Tomb of unidentified ancient Egyptian pharaoh discovered

Archaeologists have discovered the large limestone burial chamber of an unidentified ancient Egyptian pharaoh near the city of Abydos dating to about 3,600 years ago during a chaotic period in Egypt’s history.

The discovery of the tomb seven meters (23 feet) underground at the ancient necropolis of Anubis Mountain was announced by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Egyptian archaeologists. It marked the second discovery announced this year of a tomb of an ancient Egyptian king.

The burial chamber discovered in January at Abydos, an important city in ancient Egypt located about 10 km (6 miles) from the Nile River, was bare – apparently long ago plundered by grave robbers. The name of the king once buried inside was originally recorded in hieroglyphic texts on plastered brickwork at the chamber’s entrance alongside painted scenes showing the sister goddesses Isis and Nephthys.

“His name was in the inscriptions but did not survive the depredations of ancient tomb robbers. Some candidates include kings named Senaiib and Paentjeni, who we know from monuments at Abydos – they ruled in this era – but whose tombs have not been found,” University of Pennsylvania Egyptian archaeology professor Josef Wegner, one of the leaders of the excavation work, says.

In addition to the decorated entryway, the burial chamber featured a series of other rooms capped by five-meter (16-foot) high vaults fashioned from mudbrick.

The tomb dates to a time known as the Second Intermediate Period that ran from 1640 BC to 1540 BC and bridged the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom eras when Egyptian pharaohs were among the most powerful figures in the region.