luxor’s west bank

By Nevine El-Aref , Wednesday 3 May 2017

During excavation work in the area around the early 18th Dynasty rock-cut tombs of Djehuty and Hery (ca 1500­‐1450 BCE) in Draa Abul Nagaa necropolis, a Spanish archaeological mission unearthed a unique funerary garden.

Mahmoud Afifi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities sector at the Ministry of Antiquities told Ahram Online that the garden was found in the open courtyard of a Middle Kingdom rock-cut tomb and the layout of the garden measures 3m x 2m and is divided into squares of about 30cm.

These squares, he pointed out, seem to have contained different kinds of plants and flowers. In the middle of the garden the mission has located two elevated spots that was once used for the cultivation of a small tree or bush.

At one of the corners, Afifi continued, the roots and the trunk of a 4,000 year-old small tree have been preserved to a height of 30cm. Next to it, a bowl containing dried dates and other fruits, which could have been presented as offerings, were found.

“The discovery of the garden may shed light on the environment and gardening in ancient Thebes during the Middle Kingdom, around 2000 BCE,” said Jose Galan, head of the Spanish mission and research professor at the Spanish National Research Council in Madrid.

He explained that similar funerary gardens were only found on the walls of a number of New Kingdom tombs where a small and squared garden is represented at the entrance of the funerary monument, with a couple of trees next to it. It probably had a symbolic meaning and must have played a role in the funerary rites. However, Galan asserted, these gardens have never been found in ancient Thebes and the recent discovery offers archaeological confirmation of an aspect of ancient Egyptian culture and religion that was hitherto only known through iconography.

Moreover, he pointed out, near the entrance of the Middle Kingdom rock-cut tomb, a small mud-brick chapel measuring 46cm x 70cm x 55cm was discovered attached to the façade. Inside it three stelae of the 13th Dynasty, around ca 1800 BCE, were found in situ.

He explained that early studies reveal that the owner of one of them was called Renef‐Seneb, and the owner of the second was “the citizen Khemenit, son of the lady of the house, Idenu.” The latter mentions the gods Montu, Ptah, Sokar and Osiris.

“These discoveries underscore the relevance of the central area of Dra Abul Naga as a sacred place for the performance of a variety of cultic activities during the Middle Kingdom,” asserted Galan.

The Spanish mission has been working for 16 years in Dra Abul Naga, on the West Bank of Luxor, around the early 18th Dynasty rock-cut tombs of Djehuty and Hery.


Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/267024/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Unique-funerary-garden-unearthed-in-Thebes.aspx

Tomb of Ramesside-era royal scribe uncovered in Luxor

By Nevine El-Aref , Tuesday 31 Jan 2017

A Japanese mission from Waseda University discovered a private tomb in the Theban necropolis in Luxor, Mahmoud Afifi, the head of the antiquities ministry's Ancient Egypt Department, said on Tuesday.

Afifi says that the tomb, located at the El-Khokha area on the west bank of the Nile, is beautifully decorated and likely dates to the Ramesside period, based on its style. Early inspection of the tomb suggests that it belonged to a royal scribe named Khonsu .

Jiro Kondo, the head of the Japanese mission, told Ahram Online that the tomb was discovered while excavators were cleaning the area to the east of the forecourt of the tomb of Userhat, a high official under king Amenhotep III.

He added that the team aslso stumbled upon a hole hewn connected to the south wall of the transverse hall of the previously unknown tomb of Khonsu.

The tomb is built on a T-shape on an east-west axis, with the main entrance, currently covered in debris, facing the east.

The tomb measures approximately 4.6m in length from the entrance to the rear wall of the inner chamber, while the transverse hall measures approximately 5.5 m in width.

Kondo explains that on the north wall of the entrance doorway, a scene shows the solar boat of the god Ra-Atum being worshipped by four baboons in a pose of adoration.

