(Photo from The ministry of antiquities)
In its excavations in Abusir Archaeological Cemetery at Giza, the Czech mission discovered the tomb of Shepseskaf ‘ankh, Head of the Physicians of Upper and Lower Egypt who dates back to the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. This is the third tomb of a physician to be discovered in Abusir Cemetry. The significance of this tomb lies in the importance of its owner, who is one of the most distinguished physicians of the pyramid-building era, who had close relations with the kings.
The tomb is considered one of the huge tombs, its dimensions being 21×14 metres with a height of four metres. The walls were constructed from limestone. A huge false door inside the offerings’ chapel was discovered in the eastern part of the tomb and it carries the names and titles of the tomb owners, like “Priest of Re in the Temples of the Sun”, “Priest of Khnum” and “Priest of Magic”, in addition to other titles that show the high social and official status that he obtained inside the kingdom as one of the most important royal physicians in Ancient Egypt.
The director of the mission, Miroslav Barta, stated that the individuals’ tombs in Abusir were constructed starting from the middle of the Fifth Dynasty. Many priests and officials who worked on the pyramids were buried in the Pyramid complex of the Fifth Dynasty.
