Archaeologists working at Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis have uncovered a fifth dynasty tomb dating to the reign of King Djedkare Isesi (Tancheres), adding to the record of one of the country’s most storied burial grounds. The joint Spanish-Egyptian mission made the discovery during its 2026 excavation season in an area known as “Mariette’s Cemetery,” north of Saqqara.
The tomb takes the form of a medium-sized mastaba containing two funerary chapels. The main chapel belongs to a man named Yunmin, who held several senior posts, including judge, director of the court, and chief scribe overseeing petitions and complaints. The second chapel is dedicated to his father, Iti, who worked as a scribe managing agricultural land and temple offerings.
The excavation is part of a joint scientific project between the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain and Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. The two institutions have carried out ongoing research and excavation work in the area north of Saqqara.
Fifth dynasty tomb found in Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis
Hisham El-Leithy, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the discovery adds new information about the Saqqara necropolis in the late Fifth Dynasty and sheds light on the architecture and artistic style of Fifth Dynasty tombs, as well as the administrative roles held by senior state officials of the period.
He noted that the mastaba’s location had been known since French archaeologist Auguste Mariette excavated the area in the nineteenth century. However, it had never been properly excavated or documented using modern scientific methods, a gap that adds further weight to the new find.
Mission head Josep Cervelló Autuori, of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said the two chapels open onto the eastern wall of the mastaba, with Yunmin’s chapel positioned on the northern side. He said excavators found a finely carved facade inside bearing funerary texts, an offering formula and a formal depiction of the tomb’s owner.
Ornate reliefs and funerary texts fill the tomb’s twin chapels
The chapel walls feature high-quality raised reliefs showing agricultural scenes and processions carrying offerings to the tomb, many of which still retain their original color.
The southern chapel, belonging to Iti, includes a false door and painted scenes of offerings being presented, though much of that decoration has not survived.
Amr El-Tayebi, director general of the Saqqara antiquities area, said the mission has completed excavation and full scientific documentation of both chapels. Crews also carried out restoration and conservation work on the architectural and decorative elements uncovered, to help preserve them for future generations.
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