Minister
of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany announced on Saturday a new discovery made by an
Egyptian archaeological mission during excavation work carried out since April
at the area located on the stony edge of King Userkaf pyramid complex in the
Saqqara Necropolis. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.
Cairo
governor Ahmed Rashid attended the announcement, along with members of
parliament and 30 ambassadors from all over the globe to highlight the role
that antiquities play in promoting the country and its unique heritage.
El-Enany
explained that the mission uncovered three plain New Kingdom tombs that had
been used during the Late Period as a cat necropolis, along with four other Old
Kingdom tombs, the most important of which belongs to Khufu-Imhat, the overseer
of the buildings in the royal palace.
This
tomb can be dated to the late fifth and the early sixth dynasties.
He
also pointed out that the Egyptian mission selected the site to excavate
because there was a high probability that a collection of Old Kingdom tombs
could be uncovered around the ramp of King Userkaf pyramid complex.
In
2008, the mission stopped digging and instead devoted all of its work to the
studying, documenting and restoration of some of the discovered tombs, though
all projects completely stopped after 2013.
“This
will be the first of three upcoming new discoveries in other governorates in
Egypt to be announced before the end of 2018,” said El-Enany.
Mostafa
Waziri, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced
that the Egyptian mission succeeded in unearthing the first ever scarab mummies
in the Memphis necropolis, as two large mummies of scarabs were found inside a
rectangular limestone sarcophagus with a vaulted lid decorated with three
scarabs painted in black.
Studies
on these scarabs show that they are wrapped in linen and in a very good preservation
condition. Another collection of scarab mummies was also found inside a smaller
and squared limestone sarcophagus decorated with one painted black scarab.
Tens
of cat mummies were also unearthed, along with 100 wooden statues of cats and a
bronze one dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet. A collection of wooden gilded
statues depicting the physical features of a lion, a cow, and a falcon was also
unearthed.
Painted
wooden sarcophagi of cobras with mummies found inside them were also discovered
along with two wooden sarcophagi of crocodiles.
Within
the debris, the mission succeeded to unearth around 1000 amulets made of
faience dedicated to different deities, including Tawesert, Apis, Anubis,
Djehuty, Horus, Isis, Ptah Patek, and Khnum, as well as other faience amulets
in the shape of the Udjat eye, the white and red crowns, and the Wadjat column.
Three
alabaster canopic jars and writing tools, such as ink pots with pens, were
found along with several papyri featuring chapters from the Book of the Dead.
Names of two ladies, Subek Sekt and Mafy, were also found engraved on a false
door for the first time ever.
Sabri
Farag, the Director General of the Saqqara Necropolis, said that a collection
of baskets and ropes made of papyrus was also found along with 30 clay pots, a
headrest, and alabaster and bronze jars inside a wooden sarcophagus.
A
large number of decorated stone reliefs and blocks, along with parts of false
doors, were also found with two blocks representing a part of the lintel of the
tomb of Ankh Mahur, one of the Old Kingdom viziers.
Orascom
Investment Holding (OIH) is the sponsor of the event, in accordance with the
newly launched commercial sponsorship regulation, according to the request it
submitted to the ministry of antiquities.
Engineer
Naguib Sawiris, the Executive Chairman of OIH, affirmed the company’s interest
to develop archaeological sites to show the exceptional richness of Egyptian
civilization and to attract the attention of the world towards its magnificent
monuments and great civilization so that it becomes the focus of the world.
Among
the attendees are ambassadors of Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Cyprus, Mexico,
Italy, Malta, Hungary, France, Ireland, Armenia, South Korea, Tajikistan,
Japan, Austria, and Bella Russia. Saudi Arabia and Georgia’s vice-ambassadors
have also attended, as well as Denmark’s general councilor and the cultural
attachés of the Czech Republic, Georgia and USA. The heads of the American
Research Centre in Cairo and UNESCO were also among the attendees.
Multiple
ambassadors have participated in several archaeological events over the last
month, including the Abu Simbel Temple solar alignment phenomenon and tours
around the archaeological sites in the New Valley and Saint Catherine in South
Sinai.
