An international team of archeologists have discovered a massive tomb that belonged to one of ancient Egypt’s earliest pharaohs. However, the ruler’s identity remains a mystery—as do many details of his long-lost dynasty.
The existence of an Abydos Dynasty was first confirmed in 2014 after archeologists uncovered the tomb of King Seneb-Kay. The newer crypt, discovered in January, is estimated to have been constructed during the Second Intermediate Period (1640-1540 BCE), an era of political and economic instability that temporarily broke a unified Egypt into multiple rival kingdoms.
The burial chamber was uncovered at the base of a desert cliff almost 23 feet beneath Abydos, one of Egypt’s oldest cities about 300 miles south of Cairo and roughly six miles from the Nile River. Ancient Egyptian mythology held that Abydos served as the burial place for Osiris, god of the underworld. Many of history’s earliest pharaohs also chose to be interred there inside a sprawling royal necropolis near Anubis Mountain.
The team of researchers from Penn Museum in Philadelphia working with archeologists from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities used tools including magnetometry, photogrammetry, and remote sensing to map the spacious burial complex. Additional excavation work has already revealed architectural and decorative similarities to Seneb-Kay’s tomb, leading experts to theorize it may have belonged to a predecessor. But further details, including even his name, still elude archeologists.]
“The king’s name was originally recorded in painted scenes on plastered brickwork that decorated the entrance to the limestone burial chamber,” Josef Wegner, curator of Penn Museum’s Egyptian Section and a University of Pennsylvania Egyptian Archaeology professor, said in the museum’s announcement on March 27.
Painted scenes include depictions of the goddesses Isis and her sister Nephthys, as well as hieroglyphic texts on yellow bands. According to Wegner, however, it appears that ancient tomb robbers damaged the texts during their expeditions into the grave.
There are multiple potential contenders for the tomb’s owner. Two kings in particular, Senaiib and Paentjeni, have dedicated monuments elsewhere in Abydos but their gravesites remain unaccounted for. Information gleaned from the tomb also confirms the existence of other early Egyptian kings in the surrounding enclosure.
Excavation work will continue over the course of 2025, primarily in the new focal area at Anubis Mountain spanning over 100,000 square-feet. The Adybos marks the second discovery of an Egyptian king’s tomb this year. In February, archeologists confirmed the location of Thutmose II’s crypt, marking one of the biggest ancient Egyptian discoveries since King Tutankhamun in 1922.
