A major discovery in Tanis, in Egypt’s Nile Delta, uncovers 225 ushabti funerary figurines inside a royal tomb, the largest find in Tanis since 1946 and unprecedented for the area south of Tanis in a royal necropolis context.

French excavation team Mission française des fouilles de Tanis reports that the 225 celadon-green ceramic figurines accompany Pharaoh Shoshenq III (Chechanq III) and date to roughly 850 BCE, found near Osorkon II in tombs.

The figurines were found inside or near a sarcophagus within a tomb whose occupant had been unidentified due to antiquity looting, with inscriptions naming the tomb’s occupant later clarified.

Experts suggest the find prompts questions about burial practices and succession, pointing to possible shifts in burial planning or reburial after political upheaval during Shoshenq III’s turbulent reign.

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The description of discovery includes a sense of enormous luck surrounding the find.

Extracting the figurines brick by brick took ten days, with teams working through the night to preserve their arrangement.

The discovery was announced at a Paris press conference, emphasizing immediate excitement and the effort to document and preserve the find.

Historically, only two of eight identified kings were buried in prepared tombs; others were moved, highlighting complex dynastic handling of royal burials.

The 225 figurines, called ‘ouchbetis,’ depict servants for the afterlife, with more than half shown as female and some leaders among the figures.

The find comes as the Grand Egyptian Museum opens, aligning with renewed interest in Egyptology and cultural heritage.

Inscriptions on many figurines clearly name the tomb’s occupant, aiding identification and historical context.

Frédéric Payraudeau, head of the French-Egyptian Tanis mission, described the discovery as a significant breakthrough.

The 225 figurines, mostly female, were arranged in an étoile formation around a trapezoidal shaft and in horizontal rows at the bottom, retrieved over ten days after October 9.

The majority of figurines are female, highlighted as an unusual feature by the excavation team.

The figurines, mostly women, were extracted after a ten-day careful retrieval process, arranged in star patterns around a trapezoidal shaft and at the bottom.

If confirmed, the figurines will be displayed in an Egyptian museum, contributing to understanding of Tanis’s Fourth Intermediate Period burial rites.

Plans call for displaying the figurines in an Egyptian museum following study.

The find emphasizes that Tanis tomb preparation often involved posthumous relocations by successors rather than original burials.

Most Tanis and Valley of the Kings tombs were looted; this discovery provides new insights into burial practices and royal tomb structuring in the region.

Researchers identified the sarcophagus occupant as Pharaoh Shoshenq III (reigned 830–791 BCE) through inscriptions and corroborating evidence.

The figurines helped confirm that the sarcophagus belonged to Pharaoh Scheschonq III of the 22nd Dynasty, revising prior burial-location assumptions.

The identification of the tomb’s owner was resolved since 1939 via inscriptions and related evidence.

Ushabti figurines were meant as servants to accompany the dead into the afterlife, offering important insights into Tanis burial customs.

The discovery occurred on October 9, during the French Tanis excavations led by Frédéric Payraudeau and Ahmed Nakshara.

The find is the most significant royal burial discovery in Tanis since 1946, highlighting its inscriptions and chamber importance for the 21st–22nd Dynasties.

Pharaoh Scheschonq III ruled roughly from 830 to 791 BCE and faced internal power struggles that influenced his burial arrangements.

Nearly half of the recovered figurines depict women, a higher female representation than typical, a detail still under study.

Tanis, founded as a new capital in the 11th century BCE, houses multiple royal tombs from the 21st and 22nd Dynasties.