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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 April 2000 Issue No. 476 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 April 2000 Issue No. 476
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Summit Features Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A discovery a day
Compiled by Nevine El-ArefQueens in the afterlife
Jean Leclant, head of the French mission working at Saqqara, announced the discovery of a queen's pyramid built during the sixth dynasty, over 4,000 years ago. The pyramid apparently belonged to Ankh-Is-Pepi, wife of Pepi I and mother of Pepi II, and is unique in being adorned with Pyramid Texts, previously found only on the inner walls of pyramids belonging to kings. "It is beautifully decorated," said Gaballa Ali Gaballa, "but work is still in its initial stages."Mastabas at Abusir
A large number of mastaba tombs dating back to the second part of the first dynasty (about 2800 BC) have been found at Abusir by the Faculty of Archaeology at Cairo University. Most of the structures and enclosure walls are intact and a well-preserved boat pit, as well as small graves outside the enclosure wall, have been uncovered. Ali Radwan, head of the mission, described the graves as "subsidiary graves", suggesting that work on some of them indicates that cult ceremonies were held outside the eastern side of the mastabas.In the hilly area between the Sun Temple of Userkaf and the pyramid of Sahure, robbed burial shafts dating to the fifth dynasty were also found.
Amarna objects at Thebes
The joint German-Egyptian mission working at Dra Abul-Naga in western Thebes made a chance discovery in the middle of the first court of the tomb of Ramses-Nakht, high priest of Amun: a collection of wares from the Amarna period, including objects of obviously royal origin. The Amarna pottery fragments are quite unusual, depicting naked female dancers.Warrior kings
A joint Egyptian-American archaeological team working in northern Sinai have made a discovery at Qantara Sharq, on the ancient "road of Horus", 10 kilometres east of the Suez Canal. The team found a large collection of limestone blocks decorated with lifesize images of kings Thutmose III and Ramses II riding in chariots. Mohamed El-Saghir, head of Pharaonic antiquities at the Supreme Council of Antiquties (SCA), said that the site is located near Tel El-Habuwa, also on the ancient road, where the ruins of a large fortification provides evidence of well-known texts in Karnak temple.Between the cracks
Using modern technology, a French-Egyptian mission working at Meidum, south of Dahshur, have identified two well-preserved stone chambers in the famous pyramid. The chambers, one of which is domed, were undoubtedly designed to reduce the weight of the superstructure on the main part of the tomb. They lead to a passage, 30 metres in length and 1.5 metres in height.The team used an endscope, a small instrument used to penetrate small crevices like those between the blocks of the pyramid. Gaballa explained due to the small size of the endscope, it is a non-destructive method of excavation in such cases.
The thorny question of who built the pyramid of Meidum remains. Scholars are divided. Some attribute it to King Huni, the last king of the third dynasty, while others maintain it belongs to King Sneferu, founder of the fourth dynasty. Egyptologist Zahi Hawass subscribes to the latter theory, suggesting the structure was probably built as a step pyramid and for some reason left unfinished. The king then built his other pyramids at Dahshur before returning to Meidum to complete the structure.
Tombs in a village
Three tombs of high officials that date back to the 26th dynasty have been found beneath a modern residential area in El-Bawiti village in Bahariya Oasis. The tombs were found by an SCA mission which also unearthed a large collection of pottery, statues and sarcophagi. In one of the tombs, an intact anthropoid sarcophagus was found bearing the image Iufaa, the high priest of Amun, whose intact tomb was found at Abusir last year. Coloured scenes and hieroglyphic texts from the Book of the Dead are engraved on the walls, which are badly damaged from leakage of residential drainage water. Plans are going ahead to have them relocated in order to continue excavation.
