Archaeologists unearth ancient portal tomb in Saqqara necropolis

Egyptian researchers uncovered the burial structure of Old Kingdom official Sekhentiu-Ptah at Saqqara on September 10, 2026. The stone architecture differs notably from the royal pyramids built during the same era near Cairo.

Ann Macy Roth from New York University dated the monument to the shift between the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, placing its construction around 4,350 years ago.

Archaeological fieldwork reveals elite burial shafts in Bubasteion

Excavations directed by Hisham Al-Lithi, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, deployed stratigraphic mapping, high-resolution visual logs, and digital scanning to document the tomb complex in the western sector of Bubasteion, an area later consecrated to the feline deity Bastet. The field crew also opened burial shafts containing human bones and more than 100 faience ushabtis. Hieroglyphic wall inscriptions identified the owner and his administrative functions under the royal court.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities confirmed that Sekhentiu-Ptah held several bureaucratic and religious titles:

• King’s chamberlain and supervisor of state construction
• Administrator of royal decrees and director of scribes
• Priest serving the goddess Maat

Roth noted that the title of guardian of secret royal decrees simply indicated routine access to confidential documents.

Thieves breached Sekhentiu-Ptah’s burial chamber.

Ceremonial artifacts and symbolic portals linking two worlds

A carved false door served as the spiritual centerpiece of the Saqqara tomb, functioning as a ceremonial gateway between the living and the dead. Excavators located an offering table, a qurban ritual piece, a stone basin, an inscribed jug, and an engraved mat directly before the entrance slab. The ministry recovered three intact coffins, brightly colored cartonnage fragments, and a wooden falcon statue representing the god Horus.

The mummy of Sekhentiu-Ptah was missing because later occupants reused the tomb during subsequent Egyptian dynasties. Roth determined that later secondary interments explain why extra coffins and funerary accessories belonged to different individuals.

Campbell Price, curator at the Manchester Museum, noted that ancient elites competed for burial plots at Saqqara because it was the prime destination to “be seen dead.”

The UNESCO World Heritage site hosted burials from 2700 BC during the Old Kingdom through the Roman period. Archaeologist Magdy Shaker stated that Saqqara encapsulates Ancient Egypt’s complete timeline more comprehensively than the Giza plateau. In addition to elite private tombs, the vast cemetery features animal catacombs and the Step Pyramid of Djoser.

Regional authorities recently upgraded roads and visitor infrastructure across the Saqqara archaeological zone. The complex continues to draw lower visitor numbers than the pyramids of Giza.