Posted on 11/08/2012 11:09:40 AM PST by Red Badger
The tomb of an ancient Egyptian princess has been discovered south of Cairo hidden in bedrock and surrounded by a court of tombs belonging to four high officials.
Dating to 2500 B.C., the structure was built in the second half of the Fifth Dynasty, though archaeologists are puzzled as to why this princess was buried in Abusir South among tombs of non-royal officials. Most members of the Fifth Dynasty's royal family were buried 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) to the north, in the central part of Abusir or farther south in Saqqara.
(Saqqara holds a vast burial ground for the ancient capital Memphis and is home to the famous Step Pyramid of Djoser.)
The researchers aren't sure whether the remains of the princess are inside tomb, as the investigation is still in progress, Miroslav Bárta, director of the mission, told LiveScience. Even so, they also found several fragments of a false-door bearing the titles and the name of Sheretnebty, the king's daughter. [Image Gallery: Egypt's Great Terrace of God]
"By this unique discovery we open a completely new chapter in the history of Abusir and Saqqara necropolis," said Bárta, who heads the Czech mission to Egypt from the Czech Institute of Egyptology of the Charles University in Prague.
Bárta and colleagues think the ancient builders used a naturally existing step in the bedrock to create the princess' court, which extends down 13 feet (4 meters) and is surrounded by mastaba tombs above it. A mastaba is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb that forms a flat-roofed rectangular structure.
A limestone staircase descends from north to south along the burial court; four limestone pillars that once supported roofing blocks hold carved hieroglyphic inscriptions reading: "King's daughter of his body, his beloved, revered in front of the Great God, Sheretnebty."
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
One of the four tombs surrounding that of the princess belonged to Nefer, the overseer of the scribes of the crews, and contained four statues of the tomb's owner (shown here with his wife Hathorneferet). CREDIT: Courtesy Czech Institute of Egyptology
GGG PING!...................
I'd prolly hide 'er in the rocks, too.
I thought maybe it was the G spot.
“That” side of the family, no doubt, but she had heiroglyphics of Tut with a sheep...
Who's going to the hospital ?
Are you sure that’s a stretcher he’s holding??? He seems to have a smile on his face...
It’s a wedding scene......”him” and “hearse”.
No, it was the T spot....................
Those things in their hands are a sign of their official position, IIRC......
Those things in their hands are a sign of their official position, IIRC......
Leni
I think that is a leftover piece of coating, like stucco, that was put on the statues prior to burial for preservation purposes....
Leni
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Thanks Red Badger. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
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