The Saqqara necropolis is one of the most important archaeological areas in Egypt, as there are tombs whose walls are covered with inscriptions of great beauty and magnificence, as well as pyramids, temples, and tombs of the Serapeum. At the hands of the Egyptian archaeological mission, and for this we review the most prominent archaeological discoveries in the region.
In 2010, the mission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities found two ancient tombs in Saqqara dating back to the era of the twenty-sixth dynasty, that is, about (2500 years ago), and the first is considered one of the largest and largest archaeological tombs in the Saqqara region.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary-General of the Council and head of the mission at the time, said: The two tombs were carved into the rock and were found at the Ras al-Jisr site in the Saqqara antiquities area, which is the starting point for entering Saqqara.
He added that the first cemetery is the largest of its kind that has been uncovered in the archaeological area of Saqqara and includes a large number of corridors, rooms and halls, which is a huge hall carved in the rock, and many rooms branch out from it. The mud brick is facing the cemetery from the eastern side.
He explained that he found two rooms containing quantities of rubble (construction waste and old soil). The two rooms lead to a hall in which many skeletons and pottery vessels were found. An entrance branching from the hall leads to another small hall in which there is a seven-meter-deep well.
In 2017, the French-Swiss mission from the University of Geneva found a small pyramid made of pink granite, during archaeological excavations south of Saqqara.
Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities at the time, explained that the height of the pyramid is 130 cm, and the area of its sides is 35 cm from the top and 110 cm from the bottom.
In 2018, Dr. Khaled El-Anany, Minister of Antiquities, announced the success of the Egyptian-German archaeological mission affiliated with the University of Tübingen in uncovering a complete mummification workshop attached to burial rooms containing mummies dating back to the era of the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh dynasties (664-404 BC), during the survey work. The archaeological site of the tombs of the Sawi era, located south of the Pyramid of Unas in Saqqara.
The mission also found a gilded mummy mask inlaid with semi-precious stones that covered the face of one of the mummies in one of the attached burial chambers.
In 2018, the archaeological mission operating in the Saqqara Antiquities area, affiliated to the Faculty of Archeology, Cairo University, announced the discovery of the tomb of the chief commander of the ancient Egyptian army during the reign of King Ramses II, called "Iorchi".
The cemetery - large in size - preserves many important inscriptions that highlight the height of the man's stature, in addition to the presence of wall inscriptions depicting the Egyptian army with its sections of cavalry and infantry, heading on a military campaign outside the eastern borders of Egypt, as illustrated by his military career during the reign of King Seti I, and the gradation of In positions until he held the highest military positions in the Egyptian royal court during the reign of King Ramses II.
In 2018, the Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery of a newly discovered pharaonic tomb for a priestess called "Hetepet", which was discovered by an excavation mission on the tomb in the western part of the Giza pyramids plateau in the "cemetery of senior officials in the old state", and that the owner of the tomb was a senior employee in the royal court at the end of the Dynasty era. Fifth, in the ancient state of Pharaonic Egypt, and the tomb still retains drawings on the walls and bright colors in good condition, despite its age of more than 4,400 years.
In 2020, it was announced that 59 colored and closed wooden coffins had been uncovered inside burial wells in the Saqqara antiquities area, at an international press conference in the presence of more than 50 ambassadors.
In November, it was announced that more than 100 colored wooden coffins, 40 wooden statues of the god Ptah Soker, a number of shabti statues and amulets, and 4 golden cardboard masks were unveiled at an international press conference attended by more than 300 Egyptian and foreign journalists and media figures.
In 2021, it was announced that the joint Egyptian mission between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Zahi Hawass Center for Egyptology at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, which works in the Saqqara antiquities area next to the King’s Pyramid, the first kings of the Sixth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, has reached important archaeological discoveries dating back to the Old, New and Late Ages.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist and head of the mission, said that these discoveries will rewrite the history of this region, especially during the 18th and 19th dynasties of the New Kingdom, the period in which King Tati was worshiped and was buried at that time around his pyramid.
Hawass confirmed that the mission found the mortuary temple of Queen Narat, the wife of King Tati, part of which was uncovered in the previous years of the mission, indicating that the mission also found the layout of the temple, in addition to three storehouses built of mud bricks in the southeastern side of it. To store offerings and tools that were used to revive the Queen's faith.
In addition, 52 wells were found, ranging in depth from 10 to 12 meters, inside them more than 50 wooden coffins from the era of the New Kingdom, and this is the first time that coffins dating back to three thousand years have been found in the Saqqara region. On its surface, there are 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, which help the deceased to pass his journey to the other world.
In 2023, and specifically during the month of April, the joint Dutch-Italian archaeological mission from the Leiden Museum in the Netherlands and the Egyptian Museum in Turin, working in the Saqqara antiquities area under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, succeeded in discovering a tomb of a person claiming Banahsi from the Ramesside period, during the excavations it is conducting at the site. during the current excavation season.
Tue, May. 30, 2023
