Archaeologists find Sarcophagus in Egyptian Tomb

Archaeologists find Sarcophagus in Egyptian Tomb
REUTERS

NOV 21: Archaeologists excavating a 4,000-year-old tomb near Cairo found an empty sarcophagus on Monday that they said could yield vital clues about the collapse of the pyramid-building era in ancient Egypt.

Zahi Hawass, director of the Giza Plateau, said that a team of Egyptian and Czech archaeologists discovered the stone coffin in a sixth dynasty tomb at the pyramids of Abu Sir 17 miles southwest of Cairo.

``This sarcophagus was found empty. It means that some people entered this tomb after it was built 4,200 years ago,'' said Hawass. He said he expected more sixth dynasty tombs to be found there soon.

The sarcophagus came to light as archaeologists explored a bone-littered burial chamber about 60 feet underground. ``This is a private tomb from the old Kingdom, belonging to Inti, a judge and keeper of the city of Nekhen,'' said Bretislav Vachala, director of the Czech Institute of Egyptology at Charles University in Prague and joint leader of the mission.

He said the whole area south of the Abu Sir pyramids was packed with tombs of the old kingdom elite.

``Here we can witness the period more than 4,000 years ago, the clue to understanding the period when the age of pyramid builders came to an end before the collapse of the old Kingdom,'' Vachala said. ``The tomb was robbed in ancient times.

The stone coffin is broken from one corner and the bones are scattered all over the burial chamber,'' he said.

The treasures may have gone, but hieroglyphic drawings remain to tell the story of the tomb's original occupant. Inti's two sons are depicted along the entrance walls, while on the chapel walls, his wife is drawn kneeling at her husband's feet. Inti himself is shown in several ways: standing with a scepter and stick in his hand, sitting with his wife at his feet, and standing with offerings of food and drink.

Vachala and his team began excavating the tomb in October and expect to finish documenting it next month.