On the adjacent wall, hieroglyphic texts are inscribed vertically describing Khonsu as a “true renowned scribe.”

Statues of lioness goddess Sekhmet unearthed in Luxor's Kom El-Hettan excavation

by Nevine El-Aref , Friday 9 Dec 2016

Egyptian archaeologists excavating the Mortuary Temple of King Amenhotep III in Luxor have unearthed a number of statues of the goddess Sekhmet, daughter of the ancient Egyptian sun god Re, project director Hourig Sourouzian told Ahram Online on Thursday.

"They are of great artistic quality" Sourouzian said of the statues, which were found in four parts, including three busts and one headless torso, in the Kom El-Hettan archaeological area on Luxor's west bank.

Sourouzian oversees the work of the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project, which is working to save the remains of the more than 3,000 year-old temple and eventually restore its dispersed artefacts to the site, to be presented in their original layout.

The project director said her team found the Sekhmet pieces in very good condition, buried in the temple's hypostyle hall—a roofed structure supported by columns. Several other statues of the goddess have been found previously on the same site.

According to Mahmoud Afifi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department at the Ministry of Antiquities, the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet was charged with defending her father Re against enemies.

The many statues of the goddess in the temple of Amenhotep III would also have been intended to protect the ruler from evil and disease, Afifi told Ahram Online. 

"All statues of the goddess are now stored in warehouses supervised by the Ministry of Antiquities for security reasons,” Afifi said, adding that when excavations at the temple are completed and the site is opened to visitors, the statues will be placed back in their original setting.

In addition to the statues of Sekhmet, Sourouzian's team have uncovered large pieces of sphinxes carved in limestone, as well as a small torso of a deity in black granite, within the vicinity of the funerary temple's third pylon.  

“The sphinxes are in a bad state of preservation and will need to be treated before being exposed,” she said.

Egypt's Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany is set to travel to Luxor on Monday, to inspect the newly discovered statues and attend the opening of a temporary exhibit to celebrate the 41st anniversary of the Luxor Museum.

The exhibit will display a collection of 40 artefacts discovered by archaeologists on the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project.

The artefacts will include a collection of amulets, Greco-Roman coins, remains of clay pots and religious stelae—stone tablets or columns erected as tombstones or boundary markers.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/251690/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Statues-of-lioness-goddess-Sekhmet-unearthed-in-Lu.aspx

‘Well-preserved’ sarcophagus of 22nd dynasty nobleman unearthed in Egypt’s Luxor

An anthropoid sarcophagus of a 22nd dynasty nobleman was discovered in El-Assassif necropolis on Luxor's West Bank

by Nevine El-Aref , Thursday 26 Nov 2015

During today’s inspection tour in Luxor’s West Bank around the tomb of the 22nd dynasty’s Amenhotep-Hwi (TT28), Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty announced the discovery of the sarcophagus of a 22nd dynasty nobleman named Ankh-If-Khonsu.

Photocredit: Ahram Online

Eldamaty explained that the sarcophagus was found to be well preserved and in excellent condition after being unearthed from a niche carved in the tomb's rock. The find was made early this week by a Spanish mission from the Institute of Ancient Egyptian studies in collaboration with an Egyptian mission from the ministry of antiquities.

Head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities department Mahmoud Afifi said that the sarcophagus is in the very distinct style of the 22nd dynasty and it is carved from wood that is covered in a layer of plaster.

The sarcophagus depicts the facial features of the deceased wearing a wig and a crown made of flowers. His chest is decorated with a necklace and he is holding papyri flowers. Afifi added that the sarcophagus is decorated with hieroglyphic texts and scenes depicting the deceased in different positions before deities Osiris, Nefertem, Anubis, and Hathor.

