WARSAW, POLAND—Live Science reports that a 4,300-year-old tomb has been found in the Saqqara necropolis next to the Step Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt’s first pyramid, which had been built about 400 years earlier. Hieroglyphs on the tomb indicate that Mehtjetju, the high-status official buried there, served as inspector of the royal estate, a priest of the mortuary cult of the pharaoh Teti (r. 2323–2291 B.C.), and had access to sealed royal documents, explained Kamil Kuraszkiewicz of the University of Warsaw. Mehtjetju may have also served the pharaohs Userkare (r. 2291–2289 B.C.) and Pepi I (r. 2289–2255 B.C.). The tomb of Mehtjetju may be part of a larger complex of tombs holding the remains of his family, Kuraszkiewicz added. The researchers plan to return to the site in the fall. To read about monuments built by pharaohs of the Fifth Dynasty at nearby Abusir, go to "In the Reign of the Sun Kings."
