The joint Egyptian mission between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Zahi Hawass Center for Egyptology at the Library of Alexandria, which operates in the Saqqara antiquities area, next to the pyramid of the king, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, found the mortuary temple of the Queen Naraat, the wife of King Titi, part of which was revealed in the years Prior to the expedition, and during the following lines we explain some important information about the discovery:
Q / What did the Egyptian joint find in Saqqara?
A: The mission found the layout of the temple, in addition to three warehouses built of mud brick in the southeastern side of it, to store offerings and tools that were used to revive the Queen's creed. In addition, 52 wells were found, with depths ranging from 10 to 12 meters, inside which were more than 50 wooden coffins from the New Kingdom era.
Q / Is this the first time that coffins were found in the area?
A: It is the first time that coffins dating back three thousand years have been found in Saqqara region, and these coffins have a human form and are represented on their surface many scenes of the gods that were worshiped during this period in addition to various parts of the texts of the Book of the Dead that help the deceased to obtain Traverse his journey to the other world.
Q / What are the holdings that the mission found in the wells discovered?
A: The mission found inside the wells large numbers of archaeological artifacts and statues in the form of deities such as the god Ozer, Ptah, Sukkar and Oazir, in addition to a unique discovery, where the mission found a papyrus up to four meters long and one meter wide, representing Chapter Seven Ten of the Book of the Dead, and the name of its owner is recorded on it (Bu-Khaa-Af). The same name was found on four statues of Shabati.
A wooden coffin was also found on the human body of the same person, in addition to many shabty statues made of wood and faience stone from the era of the New Kingdom, in addition to a set of wooden masks as well as the shrine of the god Anubis, the god of cemetery, and he found statues in good condition as well as many The games in which the deceased was playing in the other world, such as the game (the cent), which is similar to chess now, as well as the twenty game with the name of the person who was playing with it recorded.
Q / Who are the owners of the engraved plates that were found in the new archaeological discovery?
A: Many artifacts were found that represent birds such as a goose, a bronze ax indicating that its owner was one of the leaders of the army in the era of the New Kingdom, and many paintings inscribed with scenes of the deceased and his wife and hieroglyphic writings. One of the most beautiful of them is a limestone panel in a good state of preservation, on which is depicted a scene of a deceased named (Kho-Ptah) and his wife called (Mut-am-wea). The upper row of the painting depicts the deceased and his wife in a devotional position in front of the god Osir, and the lower row depicts the deceased sitting with his wife behind him, and under the wife's chair one of their daughters was represented sitting close to her nose a lotus flower and decorating her head with aromatic funnel.
Q / Did the sons of the engraved leader mention his name and his wife?
A: In front of the spouses there are six sons in two rows, where we find the upper row in which three of their daughters are sitting on the ground, holding the lotus flower close to their noses and covering their heads with perfume tips. As for the lower row, there are three male sons standing in front of the deceased and his wife. Hawass that it is striking that one of the daughters bears the name (Nefertari), she was named after the beloved wife of King Ramses II, and he bore the name of one of the sons (Kha-Um-Wast), which is the name of one of the sons of King Ramses II and is considered a wise man of the age and is called the first scholar. As for the titles of the owner of the painting, he was the supervisor of the king's war wheel, which indicates his important position in the family of 19. Impressive quantities of pottery dating back to the modern state were also found, including pottery proving commercial relations between Egypt and Crete as well as Syria and Palestine. .
Q / Have the mummies in the temple been studied?
A: The mission studied the mummy of a woman, whose companion was found to be suffering from a disease known as "Mediterranean fever" or "swine fever", which is a disease that comes from direct contact with animals and leads to a liver abscess, which is a chronic disease for life. . Sahar Selim, a professor of radiology at Al-Qasr Al-Aini, made the necessary studies on the discovered mummies, including the mummy of a child. Studies have determined the causes of death and the age of the deceased at the time of death.
Q / What is the compartment that was discovered?
A: The mission uncovered a huge mud brick cabin dating back to the era of the modern state with a well up to 24 meters deep so far and we have not yet reached its end, and it is expected to end with a burial chamber, and the floor of that compartment was paved with blocks of well-polished limestone. The upper part of the well mouth was covered with stones. The work is still in progress and Dr. Zahi Hawass said that this well was not reached by thieves, and it will be fully disclosed.
Sun, Jan. 17, 2021
