News

Zahi Hawass

Grave robbers lead archaeologist to three new tombs

Thieves last week led archaeologists to the graves of three royal dentists, located near to the Step Pyramid of King Djoser, believed to be Egypt’s oldest pyramid.

The thieves launched their own dig two months ago but were caught and arrested, Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, told news agencies.

This arrest led archaeologists to the three tombs, one of which included a curse warning that anyone who violated the sanctity of the grave would be eaten by a crocodile and a snake.

Hawass told reporters that the tombs date back more than 4,000 years to the 5th Dynasty. They were meant to honor a chief dentist and two others who treated the pharaohs and their families.

Although their services were in demand by the powerful, the dentists likely did not share in their wealth.

The tombs, which did not contain their mummies, were built of mudbrick and limestone, not the pure limestone preferred by ancient Egypt's upper class.

“The whole point of a tomb was to last forever,” said Carol Redmount, associate professor of Egyptian archaeology at the University of California at Berkeley. “So you wanted to make it out of materials that would last forever. And mudbrick ... didn't last forever.''

During a visit to the site, Hawass pointed out two hieroglyphs — an eye over a tusk — which appear frequently among the neat rows of symbols decorating the tombs. He said those hieroglyphs identify the men as dentists.

Hawass said the men were not related but must have been partners or colleagues to have been buried together. Figures covering the pillars in the doorway of the chief dentist's tomb tell archaeologists much about his life and habits, Hawass said.

(With additional reporting by AP.

Published: 01 November 2006
Issue: 1242

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