The treasure hunt continues in Egypt. Five pharaonic tombs “in good condition and erected for high officials” were unveiled this Saturday in Saqqara, in the necropolis of Memphis, the capital of the Old Kingdom of the pharaohs. The tombstones were discovered by Egyptian archaeologists northeast of the pyramid of King Merenre I, who ruled Egypt around 2270 BC. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the tombs contained the remains of senior officials.
In the vault of one of them, named Iry, excavations brought to light a limestone sarcophagus and colorful decorations depicting funerary scenes, including “tables of offerings, the seven oils and the facade of a palace”, detail the ministry. Three other tombs, 6 meters deep, belong to two women, one of whom was “solely responsible for the king’s beautification”, and to the priest Pepi Nefhany. The last, dedicated to “Henu, steward of the royal household”, sinks, it, 7 meters deep.
Already in January 2021, Egypt unveiled new “treasures” archaeological remains in the necropolis of Saqqara, including some fifty New Kingdom sarcophagi more than 3,000 years old, ensuring that they allowed “rewrite history” of this period. Netflix also devoted a documentary to the discovery at the end of 2018 of an intact tomb over 4,400 years old, Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb.
Hope to revive tourism
The site of Saqqara, just over 15 kilometers south of the famous pyramids of the Giza plateau, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known for the famous step pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser, the first of the era pharaonic. This monument, built around 2,700 BC. by the architect Imhotep, is considered one of the oldest.
The Egyptian authorities hope for their part to inaugurate in the coming months the “Grand Egyptian Museum” near the Giza plateau and are counting on these new discoveries to revive tourism, hit hard by the Covid-19. This sector, which employs two million people and generates more than 10% of GDP, has been at half mast since the Arab Spring of 2011.