Egyptian archaeologists have found the remains of a mummy thought to be that of Queen Seshestet, the mother of a pharaoh who ruled Egypt in the 24th century BC. After five hours spent lifting the lid of a sarcophagus in a pyramid discovered south of Cairo last year, they found a skull, legs, pelvis, other body parts wrapped in linen, and ancient pottery. They also found gold wrappings which would have been put on the fingers of the mummified person. Grave robbers ransacked the burial chamber in ancient times and stole the other objects. “Although they did not find the name of the queen buried in the pyramid, all the signs indicate that she is Seshestet, the mother of King Teti, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty,” secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawwas said. Teti ruled Egypt for at least 10 years around the year 2300 BC and is buried nearby.
Ancient fleet
At Ain-Sukhna by the Red Sea, some 120km east of Cairo, an Egyptian French expedition unearthed the remains of what they believe were nine storehouses and three narrow passages in between, enclosed in an oblong building that dates back to the Middle Kingdom (2061 – 1665BC).Secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawwas said that the expedition, which began excavating the area in 1999, had discovered the remains of a Middle Kingdom town which appeared to have been an important administrative centre in its heyday.
A large collection of clay pots was found inside the storehouses, with the names of kings of the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties (2649 – 2374BC) inscribed upon them. Also found were planks of cedar wood used by the Egyptian fleet in its journeys across what is today the Gulf of Suez to Sinai where the famous copper and turquoise mines and quarries were found, Hawwas said.