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Cache Of Mummies Unearthed At Egypt's LAHUN PYRAMID - UPDATE

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Bianca
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« on: April 27, 2009, 07:00:28 am »








An Egyptian worker brushes dust off a wooden coffin containing a linen-wrapped mummy
covered in cartonnage near the Illahun Pyramid in Faiyum, 130 km (80 miles) southwest
of Cairo , April 26, 2009, released by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.

REUTERS/
Tarek Mostafa
« Last Edit: May 05, 2009, 03:07:09 pm by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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Bianca
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« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2009, 07:08:20 am »










                                Cache of mummies unearthed at Egypt's Lahun pyramid
           





Cynthia Johnston
– Sun Apr 26, 2009
LAHUN,
Egypt
(Reuters)

– Archaeologists have unearthed a cache of pharaonic-era mummies in brightly painted wooden
coffins near Egypt's little-known Lahun pyramid, the site head said on Sunday.

The mummies were the first to be found in the sand-covered desert rock surrounding the mud-brick Lahun pyramid, believed to be built by the 12th dynasty pharaoh Senusret II, who ruled 4,000 years ago. The team expects to announce more finds soon.

The site was first excavated more than a century ago.

"The tombs were cut on the rock itself, and they vary in architectural designs," said archaeologist
Abdul Rahman Al-Ayedi, head of excavations at the site. "Most of the mummies we discovered were
with these bright and beautiful colors."

At the site, bare skulls from some of the mummies sit on a hillside while workers gently brush away
sand from coffins below the earth that bear images of their occupants, some painted in striking hues
of green, red and white.

Ayedi said the dozens of tombs dotting the site near Fayoum, 60 km (35 miles) south of Cairo, could give insight into the development of Egyptian funerary architecture and traditions from the Middle Pharaonic Kingdom all the way to the Roman era.

Some of the tombs were built on top of graves from earlier eras, and Ayedi said archaeologists had found dozens of mummies, including around 30 that were well-preserved. Some were inscribed with prayers intended to help the deceased.
« Last Edit: April 27, 2009, 07:12:58 am by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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Bianca
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« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2009, 07:09:02 am »








SITE MAY DATE TO EARLIER ERA



Ayedi said Egypt would soon announce an additional significant find near the Lahun pyramid, once covered by slabs of white limestone, showing the site could date back to an earlier era thousands of years before previously thought.

"The prevailing idea was that this site has been established by Senusret II, the fourth king of the 12th dynasty. But in light of our discovery, I think we are going to change this theory, and soon we will announce another discovery," he told reporters.

He said teams had made a discovery dating to before the 12th dynasty, but gave no details on what it was and said an official announcement could be made within days.

Ayedi said he had wanted to excavate at Lahun, Egypt's southernmost pyramid, because he was not satisfied with the result of the first excavation there in the 19th century, saying it did not match the significance of the site.

"The size of the site is huge. So I thought that we could unearth a lot of elements in this site. At the beginning of the excavation, I thought that we may rewrite the history of the area, and I was right," he said.

Archaeologists found the main entrance to the pyramid last year in a 16-meter well, and later found storage jars and other objects inside before finding the mummies in the surrounding desert stone in recent months, Ayedi said.

Egypt, whose economy relies heavily on tourism, has made several significant discoveries this year including a rare intact mummy found in February in a sealed sarcophagus near the world's oldest standing step pyramid at Saqqara, near Cairo.

Archaeologists hope to start digging soon in search of the tomb of Cleopatra and possibly her lover Mark Antony on Egypt's north coast. Cleopatra, facing possible captivity in Rome, is alleged to have killed herself by the sting of an asp in 30 BC.



(Writing by
Cynthia Johnston;

Editing by
Angus MacSwan)
« Last Edit: April 27, 2009, 10:31:11 am by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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Bianca
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« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2009, 03:03:47 pm »









                                   Egypt finds 5,000-year-old tomb near Lahun pyramid






PREVIOUS ARTICLE:

Cache of mummies unearthed at Egypt's Lahun pyramid
 
Sunday, 26 Apr 2009 



Cynthia Johnston
May 5, 2009
LAHUN,
Egypt
(Reuters)

- Archaeologists have found a nearly 5,000-year-old tomb near Egypt's mud brick Lahun pyramid, in a sign that the site held religious significance a millennium before previously thought, the site head said Tuesday.

The find, down crumbling steps in sand covered desert rock, debunks a prior understanding by archaeologists that the site dates back only to 12th dynasty pharaoh Senusret II who ruled 4,000 years ago, archaeologist Abdul Rahman Al-Ayedi said.

"The existence of this tomb is very significant because now we know that Senusret II, the builder of the pyramid, is not the founder of this site," Ayedi told Reuters in an interview.

"It must have had religious significance in ancient Egypt, so that's why he chose it for his pyramid," he added.

Egypt, whose economy relies heavily on tourism, has made several significant discoveries this year including a rare intact mummy found in February in a sealed sarcophagus near the world's oldest standing step pyramid at Saqqara, near Cairo.

Ayedi said second dynasty tombs had never before been found at Lahun, site of Egypt's southernmost pyramid, or elsewhere around the nearby Fayoum oasis, 60 km (35 miles) south of Cairo.

Inside the tiny tomb, too small for a person to stand, a box-like wood coffin contains what is left of the remains of a 40 to 49-year-old man who was likely a significant figure in the ancient Egyptian government of the time, Ayedi said.

The body, buried in a bent position and wrapped in linens, was not well preserved because the tomb predates the era in which ancient Egyptians mummified their dead, Ayedi added.

"This was a very early example of a coffin ... The body was buried flexed. The lid of the coffin was vaulted and the side of the coffin has a representation of the facade of a palace or a house," he said
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Bianca
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« Reply #4 on: May 05, 2009, 03:07:39 pm »








LUCKY FIND



The find comes shortly after Ayedi's team last month announced it had unearthed a cache of mummies dating to a later period in brightly painted coffins in a necropolis at the site -- the first to be found in the shadow of the Lahun pyramid.

Ayedi said he had initially wanted to dig at little-known Lahun because he was not satisfied with the result of the first excavation there in the 19th century, saying it did not match the site's significance.

His team found the second dynasty tomb by chance this season while excavating the recently unearthed necropolis after Ayedi stumbled across a pottery shard in the sand that he recognized as dating back to an older era.

"I was just walking by and I found a (shard from a) pottery vessel like this one," Ayedi said as he held up a slender vessel inside the stone-cut tomb. "It was very characteristic."

"I was very optimistic to find something second dynasty," he added. "We started to investigate this area. Suddenly we found this stairway tomb."

Ayedi said the tomb's occupant was buried with his prized possessions, including an offering table, a headrest, two spears and a bed constructed of imported pine from Lebanon that could shed light on ancient Egyptian carpentry techniques.

Archaeologists found the main entrance to the Lahun pyramid last year, and later found storage jars and other objects inside before finding mummies in nearby tombs in recent months, Ayedi said.

Archaeologists hope to start digging soon in search of the tomb of Cleopatra and possibly her lover Mark Antony on Egypt's north coast. Cleopatra, facing possible captivity in Rome, is alleged to have killed herself by the sting of an asp in 30 BC.



Writing by Cynthia Johnston
« Last Edit: May 05, 2009, 03:09:50 pm by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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Bianca
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« Reply #5 on: May 05, 2009, 03:14:29 pm »




               





               
« Last Edit: May 05, 2009, 03:18:55 pm by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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