I am sorry but this is going to have to be a short blog.  I have had a very productive 2 weeks in Luxor.  While working in the library at Chicago House, I was introduced to Dr Eurig Grovenor. He has been undertaking archaeological excavation at the Mortuary Temple of Tutankhamun/Ay/Horemheb located next to Medinet Habu.  He is a lovely kind man.  It has been such a pleasure to get to know him.  He invited me to examine a recent find made in the temple.  It is a papyrus fragment dated to Regnal Year 3 of the reign of Tutankhamen.  They have not been able to discern its meaning as it seems to have been written in some kind of code.  You know how much I love puzzles.  My friends I think this is the missing piece that will lead us to the tomb on our ostraca.  It’s the strangest thing.  Ever since I went to his site to examine it, I have felt as though I am being followed.  I will catch a glimpse of someone out of the corner of my eye but when I turn my head there is no one there.

I must confess that I have withheld my theory from Eurig. I am now sure where the tomb is located. I intend to go survey the area tonight after dark so as not to be seen by the guards or by the individual who is dogging my steps (I would also rather Eurig not know until I’m ready).

Here is my translation of the papyrus – can you guess where I am heading?

Regnal Year 3 of the reign of Tutankhamen.
The imAhwt who cannot be named have flown to the beautiful west, the great criminal appearing before My Majesty LPH, the beautiful one appearing before the god’s father.

I will post soon and let you know what I discover.

I have been in Luxor for the last 2 months staying at the Old Winter Palace, built in 1886, it exudes a mythical atmosphere while providing modern comforts.  For those hard core Egyptophiles, the Old Winter Palace was Howard Carter’s hotel of choice.
I have been studying the Amarna ostraca using the library at Chicago House.  It is one of the finest in Egypt with over 18000 volumes.  I have been searching New Kingdom tomb plans trying to identify the plan on our ostraca.

Our tomb has many similarities with the other Amarna tombs, especially the tomb of Akhenaten, with its 3 rooms on a bent axis and the room with two pillars.  (See Attached Plans noting similarity with rooms Alpha, Beta and Gamma.)    However, our tomb plan shows that the actual sarcophagus was moved to a satellite room and there was no axis leading to unfinished chambers.  The stairway entrance and long main corridor was common to royal tombs of the New Kingdom. No tomb with this plan has been found at Amarna.  Interestingly, all the Amarna tombs were empty when they were found. Nicholas Reeves believes that Tutankhamum was responsible for removing the burials from Amarna to be interred elsewhere.

I have found other tantalizing clues. Our ostraca is paralleled in a recent discovery. An ostraca was found in 1993 by Lyla Pinch Brock that is believed to show what may have been the original tomb plan for KV 55.  Objects found in KV 55 date from the time of Amenhotep III to the reign of Tutankhamen.  It is now generally believed that the mummy found inside the tomb was Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten. Furthermore, the first tomb to be found in the Valley since 1922, KV 63, contained jars and contents that are similar to those from KV54, the Tutankhamun embalming cache.  A sealed coffin from KV 63 was opened on June 28, 2006. The coffin contained no mummy, only artifacts used for mummification or to decorate a body but it looked like it had once been used. It is theorized that this body was moved or destroyed in antiquity. Due to its proximity to the tomb of Tutankhamun, the resemblances between the portraits, and the fact that the coffin is clearly 18th Dynasty style, it was speculated that the coffins were once used for the bodies of Kiya and/or even Ankhesenamen.

I think our ostraca might be the plan of a tomb constructed for a member of the Amarna Royal Family.  I know just where to start looking.  Do you?

Tomb of Akhenaten at Amarna

The sketch of the mysterious ostraca that I recently discovered.

I am sorry I had to leave Toronto unexpectedly, but as you may be aware, I was called to Egypt to examine a recent discovery.  Since my departure was so sudden I took the only seat I could find on board Egypt Air.

