Previously unknown pharaoh uncovered by archaeologists in Egypt

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)

King Senebkay’s remains found 300 miles of Cairo

Is there truly, nothing new under the sun? Some archaeologists in Egypt say they’ve uncovered the remains of an unknown pharaoh who ruled more than 3,600 years ago. King Senebkay’s skeleton has been reportedly uncovered at South Abydos in Sohag province, about 300 miles south of Cairo.

King Senebkay’s reign to 1650 B.C. was during a time known as the second intermediate period when central authority collapsed and small kingdoms sprung up between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – According to the Egyptian antiquities ministry, a University of Pennsylvania expedition working with the Egyptian government has unearthed some previously never heard of before in ancient Egyptian history.

King Senebkay’s name was found inscribed in hieroglyphics written inside a royal cartouche, which is an oval with a horizontal line at one end signaling a royal name, the ministry said.

Photographs released with the statement showed what appeared to be a heavily damaged sarcophagus in a burial chamber without a roof; its stone walls were decorated with painted images.

The photos also showed the pharaoh’s skeleton lying out on a white sheet. “He was originally mummified but his body was pulled apart by ancient tomb robbers,” a caption reads.

Senebkay was apparently five feet, 10 inches tall and died in his mid- to late 40s, archaeologists said.

“No funerary furniture was found in the tomb, confirming it had been robbed in the ancient pharaonic ages,” the statement said, quoting Ali al-Asfar, an antiquities ministry official.

“The modesty of the size of the tomb points to the decline of economic conditions in this period,” head of the expedition Joseph Wegner said in a statement.

The reuse of materials from previous reigns and the relatively rustic artistry suggest a lack of stability and wealth, Wegner added. “It suggests that the king had economic challenges, which has to do with the period of struggle and fragmentation of kingdom.”

King Senebkay’s reign to 1650 B.C. during a time known as the second intermediate period when central authority collapsed and small kingdoms sprung up between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom.

This was an era when several rulers vied for power – setting the stage for the rise of Egypt’s New Kingdom around 1550 B.C.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=53900

PHOTO: www.theartnewspaper.com; www.voanews.com; www.thehistoryblog.com