Talking Pyramids

The Japanese team from the Waseda University working under the direction of Sakuji Yoshimura have made an important discovery in the north-western area of Saqqara.

Just last week the same team were in the news for the discovery of the four wooden sarcophagi, three canopic jars and 38 ushabiti. Now the team have found a tomb containing three unknown mummies together with the broken remains of other funerary equipment as well as a limestone sarcophagus belonging to a noblewoman called Isis-Nofret suggested by the remaining brilliant blue inscriptions.

According to Yoshimura, most of the upper part of the tomb is missing and only the foundations remain intact.

From the AFP news release:

Isisnofret’s last resting place is in an area of Saqqara where a team from Waseda University were excavating the tomb of Prince Khaemwaset, a son of Ramses II, it quoted Japanese team leader Sakuji Yoshimura as saying:

“Prince Khaemwaset had a daughter named Isisnofret (and) because of the proximity of the newly discovered tomb to that of the prince, it is possible that the owner of the sarcophagus is the daughter of Khaemwaset,” he said.

However, Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass told AFP he believes the tomb dates from the 18th dynasty instead of the 19th, because of the style of construction.

Hawass also dismissed the “similarities in the names” saying that there were many women called Isisnofret in ancient Egypt.

Interestingly, Yoshimura notes that the structure is aligned north-south, instead of east-west, which is considered the norm for Memphite tomb chapels of the period.

The website of Dr Hawass has some information and photos of these finds.

Other sources:
Detail of the Sarcophagus of Isisnofret – Dr Zahi Hawass
Tomb and Sarcophagus of Isisnofret Discovered at Saqqara – Dr Zahi Hawass
Waseda University
Egyptian noblewoman’s 3,000 year-old tomb revealed – Google AFP.
Japanese in Egypt Discover Limestone Sarcophagus of a Noblewoman – Earthtimes

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Tags: Saqqara, sarcophagus