Czech Archaeologists Rediscover Lost Tombs of Egypt's Old Kingdom Elite

Czech archaeologists have re-excavated a group of tombs belonging to high priests and senior officials of Egypt's Old Kingdom, c. 2686–2181 BCE, at Saqqara. Ahram Online first reported the find, following an announcement by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The Saqqara site sits 20 miles south of Cairo. It served as the main necropolis for the ancient city of Memphis, which was founded around 3100 BCE and abandoned in the 7th century CE.

The work forms part of a project by the Czech Institute of Egyptology to locate, excavate, and document tombs partially explored in the 19th century and then buried again over time. The tombs were first discovered by the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, founder of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, between 1858 and 1860. Mariette identified approximately 160 Old Kingdom tombs in the area. His excavations, however, focused largely on major artifacts and left other parts of the tombs unexplored and inadequately documented.

Whose tombs did the Czech team find?

Among the chief monuments under investigation are the tombs of a man called Sabu and his son Ptahshepses. Both held high rank in the cult of Ptah at Memphis. The team also excavated previously unknown parts of the complex, including an offering chapel belonging to Sabu's wife, Ikhetnefert, which Mariette never found.

Sabu's tomb lies north of his son's. Its exterior walls mimic the facades of royal palaces, a mark of his high standing. Inside, researchers found well-preserved reliefs showing Sabu and Ptahshepses overseeing processions of offering bearers.

Ikhetnefert's chapel contains a false door decorated with scenes of the woman with her husband and their two sons, Peahshepses and Raneferef. Miroslav Bárta, head of the Czech team, described it as one of the mission's most important discoveries, one that provides new insight into the family and its relationships.

The mission also located the tomb of Ptahshepses through a combination of satellite imagery and field surveys. There, the archaeologists found the untouched remains of his mummy inside a limestone sarcophagus. Analysis indicated that he was over 60 when he died, an exceptionally old age for his era.

What do the written records say about Ptahshepses?

Surviving sources record that Ptahshepses held senior positions under four Fifth Dynasty kings: Sahure, Neferirkare, Raneferef, and Nyuserre. He was also the first non-royal to marry an Egyptian princess, Khamaat, daughter of King Userkaf, the founder of the Fifth Dynasty.

Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, addressed the significance of the renewed work in a statement. The value of the Czech mission, he explained, lies in its study and documentation of these monuments using modern scientific methods, which are revealing new information about the religious beliefs and social lives of Old Kingdom officials.

What does this change for the study of ancient Egypt? The Saqqara re-excavation shows how much the 19th-century record left unanswered. Where Mariette gathered artifacts, the Czech team is reconstructing families, careers, and burial practices, and the documentation now being produced will anchor research on Old Kingdom elites for years to come.