Sultan Eid, head of the central administration of Upper Egypt, told Ahram Online that the sarcophagus contains a mummy, but it has not been yet studied.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/171837/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/%E2%80%98Wellpreserved%E2%80%99-sarcophagus-of-nd-dynasty-nobleman.aspx

News this week

By Rany Mostafa

Tomb of ‘gatekeeper of God Amun’ unearthed in Luxor

A 3,500-year-old tomb of “the gatekeeper of God Amun” has been unearthed in the west bank of Luxor, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty announced Tuesday.

The tomb was accidentally discovered during cleaning and restoration work carried out by the archaeology mission of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) in a nearby tomb in the archaeological site of Sheikh Abd el Qurna on the west bank of Luxor, according to Damaty.

“The gatekeeper of Amun, one of several titles that were found carved at the tomb’s door lintel, is strongly believed to be a job description of an 18th Dynasty (1580 B.C.- 1292 B.C.) high official. Amenhotep is the real name of the tomb owner that was found carved at the walls of the tomb,” he added.

According to Damaty, the tomb measures 5 meters long by 1.5 meters wide and takes a T-shape. A small side chamber of 4 square meters with a burial shaft in the middle is to be found inside the tomb.

Sultan Eid, Director of Upper Egypt Antiquities Department told The Cairo Post Tuesday that some parts of the tombs are well preserved with “dazzling scenes showing Amenhotep, along with his wife, depicted standing making an offering before several ancient Egyptian deities.”

Osiris tomb discovered in Luxor

A symbolic tomb of the god Osiris has been discovered at Al-Gorna on Luxor’s west bank

By Nevine El-Aref , Sunday 4 Jan 2015

A Spanish-Italian archaeological mission has discovered a complete symbolic tomb of the god Osiris with multiple shafts and chambers at Al-Gorna necropolis on Luxor’s west bank.
Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty told Ahram Online that the discovery is important because the newly discovered tomb is a small version of the design of the Osirion found in Abydos in the Upper Egypt city of Sohag.

Abdel Hakim Karar, head of Antiquities of Upper Egypt, explains that the newly discovered tomb can be dated to the 25th Dynasty and consists of a large hall supported with five pillars. Its northern wall has a hall with a rock-hewn staircase that leads down to a funerary complex where an Osiris statue is found in the core of a vaulted chapel.

To the west of the chapel, said Karar, a funerary hall is found decorated with a relief depicting ancient Egyptian gods holding knives in order to protect the dead.

At the opposite side of the Osiris statue is another staircase leading to a nine metre deep shaft that leads to another chamber that has a seven metre deep shaft with two rooms full of debris.

María Milagros Álvarez Sosa, head of the mission, said that part of the tomb was initially discovered by archaeologist Philippe Virey in the 1880s and some attempts were made to sketch out the main structure in the 20th century. However, it was not until recently that the full extent of the structure was discovered through excavation.

The funerary complex will continue to be explored and the chambers cleared of debris in the autumn of this year.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/119421/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Osiris-tomb-discovered-in-Luxor.aspx

The perks of being an Egyptologist in Luxor

By Edu Marin

Luxor, Egypt, Dec 12 (EFE).- At five o'clock in the morning, the Egyptian city of Luxor wakes up to the sound of Muslim prayer and the braying of donkeys. At that same time, Spanish Egyptologist Milagros Alvarez Sosa and her team begin to prepare for a 3,500-year journey backwards in time to the Pharaonic era.

Alvarez preps for her archaeological expedition by donning a shirt, hiking boots, red hat and sunglasses. She sips at her coffee, as breakfast won't be until considerably later on.

"Sometimes we feel more like farmers than Egyptologists, because Luxor is another world," Alvarez tells Efe, referring to the Min Project, conducted in coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. The site includes the tomb of Min, who was a tutor to the Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1427-1401 BC).

Luxor is at the epicenter of modern Egyptology: time does not only stand still in the Theban necropolis, where most of the archeological treasures are concentrated, but also in the city itself.

