Latest news with #PennMuseum
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ram in the Thicket: A 4,500-year-old gold statue from the royal cemetery at Ur
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Name: Ram in the Thicket What it is: A gold and lapis lazuli statuette Where it is from: The Royal Cemetery at Ur (modern Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq) When it was made: Circa 2550 B.C. Related: Oseberg tapestry: Viking Age artwork from a boat burial that may depict the Norse tree of life What it tells us about the past: Found a century ago in a mass grave in the desert of southern Iraq, this 4,500-year-old statuette may depict the daily ritual associated with destiny and the birth of the universe in ancient Mesopotamia. Archaeologist Leonard Woolley discovered two nearly identical statuettes, which he named "Ram in the Thicket," in the Great Death Pit at the Royal Cemetery at Ur in 1928. This burial of one royal Sumerian individual around 2550 B.C. also involved the sacrifice of 68 women and five men. Woolley discovered the statuettes broken and crushed. Now reconstructed, they measure 16.7 inches (42.5 centimeters) and 18 inches (45.7 cm) tall. The smaller one is on display at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, while the larger one is housed at the British Museum in London. According to the Penn Museum, the statuettes may represent markhor goats, a type of Central and South Asian mountain goat with fantastical spiral horns. But Woolley called them "rams" because they reminded him of the biblical story of Abraham sacrificing a ram instead of his son Isaac. The heads and legs of the goat statuettes are wood, covered in gold leaf, as is the thicket or flowering bush. Their ears are copper, and their bellies are silver. Lapis lazuli, a semiprecious deep-blue stone, was used for their horns and fleece. Each goat stands on its hind legs on a rectangular base decorated with a mosaic of shells, lapis lazuli and red limestone in a diamond pattern. Experts are unsure what function this pair of goat statuettes served, but they may have been used as offering stands to support small bowls that did not survive, according to a team of Penn Museum researchers who published an analysis of the objects in 2020. MORE ASTONISHING ARTIFACTS —Hatnefer's heart scarab: An exquisite ancient Egyptian gold necklace inscribed with the Book of the Dead —Hårby Valkyrie: A 1,200-year-old gold Viking Age woman sporting a sword, shield and ponytail —Apulian rhyton: A 2,300-year-old Spartan-hound-shaped cup that was likely used at boozy bashes These researchers view the thicket or bush as a representation of the Mesopotamian cosmic tree that connects heaven and Earth. Rosettes on the tree symbolize heaven, while the leaves signify Earth. The diamond pattern on the statues' bases may represent mountains — specifically those on the eastern horizon of Ur where the sun rises. Daily sunrise was very important in ancient Mesopotamia. It was connected to the idea of destiny and associated with the birth of the universe. Rituals for the sun god Shamash often involved the sacrifice of sheep or goats and were made between sunset and sunrise. Because the "ram in the thicket" statuettes evoke sunrise — the time and place where heaven, Earth and the netherworld meet in Mesopotamian belief — they were likely seen as "suitable furnishings" for a royal tomb, the researchers wrote in their analysis.
