Associated Press (ap.org); Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Egypt announces discovery of 3,500-years old tomb in Luxor
LUXOR, Egypt - Egypt today announced the discovery in the southern city of Luxor of a
pharaonic tomb belonging to a royal goldsmith who lived [much] more than 3,500
years ago and whose work was dedicated to the ancient Egyptian god Amun.
The tomb, located on the west bank of the river
Nile in a cemetery for noblemen and top officials, is a relatively
modest discovery, but one that authorities have announced with a great
deal of fanfare in a bid to boost the country's slowly recovering
tourism industry.
"We want tomorrow's newspapers to speak about Egypt
and make people want to come to Egypt," Antiquities Minister Khaled
el-Anani told reporters, reflecting the country's desperate need to
revitalize tourism.
El-Anani said the tomb was not in good condition. But it contained a partially damaged sandstone statue of the goldsmith,
named Amenemhat, and his wife. Between the couple stands a smaller
figure of one of their sons.
The
tomb has two burial shafts, one of which was likely dug to bury the
mummies of the goldsmith and his wife. It also contained wooden funerary
masks and a collection of statues of the couple, according to a
ministry statement. Three mummies were found in the shaft.
It said a second shaft contained a collection of
sarcophagi from the 21st and 22nd dynasties. The tomb belonged to the
18th pharaonic dynasty when Amun was the most powerful deity. It was
discovered by Egyptian archeologists, something that a senior official
at the Antiquities Ministry hailed as evidence of their growing
professionalism and expertise.
"We
used to escort foreign archeologists as observers, but that's now in
the past. We are the leaders now," said Mustafa Waziri, the ministry's
chief archaeologist in Luxor. More
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