"Animals are an important part of life in Luxor. It is a very rural area," Italian archeologist Irene Morfini tells Efe. Morfini recalls how she had to wait many times for the female donkey to breastfeed her baby while on their way to the tomb of Min.

It was during the reign of Thutmose III (1490-1436 BC) when Min tutored the young prince and future pharaoh, Amenhotep II, teaching him the essential skills of the era, such as archery.

New discoveries at Luxor

By Rany Mostafa:

Tomb of “divine wife of God Amun” unearthed in Luxor

CAIRO: The tomb of “the divine wife of God Amun,” an ancient Egyptian title given only to royal wives, has been discovered at the mortuary temple of Pharaoh Ramses II in the west bank of Luxor, according to Abdel-Hakim Karar, director of the Upper Egypt Antiquities Department, Thursday.

“The tomb is relatively small with a stone door leading to a 5-meter shaft and a burial chamber, where funerary equipments, offerings and 20 well-preserved statuettes were found,” Karar told The Cairo Post Thursday.

The statuettes, found by the tomb’s entrance, bore the name of  “Karomama” and hieroglyphic inscriptions describe her as “the earthly spouse of the god Amun,” and we believe she may have been the wife of the 22nd Dynasty’s Pharaoh Osorkon II (872B.C–837B.C.,) said Karar.

The discovery was made by French-Egyptian mission led by Christian Leblanc, a French archaeologist, who has been excavating in the mortuary temple and the tomb of Ramses II since 1980s.

“The new discovery may not be spectacular from the artistic point of view, but due to the scarcity of Karomama’s artifacts that have been discovered so far, it is definitely a significant find as it sheds more light on her life,” Leblanc was quoted by the Pharaoh Magazine Thursday.

Luxor celebrates 110th anniversary of Queen Nefertari Tomb discovery

By Rany Mostafa

CAIRO: In commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the discovery of Queen Nefertari’s Tomb, the Tourism Ministry has organized a 10-day celebration starting Oct. 15 at the Valley of the Queens west of Luxor, Ahmed Shoukry, the International Tourism Sector Chairman at the General Authority for Tourism, told The Cairo Post Saturday.

Photocredit: Wikimedia Commons

Queen Nefertari (1295 B.C.-1255 B.C.) was the wife of Pharaoh Ramses II (1279 B.C.-1223 B.C.), and one of the most famous Egyptian queens. Her tomb was discovered in 1904 by Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli (1856-1928), who was the director of the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Sheref el-Sabban, dean of the Tourism and Hotels Faculty at Minya University, told The Cairo Post Saturday.

The celebrations are organized by the Tourism Ministry in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Egypt, Civil Aviation Ministry and the Tourism Promotion Authority, according to Shoukry.

“Media figures from both Egypt and Italy, Italian archaeologists and tour operators will be attending the celebrations, which are expected to pull in more tourists to Luxor and Upper Egypt,” said Shoukry.

For two decades, the tomb has been under restoration and access was restricted to VIPs, archaeological missions and private visits, Sabban said.

“In 1998, an international team of archaeologists and restoration workers undertook the restoration of the tomb, which has been suffering from rainwater that has leaked into the tomb over thousands of years. Salt deposits also ruined most of the plaster layers on its walls,” Sabban added.

In July, the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced it would launch a project to build an exact, full-size replica of Queen Nefertari’s tomb to divert tourists away from the badly damaged original tomb while still providing them the chance to experience what the original looks like.

“The facsimile production of the tomb will record every tiny detail and dozens of square yards of inscriptions and depictions of scenes found in the original tomb,” Shoukry previously told The Cairo Post.

However, Magdy Mohsen, a local tour guide working in Luxor, also previously told The Cairo Post that the tomb is the best preserved and the most spectacular in Egypt.

“During my few visits to the tomb, I was always just like my guests—excited! At the end of the 10- minute-visit, my guests, fascinated with its bright colors, all say it must have been finished and painted yesterday,” Mohsen said.

