New Tomb Unearthed

Hold on to your tarboushes, people: the clearly magical Egypt has unearthed yet another 4,000 year-old tomb in Abusir Necropolis, 25km from the Giza plateau. The tomb belongs to one Shepseskaf-Ankh, a fifth dynasty Head of Physicians of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The tomb is carved out of limestone and is a large open court that contains eight burial chambers belonging to the Shepseskaf family members. The tomb has a very intricate huge false door engraved with description of his social status as well as the various titles he held such as: 'The Priest of God Khnum' and 'The Priest of Magic’ proving once again that Egypt’s social status and wealth disparities are as ancient as the Pyramids.

According to Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of Antiquities, "although it is the third tomb of an ancient Egyptian Physician to be found in Abusir, it has important historical and archaeological significance." He explains that its significance lies in the fact that the physician was very close to the ruling kings during the reign of the pyramid-builders.

The on-going excavation is being led by Miroslav Barta, a Czech archaeologist who believes the individual tombs in Abusir, a cemetery for the elite, was constructed from the mid-fifth dynasty onwards, and was primarily created for priests and high level officials who worked on the pyramids construction.