After decades of excavating for Ancient Egyptian tombs, monuments and artifacts, archeologists continue to unearth more wonders from the land of Pharaohs.
Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities announced on Tuesday that a 3,000-year-old tomb which dates back to the New Kingdom of the 18 th Dynasty has been uncovered in Luxor by a team from the American Research Center in the Gorna necropolis on Luxor’s west bank in Upper Egypt.
The beautifully painted tomb is believed to have belonged to Amenhotep, a nobleman who guarded the temple of the ancient deity, Amun.
Minister of Antiquities Mamdoud Eldamaty told Ahram Online that the tomb is a T-shaped tomb with two large halls and an unfinished small niche at its end. An entrance leading to a side room with a shaft at its middle is found at the tomb’s southern side. “Such a shaft could lead to the burial chamber,” Eldamaty suggested.
The walls of the tomb, which bear obvious signs of looting and damage, is covered in colorful painting showing the owner of the tomb, the guard of Amun’s gate and his wife in front of an offering table. The paintings also include hunting scenes and many hieroglyphic texts.
Given that many parts of the paintings were erased and ruined (especially where Amun’s name was), Soltan Eid, director of Upper Egypt Antiquities, explains that the damage is likely to have taken place during the time of the monotheistic king Akhenaten who led a religious revolution that ended in uniting all ancient Egyptian gods into one god, Aten.
The unearthing of this tomb is the second archeological success this year in Egypt. Earlier in January, a team of Czech archeologists uncovered a 4,500-year-old tomb in Abu Sir, southwest of Cairo. The tomb belonged to Khentakawess, a previously unknown wife of Pharaoh Neferefre.
The newly uncovered Luxor tomb is currently undergoing restoration to be ready for visitors. We can't wait.