El-Assasif

File:John Beasly Greene (American, born France - (El Assasif, Porte de Granit Rose, No. 2) - Google Art Project.jpg]]

El-Assasif ({{langx|ar|العساسيف}}) is a necropolis near Luxor on the West Bank at Thebes, Egypt, Upper Egypt. It is located in the dry bay that leads up to Deir el-Bahari and south of the necropolis of Dra' Abu el-Naga'.

El-Assasif contains burials from the 18th, 22nd, 25th and 26th dynasties of ancient Egypt, covering the period c. 1550 to 525 BC across all three dynasties.

Archaeology

In November 2018, France's University of Strasbourg announced the discovery of two sarcophagi thought to be more than 3,500 years old with two perfectly preserved mummies and approximately 1,000 funerary statues in the Assasif valley near Luxor. One of the tombs with paintings where the female body found, was opened to the public in front of the international media, but the other one was previously opened by Egyptian antiquities officials.{{Cite news|date=2018-11-24|title=Ancient Egyptian tomb unveiled|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46329051|access-date=2021-01-31}}{{Cite web|title=Ancient tomb unveiled in Egypt|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/397771-ancient-tomb-unveiled-in-egypt|access-date=2021-01-31|website=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en}}

In October 2019, 30 coffins (3.000 year-old) were uncovered and presented, dating back to the Twenty-second Dynasty by the Egyptian archaeological mission in front of the Hatshepsut Temple.{{cite web|url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/75938/Rare-discovery-of-30-coffins-at-Assasif-necropolis-in-Luxor|title=Rare discovery of 30 coffins at Assasif necropolis in Luxor|website=Egypt Today|date=19 October 2019}} The coffins contain mummies of 23 adult males, five adult females and two children. The condition of the cachette is said to be exceptionally good, with many of the coffins sealed and intact, with high quality painting and preservation. According to archaeologist Zahi Hawass, mummies were decorated with mixed carvings and designs, including scenes from Egyptian gods, hieroglyphs, and the Book of the Dead, a series of spells that allowed the soul to navigate the afterlife. Some of the coffins had the names of the dead engraved on them.{{Cite web|author=Alaa Elassar|title=Egypt unveils discovery of 30 ancient coffins with mummies inside|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/19/middleeast/egypt-discovers-coffins-mummies-trnd/index.html|access-date=2020-09-17|website=CNN|date=20 October 2019}}{{Cite news|date=2019-10-16|title=Egypt archaeologists find 20 ancient coffins near Luxor|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50068575|access-date=2020-09-17}}{{Cite news|agency=Reuters|date=2019-10-19|title=Archaeologists discover 30 ancient coffins in Luxor|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/19/archaeologists-discover-30-ancient-coffins-with-mummies-in-luxor|access-date=2020-09-17|issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news|last=Beachum|first=Lateshia|title=Archaeologists discover more than 20 sealed coffins just as the ancient Egyptians left them|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/10/16/archaeologists-discover-more-than-sealed-coffins-just-ancient-egyptians-left-them/|access-date=2020-09-17|issn=0190-8286}}