11 - 17 October 2001
Issue No.555
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 11 - 17 October 2001 Issue No.555 |
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Surprise at Saqqara
He was a sixth-dynasty royal surgeon and his tomb contains some unusual and unexpected objects. Nevine El-Aref writes about a new discovery
Members of an Egyptian mission were cleaning the west side of the Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara early last week when they unexpectedly came across what appeared to be an open hall. Further clearance revealed a vaulted limestone tomb.
The bronze statue of Isis breast-feeding her son Horus (top); workers digging the newly discovered tomb of Qar (down).
Saqqara is a vast necropolis, and only an estimated five per cent of its treasures have so far been revealed. Although primarily an Old Kingdom burial ground, its monuments provide examples of art and architecture covering most of the dynasties.
The mission, which has identified it as belonging to a certain Qar, considers the tomb very special. This is the best preserved sixth-dynasty tomb found so far on the necropolis. Qar was an extremely important official, head of the royal palace and chief surgeon to the Pharaoh and his family, but which particular sixth-dynasty Pharaoh this was is not yet certain.
The entrance hall of the tomb was plastered and painted with coloured scenes depicting the deceased in various religious and industrial activities, as well as with his wife and family, all in well-preserved colours. A shaft led to the burial chamber in which was the limestone sarcophagus inscribed with Qar's name. It was in a nearby cache, however, that the implements of his trade were found: the surgical tools included 40 scalpels and tweezers as well as other medical tools, the purpose of which is not clear.
Zahi Hawass, director-general of the Giza plateau and Bahariya Oasis, says this is the first time surgical tools have been found in an Old Kingdom tomb. "It provides further proof that the ancient Egyptians were competent surgeons," Hawass says. "We knew this from excavations at Giza, when we carried out studies on skeletons found in the pyramid-builders' cemetery. There was evidence that some of them had been subjected to critical brain surgery, others to the setting of limbs or to dentistry. But no tools were found there. This discovery at Saqqara provides a missing link."
The tomb has clearly been damaged over time and covered with wind-blown sand, since some 26th-dynasty objects were also found on the site. These include 22 bronze statues of various deities, including Isis breast-feeding Horus; the Memphis god Ptah; Anubis -- the deity associated with mummification and burial -- and, as was to be expected, statues of Osiris and Horus, all in a good state of repair.
"The mission found some unusual objects in the tomb," Gaballa Ali Gaballa, general secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said. "One is a round alabaster offering table, inscribed with the name of Qar along with his various titles. Beside it they found a rectangular- shaped stone, also in alabaster, with markings and cavities. There were seven of these, for the seven sacred oil sacraments used in rituals."
The tomb has two false doors engraved with hieroglyphic texts, some sections of which retain the original blue colour. On the south and east walls of the tomb are two stelae bearing the names and titles of the deceased. "The stelae are different from the usual because they have signs still to be deciphered," Hawass says.
When excavating a tomb, one step automatically leads to the next, and there is a feeling of excitement and anticipation. While the team was clearing the southern side, architectural elements came to light, and it soon became clear that they belonged to the south wall of Sekham- Khet's unfinished pyramid complex -- one that was designed to be similar to, and as impressive as, Djoser's Step Pyramid Complex.
This season's excavation on the whole of the Giza necropolis -- which stretches from Abu Roash in the north to Dahshur in the south -- has been immensely rewarding. At Abu Sir, a Japanese mission from Waseda University made major discoveries, reported last week on the Travel Page in Al-Ahram Weekly issue No. 553. They have since discovered a second statue of the goddess Sekhmet, inscribed with the name of Khufu on the back and with a small image of Horus the child (Harpocarates) on her left side. They also found fragments of statues bearing the name of Pharaoh Pepi I, founder of the sixth dynasty.
Archaeologists have tended to regard the various sites on the necropolis as separate and largely unassociated with one another. The new discoveries reveal that there may be a closer connection between them than hitherto realised. There are signs, for example, of a relationship between the goddess Sekhmet and the builder of the Great Pyramid, and between the Giza pyramid-builders and noblemen, like Qar, buried at Saqqara.
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