A vast necropolis with some 50 mummies, including pharaonic
royalty, has been discovered in Egypt's famed Valley of the Kings
near the temple city of Luxor, officials said Monday.
"The immense necropolis contains the remains of mummies that could
have been members of the royal family, in particular the sons of
the kings Tutmoses III and Tutmoses IV of the 18th dynasty," which
ruled from 1550-1292 BC, the antiquities ministry said.
Archaeologists, including experts from the University of Basel in
Switzerland, found wooden sarcophagi, death masks and canopic jars
used to store organs removed during the embalming process. The
mummies included newborn babies.
An examination of the inscriptions on the jars allowed them to
identify more than 30 of the dead by name, including previously
unknown princesses, Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said in
the statement.
The cemetery, which like many such sites had been looted in ancient
times, is in the extreme northwest of the Valley of the Kings, a
popular tourist site which also includes the tomb of Tutankhamun,
better known as King Tut.
A huge tomb discovered in the West Bank of the Nile Valley of the
Kings in Luxor is seen in this undated Egyptian Supreme Council of
Antiquities handout photo received on April 28, 2014.
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