From: cejo@midway.uchicago.edu (Charles E. Jones)
Subject: KV 5
Sender: owner-ane@mithra-orinst.uchicago.edu
Precedence: bulk
Status: RO

Now that this story is public, would any of you who've been in this tomb be
willing to comment?
-Chuck-


 ^Pharaonic tomb may be largest found in Egypt@
    (Releads, adds statement from antiquities council)
    By Dominic Evans
    CAIRO, May 15 (Reuter) - Archaeologists working in Egypt's
Valley of the Kings have uncovered a vast royal tomb that may be
the biggest pharaonic burial chamber ever found, Egyptian
authorities said on Monday.
    U.S. archaeologists explored the tomb, containing at least
67 chambers, in February and believe that sons of the powerful
pharaoh Ramses II were buried there 3,000 years ago.
    ``This may be the biggest burial chamber found in Egypt so
far,'' said Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities, quoting
American Egyptologist Kent Weeks.
    Abdelhalim Nourredin, head of the antiquities council,
described it as magnificent, even though it was in poor
condition and had been badly looted by grave robbers.
    ``It is no doubt one of the biggest in the Valley of the
Kings. It's a very important find,'' Nourredin told Reuters.
    The entrance to the tomb was discovered last century in the
rugged limestone walls of the valley, just 30 metres (yards)
from the tomb of Ramses II himself, but floodwater debris had
blocked off all but three of the outermost chambers.
    In February Weeks's team found a passageway leading past 20
chambers to a statue of Osiris, god of the underworld. The
corridor then divided into two more passages, each with 20
rooms, which end in stairs leading perhaps to yet more rooms.
    Most royal tombs in the valley, where the mummy of the young
pharaoh Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922 amid fabulous
treasures, are simple structures with a single corridor leading
to a main burial chamber.
    ``This is a tomb of unique design and size from a crucial
period in ancient history,'' Nourredin said.
    Ramses II was one of ancient Egypt's last great rulers,
famous for his campaigns against the Hittites to the north and
for building monuments all over Egypt during his 60-year rule
during the 13th century BC.
    The archaeologists found fragments of mummified bodies,
statues, jewellery, furniture and food offerings inside the
chambers, and some of the walls still bear ancient decorations.
    ``(Weeks) hasn't been able to investigate all the tomb...
(But) it will be something magnificent...They found five
inscriptions marking this as belonging to the sons of Ramses
II,'' Noureddin added.
    A statement from the antiquities council said 50 of Ramses'
sons may have been buried at the site, which is known to
archaeologists simply as KV 5.
    Ali Hassan, head of the pharaonic sector at the antiquities
council, said KV 5 was in bad condition and needed a great deal
of treatment. The tomb is not expected to be opened for
inspection because of its damaged ceiling and remaining debris.
    He said Weeks was now in New York, where he will be joined
by Nourredin, who is seeking financial aid to help Egypt improve
restoration and storage of its pharaonic heritage.
    A giant sculpture of Ramses' head was the inspiration for
English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley's ``Ozymandias,'' which mocked
his aspirations to immortality.
    Like dozens of pharaohs Ramses II had his tomb dug into the
Valley of the Kings, across the Nile from the ancient capital of
Thebes, about 500 km (310 miles) south of modern Cairo.
    His mummified corpse was later moved to prevent it falling
prey to grave robbers, and now lies in a glass viewing case in
the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Reut10:12 05-15-95