Archaeologists studying Warsaw’s national collection of mummies expected to uncover a male priest (The Guardian). Polish researchers examining an ancient Egyptian mummy that they expected to be a male priest were surprised when X-rays and computer tests revealed instead it was a mummy of a woman who had been seven months pregnant. The researchers said on Thursday it was the world’s first known case of such a well-preserved ancient mummy of a pregnant woman. The mummy was brought to Warsaw in 1826 and the inscription on the coffin named a male priest. No previous examination had disproved th ..read more

A mummy dating back to the New Kingdom found at the funerary temple of Queen Naert. Photograph: Mohamed Hossam/EPA (Source: The Guardian Online). “Egypt has announced the discovery of a new trove of treasures at the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, including an ancient funerary temple. The tourism and antiquities ministry said the “major discoveries” made by a team of archaeologists headed by the Egyptologist Zahi Hawass also included more than 50 sarcophagi. The wooden sarcophagi, which date back to the New Kingdom period – between the 16th and the 11th century BC – were found in 52 bu ..read more

“The Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission working at the site of Oxyrhynchus, known as Per-medjed in ancient Egypt, was one of the most important cities in Egypt during the Greco-Roman Period. The most part of the city is under the modern city El-Bahnasa (180 km south of Cairo) has discovered a unique Saite tomb. Dr. Mostafa Waziry (Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities) said “The tomb is unique. This style wasn’t discovered before in El-Bahnasa. The one-room polish limestone tomb has an entrance form the north. The walls leaning at the ceiling so it makes it flat instea ..read more

(Source: Leeds Museums and Galleries) “Scientists have fulfilled a mummified Egyptian priest’s wish for life after death – by replicating his voice with artificial vocal chords. Nesyamun’s voice has been reproduced as a vowel-like sound that is reminiscent of a sheep’s bleat. The priest lived during the politically volatile reign of pharaoh Ramses XI, between 1099 and 1069BC. As a priest in Thebes, Nesyamun would have needed a strong voice for his ritual duties, which involved singing. When Nesyamun died, his voice fell silent, but 3,000 years on, a team of researchers have brought it back t ..read more

(Source: Luxor Times). “Dr. Khaled El-Enany, Minister of Antiquities accompanied by Dr.Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, rushed to Luxor to inspect the newly discovered cachette of intact and sealed coffins at Assasif on Luxor’s West Bank. The details of such a discovery will be announced in a press conference to be held on Saturday. The discovery details known so far as follows; a cachette contains at least 20 painted wooden coffins and they appear to be intact and many in an excellent state of preservation. The coffins are stacked in two layer and ..read more

The discoveries include a clay oven and area for workmen, and a royal tomb (Source: Ahram Online). “Egyptologist Zahi Hawass has announced two new archaeological discoveries made by an Egyptian expedition which he is heading in Luxor. One discovery was in the West Valley, also known as the Valley of the Monkeys, and the other was in the East Valley, which contains the famous pharaonic tombs. He made the announcement during a press conference on Luxor’s West Bank on Thursday which was attended by Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany and the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiq ..read more

(Source: Luxor Times). “A tomb belonging to an high official held many titles including Mayor, Royal Seal Bearer and Prince who was called “Djehuty Shed Sou” has been discovered in Dra’ Abu el-Naga site on the West Bank of Luxor city in Upper Egypt, Minister of Antiquities Khaled el Anani announced Thursday. “It is the biggest rock-cut tomb to be unearthed in the ancient city of Thebes”, the minister said, “dated back to the Ramesside era”. Moustafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, called it “an important discovery” because it would change the historical and arc ..read more

Incisor wear. (Source: Lovell & Palichuk, Bioarchaeology of Marginalized People, 2019) “When we study ancient societies, it can sometimes be difficult to tell who fulfilled which of the various day-to-day roles. For Ancient Egypt, we have a wealth of information, including pictorial records along with sculptures and figurines, buried with the deceased so they could have workers in the afterlife.But these depictions can be idealised, or leave things out. Bones, on the other hand, don’t lie – and the teeth of an Egyptian woman who lived over 4,000 years ago show that the lives of women back ..read more

Archaeologists opened the priest’s stone sarcophagus (Source: Discovery Channel). “The discovery of the “exquisitely preserved” mummy was made at Al-Ghorifa, a remote site around 165 miles south of Cairo. Archaeologists opened the priest’s stone sarcophagus in a live broadcast of Expedition Unknown: Egypt Live on the Discovery Channel on Sunday. They found the mummy covered in gold banding inside the sealed stone coffin. Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist and former antiquities minister, lead the expedition with American explorer and host of the show Josh Gates. When the high priest was ..read more

Thousands-year-old coffin to be featured on Discovery channel is believed to contain an Egyptian nobleman (Source: The Times of Israel). “A sarcophagus believed to contain an Egyptian nobleman will be opened on live TV during a special broadcast by the American channel Discovery. The two-hour “Expedition Unknown: Egypt Live” will air Sunday night (0000 GMT Monday) from the site outside Minya, which is along the Nile River south of Cairo and its Giza pyramids. Egypt has sought to promote archaeological discoveries across the country in a bid to revive tourism hit by turmoil after the 2011 upri ..read more