A tomb dating back to the 12th Dynasty has been discovered on the west bank of the Nile River. A joint Egyptian-German archaeological mission from Sohag and Berlin Universities has discovered the burial chamber of a woman named Edi.
She was the daughter of Jifai-Hapi who was governor of Assuit in Upper Egypt during the reign of King Senusret I of the 12th dynasty (1991–1778 BC).
The breakthrough finding was made during excavation work on Edi’s Father’s tomb in Western Assuit Mountain.
This is considered to be the largest non-royal tomb from that period in ancient Egypt.
“Preliminary studies suggest that Edi died before reaching the age of 40 and suffered from a congenital foot defect,” said Mohamed Ismail, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) told Ahram Online.
Mr Ismail explained that the newly discovered tomb contained two intricately painted wooden coffins, one tucked inside the other and both fully inscribed with texts depicting the journey to the afterlife.
Canopic jars and wooden statues were also found inside the coffins.
However, Mr. Ismail further pointed out that the burial chamber had unfortunately been raided in antiquity. This is due to the mummy being found dismembered and the canopic jars smashed.
A similar discovery was made a few years back when the mummy of Shemai, a previously unknown brother of the late 12th Dynasty (ca. 1981–1802 B.C.) governor Sarenput II, was found.
The approximately two-by-eight-foot chamber was largely closed off and its entrance far too narrow for the archaeologists to squeeze through. Therefore the team mounted a remote-controlled camera at the end of a 12-foot-long pole, pushed it inside the chamber, and used it to photograph the contents.
Using 3D models of the tomb, they were able to read hieroglyphs on Shemai’s coffin, which revealed the mummy’s identity.
Studies and further excavation inside Edi’s tomb are to continue on the remains found. The archaeologists hope to learn more about the governor and his daughter, revealing more information about the historical era that they lived in.
