From the article:

Dr. Deborah Sweeney, an expert on ancient Egypt from the archaeology department of Tel Aviv University, says researchers assume that Sesheshet belonged to the close circle of the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, Unas. He had no sons to inherit the throne and Teti may have been his grandson. Since it is not known when she died, researchers can only guess that the pharaoh’s mother was alive during almost 20 years of his reign, which extended from 2323 to 2291 B.C.E.

“Queens were identified with the goddesses that accompany the sun god, protect him and give him strength,” Sweeney explains. “The king needed a queen at his side. There were periods when the queens played a political role, but that was an exception. There was a need for that, for example, when a king ascended to the throne as a child. Usually in those cases there was a queen mother, who took charge of governing until her son grew up.”

Dr. Rachel Shlomi-Chen, of Hebrew University’s department of Ancient Near Eastern history, says Manetho, a Greek historian from the 3rd century B.C.E., wrote about a conspiracy in Teti’s court. Furthermore, archaeologists excavating the cemetery near Teti’s pyramid in Saqqara have found evidence that may point to a plot: The inscriptions on the tombs of high-ranking officials in the court were damaged, in what does not seem to be a random way, scholars claim: It may have been deliberately done to the tombs of officials belonging to the conspiracy.

The queen mother may have helped Teti in his struggle against the conspirators, but in any case, according to Manetho, he was murdered by his bodyguards not long after she died. His dynasty, the Sixth, ruled Egypt until 2184 B.C.E., almost 1,000 years before the period of Rameses II, the king during whose reign the Exodus from Egypt took place.

Read the article in full at the Haaretz website.

Related posts:

1. Teti’s Mum and the Other Nine Sesheshets
2. Body of Queen Sesheshet Found in New Pyramid
3. New Pyramid Discovered at Saqqara

The following list contains the latest prices that I have been able to confirm by speaking with people who have recently returned from Egypt. These prices are not necessarily fixed for the whole year, however, and may change throughout the year.

Abu Roash: Open
Djedefre’s Pyramid: open

Giza Plateau: 60 L.E. Open to the public: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Khufu’s Pyamid: 100 L.E.
Khafre’s Pyramid: 30 L.E.
Menkaure: 25 L.E.
Solar Boat Museum: 50 L.E.

Sound & Light Show: 60 L.E.
Three shows a day.
Winter: 6:30 pm, 7:30pm, 8:30 pm
Summer: 8:30pm, 9:30pm, 10:30pm

Zawiyet el-Aryan: Open
Khaba: closed
Nebka: closed

Abu Sir: 20 L.E.
Sahure: sometimes open
Niuserre: closed
Neferirkare: closed
Neferefre: closed

Saqqara: 60 L.E. (includes several tombs, Teti’s pyramid & the funerary temple of Djoser)
Sesheshet: closed
Teti: Free having paid to enter Saqqara
Userkaf: closed
Djoser: closed
Djoser funerary Temple: Free having paid to enter Saqqara
Unas: closed
Sekhemkhet: closed
New Tombs: 30 L.E.

South Saqqara:
Pepi I: ?
Djedkare-Isesi: ?
Merenre: ?
Ibi: ?
Pepi II: ?
Shepseskaf: ?
Khendjer: ?

Dashur: 30 L.E. (inludes entry to the Red and Bent pyramids)
Sneferu (Red): Free having paid to enter Dashur (all chambers are accessible)
Sneferu (Bent): Free having paid to enter Dashur (all chambers are closed)
Amenemhet II: closed
Amenemhet III: closed
Senusret III: closed

Mazghuna:
Amenemhet IV: closed
Sobekneferu: closed

Lisht:
Amenemhet I: closed 
Senusret I: closed

Meidum:
Sneferu: 35 L.E.

Faiyum:
Senusret II: 35 L.E.
Amenemhet III: 35  L.E.

Other Sources:
Egyptian Monuments: Su Bayfield’s website contains lots of good information on travelling to the pyramids & other Travel Tips.

Dr Zahi Hawass: The Official Website of Dr Hazwass has just been revamped and contains good information on the latest happenings in Egypt.

AERA’s 2009 Field Season: Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA) field work at Giza for this year can be found on their blog.

Related posts:

1. More Dashur Pyramids To Open to the Public
2. Visiting the Egyptian Pyramids
3. Update on the Pyramids from Egypt

I had thought it a bit odd that the theives would leave some of the gold in there and then carefully place the 6 ton lid back on the sarcophagus.

