Archaeologists excavating a section of the Saqqara necropolis have discovered a tomb belonging to a high-ranking official of the Old Kingdom (ca. 2700–2000 B.C.). The burial chamber’s false door was found intact in its original position, and in front of it the full set of alabaster ritual offering objects that were used for the funerary rites.

Hieroglyphic inscriptions on the false door and the ritual objects identified the tomb owner and revealed several of his prestigious titles, including Royal Chamberlain, Overseer of All the Works of the King, Overseer of Royal Documents, Keeper of the Secrets of Royal Decrees, Priest of the Goddess Maat, and Overseer of the Scribes. The titles indicate that Sekhenty-Ptah held a prominent administrative position within the state apparatus during the Old Kingdom.

The discovery of the complete group of funerary implements in their original location provides valuable new evidence for understanding funerary rituals and practices during the Old Kingdom.

The tomb was found in the Bubasteion necropolis, the burial ground associated with the temple to the cat goddess Bastet. The site was in continuous use for thousands of years, and the discovery of a tomb dating to the Old Kingdom, adds significant new information about the necropolis’ early usage and chronology.

The excavation also unearthed a complex interconnected network of burial shafts from the Late Period containing numerous human remains, more than 100 faience ushabti figures and large quantities of painted cartonnage used in mummy wrappings. Three stone sarcophagi were also found in the shafts, still sealed and in their original locations, plus numerous pottery vessels and a wooden statue in the shape of a falcon.

Preliminary studies suggest that some of the burial shafts were subjected to looting in antiquity, evidenced by openings created by tomb robbers between burial chambers. Despite this, the surviving finds remain of considerable archaeological and scientific importance and are expected to provide further insights into the site’s internal layout, architectural development and successive phases of use.