Talking Pyramids » Saqqara

Pyramids in the Cosmic Landscape

Vincent — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:17:56 +0000

Giulio Magli was in the news a couple of years ago with his grand plan for Giza, the idea that the three Giza pyramids were arranged to form a line that points to Heliopolis, an important religious center sacred to the sun god.

Last March he was back with an extension of that idea, creating a grid that may indicate the location of the lost pyramid of Userkare at South Saqqara, directly south of Djoser’s Step pyramid.

Now he’s back with “The Cosmic Landscape in the Age of the Pyramids”, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Cosmology. Here is the abstract:

The pyramids of Egypt are to be counted among the most outstanding works of architecture in the whole of human history. The sites for their construction were chosen in accordance with topographical criteria which, while taking practical needs into account, were also profoundly and intimately connected with Maat, the cosmic order. As a consequence, the pyramid’s fields are criss-crossed by geometrical axes which were – and partially still are – easily perceptible on the ground. In the 4th and the 5th dynasty, such axes ideally connected the monuments with the temple of Heliopolis on the opposite bank of the Nile, while during the 6th dynasty new pyramids were ideally connected with older ones by means of meridian – south to north – alignments. In recent years, the present author attempted to provide a comprehensive analysis of this sacred landscape, and of its astronomical and symbolical interpretation in terms of the “cosmovision” of the ancient Egyptians. The present paper offers a brief but complete overview of the results of this analysis.

Read the full article in the Journal of Cosmology: The Cosmic Landscape in the Age of the Pyramids, by Giulio Magli

Photo from the New York Public Library.

Update on the Father & Son Tomb Discovery

Vincent — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:24:24 +0000

In the last 24 hours a bit more information on the discovery of what has become known as the ‘Father & Son’ tombs located west of the pyramid of Unas at Saqqara has been released as well as more photos and a video.

An obvious point I missed is the cartouche of Pepi II and the reference to his pyramid written on the right side of the false door inside the tomb: Nefer-ka-Re men ankh, which means ‘Pepi is Established and Living’. Other text on the false doors identified Shendwa and his son Khonsu as royal scribes and “supervisors of the mission,” indicating that they were in charge of delegations overseeing the supply of materials used in the construction of Pepi II’s pyramid.

The video shows the arrangement of the tombs and I was intrigued by the set of ritual instruments that included a pesesh-kef tool used in the ‘Opening of the Mouth’ ceremony, as well as a jar and cup. The stone plate in which these were placed has some pieces missing and it can be observed that the remaining ‘jar’ is solid and doesn’t have a hollow inside, making it practically non-functional as a jar.

Egyptologist Ann Macy Roth explains:

 ”In archaelogical and textual evidence alike, the psš-kf knife consistently occurs as part of the same collection of objects. In the Pyramid Texts, these objects are presented in a sequence that is the earliest attested form of the ‘opening of the mouth’ ceremony. The speeches accompanying the presentations suggest that the psš-kf and the objects associated with it were the equipment for a ritual mimicking birth and childhood, and that the role of the psš-kf in this process was to cut the umblical cord of a newborm baby.”  - from “The PSŠ-KF and the ‘Opening of the Mouth’ Ceremony: a Ritual of Birth and Rebirth”

“The psš-kf does not normally occur in isolation. In the Old Kingdom, it was consistently grouped with a set of other objects.”, “the same assemblage of objects: the forked psš-kf knife, two hrts-bottles (one of black and one of white stone), and four or five straight-sided hnt-cups…”, sometimes including “ntrwj-blades”, which were finger shaped.” –  from “Fingers, Stars, and the ‘Opening of the Mouth’: the Nature and Function of the Ntrwj-blades”, also by Ann Macy Roth

It would seem from the image taken from the video that the black stone components of this set are missing, possibly smashed as part of the funerary ritual.

Further reading:
Miniature ‘Opening of the Mouth’ ritual set
Egypt Unveils Discovery Of 4,300-Year-Old Tombs (contains a slide show with many more photos)
Archaeologists unearth ancient Egyptian tomb of father and son (with close up shots of the artifacts discovered).
Press Release – Two new tombs discovered at Saqqara from the website of Dr Zahi Hawass.

Ancient Tomb Discovered Intact at Saqqara

Vincent — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:32:01 +0000

False door from the newly discovered tomb

Two tombs dating to Ancient Egypt’s Sixth Dynasty have been discovered west of the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. The 4200 year-old tombs appear to have belonged to a father and son, named Shendwa and Khonsu respectively.

Inside the father’s was found a beautiful false door (pictured right) with a typical depiction of the deceased in front of an offering table filled with provisions. The accompanying text gives the titles of Shendwa, including ‘cheif of scribes’, ‘overseer of missions’ and other standard titles.

