Monday, July 17, 2006

Nearly a third of ancient Egypt still uncovered
Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo, says many ancient cities are buried under modern ones. Some prominent ancient Egyptians, including the "most beautiful, famous queen," Nefertiti, probably were buried in the Valley of the Kings, but their tombs have never been found, he says.

Since King Tutankhamen's gold-laden tomb was discovered 83 years ago, some experts have believed that the ancient burial grounds have yielded their major archaeological treasures.

But Hawass announced last month that he believes the first tomb uncovered in the Valley of the Kings in more than eight decades might have once contained the remains of Queen Kiya, Tutankhamen's mother.


Actually, it doesn't say much about what monuments, where they might be, etc. Hawass seems to be referring only to VoK stuff? Maybe. There is no doubt far more than 30% of archaeological material left to be uncovered since the vast majority of work done there has been on the Three T's: Tombs, Temples, and Texts. Relatively little on settlements and even less on prehistoric stuff. Plus, there is no doubt gobs of stuff buried under several meters of alluvium that will be unreachable unless the Nile dries up or begins a period of downcutting.

But, it's fun to speculate on what else might be there.