Pharaonic-era tomb found in suburb of Egyptian
capital
News Of The Day
19/11/2001
Archeologists have discovered a tomb over 2,500-years-old in the middle of a crowded Cairo
residential district, a senior Egyptian antiquities official here said.
The tomb of a wealthy family who lived during the 26th dynasty (664-525 BC) was found in
an empty plot in the north-eastern Cairo district of Ein Shams, said Zahi Hawass, head of
the antiquities authority for Cairo and Giza.
Ein Shams is the site of the Pharaonic city of Heliopolis, an academic and religious
center based on a cult of the sun.
The find, originally thought to be two separate tombs, was determined to be three family
burial chambers linked to a single vault.
The tomb has so far yielded three limestone sarcophagi and a group of 29 statuettes
engraved with the name of the tomb's owner, builder Waja-Hur, Zahi Hawass said.
The sarcophagi will be opened next week, Zahi Hawass said.
Zahi Hawass said that the tombs had not been violated by robbers, but inscriptions on the
walls had been damaged by sewage water leaking from nearby houses.
The discovery was made after the owner of the land sought permission from the government
to build upon it.
Before beginning construction on a plot it is required by law that authorities verify that
there are no undiscovered antiquities lying therein.
"To discover the tomb between the houses is very amazing," Zahi Hawass says.
"It shows that the sands of Egypt are always yielding new finds." END OF REPORT
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