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Tomb of Egyptian governor’s daughter found in hidden side chamber
Archaeologists have discovered the burial chamber of Idy, a priestess and governor’s daughter, hidden in a shaft of her father’s tomb in the necropolis of Asyut. Among the significant grave goods, her burial chamber contains two nested coffins made of imported wood elaborately painted with images and texts for the afterlife.
The tomb of Djefaihapi I dates to around 1880 B.C. He was the nomarch (provincial governor) of the 13th nome of Upper Egypt during the reign of 12th Dynasty pharaoh Senusret I. His monumental rock-cut tomb was a gift from the pharaoh and it was famous even in antiquity. The tomb has chambers over 36 feet high, up to 92 feet deep and 230 feet wide. The interior is decorated with inscriptions and paintings. Its inscriptions were considered theologically and linguistically important in ancient Egypt and copies of them circulated for 2,000 years.
It is currently being excavated by an international team of archaeologists from Institute of Egyptology at Freie Universität Berlin, Sohag University in Egypt, Kanazawa University in Japan and the Polish Academy of Sciences. This season, researchers discovered a side chamber closed off by quarrying rubble in a vertical shaft 46 feet deep. The rubble was cleared over three seasons of excavations revealing the chamber and making it accessible to archaeologists for the first time. It had been looted in antiquity, but likely because of the challenging location, the thieves only robbed the jewelry and precious metal objects, leaving behind most of the grave goods and the coffins.
Both coffins are adorned with unusually intricate images and texts describing the journey of the deceased in the afterlife. The decorations on the inside and outside of the coffins are more detailed than comparable objects from the same period and reflect the outstanding quality of the paintings and inscriptions at the tomb of Idy’s father. In particular, the wealth of texts – among them religious texts known as Coffin Texts, offering lists, and titles – will allow new insights into the position of women and the transfer of knowledge in ancient Egypt.
Other grave goods include wooden figurines, a dagger, pharaonic insignia, and food offerings. Another inscribed chest contained canopic jars, which were used to store Idy’s vital organs – such as her liver, spleen, lungs, and intestines – during mummification. Remnants of Idy’s garments and her bones, which were partially destroyed by looters, provide us with an initial impression of her life and health. Preliminary examinations of her remains indicate that Idy was about forty years old when she died.
The wooden coffins and other objects in Idy’s tomb have undergone an initial conservation to make it possible to remove them through the narrow vertical shaft without damage. Once they have been recovered, they will be handed over to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism for further study and preservation.
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