An expedition of American archaeologists conducting excavations on the territory of Luxor found several canopics in the tomb of the high priest Amun - sealed ritual vessels with the organs of a noble woman who lived in the last days of the independence of Ancient Egypt, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.
“Despite the fact that the flood damaged the contents of the canopies, they still contain a fairly large amount of resin. All of them were made in the style of the 26th dynasty of Ancient Egypt and all of them bear an inscription dedicated to “the lady from the Amenirdis house,” says Elena Pishchikova, head of the American archaeological expedition in El Assassif.
Her team has been carrying out excavations on the territory of this burial complex, where the remains of the pharaohs of the 18th, 25th and 26th dynasties and their entourage have been buried, since 2006. These tombs were discovered by the Prussian archaeologist Karl Lepsius back in the 1870s, but their serious study began only at the beginning of the current millennium.
Unlike many other monuments of ancient Egyptian culture, the tombs of the nobility and rulers in El Assassif were almost completely destroyed over the past centuries and millennia, forcing archaeologists to simultaneously excavate and reconstruct the tombs, protecting them from further destruction.
Carrying out similar work in the tomb of Karabasken, the high priest of Amun during the time of the pharaohs of the 25th dynasty, scientists discovered on its floor a square pit about half a meter deep, in which four canopes were hidden at once - ritual vessels in which the Egyptian priests kept the organs of the deceased.
Canopes found in the tomb of the high priest of Amun in Luxor / Elena Pishchikova, Ministry of Antiquities of Egyp.
The canopic canopies are very well preserved, but they fell on their side and were partially opened due to the fact that this tomb was flooded in the past. One of the vessels broke into many fragments. Now our restorers are carrying out all the necessary procedures to clean and protect them, added Mustafa Vaziri, head of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities.
The lids of each of the vessels, as noted by archaeologists, were covered with ritual inscriptions characteristic of the cult of Amun during the 26th dynasty, and were carved from pieces of alabaster by three different craftsmen.
Promotional video:
The name of their owner is Amenirdis, "given by the god Amun", and the high quality of the manufacture of these artifacts suggests that this lady was either a relative of the 26th dynasty pharaohs, or just a very noble woman. Further study of these canopies and the pit where they were found, scientists hope, will help to more accurately answer this question.
