Scientists have explained the unusual location of the mummies in an ancient tomb

Spanish archaeologists have reconstructed the history of the use of the ancient Egyptian tomb TT 209, located in the Theban necropolis near modern Luxor. An analysis of the position of mummies, coffins and funerary objects has shown how over the course of several centuries individual burials have gradually been replaced by collective ones. At the same time, the dense placement of bodies was not the result of chaos or the abandonment of rituals. This was announced on August 18 by the authors of a study published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.

A tomb with a long history

The Theban Necropolis is located on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor and includes more than 400 famous tombs. They belonged to rulers, officials, priests and other representatives of ancient Egyptian society. Many structures were used repeatedly: decades or even centuries after the initial burial, new dead were placed in them, the rooms were rebuilt and the objects inside were moved.

Tomb TT 209 is located in the South Asasifa area. Presumably, it was built during the XXV dynasty, which existed from about 754 to 656 BC. However, burials continued to appear there in subsequent eras, including the period of Persian rule and the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty. The tomb finally ceased to be used no later than the end of the Ptolemaic period, in 30 BC.

The researchers focused on the third side camera. It contained the remains of 16 mummified people and a mummified dog. Separately, archaeologists have discovered the displaced and partially fire-damaged remains of at least four more people. The authors identified nine burial complexes in the room. To determine the sequence of their appearance, the scientists studied the position and orientation of the bodies, the location of the hands, the presence of coffins and ritual objects, as well as how later burials intersected with earlier ones.

This approach is called archeotanatological. It allows you to restore not only the personality and physical condition of the deceased, but also the actions of people during the burial.: how the body was brought into the room where it was placed, what objects were placed nearby, and whether the tomb was opened later.

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From individual coffins to collective burials

At an early stage, the bodies were placed at a certain distance from each other in different parts of the chamber. There was probably a free space between the burial areas that could be moved around. The dead were buried in coffins, next to them were amulets, burial nets and valuable items.

Archaeologists have discovered a significant number of Phoenician amphorae in the early complexes. The contents of such vessels could be an expensive imported product. Combined with the coffins and decorations, this indicates the high social status of the first buried.

Later, the order began to change. New bodies were placed in vacant areas of an already occupied chamber, sometimes close to earlier mummies. Coffins continued to be used, but gradually they ceased to serve as the main element determining the location of the burial.

In about two thirds of the burial complexes, scientists have found a vertical overlap of remains. In the southeastern part of the chamber, the mummies were located on top of each other, sometimes touching or partially overlapping. The position of some bodies had to be changed, taking into account the already occupied areas. For example, the arm of the deceased could be bent, whereas in early burials the arms were usually stretched out along the body.

The researchers emphasized that the current position of the mummies does not fully correspond to the original one. Over time, the coffins collapsed, the fabrics decomposed, and the sedimentary rocks became compacted. Because of this, the bodies gradually descended and drew closer. During later burials, the distance between them may have been greater than it seems now. Despite this, the repetitive way the mummies are placed indicates a meaningful system. Each new burial took into account the location of the previous ones, rather than destroying it.

What did the change in hand position mean?

In early burials, the hands of the deceased were mostly stretched out along the torso. In later complexes, researchers more often found bodies with one arm bent or with both arms folded over their chests.

According to the authors, the rigid connection between a specific body, a separate coffin and a set of objects gradually disappeared. It was replaced by a sequential system in which the entire room was transformed into a common funeral complex. The mummies, coffins, vessels, and architecture of the chamber formed a single structure that continued to change with each new burial site.

Why was a dog buried next to people?

One of the most unusual finds was a mummified dog placed on top of the lower part of two human bodies. There were other mummies nearby, forming a dense vertical group.

It is not yet possible to determine the exact meaning of such a burial. According to one version, the animal belonged to one of the buried people, and its placement reflected a personal connection between them. Dogs could be human companions and guards not only during life, but also in the afterlife.

Another explanation is related to the ritual function. The dog could act as a psychopomp— a guide for the soul of the deceased to the afterlife. In ancient Egyptian culture, the god Anubis was endowed with similar functions, which was usually depicted with the head of a jackal or another representative of the canid family.

However, scientists do not claim that the animal necessarily had a symbolic meaning. Without additional data, it cannot be ruled out that his position was determined by family tradition or the circumstances of a particular burial.

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Reuse did not mean disrespect

The findings are consistent with a recent study of another Theban tomb, published in the February 2025 issue of the journal Antiquity. Archaeologist Rennan Lemos studied Tomb TT 362, which was expanded and reused several centuries after its construction.

Inside, the researchers found a mud brick structure that could serve as an altar or an offering table. Under one of the bricks was an older ushebti figurine, a statuette that was placed in the tomb so that it symbolically performed work for the deceased in the afterlife.

According to Lemos, the object could have been intentionally embedded in a new ritual structure in order to connect the later burials with the previous owners of the tomb. This means that the reconstruction and reuse of the premises were not necessarily accompanied by the oblivion of the dead. On the contrary, people could strive to restore the looted place to its sacred status and preserve the memory of its predecessors.

This conclusion is close to the results of the TT 209 analysis. In both cases, later visitors did not just occupy an empty room, but built relationships with pre-existing graves and changed the space without completely erasing its past.

Rituals changed with the society

Another study, published in July 2025 in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, focused on 504 graves at the Adam necropolis in Upper Egypt. The graves date back to the period from about 3300 to 2700 BC, when the early Egyptian state and related religious beliefs were formed.

Scientists have found that from the first to the third dynasty, funeral rites became more diverse. Some graves were oriented taking into account the rising of Sirius, the solstices and the flood of the Nile. The authors suggested that the traditions of rural communities could form the basis of a later state religion and royal ideology.

This work shows that the changes in funeral practices were not only due to economic difficulties or lack of space. They were influenced by ideas about rebirth, the movement of celestial bodies, the structure of the state and the position of man in society.

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New methods are changing the perception of the dead

In July 2026, experts also re-examined the remains of King Khor and five princesses, found at the end of the 19th century in Dahshur. The scientists combined osteological analysis, radiography and the study of embalming substances using infrared spectroscopy.

The work made it possible to clarify the age, health status and physical activity of the representatives of the royal family. The researchers paid special attention to weapons and objects of power found in women's burials. Previously, they could only be perceived as symbolic inventory, but the changes on the bones of some women required a re-examination of whether they were engaged in activities traditionally attributed to men.

In April 2026, Semmelweis University researchers used computed tomography with a photon-counting detector to study Egyptian remains more than 2.3 thousand years old. The scan made it possible to distinguish the layers of bandages, clarify the structure of bones and detect possible signs of osteoporosis without damaging the fragile finds.

Taken together, these studies reflect a change in the very approach to burial archaeology. Scientists are less likely to view the tomb as a frozen collection of objects and are increasingly trying to reconstruct the actions of people, the relationship between generations and the gradual change of rituals. In the case of TT 209, this allowed us to see a centuries-old system behind the apparent disorder. The tomb remained a space of collective memory, in which new burials did not cancel out the previous ones, but rebuilt their meaning.