50 Mummies In Valley Of Kings: Archeologists Discover Remains In Egypt

A group of about 50 mummies was found in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in Luxor on Monday. According to Huffington Post, the 50 mummies included newborn babies, princes, and princesses of the 18th Pharaonic dynasty. The remains were located by a Swiss team from the University of Basel according to the report. The team has been working closely with the Egyptian government over the past few months.

Huffington Post reports:

“Wooden coffins and death masks were found beside the bodies, probably dating from the New Kingdom, state news agency MENA quoted Ibrahim as saying, referring to Egypt’s 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties between about 1567 and 1085 BC.”

The identification of some of the 50 mummies found in the Valley of Kings was made by inscriptions on jars according to The Straits Times. However, these jars only properly identified about 30 of the deceased. Of the 30 were members of royalty which led researchers to believe that the bodies they had found were important.

Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim confirmed the find, noting its size — “huge.” Any necropolis is important to Egypt’s tourist trade but securing ancient sites like this one has become an issue in recent years. “Theft from museums, mosques, stores and illegal excavations” is a problem and could play a role on how these new-found remains are preserved and stored. The find is essential and very cool nevertheless.

The Valley of the Kings is a popular tourist site in Egypt. The necropolis was found in the northwest corner of the area, which was also home to King Tut. Known also by his full name, Tutankhamun, King Tut was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. It is unclear whether or not this recent find has any relation to King Tut. It seems like the remains found in this area are all from around the same time period but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the deceased actually knew one another.

The 50 mummies discovered in the Valley of Kings weren’t the first significant find of the year, either. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the remains of an unknown pharaoh named King Woseribre Senebkay were dug up back in January. It is believed that his remains belonged to a forgotten dynasty from circa 1650 b.c. These findings are still rare and very valuable as they provide information about the past.

What do you think of the necropolis found in the Valley of Kings? Do you think more remains are located in this area?

[Photo: Supreme Council of Antiquities]