In the Egyptian necropolis of Saqqara, archaeologists have discovered a beautifully decorated mastaba tomb of a royal physician, which is approximately 4,100 years old. The mummy and grave goods are missing, but the grave is an important find, according to the researchers.
“At first glance the cemetery seemed very ordinary; we have already found several graves of this type during our excavations,” reports a team of archaeologists led by Philippe Collombert from the University of Geneva. Like other mastabas in the Sakkara necropolis, located about 35 kilometers south of the Egyptian capital Cairo, this tomb was also looted centuries ago.
The burial chamber is decorated with paintings
But the approximately 4,100-year-old tomb had a surprise in store for researchers: “When we began to uncover the area above the tomb’s shaft, we discovered a beautiful false doorpost with the name of a doctor named Teti Neb Fu. ”, they report. They came across a stone entrance that also bore the name and title of Teti Neb Fu, as well as a burial chamber whose walls were decorated with colorful images.
“The further we uncovered the shaft, the more the walls of the burial chamber became visible, completely painted with bright and fresh colours. “It’s easy to forget that they are more than 4,000 years old,” the archaeologists said. The tomb is said to date back to the Old Kingdom period under King Pepi II.
Sarcophagus with inscriptions of titles
The researchers also discovered a stone sarcophagus with inscriptions containing the doctor’s name and his prestigious title. Teti Nee Fu was considered the chief physician of the palace, the priest and summoner of the goddess Serket (meaning he was an expert in poisonous bites, note), the chief dentist, and the head of the medicinal plant department.
According to researcher Collombert, Teti Neb Fu was ‘certainly the most important physician at the royal court’. However, it is not yet entirely clear which pharaoh he served. The Egyptologist suspects that he could have worked under Pepi II, but also under a pharaoh who reigned later.
“This incredible find highlights Saqqara’s rich heritage as one of Egypt’s most important archaeological sites,” Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities wrote on its Facebook page (see post above).
Source: Krone
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