Yet another year has come and gone, and the Nile Scribes are commemorating 2019 with a look back at our favourite archaeological discoveries of the year from Egypt. The old adage that “There is nothing left to be found in Egypt” cannot be more untrue: last year presented a wide variety of remarkable finds, from mummified mice to neolithic inscriptions. Out of dozens of new archaeological and research discoveries, we chose our Top Five Discoveries of 2019 to share with our readers.

1. Discovery of a unique tomb and the name of an ancient Egyptian queen in south Saqqara

The Czech Institute of Egyptology based out of Charles University in Prague has been actively working at Abusir for several decades. Dr. Mohamed Megahed, who graduated from the university with a Ph.D. in Egyptology in 2016, revealed in April not only the discovery of the tomb of a late Old Kingdom official, but also the name of a previously-unknown queen. The team found her name, Setibhor, on a column: the column, it turns out, proved to belong to her pyramid complex, the largest for a queen dating to the Old Kingdom. As for the tomb of the official, his funerary structure featured elaborately-decorated walls with scenes of offerings and the team was even successful in finding his remains with traces of mummification.

2. Egyptian archeologists uncover ancient ‘industrial area’ filled with royal artifacts

The Valley of the Kings was the burial ground for kings of the New Kingdom, and some of their retinue. Archaeologists have gained insight into the daily lives of the workmen who lived in the nearby village of Deir el-Medineh. Now, a mission under the direction of Dr. Zahi Hawass has announced the discovery of a large number of workshops which were used to furnish the offerings that would accompany the deceased king into their afterlife. Containing more than 30 workshops, the area also included a kiln that was used in the production of ceramic vessels. The discovery provides important insight into the places of manufacture that helped in the provisioning the royal tombs.

3. Archaeologists discover 30 ancient coffins in Luxor

Egypt commanded the world’s attention this Fall when it announced the discovery of a cache of over twenty intact sarcophagi in the North Asasif cemetery on Luxor’s west bank. The beautifully painted wooden coffins were found stacked in two layers inside the tomb, and belonged to men, women, and children who lived three thousand years ago. The Ministry announced plans to restore the coffins in preparation for display in the new Grand Egyptian Museum which is scheduled to open later this year.

4. Archaeologists Reveal Rare Mummified Lion Cubs Unearthed in Egypt

The massive necropolis at Saqqara continues to provide us with remarkable and unexpected discoveries. A cache of mummified cats, including two lion cubs, three other wildcats, and 20 smaller cats, was uncovered at Saqqara last year. CT scanning has allowed the lion cubs to be identified on the basis of their skeletal structure, and the team hopes to identify the species of the remaining three big cats through the same methods. Saqqara is the site of numerous large animal catacombs, including ibises, dogs, baboons, hawks, and cats. This new discovery marks the first time an intact mummified lion has ever been found in Egypt.

5. Archaeologists have finally found ancient Egyptian wax head cones

Although the two wax cones were discovered at Amarna in 2010 and 2015, their recent publication in Antiquity revealed this discovery to wider audiences in an answer to the long-debated question: did the ancient Egyptians actually wear the wax cones depicted atop the heads of individuals in tomb imagery or were they purely iconographic? Scented wax head cones were long presumed to have been worn for their practical aromatic uses, but also for their potential role in purification rituals in connection with the deceased. Before these very recent discoveries, however, no physical evidence of these wax cones had ever been found to help us understand their production and use in real life. Their discovery illustrates that even after centuries of archaeological investigation in Egypt, there is still much for us to uncover about the ancient Egyptians.