A burial chamber containing the remains of an ancient Egyptian priestess has been unearthed after nearly 4,000 years, the New York Post reported.
Named Idy, her remains were found in a coffin nested inside another coffin in an ancient tomb in the Egyptian city of Asyut, about 320 km south of Cairo.
Excavations take place from August 18 to September 17, 2024.
Idy was the daughter of Djefai-Hapi I, a wealthy Egyptian official who lived around 1880 BC. He was "one of the most important rulers of the territories in ancient Egypt," according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
“Djefai-Hapi I was revered in ancient times and his tomb has been an integral part of the cultural memory of ancient Egypt for more than 2,000 years,” said Professor Jochem Kahl, an archaeologist at Freie Universität Berlin who led the discovery, according to the Daily Mail.
“Idy was a nun and was called the mistress of the house, which suggests she was a woman from a wealthy family,” said Professor Jochem Kahl.
After Idy died, her internal organs including her liver, spleen, lungs and intestines were removed from her body and placed in jars. The body was then embalmed.
A preliminary study of Idy's bones suggests she died before the age of 40 and suffered from a congenital foot defect.
The coffins have been described as "among the most magnificent ever found" - carved with characters and illustrations depicting "the deceased's journey through the afterlife".
The two nested coffins were then placed in the tomb inside a vertical shaft about 14m deep.
Both coffins appear to be made of “foreign wood,” Professor Kahl said, meaning wood sourced from outside Egypt.
Idy was also found with grave goods such as daggers and wooden statues, which may have been deliberately placed there for her to use in the afterlife.
Idy's tomb was long neglected and is believed to have been ransacked by thieves thousands of years ago. Idy's remains were robbed of jewelry and metal objects.
“What remains of Idy's clothes and bones provide information about who she was,” Kahl shared.
The findings are “both aesthetically pleasing and scientifically extraordinary,” Kahl said.
“The discovery of the ancient tomb began in 2022, spanning three excavations and now ending with a shocking discovery – Idy’s burial in two nested wooden coffins with many burial objects,” he added.
The tomb of Djefai-Hapi I was known, but the discovery of his daughter's body in the same building at Asyut was unusual and miraculous.
The research will help “make new and profound statements about the position of women and the transmission of knowledge in ancient Egypt,” Kahl said, adding that more research is needed on the discovery to shed light on the lives of Idy and her father.
The latest discoveries were handed over to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
