In a rare find, Egyptian and Swiss archaeologists have unearthed what is estimated to be a 1 100-year-old tomb of a female singer in the Valley of the Kings, an antiquities official said on Sunday.
It is the only tomb of a woman not related to the ancient Egyptian royal families ever to be found in the Valley of the Kings, said Mansour Boraiq, the top government official for the Antiquities’ Ministry in the city of Luxor.
The Valley of the Kings in Luxor is a major tourist attraction. In 1922, archaeologists there unearthed the gold funerary mask of Tutankhamun and other stunning items in the tomb of the king who ruled more than 3 000 years ago.
Boraiq said that the coffin of the female singer is remarkably intact.
He said that when the coffin is opened this week, archaeologists will likely find a mummy and a mask moulded to her face, made from layers of linen and plaster.
Found by accident
The singer’s name, ‘Nehmes Bastet’, means she was believed to be protected by the feline deity, Bastet.
The tomb was found by accident, according to Elena Pauline-Grothe, field director for excavation at the Valley of the Kings with Switzerland’s University of Basel.
“We were not looking for new tombs. It was close to another tomb that was discovered 100 years ago,” Pauline-Grothe said.
Pauline-Grothe said the tomb was not originally built for the female singer, but was reused for her 400 years after the original one, based on artefacts found inside. Archaeologists do not know who the tomb was originally intended for.
The coffin of the singer belonged to the daughter of a high priest during the 22nd Dynasty.
Sang in Karnak Temple
Archaeologists concluded from artefacts that she sang in Karnak Temple, one of the most famous and largest open-air sites from the Pharaonic era, according to evidence at the site.
At the time of her death, Egypt was ruled by Libyan kings, but the high priests who ruled Thebes, which is now within the city of Luxor, were independent. Their authority enabled them to use the royal cemetery for family members, according to Boraiq.
The unearthing marks the 64th tomb to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings. –Sapa-AP