Eerie Egyptian tomb discovery as archaeologists announce 'first of its kind'
A 4,000 year old Egyptian tomb filled with the remains of 11 people, including children, has been discovered in a groundbreaking find.
The archaeological team stumbled upon the final resting place of 11 souls, men, women, and youngsters alike, indicating it served as a familial burial ground across generations during the 12th and 13th Dynasties.
This remarkable discovery marks the first Middle Kingdom tomb, dating from 2040 BC to 1630 BC, to be unearthed in this locale. The deceased were positioned side by side, their heads alternating directions, as revealed by the South Asasif Conservation Project's researchers.
Regrettably, floods had ravaged the wooden sarcophagi and linen wrappings, yet amidst the ruins, figurines and jewellery stood the test of time.
In addition, the archaeologists uncovered two copper mirrors, one adorned with a lotus handle, the other bearing an image of Hathor – the revered Egyptian deity of the sky, women, fertility, and love, reports the Mirror US.
Situated adjacent to the Temple of Hatshepsut on Luxor's west bank along the Nile, this tomb adds a new chapter to the history of the area. Katherine Blakeney, the American lead archaeologist, said: "The unearthing of the first Middle Kingdom tomb in the South Asasif necropolis alters its history, placing South Asasif within the sprawling Theban Middle Kingdom necropolis."
Among the unearthed skeletons were five women, two men, and three children, with the eleventh member's age and gender remaining a mystery.
The discovery was made as restorers attempted to rebuild the tomb of Karabaskin, a 25th Dynasty mayor of Thebes and fourth priest of Amun, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MTA).
This significant find has reshaped our knowledge of South Asasif's past. It was previously believed that burials only took place during the 18th, 22nd, 25th and 26th dynasties of ancient Egypt, spanning from 1550 BC to 525 BC.
The MTA suggests that the tombs likely belonged to the region's top 12 families. Most of the jewellery was discovered amongst the female remains, save for an exquisite necklace found in one of the male tombs.
The necklace, composed of 30 amethyst beads and two agate beads encircling a hippopotamus head, signified the family's high status, particularly the man's.
This is supported by the symbolism of the hippopotamus, which was seen as a representation of the Nile River's might and was often buried with the deceased to safeguard them in the afterlife.
Hippopotamus figurines were commonly found in Middle Kingdom tombs and were sometimes portrayed as the pregnant goddess Taweret, symbolising fertility and protection.
"Such craftsmanship underscores the cultural and artistic sophistication of the Middle Kingdom," Blakeney told Archaeology Magazine. The US team is poised to carry out further digs in the region to uncover more secrets of the ancient burial site and illuminate the lives of its dwellers during the Middle Kingdom period.
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Lewis, or Miss Lewis as she was properly called and is always referred to in her book with Scott Peacock, The Gift of Southern Cooking, also adds a pinch of salt, which, like the lemon juice in Meggett's, Randall's and the ATK recipes, helps to make the peaches taste … peachier somehow. If you happen to have some knocking around, I'd also highly recommend a dash of the almond essence in Villas' recipe – not so much as to make the filling taste nutty, but just enough to enhance the flavour of the almond's close cousin, the peach. McDonald mixes the peaches with raspberries – which, personally, I don't care for when cooked (they break down completely in the peach juice, but if you like the idea, stick a handful in). She also adds vanilla and cinnamon, which we all like less than Miss Lewis and Randall's nutmeg; peaches and sugar are sweet enough, after all, without enhancing that with cloyingly sweet spices. Randall's ground cloves prove a surprise hit, but one spice feels like quite enough in a place where peaches hardly grow on trees. I thought I knew what a cobbler was until I started the research for this dish and found myself rolling out a lovely, delicately crumbly pastry for Randall's double-crust version. Peacock helpfully explains that 'in the US south, the term 'cobbler' is applied to a host of baked fruit desserts. To Miss Lewis, 'cobbler' meant a kind of deep-dish pie with fruit baked between a bottom and top layer of pastry … to other southern bakers, a