Thursday, December 5, 2013

LUXOR, EGYPT—New excavations and ground-penetrating radar studies in the Valley of the Kings suggest that multiple tombs have yet to be discovered. “The consensus is that there are probably several smaller tombs like the recently found KV63 and 64 yet to be found. But there is still the possibility of finding a royal tomb. The queens of the late Eighteenth Dynasty are missing, as are some pharaohs of the New Kingdom, such as Ramesses VIII,” said archaeologist Afifi Ghonim of the Ministry of State for Antiquities. The team, made up of Egyptian scientists and members of the Glen Dash Foundation for Archaeological Research, has collected so much data that it will take years to analyze it all. In particular, faults in the natural features of the Valley of the Kings can produce false positives in radar instruments. They have already identified a deep channel that the ancient Egyptians used for a short period as a flood control system to protect the tombs from water and debris.