Egypt made significant archaeological discoveries near Luxor, unveiling ancient rock-cut tombs and burial shafts dating back 3,600 years. The findings were located at the causeway of Queen Hatshepsut’s funerary temple at Deir al-Bahri on the Nile’s West Bank. The Zahi Hawass Foundation for Antiquities & Heritage, in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, has been working on the site since September 2022.
Among the artifacts found were bronze coins featuring Alexander the Great, children’s clay toys, cartonnage, funerary masks, winged scarabs, beads, and funerary amulets. These discoveries provide insights into the ancient Egyptian temple programs and offer a glimpse into their history.
The archaeologists also uncovered Queen Hatshepsut’s Valley Temple, rock-cut tombs from the Middle Kingdom, burial shafts from the 17th dynasty, the tomb of Djehuti-Mes, and part of the Assassif Ptolemaic Necropolis. Despite previous robberies, the teams found pottery tables used for offerings and intact anthropoid wooden coffins, including one belonging to a young child.
Inside the burial shafts dating back to 1580 B.C. - 1550 B.C., war archery bows were discovered, suggesting a military background of the tomb owners who fought to liberate Egypt from the Hyksos. Djehuti Mes’s tomb shed light on his role overseeing Queen Teti Sheri’s palace, dating back to the 9th year of King Ahmose I’s reign.
The extended Ptolemaic necropolis, built over Queen Hatshepsut’s temple, was partially unearthed, revealing tombs constructed of mud bricks. This site, previously excavated in the 20th century, was not fully documented. In a separate discovery in November, an ancient tomb with 11 sealed burials from the Middle Kingdom was found in the South Asasif necropolis near the Temple of Hatshepsut.
