Talking Pyramids

Menkaure’s Basalt Sarcophagus Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni has announced that the joint Egyptian-Spanish mission to search for Menkaure’s sunken sarcophagus will commence in early March 2011. The black basalt sarcophagus was lost while being transported back to England aboard the Beatrice when the ship was wrecked at sea off the coast of Spain, [...]

It appears that the burial vault of the oldest pyramid in the world may have finally been opened for the first time since it was built, almost 4900 years ago. “Maybe this is the most impressive place on earth!” – Dr Zahi Hawass It’s really quite amazing to think that Djoser’s sarcophagus had not yet [...]

Isis-Nofret. Photo: Reuters 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 [...]

Four ushabti boxes, three canopic jars, and four sarcophagi were discovered Archaeologist from Japanese Waseda University have made another important discovery at Saqqara. Just two weeks ago over 30 mummies thought to belong to the Fifth Dynasty were discovered in an underground tomb just south of the pyramid of Unas. This time the find involves [...]

One of the wooden sarcophagi Some of the sarcophagi inside the newly discovered tomb at Saqqara have been opened. Yesterday international media were allowed into the tomb to film the opening. Inside the chamber, 22 mummies lay covered only by sand in four niches dug into the chamber’s walls. Most were badly decomposed, showing only [...]

Hawass in the newly discovered tomb. Photo AP Breaking in the news today is that over 30 Egyptian Mummies have been discovered in a single tomb at Saqqara. The burial vault, which Zahi Hawass has referred to as “Mummy Prison” or a “Storeroom for Mummies”, is located south-west of the step pyramid of Djoser. This [...]

Remains of Sesheshet. Photo: Reuters handout Remains of an ancient Egyptian mummy, thought to be those of Queen Sesheshet have been found inside the newly discovered pyramid at Saqqara. The pyramid was discovered in November last year and since then Egyptian archaeologists have been excavating the pyramid looking for confirmation that this pyramid did in [...]