In the heart of the Nile Delta, Tanis is back in the news. This time not for its famous treasures discovered in the 1940s, but for something that archaeologists did not hesitate to define “the most important find since 1946”. It’s one of those pieces of news that forces you to stop, breathe, and wonder how many secrets ancient Egypt still holds.
A Franco-Egyptian mission led by Professor Frédéric Payraudeau of the Université de la Sorbonne has brought to light 225 perfectly preserved ushabti funerary figurineshidden for millennia in the northern chamber of Osorkon II’s tomb. Precisely those statuettes, all bearing the same name, made it possible to resolve an enigma that had remained suspended for decades: the identity of the pharaoh buried next to an anonymous sarcophagus.
Era Sheshonq IIIone of the longest-lived and most influential rulers of the 22nd Dynasty. A king who remained in the shadows, who now re-emerges with the strength of a choir that repeats the same name 225 times.
Because the 225 statuettes really change the history of this ancient city
The statuettes were still arranged in their original position, protected by layers of silt that seemed to want to guard them like a message left pending. At the center of the scene, a granite sarcophagus without inscriptions, found years ago and remained “silent” until today. It was the comparison between the ushabti and that sarcophagus that lit the light bulb: the owner of the mysterious tomb was Sheshonq III.
This revelation, however, also opens up new questions and possible scenarios. The first: Sheshonq III was really buried in the tomb of Osorkon II, reusing royal spaces that were no longer “respected” according to the classic patterns of Egypt’s great dynasties. The second: his statues and sarcophagus were moved there later, perhaps to hide them from grave robbers.
In fact, scholars underline how this historical period – the Third Intermediate Period – is one of the most complex and fragmented. Tombs were recycled, objects moved, rituals changed shape while maintaining an appearance of continuity. Tanis, once again, proves to be a small world where Egypt has continued to reinvent itself.
The current project is not just about discovery: it is long, patient work, which also aims to protect a fragile site. Archaeologists are acting on various fronts: reduction of the salinity that corrodes the stones, protective coverings, epigraphic analysis of the newly emerged inscriptions, technical study of the ushabti to establish whether they were created all together or in several phases.
And while the experts scrutinize every detail, Tanis prepares to tell new chapters. Because, despite the years, this site still seems to be a very deep well of suspended stories.
