Egyptian officials have confirmed that a team of Czech archaeologists have unearthed a tomb believed to belong to Khentakawess III, wife of Pharaoh Neferefre, who ruled Egypt 4,500 years ago, Art Daily reported.
A representative from Egypt’s antiques ministry said that the tomb, which was discovered in Abusir, southwest of Cairo, dated to the fifth dynasty (2994-2345 BC). The area contains several pyramids and burial sites of rulers from that period.
The head of the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Miroslav Barta, told Art Daily that the location of the tomb, which was discovered within the burial site of Pharaoh Neferefre, has led his team to “believe that the Queen was his wife.”
The Egyptian Antiquities Minister, Mamdouh Eldamaty, said in a statement: “we have discovered the name of this queen who had been unknown before the discovery of the tomb.” He explained that the name of the queen had been engraved into the stone wall inside the tomb, presumably by the laborers that constructed the ancient burial site.
He continued: “This discovery will help us shed light on certain unknown aspects of the Fifth Dynasty, which along with the Fourth Dynasty, witnessed the construction of the first pyramid.”