Archaeologists uncover never-before-seen tombs of ancient Egyptian officials — expected to boost tourism
Several tombs of high-ranking Ancient Egyptian officials were recently uncovered by local archaeologists, shedding new light on a bygone civilization.
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery in a Facebook post on May 26. It was translated from Arabic to English.
Advertisement
The tombs all date to the era of the New Kingdom, also known as the Egyptian Empire. They were found in the Draʻ Abu el-Naga site on the Nile River's West Bank in the Luxor Governorate.
Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, noted the names and titles of the decedents have all been identified, thanks to surviving inscriptions.
4
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Facebook
'The mission will continue cleaning and studying the remaining inscriptions in the tombs to gain a deeper understanding of their owners and to study and publish the findings scientifically,' he added.
Advertisement
The first tomb belonged to a man named Amenemopet from the Ramesside Period, which lasted from 1292 to 1069 B.C.
He worked in a temple dedicated to Amun, a highly venerated Egyptian god.
4
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Facebook
Most of the hieroglyphics in Amenemopet's tomb were destroyed, but the ministry noted that the remaining ones 'depict scenes of offering sacrifices, a depiction of the funerary furniture procession, and a banquet scene.'
Advertisement
'One belongs to a person named 'Paki,' who worked as a supervisor of the grain silo, and the other to a person named 'Is,' who worked as a supervisor of the Amun temple in the oases, mayor of the northern oases, and a scribe,' the statement noted.
Amenemopet's tomb also consisted of a small courtyard and an entrance with a square hall.
4
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Facebook
The tombs of both Paki and Is also had courtyards, in addition to shafts.
Advertisement
In a statement, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy said the discovery 'enhances Egypt's position on the global cultural tourism map.'
'These discovered tombs are among the sites that will significantly contribute to attracting more visitors, especially those who are fans of cultural tourism, due to their distinctive civilizational and human value,' he noted.
The discovery comes on the heels of several recent exciting finds in Egypt.
4
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Facebook
In April, a University of Pennsylvania professor spoke with Fox News Digital about unearthing the tomb of an unknown pharaoh near Abydos.
Earlier in May, officials announced the discovery of ancient military fortifications that dated back to the Ptolemaic and Roman eras of Egyptian history.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Northwest Indiana's Muslim community comes together to observe Eid Al-Adha
Muslims from throughout Northwest Indiana gathered together on Friday to pray and celebrate Eid Al-Adha. The celebration, the first day of a three-day event, was held inside Crown Point's Sparta Dome. The Sparta Dome was selected as the best place to hold the festivity because of the aspect of community, the joining together of Muslims from throughout the area, Jawad Nammari said. Nammari, who is a volunteer at the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center, also served as one of the organizers of the event. 'Rather than hosting the event at one mosque, the Sparta Dome was chosen because it has plenty of space to accommodate the large Muslim community, who are celebrating together from across the Northwest Indiana region. We all join together in prayer,' he said. Eid Al-Adha is one of two main holidays in the Islamic religion and is a celebration that is held worldwide, he said. 'Eid Al-Adha commemorates when Prophet Ibrahim (Arabic for Abraham) was commanded by God to sacrifice his son, Ismail (Arabic for Ishmael), as an act of obedience and fulfilling a commandment from God,' he said. God intervened at the moment of sacrifice and sent a ram to be sacrificed instead. 'This was a test of faith and both father and son passed it with full obedience and trust in God,' he said. The Eid Al-Adha celebration started at sunrise and many of those in the area traveled to either the Illiana Islamic Center in Highland or the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center in Merrillville to say early morning prayers, he said. Ferass Safadi, who serves as treasurer at the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center, said this event is the first time those from both mosques joined together. 'This is history in the making,' Safadi said. The prayer at the beginning of the event is called Takbeenr which is the praising of Allah, Northwest Indiana Islamic Center member Amera Salam Nammari said. Those in attendance greeted each other upon entry to the dome with hugs or handshakes before being seated in chairs or on rugs spread throughout the area. All removed their shoes before the saying of prayers and message of forgiveness and thankfulness led by Iman Mongy El-Quesny of the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center. Following the main prayers, festivities for families continued including bouncy houses and events for young children. Food trucks, which offered traditional meals like shawarma and falafel, were also available to participants. 'Although Muslims worship five times a day daily and are obliged to obey the commandments of God, this day is a holiday as part of honoring a great act of faith, honoring sacrifice, charity and community,' Jawad Nammari said.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Archaeologists may have finally solved the mystery of Roanoke's ‘Lost Colony'
