An engraved mirror and beaded jewelry discovered at the ancient family tomb near Luxor
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / South Asasif Conservation Project
Archaeologists have uncovered a 3,800-year-old family tomb with a treasure trove of ancient jewelry. Unearthed near the city of Luxor, the Egyptian site dates back to the Middle Kingdom, a period of prosperity between roughly 2030 and 1650 B.C.E. It contains the remains of 11 individuals, who could have been members of the same family across several generations.
“This is the first Middle Kingdom tomb found in the area,” writes the South Asasif Conservation Project, which led the excavation, in a statement. “Among the finds are beautiful necklaces, bracelets, armlets, scarab rings and girdles made of amethyst, carnelian, garnet, blue-green glazed faience and feldspar.”
The team found the remains of five women, two men, three children and one unidentified individual. Long ago, the bodies were wrapped in linen and placed side by side in wooden coffins. Most of the jewelry had been placed with the female burials.
This fertility figurine was surrounded by 4,000 beads, which experts think once made up her hair.
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / South Asasif Conservation Project
Wolfram Grajetzki, an Egyptologist at University College London who was not involved in the research, tells Live Science’s Owen Jarus that the jewelry found at the site is “typical for the period,” but the tomb itself is a rare find.
“There were perhaps once many more Middle Kingdom burials at Thebes,” the ancient city located in present-day Luxor, he adds. “But in the New Kingdom—1550 to about 1090 B.C.E.—Thebes became the capital of Egypt and many older burials were most likely destroyed, making this discovery quite special.”
According to the South Asasif Conservation Project, the burials have suffered significant damage due to flooding in the area. Dried “flood mud” was discovered around the bones, and the wooden coffins had been destroyed. Still, items made of more durable materials were discovered in good condition.
For example, two of the burials held copper mirrors, as Katherine Blakeney, the project’s chief American archaeologist, tells the Associated Press. One of the mirrors had a lotus-shaped handle, while the other featured a depiction of Hathor, an ancient Egyptian goddess associated with fertility and love.
While the tomb suffered significant flood damage, more durable items—like these vibrant orange burial beads—survived.
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / South Asasif Conservation Project
Other significant finds included an engraved offering tray, a hippo head amulet and a green-blue ceramic fertility figurine. Researchers also found nearly 4,000 mud beads beside the figurine, which likely once functioned as her flowing hair.
The oldest burials likely date to the 12th Dynasty (roughly 1939 to 1760 B.C.E.), and the site was used for several generations into the 13th Dynasty (around 1759 to 1630 B.C.E.). The ancient family and their jewels will help historians paint a more comprehensive picture of life in the region.
Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, tells Ahram Online that the discovery will “deepen our understanding of burial practices and rituals in Thebes during this era.”
