Egyptian pyramid had its own afterlife

Scientists discover that a tomb built in the 6th Dynasty was tapped into nearly
2,000
years later to house new mummies.

By Thomas H. Maugh II

3:42 PM PST, February 13, 2009

In Egypt, apparently even pyramids can be recycled.

Archaeologists from the country's Supreme Council of Antiquities said this week
that they
had discovered a cache of 30 mummies dating from the country's 26th Dynasty in a
tomb
constructed during the 6th Dynasty nearly 2,000 years earlier.

The 26th Dynasty was the last period of rule by Egyptian pharaohs before the
country was
conquered by the Persians and other foreigners, a time when it was becoming more
difficult for rulers to muster the manpower necessary for more grandiose burial
sites.

The 6th Dynasty pyramid is actually a mastaba tomb -- a simpler precursor to a
pyramid -
- of a man named Sennedjem. It is located in Saqqara, about 12 miles south of
Cairo, the
final resting place of most of the Egyptian rulers who lived in the Old Kingdom
capital of
Memphis.

The new cache was discovered at the end of a 36-foot shaft drilled into the side
of the
tomb during the 26th Dynasty. Zahi Hawass, head of the council and director of
the
expedition, said the team had found 24 mummies in niches along the walls of the
chamber and on shelves along one wall.

Some of the mummies were of children and one was of a dog. All were badly
decomposed,
indicating that they had not been adequately prepared for burial.

The team also found two sarcophagi of fine white limestone and four wooden
coffins. One
of the sarcophagi was still sealed.

Hawass said that when he opened it, he found a body mummified in the style
typical of the
26th Dynasty, covered in linen and resin. He said the mummy would be temporarily
removed for a CT scan because there may be funerary amulets hidden among the
wrappings.

An inscription on the coffin identified the occupant as Padi-Heri, son of
Djehuty-sesh-
nub and grandson of Iru-ru. It gave no information about his station in life,
but the fact
that he was buried in a coffin made of limestone from Thebes suggested he was
very
wealthy, Hawass said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-pyramid14-
2009feb14,0,7079275,print.story

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