30 new Egyptian tombs have stunned archaeologists, revealing new secrets and raising new questions about ancient Egyptian civilization.
Archaeologists have discovered more than 30 more ancient Egyptian tombs carved into a hillside overlooking the Nile. The mummies found inside suggest that members of the same family were buried together, many of whom died young.
The tombs were built in several levels, and experts expect to find more burials. There are several questions arising from the archaeological excavations on a hillside along the Nile River near the ancient Egyptian city of Aswan. The biggest question, however, is why two mummies were stuck together inside the same stone coffin.
During a joint Italian-Egyptian archaeological mission working in the vicinity of the Aga Khan sanctuary west of Aswan, the team explored a multi-level structure carved into the side of a hill. The tomb was initially discovered outside official channels, during illegal excavations, before the local government intervened and took control of the work.
The joint team dated the site to between 332 BCE and 395 CE, sometime during the late Greek and Roman periods. Ayman Ashmawy, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council Archaeology Sector, said in a press release that the team had uncovered what amounted to 33 graves, with about 40 percent of the remains belonging to people who had died either as newborns or within the first few years of life. They were also starting to find more outlandish things, like a 10-level tomb that still contained oil lamps that may have been left behind by mourners.
The Egyptian city of Aswan
“We can imagine how impressive it was, for example, when during times of mourning all these tombs were illuminated,” Patrizia Piacentini, an Egyptologist and archaeologist at the University of Milan who led the excavation work at the site, told Live Science.
Judging by the age of the dead, the site had likely been in use for about 900 years, Piacentini said.
The team found several mummies, including two bodies glued together inside a stone coffin. The team plans to study the pair to determine their relationship, said Abdul Moneim Said, director of the archaeological mission for the Egyptians.
The team was also puzzled by the presence of colored cardboard and certain forms of baked clay, stones, wooden coffins and sacrificial tables. They plan to analyze the finds further, but Said says the artifacts already show that Aswan’s middle class was likely buried in the lower part of the tomb, while the upper part of the multi-level structure was reserved for the wealthy classes. Some tombs were next to an open courtyard surrounded by milk-brick walls, while others were carved directly into the mountain rock.
Early analyses have shown that some of those buried in these tombs died of infectious diseases, while others suffered from osteoarthritis or malnutrition. One entire family may have perished from a bout of tuberculosis. Further examination of the remains may reveal more details about the types of diseases that were present in the region at the time and how contagious they were.
“It was a rich place, an important place,” Piacentini said. “All the people who were looking to trade between North Africa and subtropical Africa, this was the place for them, and this was the place for the whole history of ancient Egypt.”
She added in a statement that work on the site would continue as experts believe there is more to be found. Plus, they still have the issue of gluing.