Issue No. 599
Heritage
Previous issue
Site map
|
|
15 - 21 August 2002 Issue No. 599 Heritage |
Current issue Previous issue Site map | |
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Chance new discovery
COINCIDENCE often plays a role in the events leading to a magnificent discovery, as is shown in the finding of the Tanis treasure in the Delta and the Luxor cachet of royal mummies.
Now it has helped to reveal a rock-hewn necropolis dating from the late ancient Egyptian period (712- 332 BC), found together with 220 ushabti figures, scarabs and amulets.
The necropolis was found during excavations required by law prior to building construction beside the Cairo-Alexandria highway, just at kilometre 53. Without the excavation order the tombs would have lain hidden indefinitely.
Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni described the discovery as a very important find since it presented a larger vision of the expansion of ancient habitation. He explained that one of the tombs, which were reused during the Graeco-Roman era, had an eight-metre deep limestone shaft leading to two rooms. The first contained a 195cm-long empty, lidless white limestone sarcophagus and the second two limestone sarcophagi -- one well preserved and the other completely deteriorated.
Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), added that the second tomb discovered, which had a distinguishing interior design, belonged to a High Priest of the god Osiris. The tomb begins with a 9.5-metre deep burial shaft leading to a hole and a wide open court with three rock-hewn rooms. The first and second rooms were empty, while the third contained a white limestone sarcophagus inside which were the remains of a skeleton, together with scarabs and amulets.
Mohamed Abdel-Fattah, director of the Giza Plateau, said that a gold ring bearing the name of the tomb's owner and a gold plaque featuring the god Horus were also found, together with pottery, papyri, ruby scarabs, faience udjets (the Eye of Horus) and head rests.
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
