Archaeologists discover ancient color pictures shedding light on Egyptian Abydos Dynasty

Archaeologists have made an amazing discovery in the Egyptian desert. A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology discovered the name of a previously unknown Egyptian pharaoh that ruled Egypt during the Abydos Dynasty. The name of the unknown pharaoh was found in ancient, brightly colored pictograms left on the walls of his tomb.

The pharaoh ruled Egypt about 3600 years ago and the discovery gives the first proof of the suspected Abydos Dynasty. The tomb had been previously looted and the team says that it is unusually to find pictures and writing still intact.

The name of the pharaoh buried it the tomb was Woseribre Senebkay and the writings describe him as the king of upper and lower Egypt. The discovery is unique because it is the necropolis of a forgotten dynasty. The team says that looters had looted the chamber of any valuable gold and left the bones of the pharaoh's mummy scattered around the tomb.

However, the team was able to reassemble most of the body and the funeral mask. The pharaoh was 5-foot 9-inches tall and died in his mid-40s according the team. The discovery proves that between the time when the north and south Nile were split into rival kingdoms, there was a middle kingdom that survived several generations. Work is continuing at the tomb and the team believes that excavations will reveal more details of the kingdom.

SOURCE: CNN