terraeantiqvae : Mensaje: (2) Confirman hallazgo de antigua sala egipcia de momificaciones

El Cairo, 13 mar (PL) El Consejo Supremo de Antiguedades de Egipto anunció hoy que una tumba hallada el pasado mes en Luxor, en las cercanías del Valle de los Reyes, supuestamente realizaba funciones de sala de momificación real.

Dicho recinto, un área subterránea de cuatro por cuatro metros, fue descubierto por arqueólogos de la Univewrsidad estadounidense de Memphis, contenía sustancias químicas guardadas en vasillas cerradas herméticamente con yeso y arcilla.

La sala, a una profundidad de seis metros, guardaba un sarcófago de gran tamaño y un ataúd para menores con mortajas, y los arqueólogos suponían que era la tumba de un importante funcionario, por encontrarse a unos siete metros de la tumba de Tutankamón.

Descubierta en 1922 por el inglés Howard Carter la tumba de Tutankamón (1319-1309 A.C.), resultó el hallazgo más fabuloso en cuanto a tumbas reales se refiere, pues es la única que sobrevivió con su ajuar intacto.

Fuente: Prensa Latina, 13 de marzo de 2006

Enlace: http://www.prensalatina.com.mx/Article.asp?ID=%7BC2A6AB3C-7A27-4523-9CDE-5C214BFD7DBC%7D&language=ES

(2) Egyptian ‘tomb’ was mummy workroom

Sarcophagi contained supplies, not royalty, top archaeologist says

Foto: During a meeting with reporters in February, Egyptian chief of antiquities Zahi Hawass, right, and Otto Schaden, head of a U.S. research team, stand in front of a hole that opens into a chamber at the Valley of the Kings. Hawass now says the chamber was a mummification room, not a tomb. Aladin Abdel Naby / Reuters file

CAIRO, Egypt - A chamber discovered last month in the Valley of the Kings was a room used by the ancient Egyptians for mummifying pharaohs buried in the area, rather than a tomb, Egypt’s top archaeologist said Monday.

Zahi Hawass said five sarcophagi found in the chamber contained remnants of pottery, shrouds and materials used in mummification.

The American researchers from the University of Memphis who discovered the chamber had also opened 10 sealed jars found there to discover other materials used in mummification.

“This ... is not a tomb for nobles or relatives of a king, as had been thought upon its discovery, but rather it is a room for mummification,” Hawass said in a statement.

The chamber was found at the bottom of a 20-foot (6-meter) shaft. Hawass said last month that the sarcophagi may contain the mummies of royals or notables moved from their original graves to protect them from grave robbers.

Ancient Egyptians buried rulers including Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, which lies close to the Nile town of Luxor. The sarcophagi date from the 18th Dynasty, which ruled Egypt from 1567 B.C. to 1320 B.C.

Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered packed with treasures in 1922.

Enlace: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11810055/

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