Egyptian archaeologists unveiled one of the largest tombs in the Luxor’s western bank on Thursday, April 18, in commemoration of World Heritage Day.
“We previously discovered four tombs. Today we discovered the biggest row tomb (rock-cut tomb with a long corridor) in the area of the necropolis of Gurna. The biggest tomb. This is pure Egyptian excavation,” chief excavation worker, Aly Farouk said.
The 3,500-year-old, 450 square-meter tomb contains 18 entrance gates and is believed to have belonged to a nobleman from the 18th dynasty, “Shedsu Djehuty.”
The nobleman was the royal master of seals for ancient Egyptian kings of Upper and Lower Egypt.
It may be more than 4,000 years old, but this newly discovered tomb in Egypt is looking mighty good for its age. https://t.co/Y4x9Ec20Q7 pic.twitter.com/TciUeIn6GS
— artnet (@artnet) April 17, 2019
Egyptian workers started renovating the tomb upon its discovery in 2018, finding a huge yard, colorful floor tiles, and a documentation of daily Egyptian life.
Artifacts from another nearby tomb were displayed during the event which saw the attendance of Egypt’s Prime Minister amongst other officials.
The Ministry of Antiquities have recently increased the frequency of discovery announcements in Egypt, something the minister attributes to luck and an increase in local excavation teams.
“It is pure luck, more security which means a lot of foreign missions and more Egyptian missions. When we arrived we had two or three Egyptian missions and now we have forty Egyptian missions so we can work everywhere,” said Minister of Antiquities, Khaled Al-Anany.
“It is luck and we are very happy.” A massive new tomb has been discovered in Egypt https://t.co/pfQ953kPDw pic.twitter.com/hYxTejV5ue
— The National (@TheNationalUAE) April 19, 2019
By Mostafa Salem