The tomb of an ancient Egyptian royal medical professional, who happens to have also had the role of magician, has been unearthed. The discovery of the tomb and the physician’s dual roles highlights the reverence ancient Egyptians held for both magic and medicine.
The discovery was made by a French-Swiss archaeological team and was announced by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, which revealed that the tomb dates to the Old Kingdom of Egyptian history and was found in Saqqara.
Specifically, the tomb is a mastaba—a flat-roofed, rectangular structure made from adobe—that was found with a fake door with inscriptions and drawings on it identifying it as belonging to a doctor named Teti Nab Fu.
The tomb of ancient Egyptian royal physician Teti Nab Fu, who also had the role of being a magician, has been unearthed. Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
Teti Nab Fu lived during the reign of King Pepi II and “held a whole series of titles” related to his high positions, including chief palace physician, the antiquities ministry said.
But uniquely, Teti Nab Fu also held the title of “sorcerer of the goddess Sarkat,” a title imbued with mysticism that meant he was a specialist in treating poisonous bites from scorpions or snakes, a great dentist, and a manager of medicinal plants.
Mohamed Ismail Khaled, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, called the find an important addition to the area’s history.
The tomb of ancient Egyptian royal physician Teti Nab Fu, who also had the role of being a magician, has been unearthed. Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
And though the tomb is likely to have been looted at some point in the past, preliminary studies show that its walls remain intact, with “beautifully carved and painted inscriptions,” as described by Philippe Columbier, who led the archaeological mission.
The ceiling of the tomb was painted red, and one of the walls of the tomb was engraved with the shape of an imaginary door and a frieze with the name of Teti Nab Fu. The team also found a stone sarcophagus with a hieroglyphic inscription bearing his name and titles.
The tomb of ancient Egyptian royal physician Teti Nab Fu, who also had the role of being a magician, has been unearthed. Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
The archaeological team has been focusing its excavations on the tombs of ancient Egyptian employees of King Pepe, the first ruler of the Sixth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, and those of his wives in Saqqara since 2022.
The team has previously found a mastaba tomb of Weni the Elder, an ancient Egyptian judge, general, and politician who is famous for the longest biography of a senior statesman in ancient Egypt.