A pot of golden Ancient Egyptian treasure has been discovered by a team of archaeologists – experts believe the haul of treasure could have been stolen by a tomb raiders
A 2,600-year-old pot of gold jewellery has been discovered by archaeologists in Egypt. The bounty includes a rare statuette depicting a family of gods.
The team who made the discovery found the pot of treasure at Karnak Temple, a complex near Luxor – the ancient city of Thebes. Initially the temple was built 4,000 years ago but was continually expanded, renovated and modified over the centuries.
Ancient Egyptians worshipped a number of deities at the site including Amun, the chief god of Thebes. The find from this temple includes many gold beads, amulets and statuettes – that depicts various ancient Egyptian deities.
Abdelghaffar Wagdy, an archaeologist with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities revealed where the the find occurred and said they “were discovered in the north-western sector of the Karnak Temple complex”. He elaborated: “This area is suspected to have housed administrative and storage facilities.”
One of the most significant finds was a statuette that depicts a family of gods. This statuette depicts ancient Egyptian deities such as Amun, Khonsu and Mut standing beside each other.
These deities were considered to be a family by the Ancient Egyptians, Amun was the chief god of Thebes, his wife Mut was a mother goddess, and their son Khonsu, was a moon god.
Wagdy, the co-leader of the team, explained what these amulets represented to the ancient Egyptians, and said: “The depiction of the Theban Triad on the amulet likely symbolizes the devotion to the divine family of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.”
Jewellery historian, Jack Ogden who has conducted extensive research on Egyptian jewellery, highlighted that the jewellery seems to have been designed for burial and not everyday wear.
Ogden commented on the archaeological find and said: “The goldwork appears from the photos to be fairly flimsy, so one suspects that it was purely funerary.”
It is unclear why the jewellery was buried in the pot, Ogden notes one explanation is that the pot belonged to an tomb raider who which concealed the haul for safety – but never recovered it.
Ogden said. “It would be useful for whoever studies it all to try to work out if the breaks and damage were likely caused by less-than-gentle removal from a mummy.”