CNN
05-04-2025
- Science
- CNN
Archaeologists uncover an ancient Egyptian tomb belonging to a ‘mystery king'
A newly uncovered ancient Egyptian tomb is shedding light on royalty that once ruled the region over 3,600 years ago. Archaeologists discovered the massive limestone burial chamber, which has multiple rooms and a decorated entryway, in January in Abydos, Egypt. But the lavish tomb's intended occupant remains a mystery. Graverobbers had damaged the hieroglyphic text painted on bricks at the entryway, leaving the name unreadable, according to a news release issued March 27 by the Penn Museum at the University of Pennsylvania. The impressive tomb didn't contain skeletal remains that could help identify its owner. However, the researchers who made the discovery believe it is likely the resting place of a king who ruled upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period between 1640 and 1540 BC as part of the Abydos Dynasty, one of the least understood dynasties of ancient Egypt. The mystery king might be one of several who are notoriously missing from the traditional records of monarchs who once ruled the region. 'It's a very sort of mysterious, enigmatic dynasty that seems to have basically been sort of forgotten from the ancient records of Egypt, because it was in this period of political decay and fragmentation,' said Josef Wegner, an Egyptologist and professor of Egyptian archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania, who led the excavation. 'This mystery tomb … opens a new kind of avenue of investigation (into the Abydos Dynasty).' The burial chamber is the largest to be discovered from any known ruler from the same dynasty, illuminating a previously misunderstood period of history that can only be revealed through material remains, experts say. Archaeologists found the tomb nearly 23 feet (about 7 meters) underground at the site of an ancient necropolis, or 'city of the dead.' The necropolis is situated at Abydos' Anubis Mountain, a natural pyramid-shaped formation that was considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians and served to conceal the tombs built beneath it. In historical records, Abydos was referred to as a sacred city that was the final resting place of Osiris — the god of the underworld — and the preferred resting place for the first pharaohs. The necropolis developed over the course of centuries as more dynasties built tombs and buried their kings within the royal cemetery. Over a decade ago, Wegner and his team came across the first tomb within this necropolis that confirmed the existence of the Abydos Dynasty, a ruling lineage that had been first hypothesized about in 1997 by Egyptologist Kim Ryholt. Ryholt believed the smaller dynasty would have ruled the region of Abydos during a time when ancient Egypt was broken into rival kingdoms. That first tomb's owner, King Seneb-Kay, was an entirely unknown pharaoh who was never mentioned in historical records. Of the eight tombs from the dynasty discovered thus far, Seneb-Kay's is the only one found with a name preserved in the burial chamber. The newly found tomb is similar in architecture and decoration but is much larger than Seneb-Kay's — the main compartment of the three-chambered crypt is about 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) wide by 6 meters (19.7 feet) long. Because the tomb was built in a section of the necropolis that the researchers believe was established earlier in time, they think that the wealthy king buried there was likely a predecessor to Seneb-Kay. The scientists suspect that the tomb might have belonged to King Senaiib or King Paentjeni, two monarchs represented in the sparse archaeological record of the dynasty that exists as part of a dedicated monument at Abydos. 'It is equally possible there could be some entirely unknown king,' said Wegner, who is also curator of the Penn Museum's Egyptian section. 'We don't think we have all of (the Abydos kings) names — evidence hasn't survived consistently for them.' While any markings that might help pinpoint the freshly unearthed burial chamber's former occupant didn't survive, the tomb does still have two painted images of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, who were commonly depicted in funerary rites as if they were mourning the deceased. The researchers plan to investigate about 10,000 square meters (over 100,000 square feet) more of the area's desert terrain in an effort to uncover additional tombs, Wegner said. 'There could easily be 12 or 15 kings that compose this group of kings,' he said. In addition to further excavation, the researchers will scope out the area using ground penetrating radar, technology that uses sound waves to map structures below Earth's surface, as well as magnetometry, which creates maps of structures underground that have magnetic signatures. 'The discovery of another ruler of the Abydos dynasty is very exciting,' said Salima Ikram, a distinguished university professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, in an email. 'It establishes that there was a significant royal … cemetery here of that time, provides us with more details about royal tomb architecture, (and) gives us a clue as to the members of this dynasty and the order in which they ruled.' Ikram was not involved with the burial chamber's discovery but said she is hopeful that future excavations will yield more tombs that will help to 'further our understanding of this once-obscure period of Egyptian history.' Abydos Dynasty kings such as Seneb-Kay are unique because they do not appear on the king lists that were once kept by the ancient Egyptians. 'The Egyptian kings liked to present their history as straightforward and linear and they recorded (king) names in order. These kings aren't on there. So if we look at this sort of strict historical record, we have no place for these kings,' said Laurel Bestock, an Egyptologist and associate professor of archaeology at Brown University in Rhode Island. Bestock was not involved with the new tomb discovery. 'When we find these monuments, it shows us how inadequate that strict, linear historical record is — it was really written, not to be accurate, but to support a particular point of view of later kings who went and reunified Egypt,' Bestock added. 'They wrote of themselves as great victors and as having won ethnic wars, and they just kind of ignored all the little players.' Discoveries such as this latest Abydos tomb are 'incredibly exciting' because they provide context for a richer history, regardless of whether this king's identity is revealed or not, Bestock noted. As of now, the king to whom the burial chamber belonged remains a mystery, but Wegner's goal is to one day identify the ruler to help anchor him within the historical timeline. 'With archaeology you hope for evidence,' Wegner said. 'The archaeological record, you know, it gives you surprises and twists and turns along the way, so you never know what you can find.'
