Old Kingdom Princess Discovered at Abusir

Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities recently announced the discovery of a 4,500-year-old tomb belonging to an Old Kingdom princess from Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty. Inscriptions at the tomb in Abusir list Princess Sheret-Nebti as the daughter of King Men Salbo, a previously unknown ruler. The princess’ burial is surrounded by the tombs of four high officials, and the Czech archaeologists investigating the site say that the ongoing excavations are sure to yield further discoveries. Finds at the tomb include spectacularly preserved statuary along with inscriptions that may shed light on a cloudy stage of Old Kingdom history.

Read more about the recent discovery of the princess’ tomb.

Abusir is one of several extremely prominent Old Kingdom necropolises built around Memphis, near modern Cairo. Others include Saqqara, home of Djoser’s Step Pyramid, and Giza, home of the Great Pyramids. In 1996, the Czech team discovered a fully intact shaft tomb deep beneath the necropolis of Abusir. The first unplundered tomb discovered in over a half a century yielded incredible discoveries.

BAS Library Members: Read Ladislav Bareš, “The Shaft Tombs of Abusir” as it appeared in Archaeology Odyssey, including the sidebars “Crossing into the Afterlife” and “Uncovering Abusir: The Czech Institute of Egyptology.”

 

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