Archaeologists in southern Egypt have unearthed a mummy that predates the unification of Egypt (when the divided kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt became a unified country ruled by one king in approximately 3100 BC). The intact tomb thought to be 5,600 years old was found in the old city of Hierakonpolis ‘the City of the Hawk’, situated between Luxor and Aswan. Its secrets are slowly being uncovered to reveal the foundations of Ancient Egyptian society.
The tomb was full of precious unique objects and the untouched mummy, who appears to have been in his late teenage years, is also thought to be of noble birth, perhaps even of royal birth as the preservation process has been completed with such care. Amongst the treasures found in the tomb are semiprecious stones, working tools including knives and spear heads, beautifully carved combs with the top of one decorated with an animal reported to be a hippopotamus, a large herbivorous mammal known as a ‘river horse’, carvings of which can be today seen on temple walls, and an ivory statue of a bearded man.
