Thursday, 20 July 2017

[EEF] concerning rumours about a possible new tomb in the VoK

Thanks to the wonderful EEF for this considered analysis

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As the popular press is now picking it up (see 2nd entry
below), I suppose it cannot be blissfully ignored anymore -- but please note
the lack of MoA confirmation and the excess of speculation:


* Press report: "King Tut's Wife May Be Buried in
Newly Discovered [sic] Tomb"


"Famed archaeologist Zahi Hawass and his team say
they've found evidence of a tomb that could belong to King Tut's wife.  The archaeologists eventually plan to
excavate the new tomb, which is located near the tomb of the pharaoh Ay
(1327-1323 B.C.) in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, Hawass
told Live Science. "We are sure there is a tomb there, but we do not know
for sure to whom it belongs," Hawass told Live Science in an email. On
July 7, National Geographic Italia published an article in Italian suggesting
that a team led by Hawass had found a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings, and
Hawass confirmed that discovery to Live Science. "We are sure there is a
tomb hidden in that area because I found four foundation deposits,"
Hawass said, explaining that the foundations are
"caches or holes in the ground that were filled with votive objects such
as pottery vessels, food remains and other tools as a sign that a tomb
construction is being initiated." "The ancient Egyptians usually did
four or five foundation deposits whenever they started a tomb's
construction," Hawass said. Additionally, "the radar did detect a substructure
that could be the entrance of a tomb."(...) Hawass said he will direct the
future excavations at the site. (..)"

[Submitted by Kat Newkirk]
* Other English press reports, based on the above press
report (adding nothing extra):





"(..) In a follow up update to Livescience however,
Hawass cautions that there might not be a tomb there, and that further
excavations are required to be certain."

* For the mentioned Italian press report of National Geographic
Italia that started all this, see EEFNEWS (986):


It seems to have been taken down since...; you can refind
it at


"(..) accanto alla KV23, (..) I test effettuati tra
febbraio e maggio dai tecnici di Livorno con l'ERT hanno rilevato anomalie
conduttive nella roccia lì dove Hawass ha individuato i foundation deposits di
un'altra tomba reale che potrebbe appartenere ad Ankhesenamon (..)."

* The Minister has hinted at "an important
archaeological discovery that will astonish the whole world, (..) a graveyard
dating dating back to the Pharaonic era" being in the pipeline, but
without giving any details:


* Please note that MoA has NOT issued any official press
releases yet about the scanning results, making the Italian interview
premature/indiscreet.
Also note that no tomb has been found yet, despite the
headers of the press reports; a scanning anomaly does nót make a discovered
tomb and speculation about any owner is even more premature.

* The foundation deposits mentioned seem to be those
found in 2007-2011 by a team with Afifi Rohim Affifi as field
supervisor, and might belong to an unfinished tomb; their report with photos
and plans can be read online (with thanks to Jan Bailey for the
URL!):

Afifi Rohim Afifi and Glen Dash, "The Discovery of
Intact Foundation Deposits in the Western Valley of the Valley of the
Kings", Proceedings CRE 2014 (2015), pp. 1-12



Aayko Eyma




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