Five mummies found at famed Egyptian site
Discovery challenges belief that Valley of the Kings is empty
Sarcophagi and pharaonic jars from the newly found tomb are shown in this image released by the Egyptian antiquities authority. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Egypt Howard Carter Zahi Hawass or or Create Your Own
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- The first tomb to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings since King Tut's in 1922 contains five sarcophagi with mummies, breaking the nearly centurylong belief that there's nothing more to find in the valley where some of Egypt's greatest pharaohs were buried.
The tomb's spare appearance suggests it was not dug for a pharaoh, said American archaeologist Kent Weeks, who was not involved in the University of Memphis team's find but has seen photographs of the site. "It could be the tomb of a king's wife or son, or of a priest or court official," he told The Associated Press on Thursday.
So far, authorities haven't had a close enough look to know who is in the tomb. Workers have been clearing rubble to allow archaeologists to examine it.
Egypt's antiquities authority has said only that the single-chamber tomb contains five wooden sarcophagi, in human shapes with colored funerary masks, surrounded by 20 jars with their pharaonic seals intact -- and that the sarcophagi contain mummies, likely from the 18th Dynasty, some 3,500-3,300 years ago.
Further details were expected Friday, when antiquities chief Zahi Hawass was to unveil the tomb.
Officials were tightlipped Thursday, a day after announcing the find. Calls to Hawass and other officials were not answered. American archaeologist Otto Schaden, who headed the team that uncovered the site, declined to answer questions when contacted by The Associated Press.
Photos released by the Supreme Council of Antiquities showed the interior of the tomb -- the bare stone walls undecorated -- with at least five sarcophagi of blackened wood amid white jars, some apparently broken. What appeared to be a sixth sarcophagus was set on top of two of the other coffins, though the council's statement mentioned only five.
The Valley of the Kings is perhaps best known as the site of King Tutankhamun's tomb, which was opened in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter and revealed a treasure trove of gold artifacts along with the boy-king's mummy.
The new find raises hopes that more burial sites will be found there, which experts believed held only 62 tombs, labeled KV1-KV62 by archaeologists.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we discover more tombs in the next 10 years. For a long time, people thought there was nothing left to find and excavations seemed unlikely to produce much. So instead, they concentrated on recording what was already there," Weeks said.
Weeks made the last major discovery in the valley. In 1995, he opened a previously known tomb -- KV5 -- and found it was far larger than expected: more than 120 chambers, which he determined were meant for sons of the pharaoh Ramses II.
"It's ironic. A century ago, people said the Valley of the Kings is exhausted, there's nothing left," he said. "Suddenly Carter found Tutankhamun. So then they said, 'Now there's nothing to find.' Then we found KV5. Now we have KV63."
The 18th Dynasty, which lasted from about 1500 B.C. to 1300 B.C., was the first dynasty of the New Kingdom, the pharaonic empire that lasted until about 1000 B.C. and made its capital in Thebes -- the present day city of Luxor, 300 miles south of Cairo. Tutankhamun is believed to have been the 12th ruler of the 18th Dynasty.
The Valley of the Kings was used as a burial ground throughout the New Kingdom, though contrary to its name, not all the tombs found there have housed kings.
Schaden's team uncovered shafts leading to the tomb -- about 15 feet from Tut's tomb -- while conducting "routine digs," the antiquities council said in a statement Wednesday. The haphazard placement of the jars and coffins suggested the burial was completed quickly, it said.
The fact that the tomb contains a single chamber likely means it was meant for only one mummy, Weeks said.
More likely is that the tomb was used as a storeroom for sarcophagi moved from other tombs later -- either by priests to protect them from thieves, or by thieves to stash before removing them completely. The jars, he said, appear to be meat jars for food offerings.
Archaeologists will have to determine not only the date of the tomb's creation but also the dates of the individual sarcophagi and mummies to find which -- if any of them -- are the tomb's owner.
The tomb's architecture will give hints on when it was dug. Early New Kingdom tombs have doors of different width and height than later ones, Weeks said. Inscriptions on the sarcophagi -- if present -- and the wrappings and other materials used in the mummies help determine their age.
"The objects in the tomb don't necessarily date to the original tomb," Weeks said. "The objects could be 200 to 400 years later than the original cutting of the tomb."
Louxor

Des archéologues ont découvert une tombe, KV63, dans la '''Vallée des Rois''' en Égypte. Une telle découverte n'avait pas été faite depuis celle par Howard Carter de la tombe de Toutankhamon en 1922. La découverte a été faite par une équipe de l'Université de Memphis (Tennessee). Zahi Hawass, le directeur du Conseil suprême des Antiquités égyptiennes, a déclaré que cinq sarcophages intacts et vingt jarres scellées par un sceau pharaonique avaient été découverts. 

Kent Weeks, un archéologue américain qui n'est pas membre de l'équipe, mais qui a pu avoir accès à des photos du site, a déclaré que la tombe pourrait être celle d'une épouse, d'un fils de roi ou bien d'un prêtre ou d'un officiel de la cour.

Jusqu'à présent, on croyait que la Vallée des Rois n'avait plus rien à découvrir.

KV63 est localisé entre KV10 (Amenmesse) et KV62 (Toutankhamon) au centre exact de la vallée.

Le site daterait de la fin de la XVIIIe dynastie égyptienne (1400 avant JC).