“When I managed to get to the shaft I have found that it was intact as it was difficult to get to and even tomb robbers couldn’t get to it.” – Zahi Hawass

The official SCA press release:

“Two rock-hewn painted tombs considered as two of the most distinguished tombs ever found from the Old Kingdom were discovered last week at Saqqara necropolis. Cultural Minister, Mr. Farouk Hosni, announced today that the tombs were found during a routine excavation carried out by an Egyptian mission at an area called “Gisr El-Mudir” located to the west of the Step Pyramid of Djoser. The team has been working in the area since 1968. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, who is also the leader of the excavation mission, said that the tombs belong to a father, Shendwa, and his son, Khonsu. The father’s tomb consists of a painted false door depicting scenes of the deceased seated before an offering table. The door also bears the different titles of the tomb’s owner who was a top governmental official during the Sixth Dynasty (2374-2191 BC). He was the head of the royal scribes and the supervisor of the missions as well as other honorary titles. The tomb’s burial shaft is located directly beneath the false door, meters below the ground level.

When Dr. Hawass descended into the tomb he realized that it was intact and had not previously been plundered by tomb robbers. Unfortunately Shendwas’s wooden sarcophagus had disintegrated due to humidity and erosion. Beside the sarcophagus, a collection of limestone jars was found including five offering vessels carved in the shape of a duck. Upon opening the vessels, Dr. Hawass discovered that the bones of the ducks were still intact.

Inside the burial shaft a painted relief and a 30 cm tall obelisk made of limestone were also discovered. “This obelisk is a symbol of worshiping the sun god Re,” said Hawass pointing out that the ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom used to erect small obelisks in front of their tombs and inside the temples related to the tombs of the Queens’ pyramids. Next to the father’s tomb, excavators discovered Shendwa’s son Khonsu. It is a beautifully painted tomb with a false door bearing Khonsu’s different titles. It appears that Khonsu inherited the same titles as his father. Excavators located an offering table just opposite to the false door as well as a stone lintel on the floor. Hawass said that the lintel is engraved with symbols that belong to the 6th dynasty. On top of the false door, is a small lintel depicting a colored relief of the deceased in different poses.”

More:
Colourful ancient tombs unearthed in Egypt
2 new Pharaonic tombs unearthed in Saqqara
Image: SCA handout

Lost Tomb of Egyptian Mayor Found at Saqqara

Vincent — Mon, 31 May 2010 02:35:14 +0000

Ptahmes as depicted in his tomb

A 3300 year old tomb belonging to the mayor of Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt has been rediscovered at Saqqara, just south of the Unas pyramid causeway.

Until it’s discovery earlier this year, the tomb had been lost since 1885, when treasure hunters first raided the tomb, removing wall panels and other items. Shortly after the Egyptian sands once again covered up the tomb, hiding it’s location for 125 years.

“Since then it was covered by sand and no one knew about it,” said Ola el-Aguizy, the Cairo University archaeology professor who led the excavation. “It is important because this tomb was the lost tomb.”

It seems difficult to imagine how such a large tomb, reported as being 70 meters long, can be ‘lost’. The desert has a hunger for tombs and can gobble up large necropolises in no time at all. In the last couple of years at Saqqara alone there have been many finds as teams of archaeologists work to remove the sand. Looking at just the pyramids, we saw the rediscovery of the pyramid of Menkauhor which Lepsius had discovered and documented in 1842 only to be lost in again under the sand. That was followed by the discovery of the pyramid of Sesheshet, then the discovery of the pyramid of Behenu. There is also the quest to find the lost pyramid of Userkare, which Lepsius may also have mapped but has since been lost under the sands.

Pillars were removed from the tomb of Ptahmes and used to build churches.

With the tomb of Ptahmes though, there were clues scattered all over the world. Some of the artefacts that had been looted in the 19th century now reside in museums in the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, and even in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. These artefacts all contained information about the tomb, giving their own clues. Pillars that were removed from the tomb, for example are now kept in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden.

The expedition’s spokeswoman Heba Mostapha on the damage caused by these early tomb raiders:

“Part of the destruction we found in the grave was because its pillars were used to build churches in the Christian period and it was looted in the 19th century in the period of Mohammed Ali Pasha,”

Even though the tomb was already looted in the 19th century, when the rediscovery was finally made by the team from Cairo University’s archaeology department they found a range of artefacts including several stelae, amulets including an eye of Horus, shabtis, fragments of statues of Ptahmes and his wife and/or daughter. Scenes of people fishing in boats made of bundles of papyrus reeds can be seen on the walls as well as offerings to deities and the deceased, and his family worshipping a trinity of gods, Amun, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu.

