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 have found something amazing: the tomb of a previously unknown Egyptian pharaoh. They believe that the pharaoh, or king, ruled more than 3,600 years ago.

Archaeologists study ancient peoples by looking at their bones and the tools they used.

The ones who found the tomb say this is only the first discovery. ###### The archaeologists believe that all of them contain members of a forgotten dynasty, or line of rulers.

The tomb was found last week. It had been robbed, however, writing on the chamber walls clearly shows whose tomb it is. It belonged to a ruler named Woseribre Senebkay.

Digging For A Dynasty

###### All are located where the ancient city of Abydos once stood.

"It looks like there's a whole royal necropolis of this lost dynasty," said Josef Wegner, who led the expedition. Necropolis is the term for an ancient cemetery. It literally means "city of the dead."

###### There are names on it that were unfamiliar to archaeologists.

The name Senebkay seems to match one of the names on the list, said Wegner.

"They basically were forgotten to history," Wegner said. "In the later king lists, they don't appear. They just kind of vanish."

###### It was raided by tomb robbers in ancient times, Wegner said.

Woseribre Senebkay probably stood about 5 feet 10 inches. He appears to have died in his 40s.

A 60-Ton Stone Chamber

The tomb contained parts of a funeral mask, a coffin and a cedar chest. ###### It was common to remove the organs of ancient Egyptians before they were buried.

The chest that held his organs seems to have been reused. It seems to have been taken from the nearby tomb of an earlier king, named Sobekhotep. Sobekhotep was already known to history.

###### It was built to house a sarcophagus, which is a carved stone box that Egyptian coffins were placed in.

The sarcophagus chamber appeared to have been moved. Its original owner was identified as Sobekhotep. Wegner and the others are still trying to figure out the king for whom it was reused.

###### The tombs of other members of his dynasty are thought to lie nearby.

Senebkay's tomb is painted with pictures of various goddesses, including Nut, Nephthys, Selket and Isis.

Senebkay ruled during the so-called Second Intermediate Period. At the time, several dynasties were fighting for power.]]>