The Nomarch Ahanakht I from Deir Al-Barsha site in Minya ... the first owner of a coffin decorated with Coffin Texts The positioning of the objects enabled the archaeologists to reconstruct the scenario of the funerary ritual in detail. It is now possible to show that the coffin was placed in the burial chamber first; then a purification ritual was carried out, and subsequently an offering ritual. The latter ritual is well known from texts and depictions, but it is for the first time that it can be shown that such a ritual was carried out under ground in the burial chamber. During its 2012 spring campaign, the archaeological mission of Leuven University in Dayr al-Barshā, directed by Harco Willems, has discovered an important burial dating back to the beginning of the Middle Kingdom (approx. 2040 B.C.). Although the burial has been robbed at least twice, and has suffered extensive damage, a large amount of objects were still found in their original position, providing unique information on the scenario of the funerary ritual. The tomb must have belonged to a nomarch (i.e. a provincial governor) or to a person belonging to the close family of a nomarch. It is for the first time in over a century that a relatively well preserved burial of this kind has been found. The discovery was made in the tomb of the nomarch Ahanakht I, who was the first Middle Kingdom governor of the Hare nome. This tomb is well known, as it has been investigated already in 1891-1892, and was thoroughly excavated by the American archaeologist George Andrew Reisner in 1915. Reisners work was crowned by the discovery of a nearly intact nomarch burial in a neighbouring tomb. The beautiful remains from this latter tomb are world famous. However, Reisner did not finish the excavation of the southwestern burial shaft in Ahanakhts tomb. Source and Photos dayralbarsha/sites/drupal.arts.kuleuven.be.barsha/files/Dayr%20al-Barsha%20Press%20Report.pdf
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 02:11:26 +0000
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