Featured Image Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities
Archaeologists have made a stunning discovery hidden deep beneath the Egyptian Desert.
For decades, researchers have painstakingly excavated sites across the country, uncovering treasures that offer a peek into one of history's most fascinating civilisations.
Earlier this year, researchers from Italy and Scotland claimed they had uncovered huge underground chambers and shafts more than 4,000 feet beneath the Pyramids of Giza.
They said their findings could point to a hidden underground city beneath Egypt’s most iconic landmarks.
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However, several experts outside the experiment were quick to dismiss the discovery as a 'huge exaggeration' with 'no basis in truth.'
Adding to the study, a research team led by Professor of Egyptology Jochem Kahl, from the Free University of Berlin, discovered a pristine burial chamber of the Egyptian priestess Idy, the daughter of the regional governor Djefaihapi I.
Her remains were found in a coffin within another coffin, lying undisturbed since 1,880 BC, making this find roughly 3,904 years old.
The discovery was made in Asyut, a city approximately 200 miles south of Cairo, where Idy's burial chamber had remained completely inaccessible for millennia due to a quarry stone wall.
Idy's burial site was found deep within her father's massive tomb complex, located in a shaft extending 14 metres underground. While the tomb had been ransacked in ancient times, most of Idy's grave goods remained remarkably untouched.
Inscriptions on the chamber walls suggest that Idy was given the special title 'Lady of the House,' which hints at the theory that she was from a prominent and well-connected family.
Based on preliminary examinations of her remains, researchers believe Idy was approximately 40 years old when she died.
The burial chamber yielded an impressive collection of grave goods that paint a vivid picture of her status and the burial practices of her time.
Among the findings were carved wooden figurines, a ceremonial dagger, pharaonic insignia and different food offerings intended to sustain her in the afterlife.
Archaeologists also found canopic jars, which are specialised containers used during mummification to preserve vital organs such as the liver, spleen, lungs and intestines.
“Idy’s father, Djefaihapi, was worshipped in antiquity, and his tomb occupied a major role in the cultural memory of ancient Egypt for over 2000 years,” the university stated. “His rock-cut tomb dating back to around 1,880 BCE is eleven meters high, twenty-eight metres deep, and seventy metres wide, and adorned with exquisite paintings and inscriptions in relief."
