Old Kingdom Tomb Discovered in Saqqara

News January 4, 2024

Saqqara Old Kingdom Tomb
(Egypt's Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities)
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Saqqara Old Kingdom Tomb

CAIRO, EGYPT—Ahram Online reports that a tomb dated to between 2649 and 2150 B.C. has been discovered in Saqqara by a team of Japanese and Egyptian archaeologists. Mustafa Waziri of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities said that the remains of an adult, who was interred wearing a colored mask, and the burial of a small child were found in the rock-cut tomb. In this area of the necropolis, the researchers also uncovered burials from Egypt’s Late Period (712–332 B.C.) and the Ptolemaic period (304–30 B.C.), as well as an 18th Dynasty (1550–1295 B.C.) coffin containing a well-preserved alabaster vessel. Two terracotta statues of the goddess Isis; a terracotta statue of Harpocrates, a child deity; amulets; pottery models; and ostraca bearing hieratic inscriptions were also recovered. To read about another discovery from Saqqara, go to "Old Kingdom Tomb," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2019.

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