Well-Preserved Tomb of Ancient Egyptian Official Found Near Saqqara

A joint Spanish-Egyptian archaeological mission has found a well-preserved tomb dating to the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt’s Old Kingdom (2494–2345 BCE), reports the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The find was made during the mission’s 2026 excavation season in the area known as the Mariette Necropolis, north of Egypt’s Saqqara archaeological site.

The tomb consists of a mastaba containing two funerary chapels. One chapel belongs to a man named Yunmen, a high-ranking official under the Pharaoh Djedkare Isesi (late 25th to mid-24th century BCE) whose positions included judge, court administrator, and chief scribe responsible for reviewing petitions and complaints. The second chapel is that of his father, Iti, who held clerical jobs related to the administration of agricultural lands and offerings.

Yunmen’s chapel is decorated with painted reliefs, some retaining their original colors, depicting various agricultural activities and processions of bearers bringing offerings to his tomb. Iti’s chapel features a traditional false door and offering scenes, though much of this decoration has been lost.  

The mission, a joint project of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), is led by Josep Cervelló Autuori, a lecturer in the Department of Ancient and Medieval Sciences at UAB.

Hisham El-Leithy, secretary-general of the SCA, emphasized the importance of the tomb’s discovery, saying it offers new insights into the funerary traditions and administrative structures of the late Fifth Dynasty, a pivotal moment in Old Kingdom religion and politics.

He added that mastaba’s location been known since it was excavated by French archaeologist Auguste Mariette in the 19th century. However, the site had never been subjected to systematic scientific exploration and documentation, lending particular significance to the mission’s work.