Archaeologists in Egypt say that a chamber unearthed last month in the Valley of the Kings is not a tomb, as was first thought. Instead, it appears the room was used by the ancient Egyptians for mummifying pharaohs. The chamber was discovered in the Valley of the Kings by a team from the University of Memphis, US. It contained seven wooden coffins and a number of sealed jars. The find dates from the 18th Pharaonic Dynasty, the first of the New Kingdom which ruled between 1539BC and 1292BC and made its capital in Thebes, now Luxor. Last month, Egypt's head of antiquities, Zahi Hawass, speculated that the coffins belonged "to royals or nobles" moved from "original graves to protect them from grave robbers". But further examination has revealed that the area was in fact an embalmers workshop. Five coffins contained remnants of pottery, shrouds and materials used in mummification. The sealed jars held other materials used in the embalming process. Now, Dr Hawass has issued a brief statement saying "this... is not a tomb for nobles or relatives of a king, as had been thought upon its discovery, but rather a room for mummification".
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