All posts tagged: Tombs

Scientists Recreate the Sights and Sounds of 2500-Year-Old Tombs

Scientists Recreate the Sights and Sounds of 2500-Year-Old Tombs

Published by Jenni Sidey

The Etruscan painted tombs of Tarquinia, Italy, dating from around the 7th to the 1st century BCE, have long been celebrated for their vivid iconography and remarkable state of preservation. Now, archaeologists have used AI to examine how sight and sound may have affected Etruscan mourners of the time. Focusing on two 5th-century BCE painted tombs at Tarquinia, the Tomba del Gallo and the Tomba dei Demoni Azzurri (“Tomb of the Blue Demon”) as case studies, researchers used acoustic science and AI modeling to recreate each tomb’s distinct experiential strategy. Their findings suggest that these tombs were intended not simply to memorialize the dead but to create an ambient experience for the living. Related Articles “Etruscan tomb architecture was structurally designed in a manner that produce[d] somatic and affective responses,” say archaeologists Maurizio Forte of Duke University and Jacqueline Ortoleva of the University of Oxford, who coauthored a study recently published in August in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. To prove their point, Forte and Otoleva attempted to reproduce the aural and visual …

Egyptian Archaeologists Uncover Three Ancient Tombs at Bahariya Oasis

Egyptian Archaeologists Uncover Three Ancient Tombs at Bahariya Oasis

Published by Jenni Sidey

An Egyptian archaeological mission has discovered three tombs from different historical periods at the Sheikh Sobi archaeological site in the Bahariya Oasis. The news was reported by several outlets, including Arab News, following an announcement by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The site, which lies about 225 miles southwest of Giza, contains a necropolis used to bury governors and priests of the oasis during Egypt’s Late Period (664–332 BCE), as well as the Bawiti Temple, built during the 26th dynasty (664–525 BCE) in honor of the pharaoh Ahmose II, the last great native pharaoh before the Persian conquest of Egypt. Related Articles The newly discovered burial structures consist of a rock-cut family tomb containing five Late Period mummies, a Roman-period tomb in a stairwell-style design, and a third tomb, also dating to the Roman era, built around a burial shaft. Sabri Farag, director general of antiquities at the Bahariya Oasis and head of the mission, told Arab News that the 40-member mission, comprising archaeologists and other workers, had been excavating at the site for …

Newly Discovered Tombs Offer Rare Insight Into Ancient Egyptian Society

Newly Discovered Tombs Offer Rare Insight Into Ancient Egyptian Society

Published by Jenni Sidey

An Egyptian archaeological mission has uncovered three rock-cut tombs dating to Egypt’s New Kingdom period (ca. 1550–1070 B.C.) at the Bubasteion Necropolis in Saqqara. The news was first reported by Ahram Online. Located 40 km southwest of Cairo, Saqqara was an important cemetery of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis. In the second half of the 18th Dynasty (1550—1292 BCE), high-ranking city dignitaries created tombs for themselves in the limestone cliffs at Bubasteion. Hieroglyphic inscriptions in the newly discovered tombs are providing unusually detailed information about the individuals who were buried within them, according to Hisham El-Leithy, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), which oversees archaeological digs in Egypt. Related Articles Amr El-Tayeb, director of the Saqqara Archaeological Site, said that the first tomb belonged to an official named Mentuhotep, who is shown in one relief seated with his mother, Eihotep. Hieroglyphic inscriptions in the tomb enumerate Mentuhotep’s many titles, among them Hereditary Prince, Mayor, Royal Seal Bearer, One Who Pleases the Heart of the Ruler, Administrator, Overseer of Foreign Lands, and Overseer of …

Egyptian Archeologists Discover Sealed Tombs at Ancient Coastal City

Egyptian Archeologists Discover Sealed Tombs at Ancient Coastal City

Published by Jenni Sidey

Egyptian archeologists have found 18 previously unknown Ptolomeic and Roman tombs, as well as a stone sarcophagus and rare grave goods, at the Marina el-Alamein archeological site near Alexandria. The news was first reported by Heritage Daily on July 4, following an announcement by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.   The most recent discovery offers fresh insights into Marina el-Alamein, one of Egypt’s best-preserved ancient settlements, and illustrates how Egyptian beliefs and funerary customs persisted under Greek and Roman rule. Related Articles The 18 newly excavated tombs consist of 11 rock-cut tombs reaching depths of up to 26 feet and seven surface tombs built from limestone. Several burial chambers were found still sealed with stone slabs, which had preserved their contents for over 2000 years. One of the most remarkable discoveries was an 8-foot-long sarcophagus with its original lid still in place. Inside, the archeologists found skeletal remains that are now being studied. Close by, according to the mission chief, Eman Abdel-Khaliq, the archeologists found part of a plaster statue of a sphinx. Another …

