Deep inside a shaft in the cemetery of Abusir, near Cairo, a team of Egyptian and Czech Egyptologists has found a significant cache of equipment used more than 2,500 years ago to embalm mummies.
The set includes 370 pottery storage jars and several smaller vessels,
making it the largest of its kind ever found, according to the Czech Institute
of Egyptology of Prague's Charles University, which has been exploring the
necropolis site for more than three decades. The discovery occurred during
routine excavations of the area, which includes several large known tombs and
potentially more that have yet to be unearthed.
Some of the vessels
contained residues of various materials used during the mummification process,
as well as tools. The archaeologists also found canopic jars, which were used
by Egyptians to store the embalmed viscera of
the deceased and typically left next to their owner. These particular ones,
however, were empty and unused.
"We are still looking
for a definitive explanation on why that is the case," said Jiřà Janák,
faculty member of the Czech Institute of Egyptology, in
an email. "Maybe they were only symbolic Canopic jars, used for ritual
protection of the embalming workshop. We still cannot be sure, at least until
the burial structure will be completely
excavated."
The vessels may be empty,
but they have inscriptions on them, indicating they belonged to one
Wahibre-mery-Neith, son of the Lady Irturu, a revelation
that left the team puzzled, because a number of dignitaries of that name
are known from this period, but none of them can be identified as the
definitive owner of these canopic jars.
"Judging from the size
of the embalming deposit and, mainly, from the dimensions and arrangement of
the nearby tomb, the owner of the tomb (and of the deposit) must have belonged
to the highest dignitaries of his time, together
with his closest neighbours in the cemetery -- the famous admiral Udjahorresnet
and general Menekhibnekau," he added.
An embalming deposit
belonging to general Menekhibnekau was discovered in his tomb by the same Czech Egyptological team back in
2006. It contained several vessels inscribed with
captions specifying when a particular substance -- such as oils, balsams, myrrh
or textiles -- should have been used during the embalming process. Researchers
hope that the new find could help understand the process further.
"A discovery like this
represents a great source of valuable information on burial customs used by
Egyptian social elite of the Late Period and on the mummification process
itself," Janák added.
"Luckily, embalming
deposits hardly attracted thieves and tomb robbers. For them, the amount of
hard work needed to excavate the shaft was not worth it. But for scientists,
the very opposite is true. We are very happy to have found this deposit
complete and intact."
Now, archaeologists plan to
conduct a more detailed scientific analysis of the vessels and their contents,
and further excavate the site, to possibly reveal the tomb of
Whaibre-mery-Neith, the deposit's owner.
Source: CNN (Friday, 25
February 2022)
LIST
OF VOCABULARY
|
NO |
ENGLISH |
INDONESIA |
|
1. |
Cemetery |
Kuburan |
|
2. |
Pottery |
Tembikar |
|
3. |
Viscera |
Jeroan |
|
4. |
Burial |
Pemakaman
|
|
5. |
Revelation
|
Wahyu |
|
6. |
Dignitaries |
Pejabat
tinggi |
|
7. |
Tomb |
Makam |
|
8. |
Inscribed |
Tertulis
|
|
9. |
Canopic jars |
Toples kanopi |
|
10. |
Cache |
Kumpulan |
