FOUR-THOUSAND-Year-Old Mummy

The false door to Ptahshepses’s tomb was removed by a French archaeologist in the 19th century. Now, 160 years later, researchers have rediscovered it and found the mummy of its occupant. Image courtesy of © Archive of the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles UniversityThe false door to Ptahshepses’s tomb was removed by a French archaeologist in the 19th century. Now, 160 years later, researchers have rediscovered it and found the mummy of its occupant.




A team of Czech archaeologists have rediscovered a lost tomb that belonged to an ancient Egyptian official called Ptahshepses, who lived around 4,400 years ago (during the 24th and 25th centuries BCE). The discovery even contained the mummified remains of this significant individual.

According to a statement released by the Czech Institute of Egyptology on Facebook, the lost tomb was discovered in the zone between the pyramid fields of Abusir and Saqqara, Egypt.

"It was a difficult search lasting several years,” Miroslav Barta, head of research at Abusir, explained in the statement. “Detailed satellite imagery of the area and the study of old maps led to the rediscovery of the tomb of Ptahshepses in 2022.”

Around 160 years ago, a French scholar named Auguste Mariette found this site and partially “excavated” it. Mariette extracted Ptahshepses’s false door, a symbolic doorway the Egyptians believed the deceased could use to enter and exit the tomb, and a lintel originally placed above the cult chapel. However, the tomb disappeared under the sand and was lost until now.

The artifacts recovered by Mariette are currently on display at the British Museum. The door itself provides an extensive and unique account of Ptahshepses’s career. It explains how he was educated at the court of the last Giza ruler – Menkaure (Greek "Mykerinos") – and how he later married the daughter of pharaoh Userkaf. Userkaf himself was an important figure who founded the Fifth Dynasty of Sun Kings.

“This reference itself indicates that Ptahshepses is the first known official of non-royal descent in Egyptian history who was given the privilege of marrying a royal daughter,” the Institute explained.  READ MORE...

Image courtesy of © Archive of the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University

Oldest Known Ingredients for Metal

RESEARCHERS HAVE IDENTIFIED THE INGREDIENTS IN FORMULAE FOR METAL FROM THE OLDEST KNOWN TECHNICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA, THE KAOGONG JI.

The Kaogong ji, translated variously as the Record of Trades, Records of Examination of Craftsman, Book of Diverse Crafts or Artificers’ Record was written in China around the middle of the first millennium BC and is the oldest known technical encyclopaedia, detailing the methods used to make items such as swords and instruments, including six chemistry formulae for mixing bronze.

In a study published in the journal Antiquity, a team from the University of Oxford believe that they have identified Jin and Xi, previously thought to be copper and tin, two key components of bronze.

The study analysed the chemical composition of Chinese coins from the period the Kaogong ji was written, indicating that the coins were made by diluting copper with tin and lead to create the desired form of bronze by mixing two pre-prepared metal alloys: a copper-tin-lead alloy and a copper-lead alloy.

“These recipes were used in the largest bronze industry in Eurasia during this period,” said Dr Ruiliang Liu from the British Museum, “Attempts to reconstruct these processes have been made for more than a hundred years, but have failed.”

As well as shedding light on the enigmatic ancient recipe, this discovery also indicates ancient Chinese metallurgy was more complex than expected.  READ MORE...