Funerary Objects and an Intact Secondary Burial in the Early Ramesside Tomb of Iurokhy at Saqqara

Abstract

The area of the North Saqqara plateau south of the causeway of King Unas became one of the most prominent necropolis sites of Memphis during the New Kingdom. It is where the archaeological expedition of the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University discovered dozens of temple-shaped tombs dating to the Ramesside Period. Recently, the expedition led by Ola El-Aguizy uncovered the tomb of Iurokhy (Urhiya), an army general during the early reign of Ramesses II. This paper focuses on the unusual finds discovered in one of the tomb’s chapels. These comprise an intact secondary burial in a wooden coffin along with wooden shabtis. This paper proposes to identify the individual buried in the chapel as a member of the personnel that serviced the mortuary cult of Iurokhy. Further objects deposited in the chapel shed light on the continued use of the chapel as a space of burial and commemoration.