Rare Middle-Class Tomb Found From Ancient Egypt

Steven Stanek in Cairo, Egypt
for National Geographic News

Jan 18, National Geographic

Archaeologists have unsealed the intact burial chamber of an ancient Egyptian official, providing a rare glimpse into the burial customs of the Old Kingdom's middle class.

The relatively modest tomb, belonging to a fifth dynasty priest and politician named Neferinpu, was discovered in 2006 at Abusir, the ancient necropolis of the fifth and 26th dynasties, located near modern-day Cairo.

Only recently, however, did a Czech team open the tomb's burial chamber, a tiny room about 33 feet (10 meters) below ground packed with offerings and personal effects that had remained undisturbed for nearly 4,500 years.

Read more this news quote

photo: The skull seen here is of the ancient Egyptian Neferinpu—an upper-middle-class official whose modest burial chamber was recently found completely intact. Scientists say the find is a rare, unaltered look at the life—and death—of the Old Kingdom's non-royalty (Photograph courtesy Miroslav Barta)