Egypt
The recent excavation of Valley of kings tomb KV40 by archaeologists from Basel University and the subsequent reporting of the excavation have left me perplexed by exaggerated reports. In some cases it is being reported that as many as five dozen royal mummies have been found, a sensational find indeed even if the truth appears much less grand.
The mummies are first of all very fragmented including a number among them from a priestly clan of later period. The "royals" include children, perhaps a dozen have been mentioned in inscriptions also some foreign women are mentioned who may or may not be royal .
Indications are about thirty people are mentioned, that does not mean that all the named people are present in the tomb including the mention of two previously unknown princess. The possibility may be that those royals mentioned were removed during the recycling of the Valley of kings at the end of the New Kingdom and that any human remains found may in part or as a whole be the remains of the priestly clan who took over the tomb after its royal use.
Nowhere in the article from Basel University that I have translated and read does it say that five dozen royal mummies have been found. Instead the archaeologists are reporting the presence of the fragmentary remains of 50 people in the tomb including the head pictured which is more likely to be the head of a late period priest.
I look forward to reading more about this find though very little of this excavation likely will find its way to the displays in the Cairo Museum.
University of Basel
Photo: Matjaz Kacicnik, University of Basel/Egyptology
- University Of Basel King's Valley Project - Perliminary Report 2012
University of Basel (Susanne Bickel, Elina Paulin-Grothe) A very useful report on the work being carried out by the University of Basel in the Valley of the Kings (including KV64). With photos, including a lovely coloured fragment of 18th Dynasty...
- More Re Nehmes Bastet
BBC News Nothing much new here, apart from the confirmation that an intact mummy was found within the coffin as predicted. A useful round-up. Archaeologists working in Egypt have discovered the tomb of a female singer in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb...
- More Re The New Tomb: A Summary Of The Known Facts To Date
Egyptological (Kate Phizackerley) Kate Phizackerley has posted a summary of the known facts to date, within the context of existing knowledge about excavations in the Valley of the Kings The tomb was announced in Luxor by Mansour Boraik in Luxor and Mohamed...
- More Re New Vok Discovery
Yahoo News I was somewhat dubious that the location had been correctly identified in earlier rumours, because the Valley of the Kings was reserved for royalty and their immediate family and dependents - but in this article Mansour Boraiq confirms that...
- The Highlites Of 2014
Though progress seems often bound by unmovable forces, and change passes by our hopes, with perseverance, we find the answer to success lye's within ourselves and our abilities to inspire others to help and push aside the once thought...
Egypt
Who's Buried in KV40?
The recent excavation of Valley of kings tomb KV40 by archaeologists from Basel University and the subsequent reporting of the excavation have left me perplexed by exaggerated reports. In some cases it is being reported that as many as five dozen royal mummies have been found, a sensational find indeed even if the truth appears much less grand.
The mummies are first of all very fragmented including a number among them from a priestly clan of later period. The "royals" include children, perhaps a dozen have been mentioned in inscriptions also some foreign women are mentioned who may or may not be royal .
Indications are about thirty people are mentioned, that does not mean that all the named people are present in the tomb including the mention of two previously unknown princess. The possibility may be that those royals mentioned were removed during the recycling of the Valley of kings at the end of the New Kingdom and that any human remains found may in part or as a whole be the remains of the priestly clan who took over the tomb after its royal use.
Nowhere in the article from Basel University that I have translated and read does it say that five dozen royal mummies have been found. Instead the archaeologists are reporting the presence of the fragmentary remains of 50 people in the tomb including the head pictured which is more likely to be the head of a late period priest.
I look forward to reading more about this find though very little of this excavation likely will find its way to the displays in the Cairo Museum.
University of Basel
Photo: Matjaz Kacicnik, University of Basel/Egyptology
- University Of Basel King's Valley Project - Perliminary Report 2012
University of Basel (Susanne Bickel, Elina Paulin-Grothe) A very useful report on the work being carried out by the University of Basel in the Valley of the Kings (including KV64). With photos, including a lovely coloured fragment of 18th Dynasty...
- More Re Nehmes Bastet
BBC News Nothing much new here, apart from the confirmation that an intact mummy was found within the coffin as predicted. A useful round-up. Archaeologists working in Egypt have discovered the tomb of a female singer in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb...
- More Re The New Tomb: A Summary Of The Known Facts To Date
Egyptological (Kate Phizackerley) Kate Phizackerley has posted a summary of the known facts to date, within the context of existing knowledge about excavations in the Valley of the Kings The tomb was announced in Luxor by Mansour Boraik in Luxor and Mohamed...
- More Re New Vok Discovery
Yahoo News I was somewhat dubious that the location had been correctly identified in earlier rumours, because the Valley of the Kings was reserved for royalty and their immediate family and dependents - but in this article Mansour Boraiq confirms that...
- The Highlites Of 2014
Though progress seems often bound by unmovable forces, and change passes by our hopes, with perseverance, we find the answer to success lye's within ourselves and our abilities to inspire others to help and push aside the once thought...