Archaeologists Discover 20 Sealed Ancient Egyptian Coffins

Archaeologists have unearthed 20 intact ancient coffins near the Egyptian city of Luxor, the country’s antiquities ministry announced this week in a statement lauding the find as “one of the largest and most important” in recent years.

According to CNN’s Oscar Holland and Taylor Barnes, researchers discovered the coffins in Al-Assasif, a necropolis on the Nile River’s West Bank. Once part of the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes, the site stands in what is now Luxor.

As Lateshia Beachum reports for the Washington Post, the coffins—decorated in shades of red, green, white and black—were found stacked in two layers in a giant tomb. The wooden sarcophagi are particularly impressive due to their colorful, well-preserved paintings and inscriptions, as well as the fact that they are still sealed—a rarity in Egyptian archaeology.

Although the antiquities ministry did not specify what time period the sarcophagi date to, BBC News notes that the majority of tombs in the necropolis hold the remains of nobles and government officials buried during Egypt’s Late Period, which lasted from 664 to 332 B.C.

There are, however, some exceptions to this trend: namely, tombs dating to the earlier 18th dynasty. Spanning the period of 1543 to 1292 B.C., this royal line included such pharaohs as Ahmenhotep I, Tutankhamun, and Hatshepsut, the so-called “queen who would be king.”

For now, information on the find remains scarce, but as a ministry statement notes, more details will be shared at a press conference this .

The cache of coffins isn’t the only recent find to come out of Luxor. Last week, archaeologists announced the discovery of an ancient “industrial” zone in the Valley of the Monkeys, a sprawling site neighboring the famed Valley of the Kings.

According to a government statement, the team unearthed 30 workshops, many featuring pottery dating to the 18th dynasty. Each shop had a different purpose—for example, producing pottery or gold artifacts—but all were assigned to the general task of creating funerary goods for Egyptian nobles and wealthy individuals.

In addition to these workshops, the researchers found an in-ground water tank that likely held workers’ drinking water, a scarab ring, hundreds of inlay beads and gold foil used to decorate royal coffins.

“This is unprecedented,” archaeologist Zahi Hawass tells CNN’s Julie Zaugg and Nourhan Moustafa. “Up until now, everything we knew about the [Luxor region] came from the tombs themselves, but this new discovery will allow us to shed a light on the tools and techniques used to produce the royal coffins and the furniture placed in the tombs.”

The ministry also announced the discovery of a grave in the East Valley, or as it’s more commonly known, the Valley of the Kings. Per Ahram Online’s Nevine El-Aref, the tomb, called KV 65, boasts tools used during its construction.

Egypt is currently conducting the largest excavation of the valley since 1922, when Howard Carter stumbled upon Tutankhamun’s incredibly well-preserved tomb.

Archaeologists are hoping to find still-undiscovered royal crypts, including the final resting places of Queen Nefertiti, Tut’s widow Ankhsenamun, Amenhotep I, Thutmose II and Ramses VIII.

Mysteries Of ancient Egypt: The Unfinished Obelisk Of Aswan

Abandoned thousands of years ago in the quarries of northern Aswan, ancient Egypt, the Unfinished Obelisk is a mass of granite 40 meters long (138 feet) and more than 1,090 tons (1,200 short tons) that makes up one of the most important mysteries of the archaeological world.

Historical origin

The creation of the obelisk was ordered by Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BC), the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The history of its origin is uncertain, but it is believed that the obelisk started to be built, possibly, to complement what would later be known as the Lateran Obelisk – originally built in Karnak and later sent to the Lateran Palace in Rome.

One of the biggest factors that puzzle scholars is the fact that the unfinished obelisk is a third larger than other ancient Egyptian obelisks erected throughout history.

It is estimated that it could measure more than 40 meters (138 feet) and weigh around 1,090 tons (1,200 short tons), if completed – to better understand, imagine the weight of 200 African elephants.

It is believed that the creators of the obelisk started to excavate it directly from a rock, but during the process, they noticed cracks under the granite.

This fact would have been the main reason that led them to abandon the project, however, the lower side of the obelisk remains, even today, fixed to the rock.

Important discoveries

Although this project has not been completed, from an archaeological and historical point of view, this obelisk is important for understanding the ancient Egyptian techniques used in stone work.

During the investigations, researchers discovered marks of the workers’ tools, which even after hundreds of years, remain preserved. In addition, they found lines of ocher colors marking the location of the workers.

Another surprising discovery was made in 2022 in the Aswan quarries. At the time, the researchers found an unfinished and partially worked obelisk base.

In addition, they found sculptures made of stones that may be linked to the place of origin from which other obelisks were created.

Currently, all of these discoveries are on display in an open-air museum, managed by the Egyptian government, being considered an archaeological and heritage site.

A sea of ​​unknowns

Obelisks created by the ancient Egyptians are a great topic of debate because they raise numerous questions that we are still unable to answer to this day.

How did they carve them into a single block? How were they transported hundreds of miles away? How did they lift the huge, heavy columns?

There are numerous theories that indicate that the obelisks were transported by boats on the Nile River, although it is difficult to explain how the granite masses moved to the boats, or how the boats supported such a weight.

Carving the monuments directly into the bedrock was a common technique, and masons used stone balls to remove any imperfections until the surface was smooth.

There are still samples of these Dolerite balls in Aswan that were harder than granite and did not crack or break after repeatedly hitting the surface of the granite.

“It would have been the largest piece of stone worked by man to date”