Eight Mummies Unearthed in Ancient Tomb Near Valley of the Kings
A group of archeologists unearthed an important trove of mummies near the Valley of the Kings in Egypt last week. The archeologists discovered eight new mummies in Dra' Abu el-Naga', a burial site located in what was formerly known as ancient Thebes.
The burial site is located near the legendary Valley of the Kings, where the body of King Tut was also unearthed by Howard Carter in 1922. According to officials, the recent discovery is an important one, as the age of the tomb suggests that the mummified residents are just some of those who survived the era of the tomb robbers, which is very rare. The tomb is now 3,500 years old.
According to reports, the tomb where the remains were recovered once belonged to an ancient nobleman named Userhat. The archeologists were able to determine the age of the tomb by analyzing the drawings on its ceiling. They found out that the drawings dated back to the 18th dynasty of Egypt, which was the period when King Tut and his fellow pharaohs reigned.
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The findings also included mummies from the 21st dynasty, as well as nearly a thousand funerary statues historically known as Ushtabi and 10 decorated wooden coffins. In ancient Egypt, the Ushabti referred to the representational servants believed to aid the dead in the afterlife.
After the discovery, the antiquities ministry of Egypt described the unique chambers in the tomb, saying, "It is a T-shaped tomb (which) consists of an open court leading into a rectangular hall, a corridor and an inner chamber. The corridor of the tomb leads into an inner chamber where a cachet of sarcophagi is found."
According to the spokeswoman for the ministry, Nevine el-Aref, mummy fans should gear up as the recent discoveries might just be the first of the many mummy discoveries to come. In a statement, she said that there were evidence and traces that new mummies could still be unearthed in the future.
