The oldest cemetery in Egypt is the necropolis of Saqqara, where there is an excellent variety of pyramids and tombs. Each visitor can visit this cemetery for one day or two days to see all the sightseeing in this place.
It lies around 35 to the south of Giza. It is now a village related to the city of Badrashin.
The name of Saqqara is derived from the god “sokr,” who was the god of the cemetery. The most hypothetical opinion about the origin of this name is; when god Seth killed his brother Osiris.
“Osiris,” said” si kir Ji” which means rescue me or save me; this word is now the name of saqarra, which means “rescue place” for the people in the afterlife. It is one of the essential records of tombs and mortuary temples mastabas in ancient Egypt.
History of Saqarra
Saqqara has a very long history. The most distinguished point in this cemetery. If we visit the cemetery in the valley of the kings there, we will visit tombs from the new kingdom. If we visit Giza, there are pyramids from the fourth dynasty. Still, in Saqqara, we can visit many tombs through periods and their building style. There are mastabas and pyramids.
The earliest monuments in Saqqara relate to king khasekhemwy, the last king of the second dynasty. However, he had his tomb in Abydos. He left a rectangle in a vast place, which later inspired building a step pyramid of king zoser.
Old Kingdom
- Tomb of king shepseskaf.
- pyramid complex of king zoser.
- Pyramid of userkaf
- Pyramid of king Menkauhor .
- Mastaba of TI .
- Mastaba of kagemni .
- Pyramid of unas .
First intermediate point
Pyramid of king Ibi.
Middle Kingdom
From this period, there were few monuments not essential to mention since the capital of Egypt was not more in Memphis.
Second intermediate period.
- Pyramid of king khendjefer.
New kingdom
During the reign of the new kingdom, the role of Memphis was in a great position. It played a vital role in ancient Egypt, like Thebes as an administrative and crucial military center. King Horemheb constructed an enormous tomb in Saqqara but after the coronation and being king. He was buried in the king’s valley and the tomb of Thutmose, an artist in ancient Egypt.
Furthermore, after the new kingdom, the necropolis was used as a burial ground for nobles.
Also, the cemetery became an important destination for pilgrims to several cult centers.
Later period and Greco-Roman
- Several shaft tombs of the official.
- Serapeum.
- “philosopher circle” is a monument to critical Greek thinkers and poets.
- Several Coptic Monasteries.
Archeology work in Saqarra
The most crucial archeology work in Saqqara was by the great archeologist Aguste Mariette, whom the church in France sent to search for the Coptic roll of papyrus. Still, he was fascinated by Egyptian antiquities and played a significant role in discovering the serapeum in Saqqara. Later he assumed the idea of building a new museum in Cairo to exhibit Egyptian antiquities.
The French archeologist and architect “jean Philippe lauer” spent a long time of his life in a small house in Saqqara and played an essential role in restoring the pyramid complex of zoser he spent in Saqqara more than 60 years of his life.
Wrote a book called “I was born in Egypt 4500 ago “he was very active, enjoyed healthy life because of his simple food, and however his long life in Egypt and his desire to be buried in Saqqara, he died during his last trip to France in the year 2003 and was buried there.
Recent discovery
During excavation in 2011 in Saqqara led by Salima Ikram and an international team of teachers, uncovered nearly eight million animal mummies at the burial site next to the holy temple of god Anubis. It is thought mummified animals, primarily dogs, were intended to pass on the prayers of their owners to their deities.
In July 2018, the german- Egyptian researchers team head by Ramadan badry Hussien reported discovering an extremely rare gilded burial mask that probably dates from the Persian site period in a partly damaged wooden coffin.
In September 2018, several dozen caches of mummies dating 2000 years were found by a team of Polish archaeologists under Kamil Kuraszkiewicz from the university of warsaw; investigations were carried out for over two years and decades in the area to the west of the Djoser pyramid. The tombs were discovered most recently from part of the younger, so-called necropolis.
“Most of the mummies we discovered last season were very modest. They were only subjected to basic embalming, wrapped in bandages and placed directly in pits dug in the sand.”
Kamil Kuraszkiewicz.
In November 2018, an Egyptian archeological mission discovered seven tombs at the ancient cemetery of Saqqara containing a collection of scarab and cat mummies dating back to the fifth and sixth dynasties. Three tombs were used for cats, some dating back more than 6000 years, while one of four other sarcophagi was unsealed. With remains of cat mummies were unearthed gilded and 100 wooden figures of cats and one in bronze dedicated to goddess Bastet.
In December 2018, the Egyptian government announced the discovery at Saqqara of a previously unknown 4400-year-old tomb containing paintings and more than fifty sculptures. It belongs to wahtye, the high-ranking priest who served under king neferirkare kakai during the fifth dynasty. The tomb also contains four shafts that lead to the coffin below.
On 13 April 2019, I discovered a 4000-year-old tomb near Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis through the Czech archaeology mission.
On 3 October 2020, Khaled el anany, Egypt’s tourism and antiquities minister, announced the discovery of at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies more than 2600 years old.
On 19 October 2020, the tourism and antiquities ministry announced more than 2500 years of colorful, sealed sarcophagi. The archaeological team unearthed gilded wooden statues and around 80 coffins.
In November 2020, archeologists discovered more than 100 delicately painted wooden coffins and 40 funeral statues. The sealed wooden coffins, some containing mummies dating back to 2500 years, in addition to other artifacts discovered, include funeral masks, canopic jars, and amulets.
1 comment
What interesting phrase