14 DAY TRIAL // This past Sunday, officials with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery of an ancient tomb at the site of Abu Sir, an Old Kingdom necropolis not far from Cairo, the country's capital city.
The tomb was unearthed by a team of Czech archaeologists. What's interesting is that, according to the researchers behind this discovery, the complex was built to honor a queen historians did not even know existed.
Thus, it wasn't until this monument was unearthed and the writings on its walls deciphered that archaeologists figured out that they had one other name to add to their list of ancient Egyptian rulers.
“This was the first time we have discovered the name of this queen who had been unknown before the discovery of her tomb,” Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty said in a statement, as cited by Ancient Origins.
The woman who was laid to rest is this location was a queen named Khentakawess, researchers say. Seeing how two other queens with the same name have so far been documented, she is now referred to as Khentakawess III.
So, who was this ancient queen?
This is yet to be confirmed, but researchers who have had the chance to study the tomb and the inscriptions on its inner walls have reasons to believe that this ancient queen was once married to Pharaoh Neferefre, who ruled in Egypt some 4,500 years ago.
In their statement announcing this archaeological find, officials with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities detail that the tomb dates back to the time of the ancient Fifth Dynasty, of which Pharaoh Neferefre was part of.
Besides, this recently discovered monument built to honor Khentakawess III is included in the funeral complex Pharaoh Neferefre had workers erect for him and his close ones. “This makes us believe that the queen was his wife,” archaeologist Miroslav Barta told the press in an interview.
Plenty of work left to do
It is understood that, so far, researchers have recovered some 30 utensils, some made of limestone and some made of copper, from inside the tomb. The archaeologists who unearthed the monument plan to further explore it and hope to soon gain a better understanding of how and why it was built.
What's more, they expect that their work will help shed new light on what life was like in ancient Egypt, and what the pharaohs of the Fifth Dynasty were up to when they ruled these lands. “The find will help us shed light on certain unknown aspects of the Fifth Dynasty,” officials said.
