by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
CAIRO, EGYPT (Worthy News) – Archaeologists working at Egypt’s famed Saqqara necropolis have uncovered the roughly 4,000-year-old tomb of a powerful Old Kingdom official whose titles included the mysterious designation “Keeper of the Secrets of Royal Commands.”
The tomb belonged to Sekhentiu-Ptah, a senior official who served close to Egypt’s royal administration. Hieroglyphic inscriptions identify him as Royal Chamberlain, Overseer of All the King’s Works, Overseer of Royal Documents, Overseer of Scribes, and a priest of Maat, the Egyptian deity associated with truth and order.
Ritual Objects Found Where They Were Left Thousands of Years Ago
The Egyptian archaeological mission made the discovery in Sector A of the Bubasteum necropolis at Saqqara during its first excavation season there. Researchers uncovered remains of Sekhentiu-Ptah’s funerary chapel along with a carved “false door” still standing in its original position.
Directly in front of the doorway, archaeologists found a remarkably complete collection of alabaster funerary objects, including an offering table, offering disc, purification basin, jug and additional basin. Egyptian antiquities officials said the objects’ survival in their original archaeological setting could provide important new information about burial practices during Egypt’s Old Kingdom.
The Old Kingdom, which flourished during the third millennium B.C., included the era in which Egypt’s great pyramids were constructed.
Sealed Sarcophagi and More Than 100 Figurines
The excavation also revealed interconnected burial shafts containing human remains, painted funerary material, pottery and more than 100 small faience ushabti figurines traditionally placed in Egyptian tombs. Archaeologists also discovered a wooden falcon statue and three stone sarcophagi that remained sealed when they were found.
Tomb robbers entered some parts of the complex in antiquity, cutting openings between burial chambers. Despite the ancient looting, researchers said the surviving material could help reconstruct how Saqqara developed and was reused across successive periods of Egyptian history.
Saqqara served as a major burial ground for ancient Memphis and contains monuments spanning thousands of years. The latest discovery adds another window into ancient Egypt, a civilization whose kingdoms, rulers, and culture would later occupy a major place in the biblical record.
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