Unbelievable find in ancient Egyptian tomb
Historians have been left dumbfounded after unearthing a shocking find inside an ancient Egyptian tomb.
Did a bankrupt Egypt attempt to hitch an anonymous ride for an unpopular pharaoh into immortality? His 225 personal retainers may have something to say on the matter.
The tomb of Usermaatre Setepenamun Osorkon II was uncovered in northern Egypt, at the archaeological site of Tanis, in 1939.
It was pretty standard for an all-services provided, luxurious commute through a deadly afterlife to meet your maker – the god Osiris.
Pharaoh Osorkon II ruled Egypt from about 872BC to 837BC. He’s most noted for reunifying the two kingdoms under the 22nd Dynasty after the death of his cousin, the usurper Harsiese.
His reign became a time of prosperity.
Egypt was not what it once was.
It had survived the mysterious collapse of the Bronze Age Mediterranean civilisations around 1177BC. But only just.
Now, Osorkon II gave his people a glimpse of how great Egypt had once been.
There was one odd thing about his tomb, however.
Tucked away in its northern chamber is another granite sarcophagus.
It is unmarked.
And while fit for a king, none of the tomb’s inscriptions make any mention of another royal being buried alongside the great man.
But almost a century after its discovery, a team of Egyptian and French archaeologists working to stabilise the tomb has stumbled upon a new find.
A troop of 225 ushabti figurines (glazed-ceramic statuettes of servants) were neatly buried in a shallow pit alongside the unknown sarcophagus.
And they’ve spilt the name of their noble stowaway.
“This is a crucial step in solving one of the longstanding archaeological mysteries,” an Egyptian Antiquities Department statement reads.
A tale of two kings
From what we can see, Pharaoh Osorkon II was a good king.
His reign was stable and prosperous.
And that’s despite revolting neighbours.
The divine king renovated, restored, and built temples. He (repurposed) old statues.
And he successfully deterred upstart Assyria from elbowing its way into his troublesome tributary kingdoms of Syria, Israel and Judea.
It was, by all accounts, a glimpse of golden ages past.
As a result, his tomb (designated NRT I by archaeologists) appears to have been especially lavish. At least for the era.
Although looted in antiquity, the few pieces of jewellery that escaped the attention of thieves display a degree of artistic quality not seen for centuries.
But times were still relatively tough at the top.
Osorkon II’s tomb was an impressive granite structure. But skilled staff were increasingly hard to come by. So he ordered his artisans to repurpose a hawk-headed statue from the great Ramesside dynasty (1292BC to 1189BC) to give the lid of his sarcophagus an extra air of nobility.
And then there was his successor.
Pharaoh Usermaatre Setepnamun Shoshenq Sibaste Meryamun Netjerheqaon (Shoshenq III) took control under dubious circumstances.
He was probably a grandson of Osorkon II. But another grandson had already assumed the title. The ensuing succession dispute caused Osorkon II’s unified Egypt to fragment once again.
What we know is that Shoshenq III oversaw the burial of the dead pharaoh in the Tanis tomb. And he stamped his name on the top job by being the one who made the final ritual offerings as it was sealed.
So Shoshenq III knew exactly what Osorkon II had taken with him to the grave.
The pauper pharaoh
Shoshenq III retained control of Osorkon II’s capital, Tanis. But how much of the rest of the kingdom he ruled constantly changed as contending cousins kept claiming his crowns.
The ancient authority of the pharaohs soon lost all credibility.
So entrepreneurs, regional governors, and military commanders started doing their own thing.
It was one crisis after another.
In the end, Shoshenq III simply outlived most of them.
He ruled his slice of Egypt for almost 40 years.
But the constant bickering, political backstabbing and border skirmishes put paid to the good times of Osorkon II.
Shoshenq III was broke. And so was his kingdom.
He was compelled to recycle older structures to spruce up his capital. And his royal tomb (designated NRT V) was a bargain basement, bare-basics model.
By now, Egypt’s renowned artisans and stonemasons didn’t seem to be all that inspired. Or qualified.
As far as heavenly rides go, there’s little doubt Shoshenq III would have regarded it as beneath him. Especially after what he’d seen interred with Osorkon II.
But he wasn’t entirely dependent on his grandfather’s generosity for eternity.
His personal 225 magical ushabti figurine staff were placed ‘on call” alongside his anonymous sarcophagus. Their job was to farm, cook, clean, hairdress and service all of Shoshenq III’s needs and desires.
And each carried his cartouche (royal name), to remind them which pharaoh they served.
Secretary-General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities Dr Mohamed Ismail Khaled says the find marks “a turning point in our understanding of Tanis’ royal necropolis.”
It’s not certain that Shoshenq III desired to be interred in Osorkon II’s tomb. Some remains found in the tomb he had built for himself carry the name Shoshenq IV.
But even an abandoned, standard-trim burial site would have seemed heavenly to his impoverished successors.
French archaeologist Dr Frédéric Payraudeau says previously undocumented inscriptions have also been found in the tomb’s northern chamber. Once cleaned and catalogued, these may reveal if the ride-share was an emergency response to political instability, an effort to protect the king’s remains, or a last-minute desire for an upgrade.
Preservation work on the chamber is ongoing.
“The Tanis site still holds many undiscovered secrets, necessitating continued excavation and restoration work,” the Egyptian Antiquities statement concludes.
Originally published as Unbelievable find in ancient Egyptian tomb
