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New Discovery, Nubia: Ancient Tomb of Gold Worker Found Along Nile RiverPosted: 21 Jun 2017 02:32 AM PDT
A 3,400-year-old tomb holding the remains of more than a dozen possibly mummified people has been discovered on Sai Island, along the Nile River in northern Sudan.Archaeologists discovered the tomb in 2015, though it wasn't until 2017 that a team with the Across Borders archaeological research project fully excavated the site.The island is part of an ancient land known as Nubia that Egypt controlled 3,400 years ago. The Egyptians built settlements and fortifications throughout Nubia, including on Sai Island, which had a settlement and a gold mine. The tomb, which contains multiple chambers, appears to hold the remains of Egyptians who lived in or near that settlement and worked in gold production.The artifacts found in the tomb include scarabs (a type of amulet widely used in Egypt), ceramic vessels, a gold ring, the remains of gold funerary masks worn by the deceased and a small stone sculpture known as a shabti.
The ancient Egyptians believed that shabtis could do the work of the deceased for them in the afterlife. Some of the artifacts bore Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions that revealed the tomb was originally created for a man named Khnummose, who was a "master gold worker."The remains of Khnummose (which may have been mummified) were found next to those of a woman who may have been his wife. Some of the other people found in tomb may have been relatives of Khnummose, the researchers said, adding that they planned to conduct DNA analyses of the remains."We will try to extract ancient DNA from the [bones] of the bodies in question," said Julia Budka, professor for Egyptian Archaeology and Art History at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. "If the [ancient] DNA is preserved, this will help us a lot. Otherwise, it all remains tentative," said Budka, who noted that the samples are already at the Department for Archaeogenetics at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany.The archaeologists said they aren't sure how many of the bodies were mummified.
"The state of preservation is very difficult here," Budka said. "I am waiting for the report of my physical anthropologists. For now, the position and also traces of bitumen speak for some kind of mummification for all persons in Tomb 26 who were placed in wooden coffins." Bitumen is a type of petroleum that the ancient Egyptians sometimes used in mummification.Many of the coffins are also poorly preserved, and it's uncertain exactly how many of the people were buried in coffins, Budka said.
Source: LiveScience.comFind More About New Discoveries in Egypt HereNews, Giza: Tutankhamun Artifacts Moved to Grand Egyptian Museum Ahead of Soft Opening in 2018Posted: 20 Jun 2017 03:10 AM PDT
Zidan During Restoration on The OarsMummified dates, grains and small model boats were among the objects moved in this most recent batch, an operation that required careful packing and essential restoration work. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities has transported another batch of items from the Tutankhamun collection to their new home at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) overlooking the Giza Plateau.The ancient Egyptian artifacts were moved on Sunday from their current location at the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo to the GEM ahead of its soft opening in early 2018.
Tarek Tawfik, supervisor general of the GEM, said the new batch of artifacts includes dried and mummified seeds and fruits, as well as several model boats crafted from wood and a small wooden chair painted in white plaster.Prior to the move, the objects were subjected to essential restoration work, courtesty of the GEM's First Aid Restoration department.Eissa Zidan, the department's director, said the artifacts – including dried dates, onions, garlic, wheat, barely and doum – were all transported safely.He said that the restoration staff used scientific methods to pack and transport the items. They also compiled a detailed report on the current condition of all items prior to the move. Zidan said the objects would undergo further restoration at the GEM.The GEM is due to open in April 2018, with two areas accessible to the public: a large hall containing the entire Tutankhamun collection; and the Grand Staircase collection of major objects and statues from Ancient Egypt.The process of transporting items from Downtown to the GEM started in the summer of 2016, while the transfer of the Tutankhamun collection began earlier this year.
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