A team of researchers believes they may have cracked one of America's most enduring legends: Where did the settlers of the Roanoke Colony go? The Roanoke Colony, also known as the Lost Colony, was the first permanent English settlement in the United States. A group of over 100 colonists settled on North Carolina's Roanoke Island in 1587, led by Sir Walter Raleigh. John White, the governor of the colony, returned to England for supplies in 1587. When he came back to Roanoke Island in August 1590, he found the settlement mysteriously abandoned – and all the colonists, including his daughter Eleanor Dare and his granddaughter Virginia Dare, gone. One of the only clues remaining at the site was the word 'CROATOAN' carved into a palisade. It either referred to Croatoan Island, which is now called Hatteras Island, or the Croatoan Indians. The mystery has haunted Americans and Brits for the past four centuries, with several investigations launched into the matter. Whether the colonists were killed by Native Americans, starved to death, or left for greener pastures has eluded historians. But new research suggests the colonists' fate may not have been tragic after all. Mark Horton, an archaeology professor at the Royal Agricultural University in England, spoke with Fox News Digital about his findings. 5 A team of researchers believes they may have cracked one of America's most enduring legends: Where did the settlers of the Roanoke Colony go? Getty Images For the past decade, the British researcher has worked with the Croatoan Archaeological Society's Scott Dawson to uncover the mystery. Horton said they've uncovered proof that the colonists assimilated into Croatoan society, thanks to a trash heap. 'We're looking at the middens — that's the rubbish heaps — of the Native Americans living on Hatteras Island, because we deduced that they would have very rapidly been assimilated into the Native American population,' Horton said. The smoking gun at the site? 5 The mystery has haunted Americans and Brits for the past four centuries, with several investigations launched into the matter. Youtube/IslandTimeTV Hammerscale, which are tiny, flaky bits of iron that come from forging iron. Horton said it's definitive proof of iron-working on Hatteras Island, which could have only been done by English colonists. 'The key significance of hammerscale … is that it's evidence of iron-working, of forging, at that moment,' he said. 'Hammerscale is what comes off a blacksmith's forge.' Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Horton added, 'This is metal that has to be raised to a relatively high temperature … which, of course, [requires] technology that Native Americans at this period did not have.' Hammerscale shows that the English 'must have been working' in this Native American community, according to the expert. But what if the hammerscale came longer after the Roanoke Colony was abandoned? Horton said that's unlikely. 'We found it stratified … underneath layers that we know date to the late 16th or early 17th century,' he said. 'So we know that this dates to the period when the lost colonists would have come to Hatteras Island.' 5 The Roanoke Colony, also known as the Lost Colony, was the first permanent English settlement in the United States. Getty Images 5 'We're looking at the middens — that's the rubbish heaps — of the Native Americans living on Hatteras Island, because we deduced that they would have very rapidly been assimilated into the Native American population,' Mark Horton, an archaeology professor at the Royal Agricultural University in England, said. Youtube/IslandTimeTV 'It's a combination of both its archaeological position but also the fact that it's evidence of people actually using an English technology.' At the site, archaeologists also found guns, nautical fittings, small cannonballs, an engraved slate and a stylus, in addition to wine glasses and beads, which all paint a vivid picture of life on Hatteras Island in the 17th century. When asked if the colonists could have been killed in a later war, Horton said they survived among the Croatoans and successfully assimilated. 'We have one little snippet of historical evidence from the 1700s, which describes people with blue or gray eyes who could remember people who used to be able to read from books,' he said. 'Also, they said there was this ghost ship that was sent out by a man called Raleigh.' 5 When asked if the colonists could have been killed in a later war, Horton said they survived among the Croatoans and successfully assimilated. Youtube/IslandTimeTV Horton added, 'We think that they assimilated into the Native American community and their descendants, their sons, their granddaughters, their grandsons carried on living on Hatteras Island until the early 18th century.' When asked if he's officially solved the mystery, Horton said that though the archaeological evidence is definitive, the legend will probably still endure. 'Have we solved the mystery? Well, you know, it's pretty good evidence, but there's always more work to be done,' he said. Horton added, 'And people love mysteries. They hate resolving things one way or the other. So I'm sure that the mystery will continue, you know, whatever the scientific evidence says.'
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Volunteers 'devastated' at garden centre closure
Learning disabled volunteers and their families say they are "devastated" a west London community garden centre is set to be closed down. More than 4,500 have signed a petition urging the Hillingdon Council to keep the Rural Activities Garden Centre (RAGC) in Colham open. A group of learning disabled adults help maintain the garden centre, and some have attended for decades and see it as a critical part of their routine, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Hillingdon Council says the centre is making an annual loss of £137,000 a year which is being subsidised by local taxpayers and and volunteers will be offered alternative "learning and developmental opportunities". Terry, who has been volunteering at the garden centre for several years, said he had "stopped leaving the house" before he began working there. Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said: "My mum got ill with dementia and I had to look after her, when she died I was suggested to come here, it's now the only place I come to. "If this place closes I won't be doing anything again, it makes me upset." Wayne, a volunteer of over 30 years at the RAGC, says he loves the work and the people he works with. His father Stuart says it is the "one thing that gives them a purpose in life". Without it, he says, many volunteers would be "stuck at home". "All of these people will be devastated," he added. "We all need this place, what it does for people, and the community it brings. We need it." Hillingdon Council says it will continue supporting volunteers by offering horticultural placements in gardens and public areas around the borough's Civic Centre in Uxbridge. The local authority says this will provide "enriched learning and developmental opportunities" and "a wider range of activities than they currently experience at the garden centre". The report on the future of the Rural Activities Garden Centre is due to be will be considered by the council's Cabinet on 26 June. Hillingdon Council said: "We are committed to ensuring all volunteers with assessed social care needs receive enriched learning and developmental opportunities. "Unfortunately, the RAGC's retail operations are not economically viable and we cannot expect residents to subsidise a loss-making garden centre." Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to London Borough of Hillingdon
