Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates/Royal necropolis of Byblos/archive1

The ruins at Byblos

The royal necropolis of Byblos is a group of nine Bronze Age underground shaft and chamber tombs housing the sarcophagi of several kings of the city. The site of Byblos was lost, but rediscovered in the late 19th century by the French scholar Ernest Renan near modern Jbeil. Byblos traded with Egypt during the Bronze Age, and this influence was shown in excavated reliefs bearing Egyptian hieroglyphs. In 1922, heavy rains triggered a landslide exposing an underground tomb containing a massive stone sarcophagus. The grave was explored by archaeologist Charles Virolleaud and Egyptologist Pierre Montet, who unearthed eight more shaft-and-chamber tombs. The earliest tombs dated back to 19th century BC; some were unspoiled, and contained items including royal gifts from pharaohs Amenemhat III and Amenemhat IV. The graves of the Late Bronze Age second group were robbed in antiquity. Seven stone sarcophagi were discovered, all undecorated except the Ahiram sarcophagus, famed for its Phoenician inscription.(Full article...)