ARCHEOLOGIA NUOVA

Nyankhnefertem, (6th Dynasty ), his family and his tomb in Saqqara.

Prof.  Karol Myśliwiec 
Head of the Polish Mission to Saqqara

Monday, October 18, 2010

6:00 PM

Reception to Follow

Ahmad Pasha Kamal Hall
Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)
3 el-Adel Abu Bakr Street
(at the intersection of al-Malak al-Afdal Street)
Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt 
Tel: + 2/02 2736-5645
Parking Available

The discovery of the rock-cut tomb of Nyankhnefertem in 2003 by the Polish-Egyptian Archaeological Mission is one of the greatest recent archaeological sensations concerning the Sixth Dynasty in Saqqara. Nyankhnefertem’s tomb is located to the west of Zoser’s pyramid, just beside the tomb of the vizier Merefnebef.

The tomb’s beautiful, unfinished decoration constitutes an important contribution to our knowledge of the turbulent times following the reigns of Teti and Userkare. It also represents an important chapter of this period’s artistic program because of the confrontation between old and new styles. These revolutionary adaptations resulted in changes to the iconographic program and style. The importance of these unfinished reliefs also stems from the fact that they illustrate subsequent phases of an artist’s workmanship, as well as changes to the original program according to outside, mainly political challenges.

The tomb was published in September 2010 “The Funerary Complex of Nyankhnefertem” as volume IV in the series Saqqara. This lecture presents the most important, including controversial, aspects of the monument.