Though the tomb is very large at 70 meters in length with passages and rooms branching from it, the team have not yet found the mummy of the mayor himself. The search continues for the main burial chamber of the tomb where the team hope to find the body of Ptahmes and perhaps also the body his wife.

Four pillars taken from the tomb of Ptahmes in the 19th century

The pillars now reside in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (State Museum of Antiquities), Leiden, as do these seated statues from the tomb of Ptahmes.

Limestone statues from the tomb of Ptahmes.

Sources:
Dawn.com
NPR has photos of some of the items found such as the sacrifice table, an unfinished funeral painting of Ptahmes.
Photos of the pillars from the tomb of Ptahmes by Hans Ollermann, All rights reserved.

The Search for the Missing Pyramid Texts

Vincent — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:40:26 +0000

Pyramid Texts from the recently discovered pyramid of Behenu

In the EEF news this morning was the news of the online publication of Giulio Magli’s 2010 paper: Archaeoastronomy and Archaeo-Topography as Tools in the Search for a Missing Egyptian Pyramid in PalArch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 7(5) (2010)

Here is an abstract:

Among the royal pyramids of the 6th Egyptian Dynasty, that of the second king, Userkare, is missing. This Pharaoh, however, ruled long enough – two to four years – to plan his pyramid on the ground and have the workers excavate the substructure. Userkare’s unfinished tomb might therefore be buried in the sands of the Memphite necropolis, possibly with a copy of the Pyramid Texts carved on its walls. In the present paper, methods based on archaeo-topography and archaeoastronomy have been applied with the aim of finding the possible location of the building site of this monument.

Download: Archaeoastronomy and Archaeo-Topography as Tools in the Search for a Missing Egyptian Pyramid.

Burial Chamber with Pyramid Texts Discovered

Vincent — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:24:51 +0000

Pyramid Texts from the north wall

A burial chamber containing a pink granite sarcophagus with a black basalt lid has been discovered at South Saqqara by a French archaeological mission.

Although badly damaged, the walls are covered in texts which contain the name of the tomb’s owner, ‘Behenu’, thought to be the Queen of either Pepi I or Pepi II, and dates to the Sixth Dynasty over 4000 years ago.

Leader of the French team Dr Philippe Collombert, said that it is not clear whether Behenu was the queen of Pepi I or Pepi II, who’s pyramids are also in the South Saqqara region.

“It is a well-preserved granite sarcophagus engraved with the queen’s different titles, but says nothing about the identity of her husband”.

One of these titles was “the king’s wife and beloved.”

The black basalt lid was found beside the sarcophagus prompting suggestions that it might belong to another sarcophagus. The sarcophagus is full of sand and it is not yet known if the body still lies inside, burried underneath the sand.

Some of the north wall remains and texts can be seen inscribed on it’s inner side. Painted green to symbolise regeneration and rebirth, these texts are recognised as the Pyramid Texts, first discovered in the pyramid of Unas. The texts form part of the offering rituals and the following words are repeated over and over on the wall:

“Osiris Behenu, take the Eye of Horus …”

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The pyramid of Behenu, which was first discovered in 2007, is located to the west of Pepi I’s pyramid, in the north-west corner of the Queens’ complex. It is marked in the satellite image below with a green marker pin:

View South Saqqara in a larger map

Pepi I's Queens complex. Photo copyright Su Bayfield.

So far the mission has determined the location of seven pyramids belonging to the Sixth Dynasty. These are thought to belong to the followng queens: Inenek, Nubunet, Meretites II, Ankhespepy III, Miha, and an as yet unidentified queen.

However, Collombert said that Behenu’s pyramid is only the second pyramid that contained religous texts on it’s walls.

Dimensions:
Pyramid: side of 25 meters and the burial chamber itself measuring 10 by 5 meters.
Sarcophagus: 2.6-meters long.

Sources:
Discovery
Reuters

Photographs of Behenu’s tomb courtesy of SCA.
Photograph of Pepi I’s Queens’ complex used with permission, copyright Su Bayfield.

Friday Photo: the Serapeum at Saqqara

Vincent — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:23:45 +0000

Inside the Serapeum at Saqqara

This old black & white photo is from the Brooklyn Museum’s Lantern Slide Collection and shows inside the serapium, a tomb built for the sacred Apis bulls. The sarcophagus that can been seen in the photo is one of 25 that were found, some weighing as much as 70 tonnes.

The image on the left below shows the entrance to the serapium at Saqqara, which is located north west of the Step Pyramid of Djoser.

The image to the right shows one of the Apis bull statues that now resides in the Louvre.

You can read more about the current state of the Serapeum at Saqqara at the website of Dr Zahi Hawass: Saving the Serapeum.