Egyptologists Survey Old Kingdom Sites in South Saqqara

CAIRO, EGYPT—Ahram Online reports that a recent survey in south Saqqara, near the pyramid complex of King Djedkare, revealed the tomb of a Fifth Dynasty dignitary named Khuwy, and the name of a previously unknown Old Kingdom queen, Setibhor. Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said blocks from Khuwy’s tomb were removed and reused in antiquity, but an L-shaped offering chamber that was once decorated with reliefs remains at the site. On the north wall of the tomb’s superstructure, archaeologists led by Mohamed Megahed found a descending corridor leading to a vestibule. On the southern side, there is an antechamber decorated with images of the owner of the tomb at an offering table. Megahed said the burial chamber was filled with the rubble of a limestone sarcophagus that was destroyed in antiquity. Khuwy’s mummified remains were also recovered. Setibhor’s name was found in an inscription on a red granite column in a portico at what had been an unidentified pyramid complex containing architectural elements usually reserved for Old Kingdom kings. Megahed and his team suggest that Setibhor may have helped her husband, King Djedkare, ascend the throne of Egypt, and that he appears to have honored her in return with the large pyramid complex. For more on Egyptian rulers from this period, go to “Queen of the Old Kingdom.”