Identity of tomb’s owner remains unknown
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Archaeologists have unearthed the tomb of a yet unknown Egyptian pharaoh who ruled 3,600 years ago during a time of political instability in the region.
The royal tomb was found at a depth of around 7m below ground level at the ancient Mount Anubis necropolis in Abydos, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said.
The find provides new evidence of the development of royal tombs at the necropolis.
Abydos is one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, dating back to the Abydos Dynasty, a series of kings who ruled Upper Egypt between 1700 and 1600 BC.
The mystery pharaoh’s tomb consisted of a limestone burial chamber covered with mudbrick vaults reaching a height of approximately 5m.
Section of the tomb of mystery Egyptian king
Section of the tomb of mystery Egyptian king (Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
Archaeologists also found faded inscriptions on either side of the entrance leading to the burial chamber. One was of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys and the other set of yellow inscription bands once bore the king's name in hieroglyphs, they said.
The surviving decorations and texts bear similarities to the art and inscriptions discovered at the tomb of King Senebkay, scholars said.
Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, said the newly discovered tomb appears much larger than previously known mausoleums attributed to the Abydos Dynasty.
The name of the mystery tomb’s owner has not been determined yet but it surely belongs to one of the kings who reigned before Senebkay, he said.
The latest find came days after archaeologists found the royal burial site of another Egyptian pharaoh named Thutmose II.
Türkiye recovers Roman bust, ancient plates from Denmark
STORY: Türkiye recovers Roman bust, ancient plates from DenmarkSHOOTING TIME: March 14, 2025DATELINE: March 15, 2025LENGTH: 00:01:13LOCATION: AnkaraCATEGORY: CULTURESHOTLIST:1. photo of the statue head of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at the Antalya Archaeological Museum (source: Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry)2. various of the press conference of Turkish Culture And Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy at the Antalya Archaeological Museum (source: Ihlas News Agency)3. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) : MEHMET NURI ERSOY, Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister (source: Ihlas News Agency)4. photos of 48 terracotta plates smuggled from Türkiye decades ago at the Antalya Archaeological Museum (source: Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry)5. various of the press conference of Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy at the Antalya Archaeological Museum (source: Ihlas News Agency)6. various of historical artifacts of Anatolian origin returned to Türkiye from the USA (source: Ihlas News Agency)STORYLINE:Türkiye has recovered a Roman Emperor's statue head and 48 ancient terracotta plates from Denmark, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said on Friday.The artifacts, including a bust of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus, were returned after decades abroad and were displayed at the Antalya Archaeological Museum.The Severus bust was smuggled from the ancient city of Boubon in Burdur province in the 1960s, Ersoy said. The 6th century BC terracotta plates originated from Duver village, also in Burdur.SOUNDBITE (Turkish): MEHMET NURI ERSOY, Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister"We are determined to trace and bring back to our country any artifact belonging to these lands, no matter where in the world it was smuggled."The repatriation, from Denmark's Glyptotek Museum, followed diplomatic efforts and the museum's decision to return the items.The return is part of Türkiye's broader effort to reclaim its cultural heritage. Ersoy said 8,967 historical artifacts have been repatriated in the past seven years.Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.(XHTV)
Türkiye recovers Roman bust and ancient plates from Denmark
The latest dig also unearthed a pottery workshop from the Roman era in the village of Banawit, north of Abydos.
Preliminary analysis suggests the pottery workshop was used during the Byzantine era and reused as a cemetery in the 7th century AD, possibly extending into the 14th century, the ministry said.
Evidence unearthed at the Banawit site points to it being one of the largest factories supplying the ancient Egyptian region with pottery and glass.
Excavations found evidence of several large kilns at the site, storage areas for vessels as well as a collection of 32 potsherds used for writing in Demotic and Greek scripts.
These potsherds, known as ostraca, detail commercial transactions at the time and the method of paying taxes, researchers said.
Several burials were also discovered at Banawit, including mudbrick tombs containing skeletons and mummies. These were likely family graves, researchers said.
One of the burials included the mummy of a sleeping child wearing a colored fabric cap and another had the skull of a woman in her 30s.
Archaeologists also found wheat roots and remains of ancient plant seeds at the site, including doum palms and barley.