Sources:

http://thecairopost.com/news/126818/travel-antiquities/luxor-celebrates-110th-anniversary-of-queen-nefertari-tomb-discovery

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maler_der_Grabkammer_der_Nefertari_002.jpg?uselang=nl

Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old tomb from 11th dynasty in Luxor

Spanish team find large pharaonic tomb that was probably built for a member of the royal family or a high-ranking statesman

Spanish archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old pharaonic tomb belonging to a leader from the 11th dynasty of Egypt in Luxor, the antiquities ministry said on Monday.

The wide surface of the tomb showed it was that of "someone from the royal family or a high-ranking statesman," the antiquities minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said.

The Spanish team was led by José Galán, who said the tomb would provide new insights into the dynasty that ruled in Luxor, the modern site of the city of Thebes, which was then the capital of ancient Egypt.

"This discovery confirms the presence of many tombs from the 11th dynasty in the Deraa Abu Naga region," said Galán.

One tomb dating back to the same period was discovered in the area five years ago. It contained a red sarcophagus, a well-preserved mummy, as well as arrows and arches that are now on display in Luxor's museum.

"The tomb may have been used as a mass grave, given the high number of human remains [discovered in it]," Ali al-Asfar, an antiquities ministry official, said on Monday, referring to the newly discovered site.

But it was also used during the 17th dynasty as pottery tools and utensils from this period were discovered in the tomb, Asfar added.

Luxor, a city of some 500,000 people on the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt, is an open-air museum of intricate temples and pharaonic tombs.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/09/archaeologists-discover-4000-year-old-pharaonic-tomb-luxor-egypt

Basel Egyptologists identify tomb of royal children

Who had the privilege to spend eternal life next to the pharaoh? Close to the royal tombs in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings, excavations by Egyptologists from the University of Basel have identified the burial place of several children as well as other family members of two pharaohs.

Basel Egyptologists of the University of Basel Kings' Valley Project have been working on tomb KV 40 in the Valley of the Kings close to the city of Luxor for three years. From the outside, only a depression in the ground indicated the presence of a subterranean tomb. Up to now, nothing was known about the layout of tomb KV 40 nor for whom it was build and who was buried there.

The Egyptologists assumed that it was a non-royal tomb dating back to the 18th dynasty. They first cleared the six meter deep shaft which gives access to five subterranean chambers and then recovered the countless remains and fragments of funerary equipment.

Mummified royal children

The scientists discovered mummified remains of at least 50 people in the center chamber and in three side chambers. Based on inscriptions on storage jars, Egyptologists were able to identify and name over 30 people during this year's field season. Titles such as "Prince" and "Princess" distinguish the buried as members of the families of the two pharaohs Thutmosis IV and Amenhotep III who are also buried in the Valley of Kings. Both pharaohs belonged to the 18th dynasty (New Kingdom) and ruled in the 14th century BC.

Almost 60 royal mummies discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings

Swiss archaeological mission finds cachet of 18th dynasty royal mummies on Luxor's West Bank

by Nevine El-Aref , Monday 28 Apr 2014

A cachet of royal mummies has been unearthed inside a rock-hewn tomb in the Valley of the Kings on Luxor's West Bank, Egypt's antiquities ministry announced on Monday.
The tomb contains almost 60 ancient Egyptian royal mummies from the 18th dynasty along with the remains of wooden sarcophagi and cartonnage mummy masks depicting the facial features of the deceased, Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim told Ahram Online.

Ibrahim explained that the excavation work was carried out in collaboration with Basel University in Switzerland.

Early studies reveal that the Heratic texts engraved on some of the clay pots found inside the tomb identify the names and titles of 30 deceased, among them the names of princesses mentioned for the first time – Ta-Im-Wag-Is and Neferonebo.

Anthropological studies and scientific examination of the found clay fragments will be carried out to identify all the mummies and determine the tomb's owner and his respective mummy, said Ali El-Asfar, head of the ministry's ancient Egyptian antiquities section.