CNN
05-04-2025
- Science
- CNN
Archaeologists uncover an ancient Egyptian tomb belonging to a ‘mystery king'
A newly uncovered ancient Egyptian tomb is shedding light on royalty that once ruled the region over 3,600 years ago. Archaeologists discovered the massive limestone burial chamber, which has multiple rooms and a decorated entryway, in January in Abydos, Egypt. But the lavish tomb's intended occupant remains a mystery. Graverobbers had damaged the hieroglyphic text painted on bricks at the entryway, leaving the name unreadable, according to a news release issued March 27 by the Penn Museum at the University of Pennsylvania. The impressive tomb didn't contain skeletal remains that could help identify its owner. However, the researchers who made the discovery believe it is likely the resting place of a king who ruled upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period between 1640 and 1540 BC as part of the Abydos Dynasty, one of the least understood dynasties of ancient Egypt. The mystery king might be one of several who are notoriously missing from the traditional records of monarchs who once ruled the region. 'It's a very sort of mysterious, enigmatic dynasty that seems to have basically been sort of forgotten from the ancient records of Egypt, because it was in this period of political decay and fragmentation,' said Josef Wegner, an Egyptologist and professor of Egyptian archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania, who led the excavation. 'This mystery tomb … opens a new kind of avenue of investigation (into the Abydos Dynasty).' The burial chamber is the largest to be discovered from any known ruler from the same dynasty, illuminating a previously misunderstood period of history that can only be revealed through material remains, experts say. Archaeologists found the tomb nearly 23 feet (about 7 meters) underground at the site of an ancient necropolis, or 'city of the dead.' The necropolis is situated at Abydos' Anubis Mountain, a natural pyramid-shaped formation that was considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians and served to conceal the tombs built beneath it. In historical records, Abydos was referred to as a sacred city that was the final resting place of Osiris — the god of the underworld — and the preferred resting place for the first pharaohs. The necropolis developed over the course of centuries as more dynasties built tombs and buried their kings within the royal cemetery. Over a decade ago, Wegner and his team came across the first tomb within this necropolis that confirmed the existence of the Abydos Dynasty, a ruling lineage that had been first hypothesized about in 1997 by Egyptologist Kim Ryholt. Ryholt believed the smaller dynasty would have ruled the region of Abydos during a time when ancient Egypt was broken into rival kingdoms. That first tomb's owner, King Seneb-Kay, was an entirely unknown pharaoh who was never mentioned in historical records. Of the eight tombs from the dynasty discovered thus far, Seneb-Kay's is the only one found with a name preserved in the burial chamber. The newly found tomb is similar in architecture and decoration but is much larger than Seneb-Kay's — the main compartment of the three-chambered crypt is about 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) wide by 6 meters (19.7 feet) long. Because the tomb was built in a section of the necropolis that the researchers believe was established earlier in time, they think that the wealthy king buried there was likely a predecessor to Seneb-Kay. The scientists suspect that the tomb might have belonged to King Senaiib or King Paentjeni, two monarchs represented in the sparse archaeological record of the dynasty that exists as part of a dedicated monument at Abydos. 'It is equally possible there could be some entirely unknown king,' said Wegner, who is also curator of the Penn Museum's Egyptian section. 'We don't think we have all of (the Abydos kings) names — evidence hasn't survived consistently for them.' While any markings that might help pinpoint the freshly unearthed burial chamber's former occupant didn't survive, the tomb does still have two painted images of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, who were commonly depicted in funerary rites as if they were mourning the deceased. The researchers plan to investigate about 10,000 square meters (over 100,000 square feet) more of the area's desert terrain in an effort to uncover additional tombs, Wegner said. 'There could easily be 12 or 15 kings that compose this group of kings,' he said. In addition to further excavation, the researchers will scope out the area using ground penetrating radar, technology that uses sound waves to map structures below Earth's surface, as well as magnetometry, which creates maps of structures underground that have magnetic signatures. 'The discovery of another ruler of the Abydos dynasty is very exciting,' said Salima Ikram, a distinguished university professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, in an email. 'It establishes that there was a significant royal … cemetery here of that time, provides us with more details about royal tomb architecture, (and) gives us a clue as to the members of this dynasty and the order in which they ruled.' Ikram was not involved with the burial chamber's discovery but said she is hopeful that future excavations will yield more tombs that will help to 'further our understanding of this once-obscure period of Egyptian history.' Abydos Dynasty kings such as Seneb-Kay are unique because they do not appear on the king lists that were once kept by the ancient Egyptians. 