Discovery of a 4500-Year-Old Tomb of a Forgotten Egyptian Queen

A group of Czech archaeologists has successfully uncovered the tomb of an unknown Egyptian queen, the wife of Pharaoh Neferfre, after 4500 years. According to the French news agency, Egyptian officials announced this news on Sunday, January 14. The tomb of this ancient Egyptian queen is located in the Abusir area, which is known as the 'City of the Dead' of the ancient kingdom in the southwest of Cairo, an area famous for several pyramids built for the pharaohs of the Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Pharaoh Neferfre was a member of this dynasty. Mamdouh Eldamaty, Egypt's Minister of Antiquities, stated in a statement that the name of Pharaoh Neferfre's wife had remained unknown prior to this discovery. However, according to Eldamaty, the name of this forgotten queen is 'Khenetkawes': 'For the first time, we have become familiar with the name of this queen - who was unknown before the discovery of her tomb.' Thus, the official name of the newly uncovered queen will be 'Khenetkawes III,' as two other queens named Khenetkawes had been identified before her. The name and identity of the body discovered in the tomb were inscribed on the walls of this site. Eldamaty stated: 'This discovery will help us become acquainted with new dimensions of the Fifth Dynasty of the pharaohs, as well as the Fourth Dynasty, which witnessed the construction of the first pyramids in this land.' Miroslav Barta, head of the Czech Institute of Egyptology expedition, explained that the tomb of Khenetkawes III was discovered in the necropolis of Pharaoh Neferfre: 'For this reason, we concluded that this queen is the wife of Neferfre.' An official from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities also mentioned that the tomb dates back to the mid-period of the Fifth Dynasty of the pharaohs (between 2994 - 2345 BC). Archaeologists also found about 30 various vessels at the tomb site, 24 of which were made of limestone and four were made of copper.