The Egyptian archaeological mission working at the Bubasteion necropolis in the Saqqara archaeological area has announced the results of its first excavation season in Sector A (west of the Bubasteion). The work uncovered an Old Kingdom tomb belonging to "Sekhentiu-Ptah," along with an interconnected network of burial shafts containing numerous burials and artifacts, revealing the site's cultural and funerary importance and its continued use across successive historical periods.
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy said the discovery highlights the cultural and funerary importance of the Bubasteion necropolis and its continuous use across different historical periods. It is also an important scientific addition to understanding the history and development of the site and underlines the importance of continuing excavation and scientific study there.
Dr. Hisham El Leithy, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that the excavations were carried out under an integrated scientific program that included precise excavation and stratigraphic recording, architectural, photographic and digital documentation, as well as archaeological and linguistic studies and scientific comparisons, helping to read the discoveries in their cultural context and trace the historical and architectural development of the necropolis.
The excavations uncovered the remains of the funerary chapel of Sekhentiu-Ptah's tomb, which contains the false door in its original position. In front of the false door, a complete set of alabaster funerary ritual tools was found, including an offering table and disc, a purification basin, a ewer and a basin, all bearing hieroglyphic inscriptions with the name and titles of the tomb's owner.
Mohamed Abdel Badie, Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, said finding this complete set in its original position inside the funerary chapel is an important discovery, given the information it provides on funerary rituals and practices during the Old Kingdom.
The hieroglyphic inscriptions preserved on the false door and funerary objects also made it possible to identify the name of the tomb's owner and a number of his titles, including royal chamberlain, overseer of all the king's works, overseer of royal documents, keeper of the secrets of royal decrees, priest of the goddess Maat and overseer of scribes. These titles reflect the prestigious administrative position he held in the Old Kingdom state administration.
Qutb Fawzy, Head of the Central Administration for Cairo and Giza, said the mission also uncovered an interconnected network of burial shafts containing numerous human burials, large quantities of painted funerary cartonnage and more than 100 faience ushabti figurines, as well as three stone sarcophagi found sealed in their original state, a wooden falcon-shaped statue and a variety of pottery vessels and artifacts.
Dr. Amr El Tayebi, Director General of the Saqqara Antiquities Area and head of the mission, said these discoveries provide rich scientific material for studying funerary rituals and burial methods during the Late Period, as well as the possibility of tracing the stages of the necropolis's reuse during different historical periods.
He added that preliminary studies showed that a number of the burial shafts had been looted since ancient times, as confirmed by openings made by tomb robbers between the burial chambers. Nevertheless, the remaining finds still hold great archaeological and scientific value that will help in understanding the site's internal layout, the development of its architecture and its successive historical phases.
The mission is continuing to document, analyze, study and scientifically compare the finds with similar ones from other archaeological sites, in preparation for completing the studies and publishing the results in peer-reviewed specialized journals, making them available to the scientific community in line with academic standards. This follows an integrated scientific plan, with promising indications of further structures and artifacts to be uncovered, helping to complete the documentation of the Bubasteion necropolis's history and strengthen its standing as one of Egypt's most important multi-period archaeological sites.
