The tomb of Ptah-M-Wia, the treasurer of Pharaoh Ramesses II, has been unearthed by researchers from the Cairo University at the Saqqara necropolis, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Saturday.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, stated in the announcement that the tomb was found in an area containing the tombs of senior officials from the 18th and 19th dynasties.
Ramesses II was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Ptah-M-Wia served in a number of key roles during his rule, including royal scribe, head of the treasury, chief overseer of livestock and head of ritual offerings at the temple of Ramesses II at Thebes.
Cairo University President Mohamed Osman Elkhosht stated that this is the latest discovery by the university in the area, which also uncovered the tombs of the mayor of Memphis Ptahmes, ancient Egyptian noble Paser and the commander of the army under Ramesses II, Iwrhya.
Elkhosht added that this confirms the university's interest in field work alongside research and scientific work and that the university spares no effort supporting its archaeological mission.
الكشف عن مقبرة رئيس الخزانة في عهد الملك رمسيس الثاني أثناء أعمال الحفائر التي تجريها البعثة بمنطقة سقارة جنوب الطريق الصاعد للملك أوناس.Discovering the tomb of the head of the treasury during the reign of King Ramses II at the excavations in the Saqqara area. pic.twitter.com/B9wQ4bKDWW
— Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (@TourismandAntiq) October 30, 2021
Excavations at the site began in the 1970's in search of Coptic monasteries, with the search for ancient Egyptian tombs beginning in the 1980's south of the road to the pyramid of Pharaoh Unas, which led to the discover of a large number of tombs.
Prof. Ola Al-Ajezy, who leads the mission, stated that Ptah-M-Wia's tomb belongs to the distinctive style of the site, consisting of an edifice at its entrance carved with scenes depicting the life of the owner of the tomb, followed by a hall with painted and colored plaster walls.
One of the scenes depicted in the tomb is a procession carrying offerings, ending with a scene of a calf being slaughtered. Many stone blocks and Osirian columns were found under the sand. The archaeologists will work to study the pieces and put them back in their original places in the tomb.