The year 2018 was very important in Egypt’s history. Because this year witnessed a great number of archaeological discoveries. These discoveries are really fascinating. As they added interesting chapters to the ancient Egyptian history. Thus, this writing is going to briefly discuss those discoveries.
1. The Tomb of A Royal Priestess
Archaeologists have found the tomb of a royal priestess, Hetpet near the Great Pyramid of Giza. It is a private tomb. It dated back to at least 4,400 years ago. Hetpet was probably a high official. Thus, she had a strong link with the royal palace. She is well known in Egyptian antiquity. But till now her mummy is yet to discover. The interesting feature of this tomb is its scenes on the walls of monkeys. Because they are in dancing posture & are reaping fruits. Hetpet devoted her to the goddess of fertility, Hathor.
2. The Mysterious Tomb of Alexandria
Archaeologists have found A tomb with a large sarcophagus in an ancient site of Sidi Gaber district in the Egyptian coastal province o Alexandria. Researchers first thought it to belong to Alexander the Great. But later findings discarded this assumption. The sarcophagus revealed three skeletons. Studies revealed that these skeletons may belong to soldiers. The evidence of oldest surgical intervention in ancient Egypt has been noticed from one of the three skulls.
3. A Cemetery of A High Priest of Thoth
Archaeologists found a cemetery site with great preserved condition near Cairo in Minya province. It contained at least eight tombs & fourteen sarcophagi. One of them belongs to a high priest of the god Thoth. Thoth was the god of knowledge, wisdom & writing system. Apart from this, the site also yielded at least 1000 small & blue-green Ushabti figurines. The family members of that high priest may be found in the other sarcophaguses.
4. World’s Oldest Figurative Tattoos
This year Egypt has revealed its evidence of the world’s oldest figurative tattoo. As graves in Gebelein, south of Luxor in Egypt had yielded two mummies of a man & woman over a century ago. This year, researchers through scientific experiments found traces of figurative tattoos in the mummies. These tattoos are not simple but they have great symbolism also.
5. Sandstone Sphinx of Aswan
Kom Ombo temple is located at Aswan. It is a famous double temple of the twin gods; Sobek & Horus. Archaeologists found a sphinx near this temple. It is made of sandstone. This statue of Sphinx belongs to the time period of the Greco-Macedonian Ptolemaic Dynasty which ruled over Egypt from 305 BCE – 30 BCE. Because earlier, excavations & explorations yielded two engraved sandstone reliefs of king Ptolemy V at the same time.
6. Remains of A Massive Building of Memphis
Archaeologists uncovered remains of a massive building in the town of Mit Rahina. It is located in the south of Cairo. This building belonged to the ancient capital of Memphis. Ancient builders used both mud bricks & burnt bricks for its construction. An attached structure of the building also revealed evidence of Roman occupation.
7. Remains of A 5,000 Years Old Neolithic Village
Archeologists discovered traces of a Neolithic village settlement. It is located in the northern province of El-Dakahila, around 90 miles north of Cairo, the capital of the modern day Egypt. This new Neolithic site revealed the evidence of human habitation as early as 5,000 BCE. This habitational remains dated back to before the period of pharaohs. Thus these type of discoveries will give researchers an opportunity to study the prehistoric period of Egypt more deeply & understand the importance of the first farming communities who inhabited in the Nile Delta region.
8. The skeleton of A Pregnant Woman
This year a team of Italian & American archaeologists uncovered a grave of a skeleton of a pregnant woman at the site of Kom Ombo near Aswan. The skeleton remains of the woman have been initially dated back to at least 3700 years ago. This woman probably died while giving birth in her mid-20s. The evidence showed that the woman may have died during childbirth. Because the fetus settled into the head-down position.
9. Cat Mummies in Saqqara
Archaeologists discovered a tomb in Saqqara necropolis. It revealed dozens of mummified cats, a bronze statue of Bastet, the goddess of cats & 100 gilded wooden cat statues etc. It dated back to t least 4500 years old & belongs to the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Ancient Egyptians believed that cats had magical power. So they could bring good luck to the people who housed them.
10. A Tomb at Luxor
A French archaeological mission discovered a tomb at Luxor in southern Egypt. The excavation yielded two mummies. They dated back to the 17th & 18th dynasty respectively. This time period belonged to some important pharaohs of ancient Egypt such as Tutankhamun & Rameses II.
11. Eight Decorated Sarcophagus Along With Mummies
Archaeologists have uncovered eight decorated sarcophagus along with mummies. They were buried near the pyramid of Pharaoh Amenemhat II in Dahshur necropolis, south of Cairo, the capital of modern Egypt. This necropolis was used for burial practices of high official persons of the court of Pharaoh. Thus, these mummies may have been of some high-ranked officials or senior persons of high royal status.
12. The Tomb of Wahtye
Archaeologists discovered this tomb in Saqqara. It is located 30 km south of Cairo, the capital of modern Egypt. It belongs to a high priest named Wahtye. His tomb is dated back to at least 4400 years ago. He seemed to work under the pharaoh Neferirkare. The tomb also contained a great number of statues. The sarcophagus of the owner has not been found yet.
