Egypt uncovers painted 4,400-year-old mastaba at Saqqara

A joint Spanish-Egyptian archaeological team led by Egyptologist Josep Cervelló discovered a “striking and beautiful” tomb from the late Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom (2494-2345 BC) in the Saqqara necropolis southwest of Cairo on 10 September 2026. Pigments remain intact.

The Autonomous University of Barcelona and Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities directed the summer excavation season that revealed the structure. Yunmen, a senior official serving Pharaoh Djedkare Isesi, commissioned the mastaba and arranged for the burial of his father, Iti, an administrator of lower rank. Two separate funerary chapels stand inside the stone monument.

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities confirmed that the tomb stands in the Mariette necropolis north of Saqqara, dating to the reign of Djedkare Isesi at the end of the Fifth Dynasty, and contains “two funerary chapels belonging to two high-ranking officials, Younmin and his father, Ity”.

On the same topic: Researchers find ancient painted tomb in Saqqara necropolis

Researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona said the monument identifies figures of major cultural, historical, and administrative importance from that era. The visual elegance of the complex surprised the excavators.

The tomb features a high-quality architrave along with customized funerary texts matching the titles held by Yunmen. Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities stated that the wall carvings show “agricultural activities and processions with offerings” in an exceptional state of conservation, with several scenes having “retained their original colours” across the interior chambers after thousands of years underground. Carved registers detail these ritual ceremonies.

Artwork along the walls portrays working donkeys and other domestic animals alongside the ritual scenes. Egyptian officials said the find “provides new and valuable data on the architecture, art and administrative life of ancient Egypt at the end of the Fifth Dynasty”.

Archaeological work uncovers daily routines across the Mariette cemetery

Beyond its architectural quality, researchers believe the dual burial structure illustrates the upward mobility of Yunmen, who climbed from a provincial family into the central court of Pharaoh Djedkare Isesi before securing a shared resting place for his father, Iti.

French archaeologist Auguste Mariette first explored the sector during the 19th century, yet the terrain lacked systematic documentation. The current initiative maps the physical topography to examine Saqqara as an active space where ancient workers built monuments and families delivered goods. Laborers gathered daily at these sites.

The ongoing mapping project seeks to clarify how passageways, public squares, and ritual ceremonies functioned throughout the necropolis. Spatial analysis identified this unknown mastaba alongside traces of two neighboring tombs that excavators plan to clear during future field seasons.