Tomb of an ancient Egyptian official who was responsible for secret documents in the Royal Chancellery Discovered in the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Saqqara, the Polish Center for Mediterranean Archeology at the University of Warsaw said in Declaration last week.
Expanding on earlier excavations, the team discovered the tomb while digging within a dry trench surrounding the Great Step Pyramid of Djoser, a complex built for the late pharaoh who ruled from around 2630-11 BC. There archaeologists discovered the tomb’s ornate entrance facade, including hieroglyphs, frescoes, and bas-reliefs depicting the tomb’s owner.
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“The eminent figure bore the name Mehtjetju and was, among other things, an official with access to the royal seal, that is[e]cret, documents, and inspector of the royal estate and priest of the funeral cult of King Teti,” said mission director Kamil O. “This means that he probably lived in the reigns of the first three rulers of the Sixth Dynasty: Teti, Sarker and Pepi I” (about 2300 BC). ).
The reliefs could have been carved by skilled craftsmen, which Mohtajitu could afford due to his higher social status. However, the rock on which it was carved is brittle and corroded, but it has undergone treatments led by restorers from the National Museum in Warsaw.
The decoration on the facade looks incomplete without the inclusion of polychrome. “It is possible that it was never created because the decoration of the church was not completed. The side walls of the entrance have no protruding decoration, only figures drawn in black ink on lime plaster,” explains Kurashkevich. Sketches depicting sacrificial animals such as cows, antelopes, and goats were a draft for more detailed engravings at a later date.
Researchers believe that the incomplete decoration is most likely due to the untimely death of the investor, which resulted in the tomb being completed hastily – a relatively common occurrence in ancient Egypt. As the burial chamber has not yet been excavated, it remains unclear whether Mohtajitu, his family, and/or other persons were buried in the tomb. Archaeologists plan to continue exploring the interior of the church this fall.
The find is the latest of several finds in the Saqqara necropolis, which, earlier this year, yielded the remains of five well-painted 4,000-year-old tombs stuffed with more than 20 sarcophagi, toys, wooden boats, and masks.
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