3,600-year-old mystery tomb discovered in Egypt’s City of the Dead; nobody knows whose it is

In a major archaeological discovery, experts have found a massive 3-room royal tomb. It was hidden 7 metres underground at Abydos in Egypt. It was found under an ancient necropolis, also called the “city of the dead”. However, no one knows whom it belonged to.

Revealed by the Penn Museum and led by Egyptologist Josef Wegner, this large limestone structure is believed to be from the forgotten Abydos Dynasty. It dates back over 3,600 years.

“It’s a very sort of mysterious, enigmatic dynasty that seems to have basically been sort of forgotten from the ancient records of Egypt because it was in this period of political decay and fragmentation,” CNN quoted Wegner as saying.

What makes this finding unique is that, while the tomb shows great wealth, its name marker was destroyed, likely by graverobbers. No bones remain inside to help solve the mystery either.

The burial site lies beneath the sacred Anubis Mountain in Abydos. It has been long believed to be the final resting place of Osiris, the Egyptian god of the underworld. Historians consider Abydos a royal cemetery where many kings were laid to rest.

Wegner’s team earlier found the tomb of King Seneb-Kay, an unknown pharaoh whose name survived. This newly-found tomb, bigger and more elaborately built, might belong to a ruler who came before him.

It is possibly King Senaiib or King Paentjeni. “It is equally possible there could be some entirely unknown king,” Wegner added.

What adds a spiritual touch to the site are two surviving paintings of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, shown mourning the dead. These images were often included in burial rituals.

More such tombs are there

Experts believe many more such tombs remain buried in the area. Wegner’s team plans to scan 10,000 square metres of land using special tools like radar and magnetometers to find underground structures.

Salima Ikram, a top Egyptologist from Cairo, called the discovery “very exciting”. It offers new clues into an ancient period of Egypt’s past that was largely hidden from written records. This mysterious tomb could finally shine a light on rulers' history that was nearly forgotten.