THE JEWELRY CACHE OF QUEEN WERET
After working for several years at the pyramid and upper temple of Senwosret III, archaeologists from the Metropolitan Museum of Art discovered the tomb of Queen Weret under the pyramid. Until this discovery, we knew of the Queen only through a statue fragment found at Elephantine and an inscription in the pyramid of her husband at Kahun.
Weret was esteemed as the mother of King Senwosret III, the wife of King Senwosret II and the daughter of Amenemhet II. Her limestone burial chamber and red granite sarcophagus reflect this esteem through the centuries, but what shines more is the discovery of her gold jewelry, hidden in a niche in one of the tomb's passages.
On the day of its discovery, this cache of jewelry was quickly transported to the Cairo Museum under tight security. The artifacts were in many pieces-indeed, there were some 7000 beads of various sizes. After careful restoration, the jewelry is now exhibited in the Museum.
This is hot first discovery of jewels at Dahshur. During his 1894-1895 dig season, de Morgan also discovered beautiful jewelry in the gallery near the north-east comer of the pyramid in the tombs of Princess Sat-Hathor and Queen Mereret. This jewelry is also at the Egyptian Museum.
The new cache includes two beautiful amethyst scarabs that look like finger rings. Each scarab, measuring 2.5cm in length, bears the two names of King Amenemhet III surrounded by what appear to be two snakes. Two finely detailed gold lions, a mere 1.77cm long, once formed part of a bracelet and now reveal the skilled craftsmanship of the Middle Kingdom artisans. They stand among the seven gold beads that the artisans crafted in the shape of cowrie shells and two amulets in the shape of leopard's claws that might have been worn around Weret's ankles.
The discovery drew much attention from the. media and from some clandestine sorts. Two months after the expedition dosed and the excavation team had returned to New York, we learned that thieves attacked the expedition's storage area at Dahshur. Rushing to the magazine we determined that the thieves did not steal anything;. They were looking for the gold treasure, now safely in the Egyptian Museum.