The search for inscriptions to help understand more about the owner of the pyramid was not successfull. Archaeologists discovered that, unlike the walls of her son’s burial chamber, all the walls of her 127-square sarcophagus chamber were compleley bare. It seems that queen Sesheshet was the last queen to be buried without inscriptions.

Here’s an exerpt from the National Geographic story:

The thieves entered through a tunnel from the top, because they couldn’t get through the main entrance, said Hawass, who is also a National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence. (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)

Fortunately, Seshseshet’s mummy was inside a granite sarcophagus with a six-ton lid, so the thieves left the body and its decorations of gold jewelry untouched.

“They didn’t open the sarcophagus; they were using their hands,” said Hawass, whose team used heavy machinery to remove the lid.

Read the full story: Queen’s Mummy Found In 4,300-Year-Old Pyramid

Related posts:

1. Conspiracy and Murder in the Court of Teti
2. Body of Queen Sesheshet Found in New Pyramid
3. New Pyramid Discovered 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 fact belong to Sesheshet.

Yesterday her sarcophagus was found but it was void of inscriptions. Even so, other evidence indicates that it contains the body of Teti’s mother, queen Sesheshet.

“Although they did not find the name of the queen buried in the pyramid, all the signs indicate that she is Seshestet, the mother of King Teti, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty,” – said Zahi Hawass.

Interestingly, the two ‘pin holes’ used to secure the sacrcophagus lid are unusually large, as can be seen in the accompanying image. The sarcophagus is thought to weigh in at around six tons.

The team took five hours to lift the heavy granite lid and once the lid was removed human remains were found lying inside. These remains consist of a skull, legs, pelvis and other body parts, once wrapped in linen.

The tomb had been previously robbed, evidenced by a vertical shaft dug through the top of the pyramid. Even though the sarcophagus had been breached gold finger wrappings were still found inside. Pottery was also found, perhaps remnants of offering vessels. According to one source, Dr Hawass stated that gold coins inscribed with heiroglyphs were found.

The find is a very significant one as it is one of the few royal bodies found belonging to the Old Kingdom. Queen Sesheshet was the mother of Teti, the first pharaoh of the 6th Dynasty who ruled from 2323 to 2291 BC.

Location of Sesheshet's pyramid at Saqqara. Click the image to interact with the Map.

Sources: Reuters, Inquirer, BBC, Bloomberg

Related posts:

1. Teti’s Mum and the Other Nine Sesheshets
2. New Pyramid Discovered at Saqqara
3. Conspiracy and Murder in the Court of Teti

Head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, yesterday announced the discovery of another pyramid at Saqqara.

This brings the number of pyramids discovered in Egypt to 118, the last one being that of Menkahor, which was rediscovered about five months ago.

The Pyramid is thought to belong to Sesheshet, mother of king Teti, the first King of the Sixth Dynasty who’s pyramid is also located at Saqqara. Egyptologist intend to enter the pyramid in two weeks to look for inscriptions to determine whether or not this pyramid belonged to Queen Sesheshet. According to Hawass, the only queen who’s pyramid has not been found is Sesheshet, further supporting the possibility that this pyramid belongs to her.

Teti’s pyramid, situated to the north of the step pyramid of Djoser, is accompanied by two smaller pyramids built for his two wives, Queen Khuit and Queen Iput. On the north side of Teti’s pyramid are the mastabas of Meryteti, Mereruka, Kagemni and Ankhmahor.

The newly discovered pyramid currently stands only 16 feet tall having lost much of it’s top section but was originally about 44 feet tall and roughly 72 feet on each side.

Excavation of the site has been carried out over the past two years but it was only two months ago that the pyramid was discovered after almost 20 meters of sand covering the pyramid was cleared.

Although the Archaeologists working on on the site have not yet entered the pyramid, a gouge in the top of the pyramid suggests that it was most likely broken into in ancient times by tomb robbers.

National Geographic video of the excavation of Sesheshet's pyramid.

Other Sources:
Discovery News (includes a photo of the pyramid)
CBC

Related posts:

1. Two 5th Dynasty Tombs Discovered at Saqqara
2. Largest Tomb Ever Discovered at Saqqara
3. Storeroom of Mummies Discovered at Saqqara