A few days ago, Luxor News announced that there would soon be exciting news about a find in the Valley of the Kings. Knowing Jane’s connections and context, I was eager to see what came out. Today, Mansour Boraik, the eminent head of Antiquities for the Luxor region, announced the discovery of the tomb of a non-royal female.
He said that when the coffin is opened this week, archaeologists will likely find a mummy and a cartonnage mask molded to her face and made from layers of linen and plaster.
The singer’s name, Nehmes Bastet, means she was believed to be protected by the feline deity Bastet.
The tomb was found by accident, according to Elena Pauline-Grothe, field director for excavation at the Valley of the Kings with Switzerland’s University of Basel.
“We were not looking for new tombs. It was close to another tomb that was discovered 100 years ago,” Pauline-Grothe said.
Pauline-Grothe said the tomb was not originally built for the female singer, but was reused for her 400 years after the original one, based on artifacts found inside. Archaeologists do not know whom the tomb was originally intended for.
The coffin of the singer belonged to the daughter of a high priest during the 22nd Dynasty.
Read the full announcement on this rare find in the Valley of the Kings here.
Here is the report from the University of Basel website.
A summary of the find has been posted at Egyptological.
This press release includes a photo of the coffin. (seen below)
(photo: Ahram Online)
Valley of the Kings (May 2006)
