A display at the National Gallery of Art includes a full-size reconstruction of the burial chamber of the New Kingdom pharaoh Thutmose III, who ruled in the 18th dynasty from 1479 to 1424 B.C. Photo: Chuck Kennedy/KRT
PHILADELPHIA - Archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania say they have found the tomb of a previously unknown Egyptian pharaoh who ruled more than 3,600 years ago. The tomb, they say, is only the first discovered out of what could be more than a dozen. All, they believe, are the final resting places of members of a forgotten dynasty.

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The researchers already have begun excavating several nearby sites that appear to be from the same dynasty. These are located at the site of the ancient city of Abydos, more than 300 miles south of Cairo, said Josef Wegner, a Penn associate professor of Egyptology.

"It looks like there's a whole royal necropolis of this lost dynasty," said Wegner. ######

Archaeologists had suspected the existence of the unknown pharaohs because of an ancient list of rulers called the Turin King List, parts of which are damaged or missing. After analyzing fragmented parts of the list, a Danish researcher named Kim Ryholt proposed years ago that 16 of the unknown kings belonged to the Abydos dynasty.

"Forgotten To History"

The name Senebkay matches one of the partial names on the list, said Wegner.

###### They just kind of vanish."

The tomb, dated to 1650 B.C., appears to have been raided by tomb robbers in ancient times, Wegner said. Even the king's bodily remains were ripped apart.

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Reused Organ Chest

The tomb contained remains of a funerary mask, a coffin and a cedar chest. The chest would have been used to house the king's internal organs, customarily removed before burial.

The chest apparently had been reused and seems to have been taken from the nearby tomb of an earlier king already known to history. ######

The string of discoveries began last year, when Wegner and his associates found a 60-ton stone sarcophagus chamber that appeared to have been moved from its original site. They identified its original owner as Sobekhotep, but are still identifying the king for whom it was reused.

The new discovery of the tomb of Woseribre Senebkay occurred in the process of excavating ruins near the 60-ton chamber. ######

Senebkay's tomb is painted with images of the goddesses Nut, Nephthys, Selket and Isis. His reign occurred during what is known as the Second Intermediate Period, a time when multiple dynasties were competing for supremacy, Wegner said.]]>