Periodista egresada de la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). Le gusta escribir sobre política e historias humanas que puedan transformar vidas. Actualmente cursa un master...
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A group of archaeologists discovered 225 funerary statuettes inside a tomb in the ancient Egyptian capital of Tanis, located in the Nile Delta. The find allowed to reveal the identity of one of the enigmatic occupants of the royal necropolis.
The expedition took place on October 9 during a French archaeological mission led by Egyptologist Frédéric Payraudeau, who highlighted the uniqueness of the excavation and its significance for the history of Ancient Egypt.
Figures had not been found in their original context inside a royal tomb in Tanis since 1946, Payraudeau specified at a press conference in Paris.
The investigation focused on a narrow tomb that housed a large sarcophagus with no visible inscriptions. After exploring the other corners of the chamber, archaeologists found a group of statuettes gathered together, which raised expectations about the magnitude of the discovery.
According to CBS News, the conservation and arrangement of the statuettes are exceptional, especially due to the intense looting suffered by most Egyptian tombs, even in the main royal enclosures. This level of preservation is only comparable to that observed in the Valley of the Kings, where Tutankhamun’s tomb appeared intact in 1922.
The funerary statuettes, called ushebtis, accompanied and served the deceased in their transit to the afterlife. Researchers highlighted the rarity that more than half represent female figures, a very unusual proportion in similar contexts.
In turn, some pieces embody team leaders, which provides information about funerary beliefs and the symbolic organization of the afterlife at that time.
Tanis was founded around 1050 BC, at the beginning of the 21st dynasty, to replace Thebes as the royal capital, after the Valley of the Kings became the target of looting after the reign of Ramses.
This relocation of the royal necropolis produced transformations in burial rituals and funerary architecture, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, cited by CBS News. According to Mohamed Abdel-Badii, head of the Egyptian Archaeological Sector, recent excavations confirm that Tanis still hides secrets to be discovered and presents unusual burial patterns.
The key element in identifying the occupant of the sarcophagus turned out to be the royal symbols painted on the statuettes, which allowed determining that it belonged to Pharaoh Sheshonq III, whose reign spanned from 830 to 791 B.C.
The discovery surprised the experts, as inscriptions on the largest sarcophagus and on the walls of another tomb in Tanis also attribute those spaces to Sheshonq III. The presence of the monarch in a different tomb raised new questions about the reason for his burial in that place.
According to Payraudeau, during the four decades of Sheshonq III’s reign, there were internal conflicts, including a civil war between the regions of Upper and Lower Egypt, where several pharaohs disputed power. These confrontations may have influenced the succession and the final fate of his burial.
Periodista egresada de la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). Le gusta escribir sobre política e historias humanas que puedan transformar vidas. Actualmente cursa un master en Comunicación Política y Marketing Digital.
