Message #164253

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THE ABUSIR NECROPOLIS:

At the monument of Prince Khaemqaset, the fourth son of Pharaoh Ramses II, the team found two fragmental blocks of a red granite false-door depicting a seated figure. A number of limestone blocks with elaborate reliefs were also unearthed. On the northwest side of the monument the team found a mud-brick structure with some of its blocks stamped with the cartouches of Amenhotep II and Tuthmosis IV. More than 10 stelae of Tuthmosis IV were also unearthed. Yoshimura suggests that although the nature of this building is still unclear, the presence of stelae and bricks related to these Pharaohs suggests that it had royal connections of some kind.

Excavations at the southeastern slope of the outcrop uncovered a rock-cut chamber and a layered stone structure and its substructure. Inside the chamber the team unearthed a number of statue fragments made of clay, terracotta and wood, as well as pottery vessels. Two of the terracotta statues bore the name of the Fourth-Dynasty King Khufu.

Excavations at the southeastern slope revealed a massive layered stone structure probably built about the time of the Third Dynasty and a shaft leading respectively to two chambers to the east and west. In the east chamber a number of votive objects dating from the early dynastic period and early Old Kingdom were found. The chamber seems to have been reused in the Middle Kingdom, since objects from that period were uncovered in the same chamber while another entrance and its forecourt appear to have been dug from the south at the same period.



THE DAHSHOUR NECROPOLIS:

In collaboration with Tokai University, the Waseda team identified a new site in north Dahshour through computer analysis of satellite imaging data. In a New Kingdom necropolis at the low mound two kilometres north of King Senefru's red pyramid, a large, free-standing tomb-chapel comparable in size to the Horemhab's at Saqqara was discovered. Some stamped mud bricks suggest that the tomb-chapel was built for Ipay, a royal butler and scribe. Excavations of the subterranean chambers yielded a number of fine funerary objects including faience rings with the names of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun, and two scarabs bearing the name of Ramses II. The most remarkable find was a granite sarcophagus in the innermost chamber. The inscriptions on the sarcophagus and jar dockets suggest that its owner was Mes, royal scribe and steward during the reign of Ramses II.


By Zahi Hawass