Archaeologists Discover Unspoiled Egyptian Tomb, Sealed For 4,400 Years
When it comes to Egyptian archaeology, unspoiled tombs are vanishingly rare. Even the tomb of King Tutankhamun, KV62, which survived to the present day relatively intact, was actually penetrated and despoiled twice in antiquity prior to being buried and forgotten. The farther back in time you go, the more unusual it is to find a tomb that was truly forgotten, particularly if said tomb belonged to someone of high rank. (The pyramids, of course, functioned as fairly effective advertisements to tomb robbers). But Egyptian archaeologists have announced an incredible find — a 4,400-year-old tomb of an Egyptian high priest, Wahtye, who lived during Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty.
The Fifth Dynasty is the era in which the oldest copies of Egypt’s Pyramid Texts — the religious texts guiding the transformation of the Pharaoh from his old life into his new role — were first carved into the pyramids themselves. Wahtye lived during the rule of Pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai, who built his own burial pyramid at Abusir, between Saqqara and the Giza Plateau. Wahtye’s tomb is in Saqqara and contains extensive depictions of family scenes, including repeated mentions of the high priest’s mother, Merit Meen, and his wife, Weret Ptah. There are five shaft tombs within the tomb complex and two false doors. One of the shafts was open and unsealed, but the other four were sealed. The tweets below contain additional images of the tomb and its decorations:
#mew #discovery #Saqqara archaeological site #royal purification #Priest #archaeology #Old #Kingdom #Egypt pic.twitter.com/Ob2xJRF6D1
— Ministry of Antiquities-Arab Republic of Egypt (@AntiquitiesOf) December 15, 2018
#Discovery #Saqqara #tomb of the priest of Royal purification #fifth #Dynasty #Egypt Photos by Ahmed Romeih pic.twitter.com/Yx0Z1PvdwP
— Ministry of Antiquities-Arab Republic of Egypt (@AntiquitiesOf) December 15, 2018
The tomb is roughly 10 meters long from north to south, three meters wide from east to west, and roughly three meters tall. Such tombs were typically reserved for high-ranking individuals — carving tombs out of rock with hand tools isn’t easy, though the difficulty pales in comparison with building giant pyramids (the Old Kingdom style of pyramid building, which remains famous today, actually began drawing to a close during the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom). According to Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the tomb of Wahtye is one of a kind discovered in recent decades.
“The color is almost intact even though the tomb is almost 4,400 years old,” Waziri said.
The intact paintings and statuary are an incredible find for archaeologists, even if no other grave goods survived the centuries. While water and time have still inflicted damage on the surviving artworks, the opportunity to study relatively pristine examples of ancient Egyptian art from this period is unparalleled. The ride where Wahtye’s tomb was found is only partially uncovered, raising the possibility that more pristine tombs may yet be found. Finding the tomb of a high priest may not rank quite as high as the tomb of a Pharaoh such as Tutankhamun, but this discovery will be remembered as one of the most prominent of the 21st century and beyond.
Top image credit: The Ministry of Antiquities, Egypt, via Twitter
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