Saqqara New Discoveries: Fifth Dynasty’s Pyramid Complex That Belonged To Queen Setibhor

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - Egyptian archaeologists have discovered the tomb of a Fifth Dynasty dignitary named Khuwy during an excavation and documentation survey carried out in south Saqqara, and the name of the queen identified as Setibhor to whom a pyramid complex in the area belonged.

Painting wall of the tomb -Saqqara pyramid complex. Image credit: Ahram Online

The tomb consists of a superstructure with an L-shaped offering chamber, which was once decorated with reliefs. Only the bottom part of this decoration is preserved, as the white limestone blocks of the other parts were re-used in the construction of other buildings in antiquity, reports Ahram Online.

The tomb is located at the north wall of the tomb, the entrance to a unique substructure, which is for the first time clearly inspired by the design of the substructures of the royal pyramids of the Fifth Dynasty, according to Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

That part of the tomb starts with a descending corridor, which leads to a vestibule. An entrance in its southern wall gives access to a decorated antechamber. Its decoration represents the tomb owner sitting in front of the offering table on the south and north walls. Moreover, an offering list was depicted on the east wall and the palace-façade on the west wall.The mission located the undecorated burial chamber through two entrances in the west wall of the antechamber of the tomb, informed Mohamed Megahed, head of the archaeological mission.

Excavation area where the tomb was uncovered. Image credit: Ahram Online

“It seems that the space of the burial chamber was almost completely filled with a limestone sarcophagus, which was found entirely destroyed by ancient tomb robbers,” he added.

However, the mission discovered the human remains of Khuwy, which show clear traces of mummification. An entrance in the south wall of the decorated antechamber leads to a small room, most likely used as a storeroom (filled with debris, only without any value).

“The discovery of this tomb stresses the importance of Djedkare’s era, and the end of the Fifth Dynasty in general,” asserted Megahed.

Archaeologists have also discovered an ancient Egyptian queen who lived during the late Fifth Dynasty in the same pyramid complex. The mission found the name of queen Setibhor, who was not known before from ancient sources, engraved on a column in the south part of the until-now anonymous pyramid complex.

The complex is located by the pyramid of king Djedkare in south Saqqara, and the identity of its owner was a puzzle that Egyptologists have been trying to solve for decades.

The decorated chamber - Saqqara Pyramid complex. Image credit: Ahram Online

The name and titles of the owner of this unique monument was found on the column made of red granite in the newly uncovered portico of the queen’s complex. The inscription was carved in sunken relief in a rectangle on the shaft of the column, and it reads: “The one who sees Horus and Seth, the great one of the hetes sceptre, the great of praise, king’s wife, his beloved Setibhor.”

The column and the limestone blocks and fragments bearing relief decoration from the temple of the queen were found during exploration and documentation work in the pyramid complex of king Djedkare. The pyramid complex of queen Setibhor represents one of the earliest pyramids in south Saqqara, built at the end of the Fifth Dynasty, and it is the largest pyramid complex built for a queen during the Old Kingdom.

The entrance of the tomb. Image credit: Ahram Online

Moreover, her funerary temple incorporated architectural elements and chambers that were otherwise reserved for the kings of the Old Kingdom only.

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The large size of the pyramid complex of queen Setibhor and her title of queen may indicate her direct intervention in helping her husband, king Djedkare, ascend the throne of Egypt at the end of the Fifth Dynasty. It seems that Djedkare wanted to honor his wife by constructing her a huge pyramid complex, with many unusual features, including palmiform granite columns, which constitute an architectural element so far known only in the pyramid complexes of kings and not used in the temples of the queens during the Old Kingdom period.

Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer