After almost 4,000 years, an “extraordinary” burial chamber containing the remains of an ancient Egyptian priestess has been unearthed.
Idy, daughter of a wealthy governor who lived around 1880 BC. C., was found in a coffin within a coffin in a tomb in the city of Asyut, 200 miles south of Cairo.
Described as “some of the most astonishing coffins ever found”, they are covered in text and illustrations “describing the deceased’s journey to the afterlife”.
After her death, Idy’s internal organs (liver, spleen, lungs, and intestines) were removed and placed in jars.
Idy’s body was then mummified, a process of preserving the body after death by deliberately drying or embalming the flesh.
A preliminary study of his bones indicates that he died before the age of 40 after suffering a congenital defect in his foot.
Grave goods were also found on him, including a dagger and wooden figurines, which may have been intended for use in the afterlife.
Professor Jochem Kahl, an archaeologist at Freie Universität Berlin who led the discovery, called it “extraordinary from both an aesthetic and scientific point of view.”
Idy’s “beautifully decorated” coffins are among the burial chamber’s most impressive finds
Idy, depicted in this engraving, was the only daughter of Djefai-Hapi I, a worshiped Egyptian regional governor in ancient times.
The excavations were carried out between August 18 and September 17 of this year.
“The discovery of this pit began in 2022, required three excavation campaigns and has now ended with a sensational discovery: the burial of Idy in two wooden coffins nested with numerous grave goods,” said Professor Kahl.
Idy was the only daughter of Djefai-Hapi I, an Egyptian regional governor who was worshiped in ancient times.
He was “one of the most important rulers of the ancient Egyptian territories,” the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said. in a Facebook statement.
Professor Kahl added: “Djefai-Hapi I was deified in ancient times and his tomb was an integral part of the cultural memory of ancient Egypt for more than 2,000 years.”
‘Idy was a priestess of the goddess Hathor and was called “mistress of the house”, which identifies her as a woman from a wealthy family.’
While the father’s resting place was known, this new discovery of his daughter’s remains in the same building in Asyut is unprecedented.
The tomb, which dates from approximately 1880 BC. C., is impressive due to its “monumental” cave architecture with rooms more than 11 meters (36 feet) high carved into the rock.
The excavations were carried out between August 18 and September 17 of this year. In the photo, Idy’s burial chamber when it was discovered.
Pictured is a close-up of Idy’s outer coffin, showing remarkable artwork made almost 4,000 years ago.
Asyut, a city in Egypt lying comfortably along the western bank of the Nile River, was a prosperous regional capital and port city.
Idy had been placed in a coffin within a coffin and then sealed in a side chamber in a vertical shaft about 45 feet deep that had been dug in her father’s grave.
Their coffins, which weigh between 200 and 300 kg each, are larger than average in size, ranging in length from 8.59 feet (2.62 meters) to 6.66 feet (2.03 meters).
Professor Kahl said both coffins appear to be made of “foreign wood,” meaning wood sourced from outside Egypt.
He said both are “completely decorated with wonderful images and texts” describing the deceased’s journey to the afterlife.
Their study will allow “new and powerful statements to be made about the position of women and the transfer of knowledge in ancient Egypt.”
While Idy’s resting place has so far gone unnoticed by researchers, the chamber is believed to have been looted by thieves thousands of years ago.
Their remains were stripped of all jewelery and metal objects in the search for treasure, but other funerary goods appear to have been of no interest to the ancient looters.
“The remains of Idy’s clothing and her bones, which were completely destroyed by ancient looters, provide information about her person,” Professor Kahl added.
Idy was found in two wooden coffins packed with numerous grave goods, including wooden figurines. In the photo, a female figure made of wood.
According to a first visual inspection of the bones, Idy was probably around 40 years old and suffered from a foot problem, he added.
Somewhat gruesomely, a box of jars was also found containing Idy’s internal organs removed during mummification: liver, spleen, lungs and intestines.
This was customary during mummification, as the ancient Egyptians learned that internal organs would decompose quickly.
Typically, mummification in ancient Egypt involved desiccating the body with a mixture of salts and then wrapping it in a cloth soaked in a balm of plant extracts, oils and resins.
The oldest mummies are believed to have been naturally preserved by burying them in dry desert sand and were not chemically treated.
Professor Kahl said the discovered remains will continue to be studied in an effort to shed more light on the lives of the governor and his daughter.
“After an initial consolidation for the conservation of the wooden objects in the burial chamber and the subsequent laborious recovery of the narrow 14-meter-deep pit, the finds will be handed over to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism,” he added.