Latest news with #Senebkay
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Egyptian Tomb Discovery Sheds Light on Mysterious Royal Family
Archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania were investigating Abydos, one of Egypt's most ancient cities, when they found a 3,600-year-old royal tomb. From its location near the Mount Anubis necropolis and the surviving inscriptions, Egyptologists know the tomb belonged to a little-known royal family, the Abydos pharaohs. The discovery sheds light on a lost dynasty whose very existence scholars have debated. It's difficult to imagine how long the Ancient Egyptian civilization persisted. In England, there have been seven different ruling dynasties since the Middle Ages. Egypt had roughly 33 dynasties. This makes it a little easier to understand how an entire ruling family could slip through the cracks of history. The existence of the Abydos dynasty was first proposed in the 1990s and only confirmed by the discovery of a tomb in 2014. This second tomb provides more evidence. Egyptologists believe the Abydos pharaohs ruled from 1700 to 1550 BCE. This Second Intermediate Period marked the chaotic transition between the Middle and New Kingdoms, a time of famine, warring dynasties, and rapid regime change. The last Middle Kingdom dynasty was when the Hyksos people swept into Egypt. They conquered the Nile Delta area known as Lower Egypt, becoming the 15th Dynasty. Upper Egypt, meanwhile, was split in two. The 16th dynasty ruled Thebes and its surrounding area. The area around Abydos was ruled by, you guessed it, the Abydos Dynasty. The area was fairly small, and the Abydos reign short. They left few monuments behind. The Turin King List, compiled by the famous 19th Dynasty King Ramesses II, only chronicles four Abydos rulers. The list detailed every pharaoh before Ramesses II. However, the list was discovered in fragments, with some sections lost, so a degree of guesswork is involved. Pharaoh Senebkay, whose tomb was discovered in 2014, is not one of the four Abydos rulers on the Turin King List. The new grave belonged to someone who was likely an ancestor of Senebkay, as they were buried in a similar style. Beyond that, Egyptologists can only guess. Looters stole the grave goods and the mummy and damaged the inscriptions. On either side of the tomb entrance, yellow bands once showed the pharaoh's name and images of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys. You can still make out the sister deities, but the name has vanished. The Pennsylvania team, led by Josef Wegner, believes the tomb could belong to either Senaiib or Paentjeni. Both have monuments in the area, and researchers have not found either of their tombs. The Abydos tomb is the second royal grave Egyptologists have unearthed this year. The first belonged to Thutmose II, husband of the famous female pharaoh Hatshepsut. Wegner and his team will continue excavations near Mount Anubis. More Abydos dynasty and Middle Period kings may be in the necropolis, Wegner believes. For the Ancient Egyptians, Abydos was the burial place of the god Osiris, ruler of the afterlife. This made it a sacred city and the burial site for many of the earliest pharaohs. The kings buried here are much older than Thutmose II or the famous Tutankhamun, and their lives are much more mysterious. The Mount Anubis excavations may unearth their long-buried history.
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.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Unearth Rare, Elaborately Decorated Egyptian Tomb
Egyptian archaeologists working in tandem with students from the University of Pittsburgh made an astonishing discovery in the Gebel Anubis necropolis at Abydos, which is located in southern Egypt's Sohag Governorate. During their excavation, the scientists discovered a rare, elaborately decorated royal tomb which dates back to Egypt's Second Intermediate Period, also known as the Abydos Dynasty, during which there was much political strife and disagreement. The dynasty was a 'largely mysterious' governing body which was in power from 1,700 to 1,600 B.C. and operated separately from the country's traditional pharaonic lineage. After digging 23 feet below the ground's surface, archaeologists found a limestone tomb with mudbrick vaults constructed on top. They speculate the structures originally stood 16 feet tall. Inside the chamber, researchers found elaborate carvings of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys as well as hieroglyphic inscriptions bearing the late king's name. Researchers are still unsure as to the identity of the interred ruler but are hopeful that further analyses will provide some sort of timeline which they can use to determine the tomb's inhabitant. The legitimacy of the Abydos Dynasty has been debated by scholars for decades, with some insisting it was entirely fabricated. However, the recent discovery of the tomb makes a compelling argument that the Abydos Dynasty was real. Archaeologists speculate that the tomb belongs to one of the dynasty's very early rulers who pre-dated King Senebkay. Senebkay's tomb was found nearby in 2014, and, to this point, has been the strongest evidence of the dynasty's existence.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Royal tomb of mystery Pharaoh who ruled 3,600 years ago unearthed in Egypt
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. 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. 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.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Found a Hidden Tomb That Reveals a Lost Egyptian Dynasty
Researchers discovered a royal tomb that is over 3,600 years old in Abydos, Egypt. The entryway of the tomb was decorated with inscriptions dedicated to Isis and Nephthys, goddesses of the afterlife. Archaeologists are hopeful that this discovery could shed some new light on the 'lost' Abydos Dynasty. The Abydos Dynasty ruled over Upper Egypt some time between 1700 B.C. and 1600 B.C.—if it even existed. For years, archaeologists have debated if it ever actually did, and it's so poorly documented that it's often known as the 'lost dynasty.' But new research from the Anubis Mountain necropolis might change that. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities just announced the discovery of a 3,600-year-old royal tomb that may have a connection to the lost dynasty. The expedition was led by a team of researchers from University of Pennsylvania, who believe that the tomb's owner reigned during the Second Intermediate Period. The tomb was approximately 7 meters (23 feet) below the surface, and featured a limestone burial chamber with mud-brick vaults. The burial chamber reached 5 meters (16.5 feet) high. At the entryway of the tomb, researchers discovered golden bands of hieroglyphs that likely bore the king's name, although his identity is still unknown. The entryway is also decorated with inscriptions for the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, both goddesses associated with mourning and the afterlife. Mohamed Abdel Badie—head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities—noted that the pharaoh's tomb is much larger than other tombs attributed to the Abydos Dynasty. He claims that the pharaoh could have been a predecessor of King Senebkay, who ruled some time between 1650 B.C. and 1600 B.C. Joseph Wager, head of the mission, said that the newly-discovered tomb has a decorative style similar to that of Senebkay's tomb (originally discovered in 2014, and another key piece of evidence from the Abydos Dynasty). Senebkay and the mystery king are just two of many figureheads who were buried in the Mount Anubis necropolis, which is regarded as the most important burial site in Abydos thanks to the presence of King Senusret III (1874 B.C.-1855 B.C). A statement from the Ministry suggests that, by building his huge tomb in the pyramid-shaped summit of Mount Anubis, Senusret III set a precedent for future kings to follow suit. Interestingly, another recent expedition in the area uncovered a Roman-era pottery workshop. Researchers discovered several burials at the site, including a mummified child wearing a colorful hat and the skull of a 30-year-old woman. Wheat roots and seeds from ancient plants were also found. Sherif Fathy—Minister of Tourism and Antiquities—said both the discovery of the pharaoh's tomb and the pottery workshop will promote tourism in the area and give the world a greater understanding of Egyptian history. Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mohamed Ismail Khaled also added that the discoveries provide context to the complex political history of the Second Intermediate period. In the future, according to Wagner, additional research will be done to determine a more exact date of the tomb. There's always more to learn. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
