Tomb of Ancient Egyptian Mercenary Commander Found in Egypt
The discovery includes the largest embalming cache ever found in Egypt.
Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 2,600-year-old tomb belonging to a man of high status: a "commander of foreign mercenaries" named "Wahibre-mery-Neith."
The tomb's embalming cache, found in 2021, includes more than 370 pottery storage jars containing materials used in the commander's mummification, making it the "largest embalming cache ever found in Egypt," a team of Egyptian and Czech researchers said in a statement). The tomb is buried at Abusir (also spelled Abū Ṣīr), a few miles south of the giant necropolis at Saqqara.
Grave robbers stole Wahibre-mery-Neith's mummy in antiquity, but archaeologists located remains of his sarcophagus that have hieroglyphs inscribed on them. The glyphs give his identity and quote part of chapter 72 of the Book of the Dead that describes "the resurrection of the deceased and his departure to the afterlife," according to the statement.
In his role as commander of ancient Egypt's mercenary troops, Wahibre-mery-Neith would have "supervised and commanded mercenaries coming from the Aegean islands and Asia Minor," the statement said.
The commander lived during either the late 26th dynasty (circa 688 B.C. to 525 B.C.) or early 27th dynasty (525 B.C to 404 B.C.), according to the statement. While Egypt was independent during the 26th dynasty, the 27th dynasty saw the country be conquered and ruled by the Persians.
Despite the growing foreign influence, Wahibre-mery-Neith appears to be of 'local descent," according to his name and artifacts found in his tomb, Miroslav Bárta, the director of Czech excavations in Egypt, said in an email. Why he was buried with the largest known embalming cache from ancient Egypt is uncertain. "This is a difficult question and at this stage of analysis we don't know," Bárta said.
The commander was also buried with 402 faience (glazed ceramic) shabti figurines. The ancient Egyptians believe that shabtis worked for the deceased in the afterlife and they are commonly found in Egyptian tombs. The finds also include a heart scarab, an amulet and an ostracon (pottery shard) inscribed with more spells from the Book of the Dead.