The head of the Swiss archaeological mission – Swiss Egyptologist Helena Ballin – said that among the finds were well-preserved mummies of infant children as well as a large collection of funerary objects.  

She said that remains of wooden sarcophagi were also unearthed, proving that the tomb was reused by priests as a cemetery.

Early examinations of the tomb reveal that it has been subjected to theft several times since antiquity,  said Ballin.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/100031/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Almost--royal-mummies-discovered-in-Egypts-Valley-.aspx

Voyage of the obelisk

A new exhibition is revisiting the journey of the ancient Egyptian obelisk from Luxor to the Place de la Concorde in Paris, writes David Tresilian

The ancient Egyptian obelisks that today decorate many European cities, among them Paris and London, were mostly transported during the nineteenth century when the desirability of preserving ancient sites was less well appreciated than it is today and when Egypt’s rulers, not always particularly interested in the country’s heritage, found themselves casting round for suitable gifts to press upon their European neighbours.

As a result, while at the beginning of the nineteenth century only Rome, among European cities, had a significant population of obelisks, most of them having been transported by the Romans in antiquity, by the century’s end London and Paris each boasted particularly fine examples. The London obelisk, carved during the reign of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Tuthmosis III, was re-erected on the Thames embankment in 1878, and the Paris one, dating from the reign of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh Ramses II, was set up in the more splendid location of the Place de la Concorde in 1836.

New York gained its obelisk in 1881, when the Egyptian khedive, surrendering to arguments that if Paris and London were to have obelisks than New York should have one too, presented the twin of the 18th Dynasty London obelisk to the city. It now stands in New York’s Central Park a short distance away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The idea of presenting obelisks first to European countries and then to the United States appealed to successive Egyptian rulers because these objects, given as gifts to the cities concerned, were as emblematic of Egypt as the Great Pyramids or the Sphinx at Giza and they had the advantage of being considerably more portable.

Resurrection at Thebes?

Could the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III be returning to something like its original splendour after 3,200 years in ruins, asks Nevine El-Aref

At Wadi Al-Hittan on Luxor’s west bank, the two lonely Colossi of Memnon are seated, greeting visitors to the Theban necropolis. However, last week things were different from usual, as the temple that the monoliths once safeguarded is progressively re-emerging from oblivion for the first time since its collapse 3,200 years ago after a massive earthquake.

The originally awe-inspiring temple of the pharaoh Amenhotep III now appears as just slight elevations and depressions in the packed earth, with blocks, statues and fragments scattered across the surface. However, three of the temple’s original pylons can now be discerned, along with the statues and stelae that decorated its different courts.

The efforts exerted by the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project (CMATCP) and the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA) under the supervision of Egyptologist Hourig Sourouzian may be making the dream of the reconstruction of the lost temple come true.

The temple was built throughout the 38 years of the pharaoh’s reign in the first half of the 14th century BCE. Some 150 years later, it was toppled after a destructive earthquake hit the country around 1,200BCE.

The site was then used as a quarry, and most of the blocks and decorative elements were re-used in the construction of surrounding temples and structures.

Later, the remains of the temple were regularly subjected to floods and it was covered with the alluvial layers of the Nile.

Tomb of pharaoh’s stable master discovered in Egypt

A new tomb discovered in the Western Bank of Luxor

AFP – Archaeologists have discovered the nearly 3,500-year-old tomb of a royal stable master from the pharaonic era in the famed temple city of Luxor, Egypt, the government said Tuesday

The tomb was found by Egyptian, Italian and Spanish archaeologists while excavating another tomb on Luxor’s western bank, the Egyptian ministry of antiquities said.

“The tomb belongs to an important statesman from the 18th dynasty called Maai,” antiquities minister Mohamed Ibrahim said in a statement.

Ibrahim said it was found when diggers made an opening in the wall of the other tomb.

