Middle Kingdom tomb discovered in Luxor, containing exquisite jewelry

A 4,000-year-old Middle Kingdom (1938 BC to 1630 BC) tomb was discovered in the South Asasif Necropolis in Luxor, Egypt. The tomb consists of 11 tombs, some of which are still sealed, and contains men, women and children. The female tombs contained fine jewelry in good condition, including amulets, rings, necklaces and bracelets made from semi-precious stones beads.

These include beautiful necklaces, bracelets, armbands, scarab rings and belts made of amethyst, carnelian, garnet, turquoise glaze and feldspar. Amulets incorporated into the jewelry include hippopotamus heads, eagles, ba amulets, wedjat eyes, Taweret amulets, snake heads, etc.

A necklace of 30 amethyst barrel beads with an amazonite ba amulet in the center, and a belt of carnelian beads connected by double strands of blue faience hoop beads, are among the finest pieces of jewelry ever found.

While looters may not have broken the tomb’s seal, the elements did. Ancient floods damaged wooden sarcophagi and linen wrappings, but artifacts made of inorganic materials remained intact. Grave goods were found in tombs 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10. Tomb No. 9 belongs to an adult male. He is the only male buried with jewelry in the tomb group. He wears a large necklace composed of 40 painted pottery ball beads separated by a painted pottery cylindrical bead. On the reverse is a hippopotamus head amulet flanked by two cylindrical carnelian beads.

Two of the female tombs contained rare bronze mirrors with carved ivory handles. One of the mirrors has a lotus-shaped handle, while the other has a more intricate and rare design of a four-faced woman representing the goddess Hathor. The faces are serious, with straight mouths and sharp, direct gazes.

Another important find is a green-blue glazed pottery fertility figurine with truncated legs. It is beautifully sculpted, with various jewels and diamond-shaped markings on its legs and torso. Her short hair is painted black. The head is pierced with holes divided into three parts. These holes are used to hold the “hair” in place. Nearly 4,000 mud beads found next to the statue made up her original hair.

The sacrificial plates associated with tombs are square in shape, with low edges and a water channel in the middle, surrounded by reliefs of cow heads, ribs, legs, bread and other offerings.

A joint Egyptian and American mission discovered the tomb while clearing the tomb of Karabasken, an official of the 25th Dynasty. On the south side of the 25th Dynasty tomb superstructure, excavations uncovered a Middle Kingdom tomb, the first tomb of this period found in the southern Asasif necropolis. Archaeologists believe that this is a family tomb, and the burials are all members of the same family from the early Twelfth Dynasty to the early Thirteenth Dynasty.

The discovery of a multi-generational Middle Kingdom tomb in a Theban necropolis, containing many exquisite surviving grave goods, has greatly increased our knowledge of the burial customs, art and craftsmanship of the period.