U of M-sponsored Find in Egypt Promises More “Wonderful Things“

The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities announced yesterday that an expedition sponsored by the University of Memphis has discovered a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb appears to date to the 18th Dynasty (ca. 1539-1292 B.C.) and it contains five human mummies and several pottery vessels. It is located just a few meters from the tomb of King Tutankhamen.

The University of Memphis, through its Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology, has sponsored the Amenmesse Tomb Project (KV 10) – the scientific excavation and conservation of the tomb of Late 19th Dynasty King Amenmesse – since 1995, three years after the project was begun.

The Field Director for the Amenmesse Tomb Project (KV 10) is Dr. Otto Schaden, a research associate with the Institute.

Recently, he was joined by Dr. Lorelei Corcoran, Director of the Institute, and Sharon Nichols, a U of M graduate student who is pursing a master’s degree in Egyptian art. The two of them are in Egypt at present, working with Dr. Schaden.

Details of the discovery are to be announced tomorrow in Egypt by Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Further background information about the Amenmesse Tomb Project (KV 10) is available on the Web at www.kv-10.com.

The University of Memphis ’ Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology was created in 1984 as a part of the Department of Art in the College of Communication and Fine Arts. It is also a Tennessee Center of Excellence. The Institute is dedicated to the study of the art, history and culture of ancient Egypt through teaching, research (including excavation), exhibition, and community education.

As part of its research and teaching objectives, the Institute is currently engaged with several field projects in Egypt. In addition to sponsoring the Amenmesse project, the IEAA conducts an epigraphic survey in the Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt, and partners with the Italian Archaeological Mission at the tomb of Harwa at Thebes.

The Institute maintains a permanent collection of Egyptian antiquities in the Art Museum of the University of Memphis. The collection contains more than 1,100 ancient Egyptian items, including mummies, religious paraphernalia, jewelry, and objects of everyday life dating from 3500 B.C. to 700 A.D. A changing exhibition of approximately 150 of these objects is on display in the Egyptian Gallery of the Art Museum.

More information about the University of Memphis’ Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology is available on the Web at www.memphis.edu/egypt.

Contact Information

Curt Guenther

Director of Communications Services

The University of Memphis

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