NEW YORK, March 27. /TASS/. A team of Egyptian and American archaeologists has discovered the tomb of an unknown pharaoh, believed to be 3,600 years old, at the site of the ancient city of Abydos on the left bank of the Nile in Egypt, The New York Times (NYT) reported.
According to the newspaper, the tomb is located in the necropolis at a depth of over 23 feet. The burial chamber consists of several rooms with a vaulted ceiling nearly 17 feet high. Archaeologists first discovered a pharaoh's tomb at Abydos more than 10 years ago, providing evidence of a "lost" royal dynasty at the site. "It’s a new chapter in investigating this dynasty," Josef Wegner, a curator at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia and the leader of the American side of the excavation, said commenting on the discovery, as quoted by the publication.
The NYT notes that similarities between the newly discovered tomb and the one found in 2014, which belonged to a ruler named Seneb-Kay, have led archaeologists to suggest that the unknown pharaoh may have been one of the earliest members of the Abydos dynasty. "This tomb and Seneb-Kay’s tomb are the earliest surviving royal tombs that actually have painted decorations inside," Wegner notes. For example, the wall paintings at the entrance depict the goddess Isis and her sister Nephthys.
However, the tomb at Abydos has been heavily worn over time, and no identifiable skeletal remains have been found at the site. The tomb also shows traces of looting committed about 1,700 years ago. The ruler's name, once depicted on papyrus strips, is now unreadable. According to Wegner, it is likely that the tomb belonged to a royal named Senaiib or Pharaoh Paentjeni, to whom monuments in Abydos were dedicated.
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