Latest news with #Userefre
NDTV
16-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Archaeologists Unearth Mysterious Fake Door In 4,000-Year-Old Egyptian Tomb
A joint archaeological mission has made a fascinating discovery within the tomb of Prince Waser-If-Re, son of King Userkaf, in Egypt's Saqqara necropolis, according to The Metro. The team unearthed a large, pink granite door dating back 4,000 years, only to find it was a false door leading nowhere. The door, standing over 14 feet tall, featured hieroglyphs listing the prince's names and titles. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, such false doors were symbolic gateways between the living and the underworld, allowing souls to freely pass through. According to the Newsportal, Beyond the false door, researchers found a treasure trove of artefacts, including 13 high-backed chairs featuring statues carved from pink granite. Red granite was used for an offering table with carved texts describing ritual sacrifice. Notably, a statue of King Djoser, his wife, and his 10 daughters was discovered inside the tomb. Archaeologist Dr Zahi Hawass believes these statues, originally housed near Djoser's step pyramid, were moved to Prince Userefre's tomb during the Late Period. A massive black granite statue of a standing man with hieroglyphic inscriptions was also found, dating back to the 26th Dynasty. The team also uncovered another entrance adorned with pink granite, featuring a cartouche of King Neferirkare. These finds, particularly the pink granite statues, are considered unique to the Saqqara area. The team found 13 of the statues, and the researchers believe those with higher positions were the wives of the prince. Archaeologists will remain on site to further investigate the tomb and uncover more about Prince Userefre and the reasons behind the placement of King Djoser's statues.
Metro
16-05-2025
- General
- Metro
Archaeologists discover mysterious door inside 4,000-year-old Egyptian tomb
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)
Fox News
11-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
Archaeologists discover tomb of Egyptian royalty behind false door: 'Unveils new secrets'
Archaeologists confronted by a false door at an excavation site were stunned to find that it led to the tomb of Egyptian royalty. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery in a recent Facebook post in April. The tomb was found at the Saqqara archaeological site in the Giza Governorate of Egypt. The tomb belonged to a prince named "Userefre" or "Waser Ef Ra," the son of King Userkaf. Userkaf was the founder of the Fifth Dynasty, which lasted from the early 25th century B.C. until the mid-24th century B.C. The tomb was concealed by a "massive false door," according to Egyptian officials, and was made of pink granite. The door measures roughly 14 feet high and roughly 3.7 feet wide. The discovery marks the first time a door of this type was found, officials said. The tomb was concealed by a "massive false door." The door was "adorned with hieroglyphic inscriptions detailing the prince's name and titles," according to the Facebook post. It described him as a "hereditary prince, regional governor of Buto and Nekheb, royal scribe, minister, judge, and chanting priest." Archaeologists also found statues of King Djoser, his wife and his 10 daughters in the tomb, plus a red granite table with a list of funerary offerings. A large black granite statue was also found, along with another tomb entrance which was also made of pink granite. "To the north of the lintel, a discovery considered the first of its kind in the Saqqara area was made, where a group of 13 pink granite statues seated on a high-backed bench was found," said the Facebook post, which was translated from Arabic to English. "There are also statue heads at a higher level than the rest of the statues, representing the wives of the tomb owner seated in the middle, with two headless statues to the left, in front of which another black granite statue was found, overturned, measuring approximately 1.35 meters in height." Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy expressed happiness over the discovery, and said that it helps "unveil new secrets of this significant historical period in the history of ancient Egyptian civilization." The latest discovery is one of many ancient Egyptian finds uncovered this year. In March, archaeologists announced that they'd uncovered a 3,000-year-old mining complex, complete with remnants of ancient homes, workshops and baths. In an even more significant achievement, an archaeologist from the University of Pennsylvania found the long-lost tomb of an unknown Egyptian pharaoh.
