Archaeologists discover tomb of female singer in Valley of the Kings

The ugly face of TV: How Jeremy Clarkson brought facial prejudice to a head

If you saw someone with a facial disfigurement walking down the street, would you A) Laugh at them B...

Atlantic Odyssey: Exclusive first hand account of how a world record attempt ended in near disaster

Writing exclusively for The Independent, Mark Beaumont recounts the incredible events that saw an at...

Stacking shelves won’t help career progression

Over the last week, we have seen a series of dodgy manoeuvres by the government regarding unpaid ret...

Is catastrophic global warming, like the Millenium Bug, a mistake?

"The whole idea of climate being one number driven by another number is nutty." Prof Richard Lindzen...

Archaeologists from Egypt and Switzerland have unearthed the 1,100-year-old tomb of a female singer in the Valley of the Kings.

It is the only tomb of a woman not related to the ancient Egyptian royal families ever found there, said Mansour Boraiq, the top government official for the antiquities ministry in the city of Luxor,

The Valley of the Kings in Luxor is a major tourist attraction. In 1922, archaeologists there unearthed the gold funeral mask of Tutankhamun and other stunning items in the tomb of the king who ruled more than 3,000 years ago.

Mr Boraiq told reporters that the coffin of the female singer is remarkably intact.

He said that when the coffin is opened this week, Egyptian and Swiss archaeologists will likely find a mummy and a cartonnage mask molded to her face and made from layers of linen and plaster.

The singer's name, Nehmes Bastet, means she was believed to be protected by the feline deity Bastet.

The tomb was found by accident, according to Elina Paulin-Grothe, field director for excavation at the Valley of the Kings with Switzerland's University of Basel.

"We were not looking for new tombs. It was close to another tomb that was discovered 100 years ago."

The field director said the tomb was not originally built for the female singer, but was reused for her 400 years after the original one, based on artifacts found inside. Archaeologists do not know whom the tomb was originally intended for.

The coffin of the singer belonged to the daughter of a high priest during the 22nd Dynasty.

Archaeologists concluded from artifacts that she sang in Karnak Temple, one of the most famous and largest open-air sites from the Pharaonic era, according to evidence at the site.

At the time of her death, Egypt was ruled by Libyan kings, but the high priests who ruled Thebes, which is now within the city of Luxor, were independent. Their authority enabled them to use the royal cemetery for family members, according to Mr Boraiq.

The unearthing marks the 64th tomb to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings.