The Archaic Stone Tombs at Helwan

Abstract

From 1942 to 1954, Zaki Saad excavated an ancient Egyptian cemetery at Helwan. He claimed to have found a series of stone tombs spanning the Archaic period that enable us to study the development of stone construction. A re-examination of the material yields more accurate dating, largely by typological comparisons of the substructure plans with those of more important tombs at Abydos and Saqqâra. The rarity of the stone tombs at Helwan, not their construction or development, is remarkable, especially in view of the concern for security that resulted in deeper substructures and limestone portcullises. Although the evidence is meagre, it suggests that stone construction developed more rapidly in Archaic temples, perhaps because brick had symbolic value for tombs. In view of all the factors in favour of using limestone for tombs, religion was probably the only force powerful enough to retard development.