Researchers Discovered Lost Tomb in Egypt
Egypt's archaeologists, or in common words, researchers,
have found the tomb of a Man Who Handled His Pharaoh's "Secret Documents" 4,300 Years Ago.
And today we will discover what this means for us. But before we get into the details of this story,
we need to find out why researchers go looking for hidden tombs and what
researchers want to achieve with them. The Department of Egyptian Art at the
Metropolitan Museum's Egyptian Expedition carried out excavations at various sites
in Egypt between 1906 and 1936. The Museum's archaeologists discovered several intact tombs
that belonged to nonroyal people during these three decades while working in the cemeteries
in western Thebes, which is located across the Nile River from the contemporary city of Luxor.
The finds from these tombs were divided according to the terms of the museum's
contract with the Egyptian Antiquities Service, with roughly half going to the Egyptian Museum
in Cairo and half going to New York. Personal items from the deceased as well
as memorial gifts left by family members were buried with them.
They also had mummified remains, whose examination gave us some insight into
the appearance of the living people as well as their health and age at death.
These tombs give us priceless information about the lives of the ancient Egyptians,
which is why they are chosen. The cemetery contains two interesting tombs in particular.
The older of the two belonged to a man by the name of Wah and was from the Middle Kingdom.
It was found on March 24, 1920, beneath the causeway leading to the demolished
tomb of a significant official named Meketre, who was Wah's employer.
The second was a woman named Hatnefer's early New Kingdom tomb, which was found on January 11,
1936, under the constructed terrace of the offering chapel designed by
her son Senenmut, the chief architect. Khonsu, who lived around the middle of the
New Kingdom, was the owner of the third and most recent assemblage that is being discussed here.
Khonsu was interred in a tomb that was found by members of the Egyptian
Antiquities Service in 1886, along with several generations of his family.
Nearly 20 years before the museum started its own excavations, the Egyptian government
graciously permitted the Metropolitan Museum to purchase several items from the tomb
because the funerary furniture inside the crypt was all quite similar in style. This
acquisition represented a significant addition to the museum's fledgling collection of Egyptian art.
Each of Wah, Hatnefer, and Khonsu lived during a unique period in Egyptian history.
He was born in the early Middle Kingdom at the end of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep's reign,
one of Egypt's most notable kings,
and he lived through the transitional period between Dynasty 11 and Dynasty 12.
Hatnefer was born toward the end of Ahmose I's rule, another of Egypt's most illustrious kings,
and lived to witness Hatshepsut, a great female pharaoh, take over as the country's main ruler.
Nearly two centuries after Hatnefer, Khonsu was likely born at the very end of Dynasty 18
and spent the majority of his long life under Ramesses II,
also known as the Great, the most illustrious pharaoh of Dynasty 19.
Now we hope you guys have clearly understood why researchers go for old bodies and tombs in Egypt,
and if there is still any confusion, let us conclude that in a single sentence, these
researchers want to know what happened at that time, what caused their end, and who did that.
So now let’s get back to the topic. A dignitary of ancient Egypt,
who handled the pharaoh's secret papers, passed away suddenly about 4,300 years ago.
Crews hurriedly attempted to embellish his final resting place, but they were forced to cut short
their plans to carve decorative reliefs of animals used as sacrifices into the façade.
That is what researchers think took place at a tomb that was recently found in the
Saqqara necropolis of ancient Egypt. According to researchers at the Polish
Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw,
it belonged to a man by the name of Mehtjetju. According to a statement from the expedition team,
he handled royal, sealed documents and also worked as a priest and an estate inspector,
according to hieroglyphics on his tomb. They place the discovery, which was made
at King Djoser's Step Pyramid, during the time of the first pharaohs of the
Sixth Dynasty, or roughly 2300 B.C.E. The tomb was discovered near another
burial site discovered by the team, that of vizier or high official Merefnebef. The
researchers discovered the tomb while excavating the dry moat that surrounds the pyramid complex.
According to archaeologist and expedition leader Kamil O. Kuraszkiewicz,
Mehtjetju most likely lived during the same period as Teti, Userkare, and Pepy I,
the first three kings of the Sixth Dynasty. According to the statement, Mehtjetju's royal
position would have given him enough social standing to hire
"an exceptionally skilled hand" to construct and decorate his resting place.
The rock in the tomb was extremely brittle and needed to be preserved right away by
specialists from the National Museum in Warsaw. According to archaeologists, the elegance of the
lines and delicacy of the modeling rival the best reliefs in the vizier's tomb.
Even so, the skilled carvers hired by Mehtjetju ran out of time to finish the carvings on the
façade. They only created rough draughts of the reliefs that featured cows, oryxes, and ibexes
by sketching them in black ink on lime plaster.
Archaeologists still think Mehtjetju was interred in his tomb despite the incomplete work.
They have only uncovered the façade, so they cannot yet see for themselves.
But this fall, they intend to investigate the tomb's interior,
which most likely contains the burial chamber and might even contain Mehtjetju's mummy.
Kuraszkiewicz also claims in the statement that if he hadn't been buried there,
someone else would have most likely occupied the tomb.
Researchers concur that the decoration is incomplete, most likely because the investor
passed away before the project was finished and was interred in the hurriedly constructed tomb.
Archaeologists still think Mehtjetju was interred in his tomb despite the incomplete work.
They have only uncovered the façade, so they
cannot yet see for themselves. But this fall, they intend to
investigate the tomb's interior, which most likely contains the burial chamber
and might even contain Mehtjetju's mummy. Kuraszkiewicz also claims in the statement
that if he hadn't been buried there, someone else would have most likely occupied the tomb.
Researchers concur that the decoration is incomplete, most likely because the investor
passed away before the project was finished and was interred in the hurriedly constructed tomb.
Mehtjetju was interred close to King Djoser, whose Step Pyramid at Saqqara was the first of its kind,
which is not surprising. Around 2575 B.C.E., years after Djoser's passing,
According to Kuraszkiewicz, Egyptian officials still desired their final
resting place to be close to the "important and revered king from the glorious past."
For over 3,000 years, Saqqara was a significant place for ancient Egyptian burials.
The five-mile area is currently "dotted with the remains of temples, tombs,
and walkways that, collectively, span the entire history of ancient Egypt,"
and is situated about 20 miles south of Cairo on the west bank of the Nile River.
Since 1850, Saqqara has been the subject of research, and important discoveries are still
being made there. In 2020 the discovery of several "mega tombs," or sizable chambers filled with
coffins, mummies, and other items, was made. Even According to Livia Gershon of the
Smithsonian, archaeologists found the tomb of Ramses II's treasury director last year.
Despite the fact that Saqqara has historically been overshadowed by discoveries at Luxor and
the Great Pyramids, these and other recent finds there are certain to pique the interest
of archaeologists like Mostafa Waziri, who stated to Smithsonian in 2021 that what we
have discovered over the last three years is not even 10% of what we will discover.
So you see, they believe that what they have still found is not enough and they want to
discover all of these to find out what happened to everyone. And even recently, they have tried
to match the DNA of found mummies with the data available and found some related people too.
And that’s the end of the video with what researchers have found. Now I hope you have liked
the content. If yes then do like the video and subscribe to the channel and the bell Icon too
so you don’t miss any video on our channel. See you in the next video until then goodbye.