Cairo – The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has revealed details of the latest iconic discoveries from the Saqqara necropolis in southern Cairo. The huge cemeteries are located in the ancient city of Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt. The UNESCO World Heritage Site houses more than a dozen pyramids, including the oldest in Egypt. Pyramid of Djoser.
The site has produced thousands of artifacts over decades of excavations, but one of the biggest rewards for Egyptologists in this latest round of discoveries was the identity of a queen who died about 4,200 years ago.
His tomb was discovered in a place adjacent to the pyramid of King Tethys, the first pharaoh of the sixth dynasty of the Ancient Kingdom of Egypt, the period between 2680 and 2180 BC known as the Age of Pyramids.
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“The excavation began in 2010, when we discovered a pyramid of a queen next to the pyramid of King Teti, but we did not find any name inside the pyramid that would tell us to whom the pyramid belonged,” Egyptologist and former minister told CBS News Dr. Zahi Hawass.
About a month ago they discovered a funerary temple and now the researchers finally have a name for the former monarch: Queen Neit, the wife of King Teti. His name was eventually found, carved into a temple wall and also written on a fallen obelisk at the entrance to his tomb.
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“I had never heard of this queen. So we add an important piece to Egyptian history about this queen,” said Hawass, who heads the archeological mission. He said recent discoveries would help “rewrite” the history of ancient Egypt.
His team also discovered 52 funerary axes, each about 30 to 40 feet deep, within which they found they had more than 50 wooden coffins dating back to the New Kingdom, some 3,000 years ago.
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“Actually, this morning we found another axis,” Hawass told CBS News Monday. “Inside the well we find a large limestone sarcophagus. This is the first time we have discovered a limestone sarcophagus inside the shafts. We find another one that we will open in a week.”
The team also found a papyrus about 13 feet long and three feet wide, on which is chapter 17 of the document. Book of the Dead it is written in hieroglyphics, with the name of its registered owner. The book of the dead is an ancient manuscript that explains how to navigate the afterlife to reach the field of paradise Aaru, to the ancient Egyptians.
Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities
Hawass said it was the first time such a large papyrus had been discovered inside a funeral well.
Other finds on the site include numerous wooden funerary masks, a shrine dedicated to the god Anubis (Guardian of the Cemetery), statues of Anubis and games that were buried with the dead, to keep them busy in the afterlife. One of them was a game called “Twenty,” which was in the name of its owner still visibly written.
Another game, called “Senet” (cross), was found on the axes. It is similar to chess, but if the dead player wins, he will safely enter the afterlife.