'The Egyptian kings liked to present their history as straightforward and linear and they recorded (king) names in order. These kings aren't on there. So if we look at this sort of strict historical record, we have no place for these kings,' said Laurel Bestock, an Egyptologist and associate professor of archaeology at Brown University in Rhode Island. Bestock was not involved with the new tomb discovery. 'When we find these monuments, it shows us how inadequate that strict, linear historical record is — it was really written, not to be accurate, but to support a particular point of view of later kings who went and reunified Egypt,' Bestock added. 'They wrote of themselves as great victors and as having won ethnic wars, and they just kind of ignored all the little players.' Discoveries such as this latest Abydos tomb are 'incredibly exciting' because they provide context for a richer history, regardless of whether this king's identity is revealed or not, Bestock noted. As of now, the king to whom the burial chamber belonged remains a mystery, but Wegner's goal is to one day identify the ruler to help anchor him within the historical timeline. 'With archaeology you hope for evidence,' Wegner said. 'The archaeological record, you know, it gives you surprises and twists and turns along the way, so you never know what you can find.'
Fox News
03-04-2025
- Science
- Fox News
Archaeologists discover long-lost tomb of unknown pharaoh in Egypt
Archaeologists in Egypt recently uncovered a once-in-a-lifetime discovery: an unknown pharaoh's tomb, dating back 3,600 years. The excavation, which was conducted near the Egyptian city of Abydos this winter, was announced by the Penn Museum in Philadelphia last week. The pharaoh's tomb was found 23 feet underground and featured a decorated entryway and mudbrick vaults. Pictures show a team of international archaeologists excavating the deep tomb in the Egyptian desert. Excavation leader Dr. Josef Wegner, an egyptology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke with Fox News Digital about the discovery, which dates back to the Second Intermediate Period. "Surprisingly, we came upon a royal tomb that we had no idea existed," Wegner said. "Excitingly, it's adding new evidence on what seems to be the early development of a group of fascinating kings that we call the Abydos dynasty. They are kind of a lost, forgotten dynasty." "There were no human remains remaining, there were no remnants of the king himself or his funerary equipments," he said. "The original decoration that contained hieroglyphic texts and columns that contained his name had been damaged just enough that the name is gone. But we can see where the name flanked the entrance to his burial chamber." The excavation wasn't Wegner's first rodeo. In 2014, he discovered a different pharaoh's tomb: Senebkay, another Second Intermediate Period ruler who was totally unknown in the historical record until that time. "Finding a new pharaoh's tomb is that's always, always quite an exciting moment in time. So it's the second time it's happened to me, and I guess I shouldn't be too greedy, but I'm hoping for more if we can find them," Wegner said. "He was an unknown king, and we excavated the area right around that. And it seemed like we could more or less exhausted the evidence on this Abydos dynasty…Lo and behold, 10 years almost to the day since finding Senebkay, we found a new tomb that's bigger than any of the other ones," he added. Wegner, who also works as a curator at the Penn Museum, described the Second Intermediate Period as an "intriguing" part of Egyptian history which spanned from roughly 1650 to 1570 B.C. "It was a period where Egypt was broken apart into a sort of rival kingdoms," the expert explained. "We think there were as many as four." "The ancient tomb robbers were not always very considerate in what they did in the process of tomb robbery." "It provides the basis for the rise and establishment of the new Kingdom of Egypt, which is usually thought of as the golden age of the pharaohs." Wegner characterized the limestone burial chamber as "grand," complete with mud brick vaults and a "very deep shaft entrance system." But unfortunately, the king's name has not emerged yet. "We were a little frustrated," Wegner laughed. "The ancient tomb robbers were not always very considerate in what they did in the process of tomb robbery." "They didn't think about archaeologists in the future that would be looking for bits and pieces of evidence," he added. "We've completed the full excavation of it and what it was, you know, was essentially robbed out. It seems to have been a very richly-equipped royal tomb. So it did attract tomb robbers for that reason." Even though the tomb was plundered, Wegner is hopeful that more artifacts will show up in the future – and that the pharaoh's name will be discovered. "There's significant potential in the orbit of the tomb, around the periphery of it, there could well be objects that were discarded, remains of stone vessels," he described. "For example, what we call the canopic jars that would have had the name of the king on them. Those kinds of things probably weren't very interesting to tomb robbers." "And there's indications that there may be more of these tombs," he added. The next stage is to study the terrain around the tomb, where more evidence is slated to emerge. The latest discovery comes just weeks after archaeologists found the long-lost tomb of King Thutmose II, which marked the first major royal tomb discovery since King Tutankhamen's tomb was found in 1922.
