The treasure of Tanis: A discovery rivalling that of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

This article is from Ancient Egypt issue 142

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Situated in the north-eastern part of the Nile Delta, ancient Djanet (Tanis) was the residence and burial place of the kings of the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Dynasties. In the late 1930s and early ’40s, a complex of royal tombs was discovered at Tanis, some of which were found to be intact.

The tombs

On 27 February 1939, Pierre Montet, who had been excavating for 11 seasons at Tanis, found the tomb of Osorkon II. Although it had been plundered, the tomb still contained a sarcophagus, shabtis, and other artefacts. Following its clearance, Montet discovered adjoining tombs, three of which were undisturbed: the tomb of Sheshonq II, a previously unknown king, and those of Psusennes I and Amenemope.

The treasures

Nearly 600 objects were unearthed from the tombs, including three remarkable coffins of solid silver, four gold masks, gold and silver vases, superb gold and lapis-lazuli bracelets belonging to Sheshonq II, and a spectacular collection of jewellery. The splendour of these, the Tanis masterpieces, invites comparison with the magnificence of the Tutankhamun collection, yet they remain largely unknown to the general public.

Because of their discovery at the beginning of the Second World War, the impact of the finds on the world of Egyptology was limited. Montet did later publish his results, which made a considerable contribution to the knowledge of the Third Intermediate Period. The inscriptions, particularly on the gold vessels, allowed the genealogy of the kings of the Twenty-first Dynasty to be established.

Ramesses II and Indiana Jones

Many of the inscribed monuments at Tanis carried the name of Ramesses II, which led Montet to believe this was the site of Pi-Ramesses, the Delta capital of the Ramesside kings. This was later proved not to be the case by Manfred Bietak, who was able to locate Pi-Ramesses at Qantir, some 20 km to the south. The ancient Egyptians routinely reused building material and, together with the lack of stone in the Delta, this had led the ancient builders to transport stone, some of which was inscribed with the name of Ramesses, from Pi-Ramesses to the site of Tanis. Tanis was also the city portrayed in the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark as being buried in antiquity by a massive sandstorm before being rediscovered by a Nazi expedition looking for the Ark of the Covenant.

Uniquely intact

Although the gold and artefacts from Tutankhamun’s tomb are world-renowned, his tomb was not discovered intact – it had been visited by thieves at least twice in antiquity. Not a single undisturbed royal tomb had been found in ancient Egypt until Montet uncovered the three tombs at Tanis. He was to later describe the finds as:

One of the most beautiful collections that antiquity bequeathed us. It would have had the first place in ancient Egypt if the tomb of Tutankhamun did not exist.

Roger Forshaw, Lecturer in Biomedical Egyptology, University of Manchester

Image: Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo; Rafaele CC BY 2.0 via Wikicommons