Excavations at an ancient Egyptian necropolis in Abydos recently revealed the royal tomb of an unknown pharaoh. The discovery may offer new insights into the enigmatic Abydos Dynasty—the existence of which has long been debated.
Royal Tomb Belongs to the Second Intermediate Period
An Egyptian-American archaeological team unearthed the pharaonic tomb in Abydos, one of Egypt’s most important archaeological sites. Measuring about 16 feet in height and located at a depth of 23 feet, the tomb consists of a limestone burial chamber and mud-brick vaults. Inscriptions on both sides of the entrance mention the Egyptian goddesses Isis and Nepthys. Inside the tomb, archaeologists found yellow inscription bands that once bore the owner’s name in hieroglyphics. Due to deterioration, only a few details survive—but they all point to the royal identity of the tomb’s occupant.
According to a press statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the royal tomb dates back to the Second Intermediate Period (1700 to 1550 BCE) between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. Alongside the officially sanctioned pharaohs, it is believed that another dynasty may have ruled for a short while: the mysterious Abydos Dynasty.
Did the Abydos Dynasty Actually Exist?
The discovery of the pharaonic tomb offers important new insights into the Abydos Dynasty, a hypothesized ruling faction that possibly governed Upper Egypt between 1700 and 1600 BCE. The Abydos Dynasty is believed to have existed during a time of political instability and foreign invasions, ruling contemporaneously with the Hyksos pharaohs of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties. Due to scant historical records, however, experts have long debated whether the Abydos Dynasty ever existed at all.
Recent archaeological discoveries, like the royal tomb in Abydos, increasingly point to the legitimacy of the Abydos Dynasty. Archaeologists believe the newly discovered burial site may belong to an unnamed predecessor of King Senebkay, whose own royal tomb was discovered nearby in 2014. Senebkay’s tomb is among the most convincing pieces of evidence supporting the existence of the Abydos region’s own—albeit short-lived—dynasty of ancient Egyptian kings.
The “Mountain of Anubis”
Situated in the low desert near the banks of the Nile River, Abydos is one of ancient Egypt’s oldest cities. It was the site of many ancient temples and a royal necropolis where early pharaohs were buried. Over time, these royal burial sites became spiritually significant, leading to the emergence of Abydos as a cult site.
According to ancient Egyptian religion, Anubis, the god of funerary practices, is associated with Abydos. There, the anciently-named “Mountain of Anubis”—a sacred, naturally pyramidal mountain peak in the nearby desert cliffs—formed the conceptual anchor for the known mortuary complex of King Senworset III, who ruled at the height of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom. Later rulers of the Abydos Dynasty may have continued this architectural tradition.
