Mostafa Waziri — Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities — announced in a press conference on Saturday the discovery of five tombs in the Saqqara area.
He said that the tombs date back to the Old Kingdom and the First Transition eras, with “many burials and archaeological finds” inside.
Waziri explained that the first tomb belonged to a senior statesman named ‘Eri’ and consists of a well that leads to a carved burial chamber with walls that depicts many funerary scenes, including scenes of offering tables, the facade of a palace, and seven oil pots. It has a huge sarcophagus made of limestone in addition to carved pieces belonging to the owner of the tomb, and the mission is now working on assembling them.
He said that the second tomb belonged to the wife of a person named ‘Yart’; this is because of its proximity to his tomb, which consists of a rectangular well.
The third tomb is for a person named ‘Bi Nafarhafayi’, who used to occupy several positions, including ‘Al-Samir the One’, ‘Supervisor of the Great House’, ‘The Psalmist Priest’, and ‘The Purifier of the House.’
The fourth tomb belongs to a woman named ‘Betty’ and has a rectangular well located at a depth of about six metres below the surface of the ground. Betty bore titles granted by the only king and priestess of the goddess Hathor.
Lastly, the fifth tomb is for a person named ‘Hano.’ It consists of a rectangular well located at a depth of about seven metres. His titles are ‘Supervisor of the Royal Palace’, ‘Al-Samir the One’, the ‘Hereditary Prince and Mayor’, the ‘Supervisor of the Great House’, the ‘Bearer of the Seals of Lower Egypt’, and ‘Supervisor of the Orchard.’
