In 2000 the grave of a gladiator was discovered in Southwark, London. The find was remarkable because the burnt and broken remains which were unearthed proved to be those of a woman. The gladiator was thought to have been in her 20s, and dates back to the 1st century.
Gladiators were either prisioners of war, slaves or criminals who were condemned to fight. Females gladiators however, were not all slaves or women of low social status. It was recorded that women of considerable social standing would participate in these events merely for excitement. Her grave was discovered outside the Roman cemetery indicating that the deceased was probably an outcast of society. It is believed that the deceased was respected but feared for she was buried outside the normal burial area, but in elaborate and expensive funerary clothing.
The tomb of Thutmose I and Hatshepsut is one of the most undecorated tombs in the valley of the Kings. The tomb was built by pharaoh Hatshepsut, who was the 5th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, directly behind her impressive temple at Deir el Bahri. It is thought that the aim of this was that her body would then lie underneath her temple. However the tomb curves, never reaching the temple probably due to unsuitable rock. The only decoration in the tomb can be found in the burial chamber, consisting of fifteen limestone blocks which were inscribed with texts from the Amduat.
Thutmose I, who was the 3rd pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, was also buried in the tomb KV20, however his mummy was later moved by Thutmose III into his own tomb, KV38.
It is thought that Hatshepsut as well was was moved - to KV60, the tomb of her wetnurse - by Thutmose III.
In 1903, Howard Carter discovered the ancient tomb known as KV60. The tomb is located in the southeast branch off the valley in the eastern cliffs of the Valley of the Kings. It is a small, uninscribed and undecorated tomb, consisting of an entryway stairway, a corridor with recesses and a side chamber, and a roughly cut burial chamber.
Two female mummies where found here, thought to be Queen Hatshepsut (relocated here by Thutmoses III) and her wetnurse. One of the females was found with her left arm bent at the elbow across the chest and with the left hand clenched, while the right arm held straight at its side. This burial position may indicate that she was a queen, or at least a member of the royal family during the 18th dynasty.
Never before the Book of the Dead has been the focus of such a major exhibition as the one upcoming at the British Museum in November this year. Rumours of the exhibition started to surface (or at least, reach my ears) ever since the Colloquium on the Book of the Death last year, but was only recently confirmed. 'Journey through the afterlife: the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead' will focus on how the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead was thought to guide the deceased safely through the dangers of the underworld, ultimately (hopefully) ensuring eternal life.