We flew from New York to Cairo- arriving just after noon.  The next train south was not leaving until the next morning at 7:30 am.  I checked in at my usual hotel, Garden City, for the night.  I had a relaxing dinner at Abu Aly, the bar/restaurant on the terrace of the Nile Hilton and went to bed early.

The next morning, I took the train south to Minya, the nearest city to Amarna.  The ride took just over three hours.  As anyone who has been to Egypt will tell you, there was a slight delay in service.  Luckily, there was a taxi waiting at the station to drive me to the site.   It has been an exciting last couple of days.  Those of you who are able to solve the puzzle I sent on November 20th, 2008 will be able to see my sketch of the discovery.  I am writing this post from the internet café at the King Akhenaten Hotel, in Minya.  I am off to Chicago House, in Luxor, to attempt to find a tomb that matches this plan.  I have a feeling that this might be an undiscovered tomb!  I will post again from Luxor.

Post Edit: the answer to the puzzle was:  “the Amarna royal tombs were all empty.  I can’t help but wonder where all the mummies went. They’re out there somewhere right?”  If you emailed me the correct answer, you would have received the following message in return:  “It was found two weeks ago in the workman’s village at Amarna.  It is an ostraca that measures 12 cm in length. On the ostraca is a sketch of a plan of a tomb.  It is very similar to an ostraca of the tomb of Ramses IX.  Although I have noticed that it is very similar in nature to the Royal Tomb at Amarna, there is no tomb at Amarna that follows the plan.”   You also would have received the below sketch of the ostraca that was found.

A sketch of the mysterious ostraca that I recently discovered.

If you’re reading this, congratulations, you’ve solved my first puzzle and proved you’re as smart as I knew you would be! You must forgive me, I love puzzles. Here on this website, you will learn a little more about me.

I am a person who has dedicated their life to the pursuit of all things ancient Egyptian, though as a new resident in Canada it was only very recently that I discovered the Society For The Study Of Egyptian Antiquities. I admit it seems to be a wonderful society, filled with great people who share my deep passion for Egyptology.  I only wish my archeological work and research had not kept me from being able to attend one of their social events up to this point, but alas this has been the case.

However, my work has not kept me from reaching out to the Society to introduce myself, and I immediately found a kindred spirit in my new friend its Toronto chapter president, Ms. Deirdre Keleher.  After having shared a few dinners with her, spent discussing anything and everything related to ancient Egypt, I decided to let her in on a little bit of a secret.   I was on to something.  I couldn’t tell her very much, merely that I was going to be heading to Egypt myself in just over two months, on a research mission that – if my hypotheses are correct – could have a very profound impact on the world of Egyptology.

Understandably, she was intrigued.  But I could not tell her any of the details regarding my project, for many reasons, not the least of which would be for the protection of her own safety.  There are those in this world who would rather keep certain things a secret, and have made it their life’s work to protect those secrets.  I am not one of those people.  As you can surmise from the title I have chosen for this blog site, I am a firm believer in bringing the past to light, no matter what story it tells, or what beliefs it shatters.  History shall be told.

So, why have I decided to start this blog?  And why now?  I must tell you, Ms. Deirdre has been trying to persuade me to keep her apprised of my findings whilst I am overseas, and even though I have agreed, it was not for the reasons she thinks. Her quest and thirst for knowledge, and her dedication to the SSEA is very honourable and she had been trying to convince me that it would be an immense privilege for the members of the SSEA to have an inside look at a brand new research project as it unfolds.  While I would definitely agree with her that having such inside knowledge would be viewed as a huge privilege, in most instances I would also say that it would not be in a researcher’s best interest to be disclosing my findings in such a fashion.

This project, however, is different. The things I’ve already seen in the limited time I’ve had to work on it show me that I may be treading into waters where others do not want me to tread.  With that in mind, you never know when having helpful friends back home will prove very advantageous.  And with that, I’ll leave you for now, as there is no time to waste.  In the immortal words written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,  “The game is afoot.” So not another word.  Into my clothes, and I’m gone.

-nv