cobbler might have only a top pastry crust. In Alabama, we called anything a cobbler that had fruit covered by a baked topping.' (He goes on to reminisce about 'one of the more distinctive cobblers of my childhood', from a local barbecue joint, that involved 'canned peaches covered with a box of Duncan Hines Yellow Cake mix – dry – with melted butter poured over the top'.) The most distinctive cobbler I try comes from Meggett's book, Gullah Geechee Home Cooking, co-authored with Kayla Stewart and Trelani Michelle, on the Lowcountry cuisine of coastal South Carolina, and particularly her lifelong home, Edisto Island. Instead of a top crust, the dish is filled with a buttery sponge batter topped with peaches – it's light, fluffy and very quick to make, though, good as all the recipes are, I like the scone-like toppings in McDonald and the ATK recipes best; if I'm serving up something called a cobbler, I don't want it to feel like a pie or an upside-down cake, but something distinctively different, as well as emphatically American. Both recipes use fluffy drop biscuits, rather than the flakier rolled kind – for a British audience, these are more like dumplings than rowies/butteries – which makes sense, because they're better suited to soaking up juice (and, in keeping with the spirit of the cobbler, much quicker and easier to make). The method is similar to scones, but uses a wetter dough, moistened with McDonald's tangy buttermilk, which my testers prefer to the more neutral but richer yoghurt in the ATK recipe. But we all agree some raising agent is required; an unleavened dough, though tasty, does have tendency to sit heavy as a stone upon the fruit. Adding it to a filling that's already hot helps it to cook through in time, and though the biscuit itself shouldn't be too sweet, in contrast to what lies beneath, a final topping of granulated sugar adds a delightful crunch. Miss Lewis served her peach cobbler with 'an unusual' (but very tasty) nutmeg syrup, but more common pairings are vanilla ice-cream (McDonald and Randall), whipped cream (ATK) and even, non-canonically, creme fraiche or yoghurt. But ice-cream is, in my opinion, the American dream. (Note that this is good served warm as well as well as hot, but not chilled, because that makes the topping turn a little doughy. You could marinate the peaches in advance, but don't make the biscuit dough until just before baking.) Prep 10 min Marinate 30 min+ Cook 45 min+ Rest 15 min Serves 6 About 800g ripe but fairly firm peaches (about 4-5 medium-sized ones)2 tbsp soft light brown or demerara sugar, or white sugar if preferredA pinch of salt 15g butter, diced, plus extra for greasing1½ tsp cornflour 1 tbsp lemon juice ¼ tsp almond extract (optional) ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg Ice-cream, to serve For the topping100g cold butter 175g plain flour 2 tbsp caster sugar ¼ tsp fine salt 1 tsp baking powder 150ml buttermilk, or 145ml milk mixed with 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar1 tbsp demerara sugar Cut the peaches into chunky wedges, scatter with the sugar and salt, then leave to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/gas 7, and grease a baking dish just large enough to hold all the fruit in a single layer. Grate or dice the 100g butter for the topping and put it in the freezer. Drain the juice from the steeped peaches and reserve. Arrange the drained peaches in the base of the rimmed baking dish. Put the cornflour in a small bowl, stir in two tablespoons of the reserved peach juice, plus the lemon juice and almond extract, if using, until dissolved, then toss this mix and the nutmeg with the peaches. Top with the diced butter. Put the peach dish on a rimmed baking tray, pop the lot in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the juices are bubbling. Meanwhile, put the flour, caster sugar, salt and baking powder for the topping in a large bowl. Add the frozen grated butter, toss to coat, then rub in with your fingertips just until the mix resembles coarse crumbs with visible pieces of butter still in there – it shouldn't be fully rubbed in. Once the peaches are bubbling, turn down the oven to 200 (180C fan)/gas 6 and stir the buttermilk into the flour to make a wet, shaggy dough. Dollop this on top of the fruit, leaving spaces between the blobs for them to expand. Top with a sprinkling of demerara sugar and bake for another 30-35 minutes, until golden. Remove, leave to cool for at least 15 minutes, then serve with ice-cream. Proper southern peach cobbler? Go on, tell me how it's really done!
