New Tomb Found In Valley Of Kings

[Gold9472]

New Tomb Found in Valley of Kings

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060209/...egypt_new_tomb

By OMAR SINAN, Associated Press Writer
27 minutes ago

CAIRO, Egypt - American archaeologists have uncovered a pharaonic-era tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, the first uncovered there since King Tutankhamun's in 1922, Egypt's antiquities chief announced Wednesday.

The 18th Dynasty tomb included five mummies in intact sarcophagi with colored funerary masks along with more than 20 large storage jars, sealed with pharaonic seals, Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said in a statement.

The statement did not specify whether the tomb was believed to be that of a pharaoh. The 18th Dynasty ruled from around 1560 B.C. to 1085 B.C., and Tutankhamun was among its kings.

A University of Memphis team of archaeologists led by Otto Schaden found the tomb some 13 feet below the ground, buried under rubble and stones 16 feet away from Tut's tomb.

Inside the rectangular tomb, the five wooden sarcophagi were surrounded by the jars, which appeared placed haphazardly, suggesting the burial was completed quickly, according to Hawass.

Antiquities officials could not be reached for further comment.

Hawass described the find as the first tomb discovered in the Valley of the Kings — the desert valley outside the southern city of Luxor where many pharaohs are buried — since Tut's tomb was found by Howard Carter 84 years ago.

In 1995, American archaeologist Kent Weeks opened a previously known tomb and discovered it was larger than expected. He determined that it was the tomb for the sons of the Pharaoh Ramses II.

[WhiteGuySaysThis]

I love reading that kind of shit.

[jetsetlemming]

Considering how many archeologists must be crawling over that place every day, it's surprising there's still more to find. I would have expected them to clear the whole valley when it was first discovered.

[Partridge]

Considering how many archeologists must be crawling over that place every day, it's surprising there's still more to find. I would have expected them to clear the whole valley when it was first discovered.

AFAIK there are severe restrictions on archaelogical access to the valley, by the Egyptian authorities - presumably to prevent tomb robbing etc of anything that may be discovered in the future.