Egypt

Egyptian mastaba had its own afterlife

LA Times (Thomas H Maugh II)

In Egypt, apparently even pyramids can be recycled.

Archaeologists from the country's Supreme Council of Antiquities said this week that they had discovered a cache of 30 mummies dating from the country's 26th Dynasty in a tomb constructed during the 6th Dynasty nearly 2,000 years earlier.

The 26th Dynasty was the last period of rule by Egyptian pharaohs before the country was conquered by the Persians and other foreigners, a time when it was becoming more difficult for rulers to muster the manpower necessary for more grandiose burial sites.

The 6th Dynasty pyramid is actually a mastaba tomb -- a simpler precursor to a pyramid -- of a man named Sennedjem. It is located in Saqqara, about 12 miles south of Cairo, the final resting place of most of the Egyptian rulers who lived in the Old Kingdom capital of Memphis.

The new cache was discovered at the end of a 36-foot shaft drilled into the side of the tomb during the 26th Dynasty. Zahi Hawass, head of the council and director of the expedition, said the team had found 24 mummies in niches along the walls of the chamber and on shelves along one wall. Some of the mummies were of children and one was of a dog. All were badly decomposed, indicating that they had not been adequately prepared for burial.

Zahi Hawass website

With photographs.

About a year ago, my team conducted a survey and began excavations in an area known as the Gisr El-Mudir at Saqqara. “Gisr El-Mudir” means “bridge of the director” – the name refers to the fact that, many years ago, an expedition director used to pitch his tent nearby.

There is a large, Early Dynastic stone enclosure under the desert in this area, and it is very exciting to learn that there has also been an undiscovered Old Kingdom cemetery lying below the sand all these years, waiting to be discovered. A few months ago, we announced the discovery of two new tombs. One belonged to a man named Iya-maat, who directed missions sent to retrieve materials for the construction of the pyramid of Unas (ca. 2353-2323 BC). The other belonged to a 5th Dynasty woman named Thinh, whose title was “chief of all the singers.” We also recently discovered the 6th Dynasty mud-brick mastaba tomb of a man named Sennedjem. Behind the chapel of this tomb, which contains an inscribed false door, a shaft about 11 meters deep and 2.75 meters square was dug into the rock of the plateau. This shaft ends in a sizeable burial chamber. To the east, inside the chapel itself, another shaft was dug into the same burial chamber during the 26th, or Saite, Dynasty (ca. 2353-2323 BC).

To reach the burial chamber, you have to either climb down a narrow ladder, or ride a simple rope lift. Either way, it is dangerous, and quite thrilling!

See the above pages for more.

- Tomb Of Karakhamun Found By Egyptian-american Team
drhawass.com Press Release, with photographs. An Egyptian-American expedition has found the burial chamber of a priest named Karakhamun (TT223). The tomb dates to Dynasty 25 (c. 755BC) and was uncovered during conservation and restoration work on the...

- Two New Tombs Discovered In Saqqara
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El Aref) With photo. Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni has announced the discovery of two of the most important tombs ever found at Saqqara. The tombs dating from the Old Kingdom, which are in a part of the necropolis to the west...

- In The Field: Saqqara Tombs Press Release From Sca
drhawass.com Two large 26th Dynasty tombs have been found in Saqqara by an Egyptian excavation mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Culture Minister Farouk Hosni announced today. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA and the...

- Egypt Discovers 2,600 Year-old Mummy At Saqqara Burial Site
Google / Associated Press Inside the chamber, 22 mummies lay covered only by sand in four niches dug into the chamber's walls. Most were badly decomposed, showing only skulls and parts of skeletons, with decayed mummy wrappings. The sarcophagi were...

- More Re Newly Discovered Storeroom Containing Mummies
Sky News Underneath the Meresamun story there's a 36-slide photograph viewer showing 7 photographs of Hawass with one of the mummies from the new discovery. The other photographs concern other subjects. Yahoo! News A storeroom housing about two...

Egypt