Tomb of pharaonic queen unearthed in Luxor

The tomb of a queen from ancient Egypt's Ramesside Period has been discovered in Luxor by a joint team of Egyptian and French archaeologists, the antiquities ministry announced Thursday.

The burial chamber at Ramesseum temple in Luxor 
[Credit: Egypt Ministry of Antiquities]

"Research is continuing to determine the name of the pharaoh she was married to," a statement said.

During the Ramesside Period -- the Nineteenth Dynasty (1314-1200 BC) and Twentieth Dynasty (1200-1085 BC) -- 11 kings were named Rameses.

Statuettes bearing name of ancient Egyptian queen Karomama were found by a recently 
excavated tomb's entrance in Luxor. Archaeologists are not sure if the tomb 
belongs to Karomama [Credit: Egypt Ministry of Antiquities]

Inside the tomb, archaeologists found fragments from 20 funerary statues on which was inscribed the name "Karomama", which may help narrow the search.

Finding this vital clue "will help establish more about this important person", the ministry said.

Luxor, a city of half a million on the banks of the River Nile in the south, is an open-air museum of temples and tombs from ancient Egypt.

Source: AFP [December 11, 2014]