An archaeological team, including the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt and archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, has discovered the tomb of a pharaoh over 3,600 years old in the ancient city of Abydos. It has been determined that the owner of this tomb is a previously unknown pharaoh – Seneb Kay.
The Forgotten Tomb of the Unfortunate Pharaoh
Umm El Qa’ab, located north of Abydos, is the burial ground for pharaohs from the early dynastic period of ancient Egypt. Pharaoh Narmer – known as the “Qin Shi Huang of Ancient Egypt” – was also buried here.
The archaeologists also discovered the List of Abydos Kings carved in hieroglyphics on the walls of the temple dedicated to Pharaoh Seti I. This has become a valuable historical resource for studying the first and nineteenth dynasties of ancient Egypt.
The List of Abydos Kings found at the temple of Pharaoh Seti I. (Image: Zhihu).
Dr. Joseph Wegner later found an oval-shaped amulet on the sarcophagus and the wall of a tomb there inscribed with the name of Pharaoh Seneb Kay. The tomb of Pharaoh Seneb Kay consists of four burial chambers and one limestone sarcophagus. The walls of the burial chamber depict ancient Egyptian gods such as the sky goddess Nut, the goddess Nepthys, and the scorpion goddess Selket.
On either side of the golden sarcophagus of the Pharaoh are images of the goddess Isis carved in hieroglyphics along with the inscription: “Son of Horus, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, son of the almighty god Amun-Re, Seneb Kay.” The name of Seneb Kay is also inscribed within a royal cartouche.
The excavation site of Seneb Kay’s tomb in January 2014. (Image: Penn Museum).
When the archaeologists discovered this ancient tomb, all the burial treasures had been looted, the walls and the gilded sarcophagus had been stripped clean, and even the mummy of the Pharaoh had been torn into pieces by grave robbers.
The archaeologists found the mutilated remains of the unfortunate Pharaoh among the debris of the sarcophagus and had to restore them using modern scientific technologies.
The Pharaoh as a “Grave Robber”
From the restored skeleton, it is estimated that Pharaoh Seneb Kay was about 1.75 meters tall and nearly 50 years old. The scale of Pharaoh Seneb Kay’s tomb is not large, and archaeologists found several clay jars containing the internal organs of heavily decomposed mummies in a cedar wood box.
Since the summer of 2013, the archaeological team led by Professor Joseph Wegner has begun a new excavation in the area of Abydos. In the southern part of the site, they discovered a 60-ton red quartzite sarcophagus.
It has been determined that the stone material of the sarcophagus was sourced from an ancient quarry in southern Cairo known as “Gable Ahmar” (literally meaning red mountain) and may date back to the late Middle Kingdom.
Pharaoh Seneb Kay is one of the few pharaohs not mummified. This is likely because during his reign, Egypt was no longer as prosperous as before, leading to the absence of mummification rituals. (Image: Luxor Times)
After nearly six months of research, the archaeologists were astonished to discover that this sarcophagus originally did not belong to Seneb Kay but came from the tomb of a much older pharaoh.
The rightful owner of the sarcophagus was likely King Sobekhotep IV of the 13th dynasty around 1780 BC, whose tomb is not far from there. This raises the question of whether Pharaoh Seneb Kay robbed the tomb of the previous king to take the relics for his own burial.
As the archaeological project entered its final weeks, a series of pharaonic tombs and a dynasty that had been “lost” for over 3,600 years began to emerge in the city of Abydos.
The Abydos Dynasty represents a forgotten piece of history, which can only be revisited now that the tomb of Pharaoh Seneb Kay has been discovered.
“What we are very excited about is that we not only discovered the tomb of an unknown pharaoh, but more importantly, we uncovered a forgotten dynasty,” Joseph Wegner shared.