Egypt Independent
20-04-2025
- General
- Egypt Independent
Photos: Tomb of Prince Userefre uncovered in Saqqara
A joint Egyptian mission, led by the Supreme Council of Antiquities and Zahi Hawass Foundation for Antiquities and Heritage, uncovered the tomb of Prince Userefre, the son of King Userkaf, the first king of the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. This discovery occurred during the mission's work in the Saqqara archaeological site, alongside numerous important archaeological finds from this era and later periods. Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy hailed the discovery, made by a purely Egyptian archaeological mission, for unveiling new secrets from this important historical era of ancient Egyptian civilization. The Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mohamed Ismail Khaled explained that this is the first time a false door made of pink granite of this magnitude has been found. Its height is four and a half meters and its width is 1.15 meters, he noted. It is decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions detailing the prince's name and titles, including 'Hereditary Prince,' 'Governor of the Buto and Nekhbet Regions,' 'Royal Scribe,' 'Vizier,' 'Judge,' and 'Chanting Priest.' Archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass indicated that the mission also found, for the first time, a statue of King Djoser, his wife, and ten daughters inside the tomb. Preliminary studies have shown that these statues were located in a room next to King Djoser's Step Pyramid and were moved to the tomb of Prince Userefre during the Late Period. The mission will continue its work to determine the reason behind moving these statues from their original location to here. In addition, a red granite offering table measuring 92.5 cm in diameter was found, bearing an inscription recording the offering lists. Inside one of the tomb's chambers, a massive black granite statue, 1.17 meters tall, of a standing man was uncovered, with hieroglyphic inscriptions on his chest bearing 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 in the Late Period. In front of the eastern facade, another entrance to the tomb was found, bearing inscriptions of the tomb owner, his titles, and the cartouche of King Neferirkare. To the north of the lintel, a group of 13 pink granite statues seated on a high-backed seat – the first discovery of this kind in Saqqara.
Miami Herald
18-04-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
4,300-year-old tomb of a prince — with a false door — found in Egypt. See it
Sifting through the sandy dirt on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, archaeologists expected to find something. After all, they were excavating an iconic burial ground for the pharaohs. Yet the ancient tomb that reemerged left them stunned. A joint team of Egyptian archaeologists were excavating a site within the Saqqara Necropolis, an ancient cemetery dotted with important pyramids and tombs, as part of ongoing research work, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in an April 18 Facebook post. To their surprise, archaeologists unearthed a false door made of pink granite, a first-of-its-kind find for the site. A photo shows the imposing fake door, which measures almost 15 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It appears to sit at the end of a hallway-like room and be built into a rock wall. On the door were decorations and hieroglyphic inscriptions. The text identified the site as a tomb belonging to a poorly known prince, whose name could be translated as 'Userefre' or 'Waser Ef Ra,' archaeologists said. According to the inscription, Prince Userefre was the son of King Userkaf, a hereditary royal descendent, regional governor, scribe, minister, judge and priest. King Userkaf founded an ancient Egyptian dynasty that ruled from about 2430 B.C. to 2300 B.C., according to Britannica. King Userkaf's family relationships are a subject of scholarly debate, but he's generally believed to have been the father of at least one son, Sahure, who later became pharaoh. Archaeologists located a functioning entrance to the 4,300-year-old prince's tomb and found several rooms inside, officials said. One chamber had a large offering table made of red granite and inscribed with a list of offerings, archaeologists said. A photo shows the well-preserved table and its hieroglyphics, which include depictions of several birds and a four-legged animal. Nearby, archaeologists found a unique statue of 12 figures, identified as another ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Djoser, with his wife and 10 daughters. Archaeologists believe the statue was originally located in a room near Djoser's Step Pyramid and later moved to Prince Userefre's tomb. In another chamber, archaeologists found a black granite statue measuring about 4 feet tall, officials said and photos show. Based on the style and inscription, archaeologists believe the statue dates to a much later period, suggesting Prince Userefre's tomb had been reused. Excavations at the ancient prince's tomb are ongoing. The Saqqara Necropolis is about 25 miles southwest of central Cairo. Google Translate and GPT-4 were used to translate the Facebook post from Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
