Earlier this month (December 2017), it was reported that a team of Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a new mummy in a newly explored tomb near the city of Luxor.  The report which was published by a number of news outlets said that the mummy was found in one of two tombs which are being explored for the first time since the original discovery twenty years ago. The tombs, were originally found by German archaeologist Frederica Kampp in the 1990s in an area known as the Dra Abu el Naga Necropolis, near the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Valley of the Kings, where the treasures of Tutankhamun were found.

The archeologists believe that the tombs date back to the ancient Egyptian dynasties of the New Kingdom, which lasted from 1,550-1,070 BC.  The tombs were obviously known to the archeologists but they were not explored.  The mummy found was wrapped in linen which means that the person was a top official or a powerful person. The archeologists also found the name “Djehuty Mes“, engraved on one of the walls, therefore leading them to believe that it is the name of the mummy recently found.  Alternatively, it (the mummy and the tomb) could belong to “the scribe Maati, as his name and the name of his wife Mehi were inscribed on 50 funerary cones found in the tomb’s rectangular chamber”.

The archeologists believe that there is more to explore and to be found as only one of the two tombs have now been excavated. According to the team, the tomb has a court-yard lined with stone and mud-brick walls. It has a six-meter deep burial shaft at its southern side that leads to four side chambers.

The tourism industry in Egypt has been greatly and negatively impacted by the latest terrorist’s attacks and news and Egyptian authorities are exploring the tombs while Egypt is trying to promote and encourage tourism and visits to its ancient sites.