ANCIENT EGYPT

The History, People and Culture of the Nile Valley

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  New pyramid and tomb discoveries

 The new Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, is no stranger to the challenges and surprises of ancient Egypt’s apparently inexhaustible capacity to provide exciting discoveries. Even so, he must have been delighted by two of the latest finds. The first, a sealed sarcophagus dating back to the reign of Khufu and belonging to an overseer of workers, Ny-Nsw-Wsrt, was found in a tomb in the designated workmen’s cemetery 2km to the southeast of the Sphinx.

 This discovery is bound to delight Egyptologists and Egyptology students too, since this is the oldest intact sarcophagus yet found, and the remains of the overseer are still sealed within it. There are plans to open it in September 2002. The overseer’s tomb, too, has some interesting aspects and parallels with the pyramids themselves; there are two openings in the central burial chamber, possibly to permit access for the soul of the deceased, similar to those in the Great Pyramid. The tomb has been dated by pottery and moulds to the 4th dynasty. It is evident that the tomb owner intended his family to enter the afterlife since there are five more burial shafts. Some reports mention family treasures, too. Externally, the tomb consists of an open area and facade.

The second discovery is that of a pyramid dating to the reign of 4th dynasty Djedefre (aka Radjedef in some reports), and is located in a previously unexcavated section to the southeast of Djedefre’s pyramid at Abu Roash. The pyramid is attributed to a queen of the period and is laid out and aligned similarly to that of the king. Within the rubble of a shaft a sealing block has been discovered, along with a north-south corridor within the sub-structure. So far there appear to have been three chambers.

While various artefacts have been found within the area of the pyramid, of particular interest is an inscribed alabaster fragment bearing the Horus name of Khufu: br md ddw hwfw.

For further details, visit the official web site of Dr Hawass: www.guardians.net and the official tourist site for Egypt, www.touregypt.net both of which provide up to date news on the latest discoveries. See Netfishing in this issue of Ancient Egypt for more information. Ancient Egypt wishes the Dr Hawass and his equally hard-working colleagues the very best of success in their continuing work.

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