After 20 years of fieldwork in the mountains of Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi near the city of Asyut, a team of archaeologists has revealed an extraordinary finding from a little-known time period of ancient Egypt: the 3,900-year-old burial chamber of a priestess named Idy.
Among the grave goods, the team uncovered two elaborately decorated wooden coffins with inscriptions identifying Idy as a priestess of the goddess Hathor. She was also titled the “Lady of the House,” a designation testifying to her family’s prominence. In a statement from the Free University of Berlin, researchers are hailing the discovery of the burial chamber, which also contained a wealth of texts, as a significant archaeological discovery from which scientists will be able to learn more about women and the transfer of knowledge in ancient Egypt.
Archaeologists found Idy’s burial site inside a previously inaccessible side chamber within the 1880 BCE tomb of her father Djefaihapi I, who served as the regional governor of the ancient city of Asyut. While looters had previously ransacked the chamber, archaeologists were still able to recover grave goods, including wooden figurines, a dagger, pharaonic insignia, and food offerings. Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery in a Facebook post last month.
The two coffins nest within each other, crafted from imported wood and adorned with exquisitely detailed images and texts depicting the journey to the afterlife. While the decorations are in line with the adornments of her father’s tomb, they are extravagant for the time period, according to the statement. In fact, Djefaihapi I was even worshiped after his death, and his rock-cut tomb—standing 36 feet high (11 meters), stretching 91 feet deep (28 meters), and spanning 229 feet wide (70 meters)—remained a cultural icon for over 2,000 years, the researchers reported.
View of Gebel Asyut al-gharbi necropolis. Photo: Fritz Barthel
As for Idy herself, archaeologists found skeletal and textile remains, as well as canopic jars within an inscribed chest carrying the vital organs—including her liver, spleen, lungs, and intestines—that caretakers would have removed from her body during the mummification process. These remains allowed scientists to estimate that the ancient priestess died when she was around 40 years old.
The researchers discovered the chamber in the necropolis of ancient Asyut, where they’re working to shed light on the city’s early cultural importance. Asyut was a politically and culturally influential city during ancient Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (a time period that lasted roughly from 2030 to 1650 BCE) and was strategically located midway between ancient Memphis and Thebes, according to the researchers. The city was ultimately buried beneath Nile flood sediments and modern urban development and thus was never as recognized as better-known sites like Thebes or Luxor.
Of the three ancient Egyptian kingdoms, the Middle Kingdom has left the least amount of physical evidence for archaeologists. Many Middle Kingdom monuments were repurposed or eroded after being looted by robbers, and thus its almost four centuries of history are often overlooked in academic discourse.
The team passed on the findings from Idy’s burial chamber to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism. Ultimately, the discovery is sure to contribute to Asyut’s academic revival, as well as draw attention to the lesser-known period of history.
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