Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Archaeologists found a new old tomb in Egypt. It is in a place called Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, near Luxor.
The tomb has colorful paintings on its walls. Writing on the walls tells us the tomb belonged to a man named Paser.
A team from a Dutch university found the tomb. Their leader is Dr. Karina van den Hoeven.
The tomb is about 3,000 years old. It has a courtyard, a chapel, and rooms under the ground for burials.
- archaeologist
- A scientist who studies old objects and places
- tomb
- A place where a dead person is buried
- colorful
- Having many bright colors
- wall painting
- A picture painted directly on a wall
- belong to
- To be owned by someone
- courtyard
- An open space outside, surrounded by walls
- chapel
- A small room or building used for religious purposes
- burial
- The act of putting a dead body in the ground
Level 2 — Elementary
A team of archaeologists from Leiden University in the Netherlands has discovered a previously unknown tomb in the Sheikh Abd el-Qurna necropolis on the west bank of the Nile, across from Luxor.
The tomb's walls are decorated with colorful paintings and inscriptions that identify its owner as a man named Paser. Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery.
The Dutch mission, led by Dr. Karina van den Hoeven, has been excavating in the area, known as Jabanat el-Qurna, since 2018, working in cooperation with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Based on its architecture and painting style, the tomb is believed to date to the Ramesside period, roughly 1292 to 1069 BCE, a span covering the 19th and 20th dynasties of Egypt's New Kingdom. It follows the typical plan of elite tombs from that era, with an open courtyard, a rock-cut chapel, and underground burial chambers.
- necropolis
- A large ancient burial ground or cemetery
- decorate
- To make something more attractive by adding designs
- inscription
- Writing carved or painted onto a surface
- mission (archaeological)
- A team organized to carry out an excavation project
- excavate
- To dig carefully to uncover buried objects or structures
- cooperation
- Working together with another group
- architecture
- The design and structure of a building
- dynasty
- A series of rulers from the same family line
Level 3 — Intermediate
A Dutch archaeological mission from Leiden University has uncovered a previously undocumented tomb within the Sheikh Abd el-Qurna necropolis on Luxor's west bank, adding a new entry to one of the most densely occupied private burial grounds from ancient Thebes.
Colorful wall paintings and inscriptions within the tomb identify its owner as a man named Paser, and Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has credited the find to the ongoing excavation season at the Jabanat el-Qurna site, where the mission, led by Dr. Karina van den Hoeven, has worked in partnership with the Supreme Council of Antiquities since 2018.
Stylistic analysis of the tomb's decoration places it within the Ramesside period, spanning the 19th and 20th dynasties of the New Kingdom, roughly 1292 to 1069 BCE, and its layout conforms closely to the standard plan for elite private tombs of that era: an open courtyard leading into a T-shaped, rock-cut chapel, beneath which lie the burial chambers proper.
Notable architectural details preserved within the courtyard include mudbrick walls incorporating a niche designed to hold a funerary stela, along with a staircase flanked by ramps leading toward the tomb's entrance, features that together allow archaeologists to situate the monument precisely within the broader typology of Theban elite burials.
- undocumented
- Not previously recorded or officially noted
- densely occupied
- Containing a large number of things close together
- credit (a discovery)
- To formally attribute a finding to its source
- stylistic analysis
- The study of artistic style to determine origin or date
- conform to
- To match or follow an established pattern
- niche
- A recessed space built into a wall
- funerary stela
- An inscribed stone slab marking a burial
- typology
- A classification system based on shared characteristics
Level 4 — Advanced
A Dutch archaeological mission from Leiden University has brought to light a hitherto undocumented tomb within the Sheikh Abd el-Qurna necropolis on Luxor's west bank, an addition to what remains one of the most intensively occupied private burial landscapes surviving from ancient Thebes.
The tomb's polychrome wall paintings and accompanying inscriptions identify its owner as a man named Paser, with Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities crediting the discovery to the mission's current excavation season at Jabanat el-Qurna, where the team under Dr. Karina van den Hoeven has operated in sustained partnership with the Supreme Council of Antiquities since 2018.
Stylistic analysis of the decorative program situates the tomb within the Ramesside period, spanning the 19th and 20th dynasties of the New Kingdom, roughly 1292 to 1069 BCE, and its ground plan adheres closely to the canonical template for elite Theban private tombs: an open courtyard giving onto a T-shaped, rock-cut chapel, beneath which the burial chambers themselves are excavated.
The courtyard's surviving architectural apparatus, mudbrick walls incorporating a niche configured to receive a funerary stela, together with a staircase flanked by ramps approaching the entrance, furnishes archaeologists with the diagnostic detail necessary to situate the monument precisely within the broader typology of Theban elite burial architecture, reinforcing Sheikh Abd el-Qurna's standing as an exceptionally rich seam for ongoing excavation.
- polychrome
- Decorated in several colors
- hitherto
- Until now; previously
- decorative program
- The overall planned scheme of decoration in a structure
- canonical
- Recognized as the standard or authoritative form
- apparatus (architectural)
- The set of structural elements or features present
- diagnostic (detail)
- Serving to identify or classify something precisely
- seam (figurative)
- A rich, productive source yielding valuable finds
- sustained
- Continued over a long period without interruption
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