Egypt discovers many ancient tombs of the Pharaohs

A team of Egyptian archaeologists has just excavated two tombs dating back 3,100 years at the Sakkara archaeological site, located about 25 km south of the Giza Pyramids.

Illustration photo. (Source: worldreviewer.com)

Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said the two tombs belonged to Paser, a military archivist and envoy of the 20th Dynasty of the New Kingdom (1189-1077 BC), and Ptahmes, a military leader and custodian of the royal treasury under the Pharaohs Seti I and Ramses II.

According to Mr. Ibrahim, the discovery of these two ancient limestone and brick tombs is very important. Their layout and interior design help to understand more about the tombs of the New Kingdom period (1580-1080 BC).

Up to now, ancient tombs discovered in Egypt have only two architectural styles, including quadrilateral open-air structures with flat roofs and structures carved into the rock. However, these two tombs have temple-shaped architecture with pyramid-shaped tops.

The new discovery reveals the political relations between Egypt and the Far East countries at that time, as well as the importance of Sakkara, the burial site of the Pharaohs located near the ancient capital of Memphis during the Old Kingdom (2,815-2,400 BC).

Accordingly, although the capital was moved to Luxor in Upper Egypt, Memphis remained the administrative capital and an important military center during the New Kingdom.

The restoration of the two aforementioned tombs and the burial site at Sakkara will help attract tourists to the site to explore the Old Kingdom tombs as well as the New Kingdom tombs with different shapes and architecture compared to the Pharaoh tombs at Luxor.

Head of the archaeological team Ola El-Egezy said that the excavation of these two tombs began in 2012. However, before that, archaeologists knew about the tomb of Ptahmes through ancient photos and documents.

In 1830, a French explorer took photographs of hunting scenes at the tomb. Since then, the tomb has been partly buried under sand, but most of the artifacts have been looted.

Some of the artifacts from this tomb are currently on display in museums in the Netherlands, the United States, Germany as well as the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

According to the head of the ancient antiquities department of the Ministry of Antiquities Ali El-Asfar, although the construction of these two tombs is not yet completed, they are very special with well-preserved decorative motifs and engraved scenes.

It is expected that these two ancient tombs will soon be restored and open to visitors from next October./.

According to VNA