３５００年前の王族墓か エジプト・ルクソールで発見

【カイロＡＦＰ＝時事】エジプト当局は１４日、南部ルクソールで約３５００年前の墓が発見されたと発表した。古代エジプト第１８王朝の王族が埋葬されたとみられている。（写真は、ルクソールで見つかった約３５００年前の墓の入り口付近の様子）
　エジプト考古最高評議会のムスタファ・ワジリ事務局長によると、墓はエジプトと英国の研究者により発掘された。「王家の谷」と「王妃の谷」で知られるナイル川西岸に位置する。
　墓内部でこれまでに発見された遺物から、ツタンカーメンやその父アクエンアテンらがファラオだった第１８王朝時代のものではないかと推定されている。
　第１８王朝は新王国時代最初の王朝で、紀元前１２９２年ごろまで続いた。古代エジプトで最も栄えた王朝の一つと考えられている。
　英調査団の代表を務めるケンブリッジ大学のピアーズ・リザーランド氏によると、トトメス一族の王妃か王女の墓の可能性がある。
　エジプトの考古学者モフセン・カメル氏は、古代の洪水で墓室が浸水し碑文など一部が影響を受けているため、「保存状態は悪い」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/01/16-22:13）

Egyptian authorities announced Saturday the discovery of an ancient tomb in Luxor dating back around 3,500 years that archaeologists believe holds the remains of an 18th dynasty royal.
The tomb was unearthed by Egyptian and British researchers on the west bank of the River Nile, where the famous Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Kings lie, said Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The first elements discovered so far inside the tomb seem to indicate that it dates back to the 18th dynasty of pharaohs Akhenaton and Tutankhamun, Waziri said in a statement.
The 18th dynasty, part of the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom, ended in 1292 BC and is considered among the most prosperous years of Ancient Egypt.
Piers Litherland of the University of Cambridge, head of the British research mission, said the tomb could be of a royal wife or princess of Thutmosid lineage.
Egyptian archaeologist Mohsen Kamel said the tomb's interior was in poor condition.
Parts of it including inscriptions were destroyed in ancient floods which filled the burial chambers with sand and limestone sediment, Kamel added, according to the antiquities board's statement.
Egypt has unveiled several major archaeological discoveries in recent years, most notably in the Saqqara necropolis south of the capital Cairo.
Critics say the flurry of excavations has prioritised finds shown to grab media attention over hard academic research.
But the discoveries have been a key component of Egypt's attempts to revive its vital tourism industry, the crowning jewel of which is the long-delayed inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum at the foot of the pyramids.
The country of 104 million inhabitants suffers a severe economic crisis.
Egypt's tourism industry accounts for 10 percent of GDP and some two million jobs, according to official figures, but has been hammered by political unrest and the Covid pandemic.