Emily Chan
Spectacular ancient artifacts continue to be dug up in Egypt, highlighting the enduring legacy of Egypt’s cultural heritage and providing a peek into the traditions and daily lives of a society that thrived along the Nile thousands of years ago.
Several incredibly well-preserved mummies were found in an ancient Egyptian tomb that archaeologists uncovered at the El-Assasif necropolis in the city of Luxor. Researchers estimate that the tomb dates back almost 4,000 years ago.
The El-Assasif necropolis is nestled between the royal tombs at the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. Figures of nobility and officials who worked closely with the pharaohs were buried at the site.
Inside the tomb, two coffins contained mummies in excellent condition. In one sarcophagus, researchers discovered a female mummy whose name may have been Thuya.
Further investigations are needed to determine her identity, but the researchers believe the mummy is approximately 3,000 years old. Her coffin was adorned with a feather pattern in a style known as “rishi.”
The second sarcophagus was black and elaborately decorated with gold. It held the mummy of a high priest named Thaw-Irkhet-if.
He supervised the mummification of many pharaohs at the Temple of Mut in Karnak. In Egyptian religion and mythology, Mut is the divine mother goddess, and she is believed to have originated from Middle Egypt or in the Nile River.
One sarcophagus dates back to the 17th Dynasty, and the other is from the 18th Dynasty. The tomb itself is thought to also be from the 18th Dynasty, which lasted from about 1550 B.C. to 1300 B.C.
Some of the most notable pharaohs reigned during that time period, such as Tutankhamun and Ramses II.
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