Mummies are remnants of the old world and it lets us peek into the culture that ancient Egyptians had. Archeological digs have unearthed many stories in various sites. Just recently, a team led by Zahi Hawass found the oldest mummy yet to date.
Beneath Saqqara
The mummy was discovered south of Cairo at the end of a 15-meter hole that's next to the Step Pyramid. The mummified corpse was said to belong to a man named Hekashepes, who was lying in a limestone sarcophagus sealed with mortar, according to Interesting Engineering.
The tombs went back as far as the Fifth and Sixth dynasties of Egypt's Old Kingdom. 12 "beautifully carved statues" were also found in the Gisr Al-Mudir area of Saqqara, align with two burial shafts, one of which held the 4,300-year-old mummy.
Although, it was mentioned that the most important tomb belonged to Khnumdjedef. He was an inspector of the officials, a supervisor of the nobles, and a priest in the pyramid complex of Unas, who was the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, as mentioned in ABC News.
The tomb of Khnumdjedef was decorated with daily scenes of life, says Hawass. There was even another tomb discovered that also held statues of unidentified individuals. In the same place, a mummy of two couples was also discovered.
The second largest tomb held Meri, who was said to be the keeper of secrets and the assistant of the leader of the palace. In another shaft, ten meters deep, wooden and stone statues were also unearthed, along with a sarcophagus that had the inscription "Fetek."
Oldest Mummy, but Not the Oldest Tomb
Hekashepes' mummy may have been the oldest mummy to be found, but an even older tomb has previously been discovered in Saqqara. The tomb dates back to the third king of the Fifth dynasty of ancient Egypt, to which the king was named Neferirkare Kakai.
The tomb remains untouched and was regarded to be one of a kind in the last decade due to its "near-perfect condition," according to the Secretary General of Egypt's supreme council of antiquities Mostafa Maziri.
The tomb is about nine feet tall and 32 feet wide. The excavation is still ongoing, which started in November 2022. The walls had carvings of hieroglyphs and statues all in color. There were also sculptures of the priest and his family, which is only part of the overall 45 statues found.
Five more shafts will be excavated, one of which is holding the sarcophagus of the priest, according to The New York Times. With the age of the tomb, the discovery of the priest's mummy will likely be older than that of Hekashepes by a hundred years.
There is more to discover in the necropolis Saqqara, which was the cemetery for the capital of the Old Kingdom Memphis. Before the latest find, archeological digs also led to the tomb of a prominent priestess, and the resting place of a royal goldsmith.
