Priest’s Mummy, Grave Robber’s Skeleton Found in Egyptian Tomb

The mummy of a priest and the skeleton of a grave robber were the chief findings in the televised opening of two Egyptian tombs Tuesday evening. The skeleton was found inside the pyramid of Queen Khamerernebty II but was clearly not the queen’s, said archeologist Zahi Hawass. “The entrance and the chambers were unfinished and the queen was never buried here,” he said after the show.

The mummy was found in the Tomb of the Unknown, recently unearthed by Hawass. Inscriptions suggest it is the high priest Kai, who performed rituals inside the temples and taught the pharaoh’s children. Paintings of Kai’s wife and daughter were found on the walls of the tomb and, surprisingly, bore the artist’s signature. Such a signature has never been found on a tomb painting before.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II