Four thousand year old tomb of an official found in Egypt

In Egypt, archaeologists have found a four-thousand-year-old tomb that belonged to a high-ranking official from the Old Kingdom era. The Peninsula Qatar reports.

The burial was discovered by a joint Egyptian-Spanish mission in the necropolis of Saqqara, in the Mariette cemetery. The tomb, a medium-sized mastaba, dates from the end of the Fifth Dynasty (2494–2345 BC), the reign of Pharaoh Djedkar Isesi. Inside are two burial chambers, one of which belonged to the high-ranking official Yongming, who served as a judge, head of the palace administration and chief scribe of complaints.

In Yongming's chamber, a façade with hieroglyphic texts and a sacrifice formula was discovered, as well as an image of the owner of the tomb himself. The walls are decorated with high quality reliefs with scenes of agricultural work and processions bearing gifts. The second chamber belonged to Ichi, Yunmin's father, a scribe in charge of managing the farmland. It retains a false door and colorful paintings of offering scenes, although the colors have faded over time. Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt Hisham el-Leisy noted that the discovery provides new information about the architectural and artistic styles of the late 5th dynasty.