Archaeologists Find Tombs That Could Represent Development of Pyramids

Archaeologists Find Tombs That Could Represent Development of Pyramids

Published by Jenni Sidey

Archaeologists working in Upper Egypt discovered two tombs dating to the Early Dynastic period, both of them at the fabled location known as Gabal El-Teir—or, as translated from Arabic, “Mountain of the Birds.” The tombs date from 3100 to 2686 B.C.E. and “will allow researchers to trace the development of funerary architecture,” according to Archaeology Magazine, which noted that thick walls at the bottom that taper toward the top of the structures could represent an early stage in the development of pyramids. Related Articles As reported by Ahram Online, “The first early Dynastic tomb represents a rare architectural model distinguished by its unique geometric design, while the second tomb closely mirrors it in layout and is notably better preserved.” The publication cited Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary-General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), describing the discovery as similar to the storied tomb of King Den in Abydos and pointing out that “this resemblance underscores the archaeological importance of the Gabal El-Teir site and reinforces its status as a major necropolis used continuously from the Predynastic through …

Elite Maya people had teeth placed in a cave far from their tombs

Elite Maya people had teeth placed in a cave far from their tombs

Published by skeptic

The Mayan site of Xunantunich in Belize Michael Robinson/Getty Images The teeth of some important members of the Maya civilisation were removed and kept in a cave far from their tombs. It may have been done to venerate ancestors or ensure they made it to the underworld. During the Classic period (AD 250-900), Maya communities lived in cities spread across what is now southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and northern Honduras. They spoke many languages, but were unified by a political and religious system in which lineage and rituals legitimised power. As such, the dead were important, and the living often kept the remains of many deceased relatives nearby, under the floors of the house or within the walls. Esther Brielle at Harvard University and her colleagues studied remains at numerous burial sites in Belize from the Classic period to investigate how some of the buried people related to each other. They generated genomic data from hundreds of samples and used radiocarbon dating to work out when each person lived. They found that 341 samples relate …

2,000-Year-Old Graffiti on Egyptian Tombs Translated

2,000-Year-Old Graffiti on Egyptian Tombs Translated

Published by Jenni Sidey

Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, on the banks of the Nile River, is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world. Newly translated graffiti reveals just how long visitors have come from far and wide to this region, and felt compelled to mark their presence by inscribing their names on the walls of tombs. Earlier this month, Live Science reported on the findings from a February conference held in Chennai, India, that translated several examples of 2,000-year-old graffiti found on the walls of six Egyptian tombs. Related Articles The newly translated texts—in Old Tamil, Sanskrit, and Kharosti—are from around the 1st to 3rd centuries CE. There is also evidence of Greek and Roman inscriptions on Egyptian tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Archaeologists have been aware of the presence of graffiti since the 19th century, but the texts weren’t translated until recently. On individual, Cikai Korran, wrote his name eight times in Old Tamil, in five tombs, stating “Cikai Korran came here and saw.” Charlotte Schmid, a researcher at the French School …

4,700-Year-Old Tombs Discovered in Southwest Egypt

4,700-Year-Old Tombs Discovered in Southwest Egypt

Published by José Betancourt

A research team from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has announced new discoveries at Qubbet Al-Hawa, a well-known archaeological site in southeast Egypt, near the city of Aswan. The Upper Egyptian site is known for its sprawling necropolis. This latest mission, as reported in Ahram, focused on rock-cut burial shafts and chambers, most notably two chambers full of 160 pottery vessels, many of which are covered with text, that are believed to have been used to store grain and liquids. Many of these artifacts, in various shapes and sizes, are very well preserved. Related Articles Another tomb’s outer courtyard was filled with bronze mirrors, kohl containers, beaded necklaces, and other jewelry items from the Middle Kingdom. Archaeological evidence suggests that the tomb complex was used by ancient Egyptians across centuries, starting during the Old Kingdom (ca. 2700–2200 BCE). Hisham El-Leithy, secretary general of the SCA, noted that the council will continue to study these rock-cut tombs to learn more about how they were used and reused across time. Qubbet Al-Hawa lies on the west …