Archaeologists discover mysterious door inside 4,000-year-old Egyptian tomb

Metro

16-05-2025

Hiyah Zaidi Published May 14, 2025 3:08pm Updated May 14, 2025 3:08pm Link is copied Comments Archaeologists working in Egypt came across a large, pink granite door inside the tomb of a prince. It stands at more than 14 feet tall but when the researchers went to investigate, they found it was a fake door, leading nowhere. In this prince's tomb within the Saqqara necropolis (south of Cairo, Egypt), the researchers came across other items of significant interest too. So, what did they find? (Picture: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities) The 4,000-year-old tomb belonged to Prince Waser-If-Re, also spelt as Prince Userefre, who was the son of King Userkaf, the founder of Egypt's Fifth Dynasty, who ruled around 2465 to 2458 BC. The joint mission, between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Zahi Hawass Foundation for Archaeological and Heritage, revealed that this is the first time a false door of this size has been found made of pink granite. They also found 13 high-backed chairs, each of which featured statues carved out of pink granite too (Picture: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities) The door was around four meters high and 1.15 meters wide. It was directly connected to the prince's tomb, and featured hieroglyphs carved into it. They listed the prince's names and titles, including 'Hereditary Prince, Governor of the Buto and Nekhbet Regions, Royal Scribe, Minister, Judge, and Chanting Priest'. The Metropolitan Museum of Art revealed that in ancient Egypt false doors were common as they were considered to be a symbolic gateway between the living and the underworld, and that souls could freely enter and exit the tomb (Picture: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities) Dr Zahi Hawass, a famed Egyptian archaeologist, also pointed out that the mission found a statue of King Djoser, his wife, and his 10 daughters inside the tomb. The researchers say that these statues were located inside a room next to King Djoser's step pyramid and were moved to the tomb of Prince Userefre during the Late Period (Picture: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities) Pink and red granite was reserved for royalty, since it was quarried and transported from Aswan. The researchers not only found the pink granite door and statues, but they also found a red granite offering table measuring 92.5 cm in diameter. It featured carved texts describing ritual sacrifice. The tomb also had a massive black granite statue which was 1.17 meters tall of a standing man with hieroglyphic inscriptions on his chest with the name and titles of its owner. The owner of this statue appears to date back to the 26th Dynasty, indicating that the tomb may have been reused during the Late Period (Picture: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities) Another entrance to the tomb, also adorned with pink granite, featured a cartouche of King Neferirkare. The researchers also came across the pink granite statues, which are considered the first of their kind in the Saqqara area. In total, there were 13 of them, and some heads were positioned higher than the others, which the researchers suggested represented the wives of the prince. However, two statues were without a head. Another black granite statue was found lying face down, at around 1.35 meters tall (Picture: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities) Archaeologists will now remain on site to learn more about the prince and his granite filled tomb. They will also further investigate to see why the statues of King Djoser, his wife and his 10 daughters were moved (Picture: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)