EGYPTIAN
ARCHAEOLOGY
Above: southern façade of the tomb of Tjeneh. Right: steps leading to the courtyard, looking west. Below:Tjeneh with lotus flower. Photographs by Ali El-Batal.
In 2010, the Egyptian expedition of the MSA (then SCA) under the supervision of Abd el-Hakeem Karer, Ali el-Batal and the author (Saleh Soleiman) discovered a further Old Kingdom tomb within the cemetery, a somewhat unexpected find as no other tomb of comparable decoration had been discovered among the 25 tombs of nobles and 150 commoner tombs excavated since 2008. It consists of three levels: a top one representing its core, surrounded by an enclosure wall; a chapel on its second level, consisting of two rock-cut courts (the first open, the second vaulted) and an offering room, cased with Tura limestone. The third level represents its burial chamber. The owner of this tomb has been identified as Ptahshepses, whose good name is Tjemi, who lived under three kings (Isesi, Unas and Teti) at the end of the Fifth and beginning of the Sixth Dynasties. The three kings’ names are still preserved in the offering room. The tomb 42