el-Assasif

Archaeologists have rediscovered the 'lost' tomb an ancient Egyptian priest at the Theban Necropolis in Egypt. It was announced today by Egypt's Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny, that the team excavating and conservating the tomb has now cleared the burial shaft of tomb and reached its burial chamber.

The tomb is located at Qurnet Murai, south Assasif, on the west bank of the Nile opposite to Luxor, and belonged to a priest named Karakhamun.  It dates to the 25th Dynasty (the Reign of Shabaqo, circa 700BC) and is referenced as TT223 (Theban Tomb 223).  The el-Assasif area is a well known archaeological site, containing nobles’ tombs from the New Kingdom, as well as the 25-26th Dynasties.

Egyptology photographer Sandro Vannini has been busy photographing tombs across Thebes for his new book "The Lost Tombs of Thebes: Lost in Paradise" and you can watch him at work in a Heritage Key video which also features Dr Zahi Hawass and Dr Janice Kamrin (Watch the video).

Many archaeological excavations are taking place across Egypt as the wonders of the Ancient World continue to reveal themselves to us. One such excavation taking place is at el-Assasif, Thebes at the site of TT34 - the Tomb of Montuemhat. The archaeological dig, led by Dr Farouk Gomaa, is searching for the yet undiscovered burial chamber of the diplomat Montuemhat.

A video featuring Dr Farouk Gomaa was recently featured on Heritage Key as he explains his progress on archaeological excavations being carried out in el-Assasif, Thebes at the site of TT34 - the Tomb of Montuemhat. Dr Farouk Gomaa explains that the search in the tomb continues for the burial chamber of the diplomat Montuemhat, which has yet to be located.