"Gentrified" Egyptian Burial Chamber Discovered in Abusir

A recycled burial chamber with unusual decorations has been discovered just south of Cairo, archaeologists announced today. The chamber may offer further proof of how the nobles of Egypt's 26th dynasty (664 to 525 B.C.) "gentrified" the 2,000-year-old necropolis, or vast burial grounds, of their 5th-dynasty predecessors. The necropolis had fallen into disrepair in the intervening millenia.

The monuments were part of a complex built about 4,500 years ago during the 5th dynasty's brief reign, from 2498 to 2345 B.C. The necropolis then served the nobles of Memphis, Egypt's ancient capital. Twenty centuries later, the site was revived by a new generation of Egyptian nobles, who wanted to be buried near the temples of Saqqara, said Miroslav Verner of the Czech Institute of Egyptology in Prague. "We believe it is the proximity to the complex of sacred installations in north Saqqara"—just half a mile (one kilometer) away—that led to the building of new tombs at Abu Sir, said Verner, who has been researching the region for decades.

The grave of a royal guard of the 26th dynasty, which dates back to about 2,500 years ago, was unearthed by an Egyptian-Czech archaeological mission in the south of Cairo, Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni said on Thursday.

A large limestone sarcophagus, which enclosed yet another casket, was discovered while the archaeologists were excavating in search of yet-to-be discovered Pharaonic monuments in Abu-Sir area, about 27 km south of Cairo, said Hosni. The embedded box is made of diorite and has on it inscriptions from the Book of the Dead, he added. The grave, which belongs to Menkhep-Nikaw, also houses funereal furniture, including faience pots, good-luck amulets and carnelian stones, Hosni said.

Zahi Hawwas, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the new discovery proved Abu-Sir to be a virgin area, with many Pharaonic mysteries still buried under its earth.