Archaeologists Dug Up the Tomb of an Egyptian Queen. It Could ‘Reconstruct History.’

Archaeologists working near Luxor announced a bevy of new finds they believe could “reconstruct history” thanks to the wealth of artifacts they discovered in a mixture of rock-cut tombs, burial shafts, and even part of a temple. Some have been around for as many as 3,600 years.

The Zahi Hawass Foundation for Antiquities & Heritage announced the finds near Luxor along the causeway of Queen Hatshepsut’s funerary temple on the west bank of the Nile River. The foundation, led by Hawass, said in a statement provided to the Associated Press, that it had been working with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities at the site since September 2022.

Along with the discoveries of the tombs and burial sites comes a mix of artifacts that experts believe could reveal the practices of life near Luxor around 1500 B.C. Artifacts inside the tombs included bronze coins (some dating to between 367-283 B.C. thanks to the image of Alexander the Great on them), funerary masks covering mummies, winged scarabs, funerary beads and amulets, and even children’s toys formed from clay. While looting certainly stripped some of the more precious pieces from the tombs over the past centuries, the archaeologists also found pottery tables used to offer bread, wine, and meat and archer’s bows that could link the tomb’s owners to the Egyptian military.

Inside pieces of Queen Hatshepsut’s Valley Temple, Hawass said the rock-cut tombs come from the Middle Kingdom from 1938 to 1630 B.C. and there are burial shafts from the 17th dynasty dating from 1580 to 1550 B.C. The shafts still contained wooden coffins, and the remains of a young child were discovered in one.

Specific tombs include one for Djehuti-Mes, the overseer of Queen Teti Sheri’s palace. While Mes’ tomb was largely emptied of artifacts, a funerary monument with engravings date the tomb to the ninth year of King Ahmose I, roughly 1550 to 1525 B.C.

To add another wrinkle to the find, the team uncovered part of the Assassif Ptolemaic Necropolis, which featured tombs constructed of mud brick built over the remains of Queen Hatshepsut’s temple. A large section of the necropolis was previously discovered, but not documented.

In November 2024, a team of Egyptian and American archaeologists announced the finding of 11 sealed burials in a Middle Kingdom tomb near Luxor, close to the latest site. Inside that tomb, the 11 graves contained skeletons of men, women, and children. The sealed chamber was a tomb used for families over several generations through the 12th and the beginning of the 13th dynasties in Egypt. The unique pieces of jewelry found link the remains to multiple high-status families from the time period.