Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Unearthed–Once Again

The “Lost” Pyramid of an ancient Egyptian Pharoah has been unearthed in Saqquara, a well-known Egyptian burial ground for ancient Egyptian royalty. The news of this ‘rediscovery’ has sparked much interest throughout the Archaeological world and across the international press.

This newly found pyramid is thought to hold the tomb of King Menkauhor, an Egyptian ruler who reigned for eight years during Egypt’s 5th dynasty around the mid 2400’s B.C.

The tomb was previously known to archaeologists, but in recent history it had become lost. A German archaeologist by the name of Karl Richard Lepsius is credited with first discovering the tomb in the mid-19th century. With time, in the harsh elements of it’s desert surroundings, the pyramid had become buried and lost to future inquiries.

Archaeologists recently started unearthing the massive pyramid about a year-and-a-half ago. This project involved removing tons of sand that had blown over and reburied the structure, obscuring it for over a century.

Archaeologists are still not 100% positive as to who this Pyramid was built for, nor to it’s actual date. They are going by small clues as to the craftsmanship and dating some items found inside. This pyramid, unlike later ones built in Ancient Egypt, has no intricate tunnel system, leaving most to believe that it is an Old Kingdom pyramid.

Along with the discovery of this newly ‘rediscovered’ pyramid, was another discovery of note. Archaeologists have unearthed parts of a sacred road in the area, used mainly by priests as they ventured to offer up mummified bulls to the god of the dead.

Each of these recent discoveries offer up a glimpse in to what little we still know about our current world in relation to ancient civilizations. Researchers in the Saqquara are still saying that there will be many more great discoveries coming from this region, as they continue to dig deeper into the history of ancient Egypt. That is a pretty amazing find. Hopefully we will be hearing more out of this region in the years to come.

Sources: Archaeological Institute of America, National Geographic News Photo: Photograph by Mohamed Megahed/Supreme Council on Antiquities courtesy of National Geographic News.