Archaeologists Have Discovered a 4,400 year Old Tomb of an Egyptian Royal Priest

Egypt is known to be a place of archaeological discoveries since a long time. News like a 2,000-year-old, perfectly sealed sarcophagus which was unearthed in July this year has been heard of is a common thing there; the tomb of prominent priestess then was found in February; and the grave of a royal goldsmith was found in September 2017. Archaeologists have recently discovered an old tomb in a well preserved condition, it’s accessed to be 4,400-year-old of like a royal priest along with his family lived their long back in Egypt, it looks like “one of a kind” as described by the Egyptian authorities announced recently on 15^th December, 2018.

The tomb that was unearthed in Saqqara is a city vast necropolis from ancient Egypt and south of Cairo. According to Khaled al-Anani, Egypt’s minister of antiquities, the discovery dates were notified to be from the rule of Neferirkare Kakai, who was the third king of the 5^th dynasty of ancient Egypt era. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art the fifth dynasty was governed for around on and a half centuries starting from 2,500 B.C. to about 2,350 B.C. According to the sources of Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s supreme council of antiquities, the tomb had remained untouched since past 4000 years; the rest will be quoted clearly on further observation. The walls of the tomb were decorated with statues of pharaohs and colorful hieroglyphs, whereas sculptures of the buried priest and his family were placed in the tomb. The sculptures are about 9 feet tall and 32 feet wide. In all, there were 45 statues in the grave; the tomb has been put under excavation since November. The authorities cited that more artifacts that may carry archaeological significance may be discovered once the excavation of the coffin or a sarcophagus of the priest including the five shafts begins; the work of excavation is expected to start in January. In modern times the Saqqara city is said to be brought to light by the archaeologists, thereafter it featured as a tourist attraction, with large groups admiring its pyramids and the history of an astonishing ancient civilization. But since 2011, Political problems, terrorist activities followed by the bombarding, have made the country of Pyramids an unattractive tourist destination for people who are interested in ancient civilization.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://www.history.com/news/tomb-discovery-egypt-saqqara