Princes and Princesses Among 50 Egyptian Mummies Unearthed
Royal mummies from Egypt's golden age surprise scholars.
Offering hopes for tracing the family secrets of the ancient pharaohs, more than 50 royal mummies have emerged in Egypt's Valley of the Kings from a tomb long sealed by rubble and little suspected of harboring royalty. (Related: "Valley of the Kings—Gateway to Afterlife Provides Window on the Past.")
Egyptian antiquities officials, working with archaeologists from Switzerland's University of Basel, reported this week that the royal mummies date from the reigns of the pharaohs Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III in the 14th century B.C. Both pharaohs were members of the 18th dynasty, which included the famous King Tutankhamen, or King Tut, who was buried nearby. (Related: "Replica of King Tut's Tomb to Open in Egypt.")
"They were the
