The tomb of king Sethi The First KV17

An Unexpected Tunnel

In tomb KV17, researchers found a weird and unexpected tunnel which sinks deep underground beneath the burial chamber. This is one of the major puzzles related to Sety I’s tomb today. Could it lead to another burial chamber? An interesting feature found in the tomb’s decoration are cenotaphs, which can be translated to read “empty tomb.” The writing was likely seen as way to protect the pharaoh’s remains. This was a very important part of ancient Egyptian religion, as the deceased’s body had to be saved, otherwise, the person wouldn't be able to stay alive in the afterlife.

the tunnel, it was probably meant to reach groundwater - creating a symbolic link between the pharaoh’s burial and the myth of the tomb of Osiris. In royal tombs, the cenotaph was placed on a false sarcophagus on an ''island'' surrounded by water. It was associated with the original forces of creation and the myth of Osiris. But for Sety I, his most famous cenotaph is in his temple in Abydos.

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Tomb of Pabasa (TT279)

Pabasa, who was also called Pabes, has a large tomb at Asasif, just outside the entrance to Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahri. Like Ankh-hor, who held this important title after him, he was the ‘Chief Steward of the God’s Wife Nitocris’ (Neitiqert) during the reign of Saite king Psamtek I. Pabasa’s tomb still has a large mudbrick superstructure. A steep flight of stairs leads down to the entrance of the subterranean levels and on the lintel above the doorway is a fine relief of a barque, adored by the souls of Pe and Nekhen, by the God’s Wife, Nitocris and by the deceased. A small vestibule leads to a larger pillared sun court. The vestibule shows scenes of Pabasa’s funeral procession, including mourners and the ‘Abydos Pilgrimage’. There is a long text of Pabasa and depictions of his son, Thahorpakhepesh, who acted as sem-priest at his father’s funeral. On the inner lintel of the entrance to the court, a relief shows Osiris and Re-Horakhty, in the cent...

The bindweeds of Egypt and their symbolic role for the deceased

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US authorities return eight stolen ancient Egyptian artifacts

US authorities agreed to return eight ancient Egyptian artifacts stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country. Today, upon his arrival from the United States, Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim announced that US authorities agreed to return eight ancient Egyptian artefacts stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country. The objects are to arrive next month. The pieces include the upper part of a painted anthropoid wooden sarcophagus from the Third Intermediate period depicting a face of a woman wea ring a wig decorated with coloured flowers. Two linen mummy wrappings covered with plaster and bearing paintings showing winged amulets pushing the sun disc are also among the artefacts. Hieroglyphic text showing the name and titles of the deceased are also found on the plaster cover. The third piece is a cartonage painted mummy mask from the Third Intermediate period while the fourth and fifth items are Middle Kingdom wooden boats. The other three items are lim...

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