The following was posted by Charles E. Jones to the Chicago list:

Jewelry stash found in Egyptian pyramid

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuter) - Archeologists exploring a pyramid south of Cairo
have found a priceless stash of jewelry belonging to a queen who lived
about 3,900 years ago. Ali Hassan, director of excavations at the Supreme
Antiquities Council, said Wednesday the jewelry was found in a secret niche
in the wall of a passageway under the pyramid of the 12th dynasty pharaoh
Senusert III at Dahshour. Some of the pieces are inscribed with the name of
Queen Nefret, also known as Khanumet. She was the mother of Senusert III
and the wife and sister of his father, Senusert II. The trove includes two
blue amethyst scarabs, gold brooches, necklaces of semi-precious stones,
gold pendants inlaid with cornelian and two gold lockets shaped like lions.
``They are completely priceless and of great importance both for the
chronology (of the 12th dynasty) and for the history of the use of
scarabs,'' Hassan said. A scarab is a black, winged beetle whose image was
often cut from a stone or gem, engraved with inscriptions and worn as a
charm or used as a seal. Like other Egyptian pyramids, that of Senusret III
was robbed in antiquity but the robbers overlooked the niche. ``The fact
that the jewelry was hidden there shows that even in those days they were
worried about theft,'' Hassan said. A mission from the Metropolitan Museum
in New York came across the jewelry while doing a thorough exploration of
the passages close to the queen's burial chamber under the pyramid, which
lies 20 miles south of Cairo. Hassan said the trove was in the Egyptian
Museum in Cairo for safekeeping and a decision would be made on its
display. The reign of Senusert III, traditionally dated from 1878 BC to
1843 BC, was one of the golden ages of ancient Egyptian
civilization. REUTER
Reut06:04 01-18

Reuter N:Copyright 1995, Reuters News Service