Proving that the hidden treasures buried in the land of the Pharaohs are endless, the ministry of antiquities announced the discovery of six Old Kingdom tombs at the Hawa Dome project in Aswan. The discovery was made by an English archaeological mission from the University of Birmingham.
Head of Supreme Council of Antiquities, Moustafa Waziri, stated in a press release that the discovered tombs ranged in sizes and designs. He explained that the six tombs’ sizes spanned between 1.90×2.85m, and 3.52×6.35m.
“Two of the unearthed tombs have a rounded shape entrance carved into the rock. The third one was found with a completely built entrance, which was sealed with rocks. That tomb’s burial chamber was also found carefully closed with a brick wall,” he added.
Despite the high safety measures which appeared to be applied, the tombs’ belongings were found stolen.
Waziri asserted that they were most likely robbed during the Old Kingdom, as the thieves entered the tombs by breaking the back walls.
However, the mission managed to find a few relics which survived the robbery.
Head of the Hawa Dome project professor Marten Bomas explained in the press release that they found pieces from a funeral mask inside one of the tombs, as well as a coin amulet depicting god Khnum.
Bomas also added in the press release that they found several pottery pots, many of them containing ancient substances, that were unidentified. He explained that unlike the tombs, the contents found inside of the pottery pots belong to the ancient late period.
The found discoveries were all transferred to the Aswan Museum in order to be stored.
The tombs were discovered less than a week after the ministry announced the unearthing of two Roman-period tombs at the archaeological site of Beir Al-Shaghala in the Mout village at the Dakhla Oasis, and a few days after announcing the discovery of a Roman area that was most likely used as a service unit for militants or camps.
The ministry previously announced that the Egyptian archeological missions have been intensively excavating areas believed to contain hidden treasures, including Saqqara.
The excavation work led to the discovery of the two Roman period tombs which were a part of the excavation works that were being carried out at the area since 2002, and it resulted in the breakthrough unearthing of a total of 10 incomplete sandstone tombs from the Greek era.
