Egyptologists Unearth Mummified Remains of Royal Children in the Valley of the Kings

Archaeologists have uncovered the tomb of royal children within the Egyptian Valley of the Kings. The latest findings reveal a bit more about the history of the region, and about the burial practices of the pharaohs.

From the outside, the tomb doesn't look all that impressive. Only a depression in the ground indicated the presence of a subterranean tomb, called KV 40. In fact, archaeologists assumed that it was a non-royal tomb. Yet when they dug a bit further, they found something else entirely.

The Egyptologists discovered the mummified remains of at least 50 people in the center chamber of the tomb and in three side chambers. Storage jars within the chamber had inscriptions which identified over 30 of the people buried. In fact, these inscriptions revealed that most of the people buried in these chambers were royal family members of the two pharaohs Thutmosis IV and Amenhotep II, who are also buried in the Valley of the Kings.

"We discovered a remarkable number of carefully mummified newborns and infants that would have normally been buried much simpler," wrote Susanne Bickel, one of the Egyptologists, in her findings. "We believe that the family members of the royal court were buried in this tomb for a period of several decades."

The tomb itself was looted several times, but there were still countless fragments of funerary equipment, such as fragments of coffins and textiles. In addition, the walls of the tomb were affected by a fire that was most likely ignited by the torches of tomb raiders.

The fact that this new tomb shows evidence of royal families is huge for archaeologists. About two-thirds of the tombs in the Kings' Valley are non-royal, so this is a relatively lucky find.

Anthropological analyses and further examination will deliver important insight into the composition of the pharaonic court of the 18^th century. In addition, the researchers should be able to learn more about the conditions of life and the burial customs of its members.