It was with great excitement that the new Imhotep Museum was
opened in April 2006 by
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of
Antiquities. A modern museum, both in technology and security, this
is a place not to be missed on your next visit to
Saqqara. Located
twenty kilometers south of the Giza Pyramids, Saqqara is the site of
the
Step Pyramid and the funerary complex of
King
Zoser (Djoser),
the
Pyramid of
Unas,
the Teti
Pyramid,
Old
Kingdom
tombs
with scenes of daily life, and much more. The Step Pyramid of
Zoser
is Egypt's first pyramid, designed by
Imhotep, for whom the museum is named. The sands of Saqqara have
yielded treasures from the
Archaic Period, the Old Kingdom,
Middle Kingdom,
New
Kingdom,
Late
Period and Greco-Roman
Period. And there is still much yet to be discovered! The
excavations are continuing and each season more treasures are found.
In 1997 the building of the new museum began. The idea was to have a
special place dedicated only to the many discoveries from this area.
Located near the entrance, not far from where the ticket office was
formerly located, visitors will be pleased to find artifacts that
are attractively displayed, well air-conditioned buildings and
modern toilet facilities.
The museum consists of five halls: 1) Theater and model of the
funerary complex, 2) Main Hall including the architectural elements,
3) New Discoveries, 4) Model Tomb Hall, and 5) Library of
Jean-Philippe Lauer.
In the theater visitors can watch a short film made by National
Geographic about the Imhotep Museum. In the center of the room is a
model of the funerary complex showing the
Step Pyramid and surrounding buildings in brilliant white, the
way they would have looked when they were new. The model was
constructed by
Jean-Philippe Lauer (1902-2001), an archeologist that made many
discoveries at
Saqqara and dedicated his long life to restoring these
monuments. One of the halls of the museum is dedicated to preserving
his library.
The most noticeable feature of the Main Hall is the blue-green
faience. These tiles were collected in the anti-chamber and burial
chamber of the
Step Pyramid and reconstructed to show visitors how the walls of
these chambers and those of the Southern Tomb would have looked in
ancient times.
There is also a statue is of a scribe, Ptah-Shepses (5th
Dynasty) from Abu
Sir. There are two types of scribe statues – reading and
writing. This statue of Ptah-Shepses is a reading scribe.
An impressive collection of large alabaster jars, some over one
meter high, date back to the
2nd and
3rd Dynasties.
These jars came from the chambers below the
Step Pyramid. Included in the display is a block that shows the
steps to making the alabaster jars.
One of the masterpieces now displayed in the "New Discoveries" hall
of the museum is a mummy that was found during recent excavations
around the
Teti
Pyramid.
When we moved the sands we found a mummy that was the most beautiful
mummy I have ever seen. When I saw the mummy
for the first time I
was shocked. The colors looked like it was painted yesterday –
yellow, blue, red and black. We know that it dates to the
30th Dynasty, but
regrettably we do not know the name of the owner because there were
no inscriptions to tell us. The mask is gilded. The mummy itself was
wrapped in linen and is 176 cm in length. The casing is painted with
scenes. On the chest there is painted a pectoral with a winged
scarab. On each side there are five gods holding scepters.
Under the
necklace there is a winged goddess,
Ma'at,
with two feathers. On the legs of the mummy are scenes of the god
Anubis
performing the mummifications.
Also in this hall are artifacts found during the excavations of
Dr. Zahi Hawass near the Tomb of Qar. This newly discovered tomb
was owned by a dentist from the
Old
Kingdom. There are surgical tools and bronze statues of the gods
and goddesses, including
Isis,
Horus,
Osiris,
Ptah,
Anubis
and others.
Dr. Zahi Hawass has
made enormous contributions to
Egyptology. Doing excavations, restoring monuments, opening new
museums, publishing numerous books and articles, recovering stolen
artifacts and increasing public awareness about Ancient Egypt and
the new discoveries through the media, under his leadership the face
of Ancient Egypt
in today's world has reached heights never before achieved. Just as
the Ancient Egyptians might say, "His name will live forever."
Hall #4 contains a model of a small tomb and shows the typical
burial elements, including the coffin, a wooden statue, pottery jars
and offerings. There are also some offering jars that still
contained some cheese when they were found! Other pieces in this
hall include a pyramidion that was found by
Dr. Zahi Hawass near the
Teti
Pyramid,
some limestone maces, a wooden coffin from King Mery-en-Ra of the
6th Dynasty, a
limestone block with
pyramid texts from the
Pepi I
Pyramid,
some
canoptic
jars of alabaster, and a limestone sphinx of
King Unas.
Despite all the wonderful things on display here in the museum
today, we are still looking for more. Perhaps someday we may even
unearth the tomb of
Imhotep himself. It is said that only 30% of the treasures from
Ancient Egypt have been discovered to date. Who knows what we may
find tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or… the excitement and
suspense of the search continues. No one knows what the sands of
Egypt may hide, only that it will continue to yield the secrets of
time.
---------------
This article was written by Ashraf Mohie El Din, an
archeologist/Egyptologist presently working at
Saqqara, and Ruth
Shilling, an AETBI member and owner of All One World Egypt Tours.
All photos are by Ruth Shilling. For additional information about
the authors:
www.Ashraf-EgyptTourGuide.com and
www.1worldtours.com.
Gallery
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| Obelisk from Meryre, 6th Dynasty, Old Kingdom, Unearthed by the French Mission | Old Kingdom faience | Old Kingdom false door | Doorway with blue Faience from beneath the Step Pryamid |
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| Old Kingdom - pillar with snake, from the Teti Pyramid, unearthed by Dr. Hawass | Cobras from the Step Pyramid enclosure wall - Old Kingdom | Alabaster jars, 2nd & 3rd Dynasties, discovered in the antechamber beneath the Step Pyramid | Old Kingdom Relief of Queen Ankhesem-Pepi with vulture headdress, 6th Dynasty |
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| Old Kingdom relief | Ptah, with Osiris in Background | Goddess Isis with child Horus on her lap | Imhotep statue, Late Period |
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| The scribe Ptah-Shepses, Old Kingdom | Wooden Mask from the Late Period | Late Period Mask discovered by the Japanese Mission | Wooden anthropoid coffin discovered by the French Mission |
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| Ptah-hotep, 5th Dynasty | Wooden Statue, a closer view of the 5th Dynasty statue of Ptah-hotep | Old Kingdom wooden statue of Vizier (Rashepses) | Old Kingdom wooden statue of Vizier (Rashepses) |
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| A Late Period Statue of the God, Ptah-Soker, discovered by the French Mission | Seated Statue from the Old Kingdom | Old Kingdom Wooden Statue | Old Kingdom wooden statue |
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| A limestone statue from the Old Kingdom | A wooden statue from the Old Kingdom | Ptah-hotep, 5th Dynasty | Amenemipet And His Wife |
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Last Updated: 08/16/2006