Ancient warrior mummy found

Spanish archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved burial chamber in Dra Abul Naga, an ancient cemetery on Luxor’s west bank, which may contain the mummy of an ancient warrior. The surprise find happened during routine excavations in a courtyard of the tomb of Djehuty, a high-ranking official under Queen Hatshepsut whose burial site was built on top of graves dating to the Middle Kingdom, 2055 to 1650 B.C.

When the burial shaft was opened, experts found a closed wooden coffin inscribed with the name “Iker,” which translates to “excellent one” in ancient Egyptian. Near the coffin, the team also found five arrows made of reeds, three of them still feathered. The presence of bows and arrows means that Iker was likely a hired soldier in the service of a pharaoh, though the exact details are yet unclear.

Soldiers played an important role in society during the Middle Kingdom, when Egypt was reunified after years of civil war.

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1. Rare Middle-Class Ancient Egyptian Tomb Found

Tags: Luxor, Middle Kingdom

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 16th, 2008 at 8:56 am and is filed under Egyptology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.