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Egypt has unearthed a tomb dating back more than 4,000 years along with an interconnected network of burial shafts containing human remains and funerary objects at the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, authorities said Saturday.
The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said the discoveries were made during the first excavation season of an Egyptian archaeological mission working at the Bubasteion cemetery within the Saqqara site.
The tomb dates to the Old Kingdom, the era associated with Egypt's pyramid builders spanning roughly 2686 B.C. to 2181 B.C., and belonged to an official named Sekhentyu-Ptah.
Excavations uncovered the remains of his funerary chapel, including a false door still standing in its original position. In front of the door, archaeologists found a complete set of alabaster ritual objects, including an offering table, offering disk, purification basin, jug, and bowl.
The objects carry hieroglyphic inscriptions identifying the tomb owner and listing several of his titles.
They show Sekhentyu-Ptah held multiple senior positions, including royal chamberlain, overseer of the king's works and royal documents, keeper of the secrets of royal decrees, priest of the goddess Maat, and overseer of scribes.
Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the antiquities sector, said finding the objects together in their original setting provides important evidence about funerary rituals and practices during the Old Kingdom.
The mission also uncovered an interconnected system of burial shafts containing numerous human burials, large quantities of colored funerary cartonnage and over 100 faience ushabti figurines.
The team found three stone coffins sealed in their original condition, along with a wooden falcon statue, pottery, and other artifacts.
Amr al-Tayeb, head of the Saqqara antiquities area and the excavation mission, said the discoveries provide valuable material for studying burial practices and tracing how the cemetery was reused across different historical periods.
Preliminary studies showed some of the burial shafts had been looted in antiquity, with tomb robbers cutting openings between burial chambers, al-Tayeb said.
Despite the ancient looting, the ministry said the surviving finds retain significant archaeological value and could shed further light on the site's layout, architecture and successive phases of use.
Bubasteion, named after Bastet, the ancient Egyptian goddess associated with cats, was used for burials and funerary rituals across several periods of Egyptian history.
The mission is continuing to document and analyze the finds, with the ministry saying there are 'promising indications' that more structures and artifacts remain to be uncovered.
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