In Photos: Five ancient Egyptian tombs uncovered in Saqqara

Nevine El-Aref , Thursday 17 Mar 2022

Five tombs from the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate eras were recently uncovered during excavations carried out on the northeastern side of King Merenre Pyramid in Saqqara necropolis.

Five ancient

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Enany and the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri toured early on Thursday the excavation work carried out by an Egyptian excavation team.

The team is still busy at work, brushing the toll of time off the tombs’ walls and identifying the colours of the tombs’ decorations.

El-Enany entered one of the newly discovered tombs to inspect the team’s work, thanking them for their efforts revealing the secrets of Saqqara.

For his part, Waziri explained that the five tombs, which belonged to top officials, are in a state of good preservation.

The first tomb, which belonged to an official with the rank of Iry, consists of a deep burial shaft leading to a chamber decorated with funerary scenes depicting offering tables, the seven sacred oils and a façade of the palace. A limestone sarcophagus was also uncovered inside the tomb.

The second tomb belongs to a woman that could be the wife of a man named Yaret and has a rectangular burial shaft.

The third tomb belongs to Pepi Nefhany, who held the positions of supervisor of the great house, priest, and purifier of the house. It has a six metre deep burial shaft.

The fourth one is for a woman named Petty, who was a priest of Hathor and was responsible for the king’s beautification. It also consists of a six metre deep burial shift.

The fifth tomb is for a man named Henu, the overseer and supervisor of the royal house. It consists of a seven metre deep rectangular burial shaft.

More work and studies will be carried out to reveal the secrets of these tombs.

Short link: