New Tomb Opened in the Valley of the Kings after 80 Years

Archaeologists unveil newest pharaonic tomb in Egypt's Valley of Kings


The sarcophagus found inside tomb KV63
outside Luxor, Egypt.

June 28, 2006

By Alfred de Montesquiou, Associated Press

LUXOR, Egypt — Archaeologists fully unveiled the first tomb discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in over 80 years, and cracked open the last of seven sarcophagi inside to reveal embalming materials and jewelry.

"This is even better than finding a mummy — it's a treasure," said chief curator Nadia Lokma, beaming at the sarcophagus packed with fragile fabrics and other materials that would crumble into dust if touched.

"It will tell us about the religious plants and herbs used by ancient Egyptians, what they wore, how they wove it, how they embalmed the dead," she said.

Dug deep into the white rock, the tomb is known only by the acronym KV63 — the 63rd tomb found in the Valley — and was discovered accidentally last year by U.S. archaeologists working on the neighboring tomb of Amenmeses, a late 19th Dynasty pharaoh.

It is believed to be more than 3,000 years old. Read more...

Update:

Egypt Tomb Reveals Ancient Woven Flowers