Maai, apart from being the stable master in charge of the army’s horses, was also supervising the royal family’s farms and livestock, said Ali El-Asfar, an official with the ministry.

“The visible inscriptions (on the tomb’s walls) are very important as they reveal details about the daily life of the tomb’s owner, his family relations, and the lifestyle of senior statesmen at this time”, another ministry official, Abdel Hakim Karar, said.

One of the scenes shows Maai and his wife Nefret, another shows men and women sitting at banquet tables, and a third shows sacrificial rituals, the statement said.

Luxor, a city of around 500,000 residents on the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt, is an open-air museum of intricate temples, tombs of pharaonic rulers and landmarks such as the Winter Palace hotel.

Source: http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/03/06/tomb-pharaohs-stable-master-discovered-egypt/

Intact 3600 year old Egyptian sarcophagus among new discoveries

Researchers and archaeologists working on the Djehuty Project, led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), have discovered four noble burials from the 17th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt at the northern end of the necropolis of Dra Abu el-Naga, near Luxor (ancient Thebes), this includes the intact sarcophagus of a man named Neb, who lived around 1600 BCE.

The discovery, during the 12th season of archaeological excavations will shed light on a little-known historical period in which Thebes became the capital of a kingdom that heralded the dominance of Egypt over Palestine and Syria to the north, and Nubia to the south.

The project was led by CSIC researcher José Manuel Galán, Institute of Languages ​​and Cultures of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. His team included 16 Spanish and four other foreign specialists.

The discovery of Neb

Photocredit: Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC)

Neb’s body was found in a burial chamber carved over 1.5 metres deep into the bedrock. The wooden sarcophagus was in remarkable condition, with bright colours and decoration. The bricked-up entrance led the archaeologists to believe that it had never been looted since the coffin had been laid in the tomb.
Inside this small rock chamber lay the anthropomorphic carved wooden casket decorated in the characteristic style of the seventeenth dynasty, called “rishi” (which means “beautiful” in Arabic).

A part of Memnon colossi uncovered in Luxor

Quartzite blocks belong to the colossi of Memnon was discovered Sunday at King Amenhotep III's funerary temple on Luxor's west bank

by Nevine El-Aref , Sunday 16 Feb 2014

The European-Egyptian archaeological mission headed by famed Egyptologist Horig Sourouzian has unearthed a collection of quartzite blocks that had been missing since antiquity from Memnon colossi, at the entrance of King Amenhotep III's temple at Kom El-Hitan on Luxor's west bank.

Egypt's antiquities minister Mohamed Ibrahim told Ahram Online on Sunday that the blocks belong to the northern colossus and depict a part of the statue's arm, painted belt and skirt.

These blocks, Ibrahim went on, were missing since antiquity following an earthquake that led to the destruction of the temple, with the exception of these two colossi which once decorated the temple's entrance gate.

Aly El-Asfar, head of the ministry's ancient Egyptian antiquities section, said that in addition to the 88cm tall and 76cm large blocks, the mission had also uncovered others that were once part of the colossus' royal crown and foundation stone.

"It is a very important discovery," said El-Asfar, adding that the discovery of these blocks will lead archaeologists to reconstruct both colossi and return them to their original glory.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/94392/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/A-part-of-Memnon-colossi-uncovered-in-Luxor.aspx

Tomb of chief beer-maker discovered in Egypt's Luxor

The tomb of goddess Mut’s head of beer production was discovered today in Al-Khokha area on Luxor’s west bank

by Nevine El-Aref , Friday 3 Jan 2014

A Japanese mission from Waseda University uncovered the tomb of Khonso-Im-Heb, who was the head of beer production for goddess Mut and the head of the galleries during the Ramesside era.

The discovery occurring during routine cleaning work carried out at the frontcourt of tomb number TT47, which belongs to a top official in the reign of the New Kingdom king Amenhotep III.

