Czech archeologists discover ancient Egyptian official's remains in sakkarah

A Czech archaeological mission discovered the remains of an ancient Egyptian official and his family's tomb in Sakkarah, Egypt.

The team reopened burial sites that were first identified by French archaeologist Auguste Mariette between 1858 and 1860. While Mariette identified about 160 burials during that period, he only partially excavated some of them before covering them with sand. The Czech team identified the tomb of Sabu, which measures 54 by 28 meters and stood approximately five meters high.

The researchers found architectural decorations on the exterior walls and high-quality reliefs in a chapel depicting Sabu and his son, Ptahshepses, supervising processions of people carrying offerings. The mission also located a chapel belonging to Sabu's wife, Ikhetneferet, which had escaped the attention of previous researchers. This chapel contains scenes showing Ikhetneferet with her husband and two sons, Ptahshepses and Ranefer, providing new details on family ties.

The archaeologists also located the tomb of Ptahshepses, which covers more than 900 square meters. They found a limestone sarcophagus containing the remains of Ptahshepses, a high-ranking official who served under four kings of the V Dynasty: Sahure, Neferirkare, Raneferefa, and Nyuserre. Although the chamber was looted in antiquity, the mummy remained and was examined by Egyptian anthropologists. The analysis showed that Ptahshepses lived to be over 60 years old, a very advanced age for ancient Egypt.