The archaeological mission of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, while carrying out research work in the necropolis of Draa Abul Naga in the city of Luxor, discovered an anthropoid sarcophagus containing the mummy of a teenage girl.
Ahram Online talks about the opening. An anthropoid sarcophagus of the 17th dynasty (one of the dynasties of the pharaohs who ruled in Ancient Egypt during the Second Transitional Period in the 17th-16th centuries BC) was discovered during excavations in an ancient clay chapel.
Spanish archaeologists took part in the study. They and their Egyptian counterparts stumbled upon the sarcophagus, literally raking heaps of funerary debris. The work was carried out on the site located in front of the courtyard of the tomb of Dzhehuti - the commander of the pharaoh of the XVIII dynasty Thutmose III.
The researchers note that the sarcophagus was carefully laid on the ground. Its length is 1.75 meters. It was cut from one trunk of a sycamore tree, after which it was whitewashed and painted red.
Inside this coffin was found the mummy of a teenage girl who was 15 or 16 years old at the time of her death. Unfortunately, the mummy is very poorly preserved. The ears of the buried girl were decorated with two earrings made in the shape of a spiral. Perhaps they were copper.
Also in the sarcophagus were found two rings, one of which was bone, and the other - metal. The latter is decorated with a kind of blue glass ball. Four necklaces were also found on the chest.
One of them, 70 cm long, was made of dark blue round faience beads. The second, 62 cm long, was made of green faience and glass beads.
Scientists consider the most beautiful the third necklace, the length of which is 61 cm. It is assembled from 74 beads made of various materials: amethyst, carnelian, amber, blue glass and quartz. In addition, this necklace was adorned with two sacred scarabs and five faience amulets.
The fourth necklace consists of several strands of earthenware beads. It is equipped with special rings along the edges, with the help of which all the threads were tied together.
On the opposite side of the chapel, another small coffin made of clay was found. Inside it, archaeologists have found a burial wooden figurine of a ushabti, wrapped in four linen bandages.
One of these bandages reads "Osiris, Dzhehuti". This indicates that the found burial may have been part of the general burial of the above-mentioned military leader.
By the way, next to the sarcophagi, researchers found a pair of perfectly preserved 3,600-year-old leather sandals. They are painted bright red and decorated with images of deities and cats. Judging by these decorations and the size, the sandals were female.