Newly Discovered Tombs Offer Rare Insight Into Ancient Egyptian Society
An Egyptian archaeological mission has uncovered three rock-cut tombs dating to Egypt’s New Kingdom period (ca. 1550–1070 B.C.) at the Bubasteion Necropolis in Saqqara. The news was first reported by Ahram Online. Located 40 km southwest of Cairo, Saqqara was an important cemetery of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis. In the second half of the 18th Dynasty (1550—1292 BCE), high-ranking city dignitaries created tombs for themselves in the limestone cliffs at Bubasteion. Hieroglyphic inscriptions in the newly discovered tombs are providing unusually detailed information about the individuals who were buried within them, according to Hisham El-Leithy, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), which oversees archaeological digs in Egypt. Related Articles Amr El-Tayeb, director of the Saqqara Archaeological Site, said that the first tomb belonged to an official named Mentuhotep, who is shown in one relief seated with his mother, Eihotep. Hieroglyphic inscriptions in the tomb enumerate Mentuhotep’s many titles, among them Hereditary Prince, Mayor, Royal Seal Bearer, One Who Pleases the Heart of the Ruler, Administrator, Overseer of Foreign Lands, and Overseer of …