The tomb of Khonso-Im-Heb is T-shaped with two halls and a burial chamber. It is also connected to an unfinished tomb of an as-yet unidentified person called Houn.

Jiro Kondo, head of the Japanese mission, said that the tomb is well preserved and is fully painted with scenes depicting the tomb’s owner with his family members and in front of different ancient Egyptian deities.

Scenes of the “Open Mouse” ritual also figures on one of the tomb’s wall while the ceiling is decorated with geometrical paintings with vivid colours. A solar boat is depicted at its core.

Minister of State of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim told Ahram Online that security has been tightened around the tomb until the completion of the excavation works there. He said that a comprehensive restoration would be carried out after it is fully excavated to allow visitors.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/90724.aspx

An unidentified royal statue head found in Luxor

A black granite head of an unidentified New Kingdom king's statue has been uncovered in Luxor

by Nevine El-Aref , Thursday 26 Dec 2013

The Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission unearthed on Thursday a large granite head of a statue of an unidentified New Kingdom king during routine excavation at King Thutmose III’s funerary temple on Luxor’s west bank.
 

Photocredit: Ahram Online

Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Section at the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA), explained that the head is 29.6cm high, 24.3cm wide and 26.9cm deep. The head depicts a round face of a royal figure, not identified yet, wearing a wig, with traces of a broken nose, and two long ears that each reach 8cm. The eyes, he continued, have traces of kohl, with thick eyebrows.

Abdel-Maqsoud said that the head was found buried in sand in a pit on the northern side of the second court of the temple. Studies are underway in an attempt to determine which New Kingdom king it belongs to.

The temple of Thutmose III is a vey small temple located beside the temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Al Deir Al-Bahari. It was first discovered in February 1962 during routine restoration work carried out by a Polish excavation mission of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology led by archaeologist Kazimierz Michalowski.

The temple is poorly preserved and was dedicated to god Amun-Re.  Although Thutmose III’s actual funerary temple Henkhet-Ankh is located a short distance away, such a temple had played some role within the king’s funerary cult.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/90118/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/An-unidentified-royal-statue-head-found-in-Luxor.aspx

Luxor: Ancient Egyptian Capital

by Owen Jarus, LiveScience ContributorDate: 25 June 2013

Luxor is a modern-day Egyptian city that lies atop an ancient city that the Greeks named “Thebes” and the ancient Egyptians called “Waset.”

Located in the Nile River about 312 miles (500 kilometers) south of Cairo the World Gazetteer website reports that, as of the 2006 census, Luxor and its environs had a population of more than 450,000 people. The name Luxor “derives from the Arabic al-uksur, ‘the fortifications,’ which in turn was adapted from the Latin castrum,” which refers to a Roman fort built in the area, writes William Murnane in the "Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt" (Oxford University Press, 2001).

The ancient city of Luxor served at times as Egypt’s capital and became one of its largest urban centers. “On the East Bank, beneath the modern city of Luxor, lie the remains of an ancient town that from about 1500 to 1000 B.C. was one of the most spectacular in Egypt, with a population of perhaps 50,000,” write archaeologists Kent Weeks and Nigel Hetherington in their book "The Valley of the Kings Site Management Masterplan" (Theban Mapping Project, 2006).

In ancient times, the city was known as home to the god Amun, a deity who became associated with Egyptian royalty. In turn, during Egypt’s “New Kingdom” period between roughly 1550-1050 B.C., most of Egypt’s rulers chose to be buried close to the city in the nearby Valley of the Kings. Other famous sites near the city, which were built or greatly expanded during the New Kingdom period, include Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Queens and Queen Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple at Deir al-Bahari.

“Of all the ancient cities, no other city reached the glory of Thebes in supremacy,” writes Egyptologist Rasha Soliman in her book "Old and Middle Kingdom Theban Tombs" (Golden House Publications, 2009). “Thebes is the largest and wealthiest heritage site in the world.”