According to Professor Joseph Wegner, an Egyptologist at the University of Pennsylvania, who leads the archaeological excavations, tombs of pharaohs are now found extremely rarely.
Researchers are unsure which pharaoh is buried here. They believe that ancient tomb raiders damaged the inscription bearing his name on the wall of the tomb. However, the team hopes that this discovery will shed light on a forgotten era of Egyptian history from 1640 to 1540 B.C., when warrior-pharaohs fought each other for territory.
“This is truly an exciting period of upheaval and conflict. It marked the beginning of a new kingdom, a famous golden age of renowned pharaohs like Tutankhamun and Ramses,” noted Professor Wegner.
What else have scientists reported?
The tomb was hidden beneath a layer of sand seven meters thick in the necropolis on Mount Anubis. This mountain is located in Abydos, one of the oldest cities of Ancient Egypt. It was once ruled by the little-known Abydos dynasty—one of the dynasties of the Second Intermediate Period that were at odds with each other. According to Professor Wegner, “this is a very mysterious dynasty.”
Today, a large archaeological site sprawls across the ancient city, as reported by Science Alert. In 2014, Wegner’s team discovered a tomb in this area containing the remains of a pharaoh named Seneb Kay. Ancient tomb robbers had removed his body from its original burial site and relocated it to another chamber. Upon examining the skeleton, scientists found 22 traumatic injuries on the bones, including marks from a battle axe that had fractured the skull. The team concluded that the pharaoh died in battle.
The walls of Seneb Kay’s tomb were adorned with paintings and hieroglyphs. Later, researchers uncovered seven more undecorated tombs of Abydos kings nearby.
“We thought we had exhausted all evidence until we began working on a new site in Abydos last winter. Ultimately, we discovered another tomb, significantly larger than those we had found previously,” Professor Wegner shared. Like Seneb Kay’s tomb, this one was also decorated with paintings. However, the hieroglyphic inscription with the pharaoh’s name was likely damaged by robbers.
In the tomb, archaeologists found a series of chambers with vaulted brick ceilings approximately five meters high. “It was a large, incredible structure,” Professor Wegner remarked enthusiastically. He also added that the size of the tomb might have attracted antiquities hunters to the site.
Scientists believe this pharaoh was likely a predecessor of Seneb Kay. The excavation leader mentioned that he is aware of two Abydos pharaohs whose tombs have yet to be found. Their names are Senayb and Pentjeni. Perhaps one of them is connected to this tomb.
The team hopes to find clues regarding the identity of the pharaoh by excavating the surrounding area. According to Professor Wegner, there is still some hope: the canopic jar of this mysterious pharaoh has not yet been found—a vessel that typically holds the organs of the mummified ruler. Usually, the name of the deceased is inscribed on the canopic jars.
Joseph Wegner and his colleagues plan to return to the excavation site this summer. They aim to explore a significant area and gather more information about this and other tombs. In any case, this archaeological site holds many more mysterious facts than Professor Wegner anticipated when he began working there in the 1990s.
The excavation leader concluded, “We have come to understand that this is a true royal cemetery, similar to the Valley of the Kings.”
The results of the research were first reported by Business Insider.