Tomb from 4,400 years ago found in perfect condition

Last Saturday, archaeologists found a one-of-a-kind tomb in perfect condition in Saqqara, Egypt. According to Khaled al-Anani, Egypt’s minister of antiquities, it was the tomb of a Royal Priest that lived during the 5th dynasty. He lived under the rule of the third king of the dynasty, Neferirkare Kakai.

Mostafa Waziri, the secretary of general of Egypt’s supreme council of antiquities, says that the tomb was completely untouched before they had found it. The unearthing of the tomb took a little less than a month, and the excavation of the actual sarcophagus is expected to start in January.

The tomb is almost nine ft tall and thirty-two feet wide, and the walls are embellished with colorful hieroglyphics. It also has forty-five statues of pharaohs and sculptures of the priest and the members of his family all throughout the inside.

Though this isn’t the first discovery the city of Saqqara has seen. Saqqara is also home to the cemetery for Memphis, which is the capital of the Old Kingdom. This Necropolis was a huge discovery and gave us a lot of insight to the Old Kingdom.

But not only are these findings good to get insight into Egypt’s past, it is also good for tourist attractions and Egypt’s public image. Ever since the uprising in 2011 Egypt had against its president Hosni Mubarak, it hasn’t been the most popular place to go to. Authorities are hoping this will attract more people and will clean up Egypt’s image.