Selected secondary burials as evidence of later activities at the tomb of Khuwy at South Saqqara

Abstract

In 2019, during the excavations of the Egyptian mission at the funerary complex of the Fifth Dynasty King Djedkare (reign ca. 2381–2353 BC) at South Saqqara, Mohamed Megahed and his team revealed the painted tomb of the high ranking Old Kingdom dignitary Khuwy (Megahed – Vymazalová 2019). Besides the re mains of a mummified body that were found scattered inside the burial apartment in the substructure of the tomb, several secondary burials were documented in the layers of debris covering the superstructure of Khuwy’s tomb and its near vicinity. This article presents a selection of these secondary burials, includ ing the archaeological context, associated finds and preliminary osteological investigation of the skeletal remains. The simple burials, dating between the New Kingdom and the Late Period, contained individuals of both sexes and all ages.

Keywords

• saqqara
• royal cemetery
• secondary burial
• paleopathology
• physical anthropology
• pottery