50 Mummies in Valley of Kings: 3,300-Year-Old Tomb Unearthed in Egypt (PHOTO)
50 mummies in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt were discovered recently and researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland believe the remains date back 3,300 years to between 1567 and 1085 B.C. The skeletal remains of princes, princesses and infants had already been raided, however, most likely by bandits thousands of years ago, according to reports.
The 50 mummies in the Valley of the Kings are located along the West Bank of the Nile, about 312 miles south of modern-day Cairo, Egypt. The research was conducted by the University of Basel in conjunction with the country's antiquities officials, who may allow the mummies to be displayed in museums after studying them.
"The immense necropolis contains the remains of mummies that could have been members of the royal family," Egyptian officials from MENA told Reuters. Hieroglyphs indicated the mummies could be related to Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III, who led Egypt in about the 14th century B.C., Live Science reported.
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The tomb, called KV 40, contains 40 adults and 10 children and infants and has shattered parts of coffins torn apart by robbers, who took all the gold and treasures the royalty was most likely buried with. Also inside were textiles, bandages, linens, a wooden sarcophagi, death masks, and canopic jars.
Though the bodies, which reveal new members of the royal family, were definitely mummified, but the cause of death will remain unknown until more research is done.
"They are wrapped in numerous layers of bandages and treated with bitumen," researcher Susanne Bickel told Live Science. "What is certain is that they did not die at the same time (no epidemic) but over a certain time span."
The bodies were also covered with soot, which most likely came from a fire thieves set inside the tomb, archaeologists speculated.