Express Tribune
28-03-2025
- Science
- Express Tribune
Amid Giza Pyramid mystery, unidentified Pharaoh's tomb found in Egypt, dating back 3,600 years
Field work takes place near the site where the tomb chamber, dating to about 3,600 years ago, of an unknown ancient Egyptian king was discovered during excavations by Penn Museum and Egyptian archeologists in Abydos, Egypt, in this undated handout image released on March 27, 2025. Photo: Reuters Listen to article Archaeologists have discovered a large limestone burial chamber of an unidentified ancient Egyptian pharaoh near the city of Abydos, dating back approximately 3,600 years. The tomb was found seven meters underground at the Anubis Mountain necropolis and was announced by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Egyptian archaeologists. This marks the second significant royal tomb discovery of the year. The burial chamber, which was looted long ago, was located in Abydos, an important city in ancient Egypt about 10 km from the Nile River. According to Professor Josef Wegner, one of the leaders of the excavation, "His name was in the inscriptions but does not survive the depredations of ancient tomb robbers." The limestone tomb chamber, dating to about 3,600 years ago, of an unknown ancient Egyptian king, discovered during excavations by Penn Museum and Egyptian archeologists, is seen in Abydos, Egypt, in this undated handout image released on March 27, 2025. Photo: Reuters The inscriptions had originally recorded the pharaoh's name alongside painted scenes of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, but the name has since been lost. Some possible candidates for the king include Senaiib and Paentjeni, rulers of the Abydos Dynasty, but their tombs had not been previously found. The tomb's architecture includes decorated entryways and a series of rooms with five-meter-high vaults made of mudbrick. It dates back to the Second Intermediate Period (1640–1540 BC), a time of political fragmentation in Egypt, known as a "warring states" period. "The political history of the era is fascinating and not fully understood, a kind of 'warring states' period that ultimately gave birth to Egypt's New Kingdom," said Wegner, who is also the curator of the Penn Museum's Egyptian section. Wegner also explained the significance of the discovery: "It seems to be the largest and earliest of the Abydos Dynasty group. There may be others in this same area next to the tomb of Neferhotep I." The tomb was found within the complex of Neferhotep I, a powerful pharaoh, and it shares architectural features with both Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period royal tombs. "We were comfortable doing multi-cast films because, for us, it was about bringing all our fans together to make the film a hit. We spent 100-200 days working together and eventually became friends," Wegner noted. Field work takes place near the site where the tomb chamber, dating to about 3,600 years ago, of an unknown ancient Egyptian king was discovered during excavations by Penn Museum and Egyptian archeologists in Abydos, Egypt, in this undated handout image released on March 27, 2025. Photo: Reuters The excavations have uncovered a wealth of information about the political and technological shifts of the time. The Abydos Dynasty, which ruled Upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, is a critical piece of this fragmented era. "Egypt was fragmented with as many as four rival kingdoms, including the Hyksos of the Nile Delta," Wegner explained. "The Abydos Dynasty was one of these. How it broke apart and then was reunified includes important questions of social, political and technological change." Photo: Reuters In addition to the discovery of this tomb, Wegner's team had previously unearthed the tomb of another Abydos Dynasty ruler, Seneb-Kay, in 2014. "The new king's tomb is likely a predecessor of Seneb-Kay. There are others in the area. Work in royal cemeteries is slow and painstaking, so it takes a while for results," he said. The excavations are ongoing, and further discoveries are anticipated in the area. This discovery follows the recent identification of a tomb near Luxor by Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, believed to be that of New Kingdom pharaoh Thutmose II.
