The ancient Egyptians are still holding on to some of their secrets . This past weekend , archaeologists announced the discovery of a long - lost 4,400 - yr - honest-to-god grave , stark with some particularly rarified terpsichore monkey murals .
In anannouncement on Facebook , Egypt ’s ? Ministry of Antiquities say the grave belong to a woman called “ Hetpet ” , an elect appendage of the royal palace during the end of the Fifth Dynasty ( 2,494 BCE - 2,345 BCE ) who served as a high priestess to the goddess of prolificacy and motherhood Hathor .
The grave rest among a series of cemeteries in Saqqara , not far from the illustrious Pyramids of Giza , that have been slowly but surely excavated since they were first discovered in 1842 .
The unique lineament of her tomb is the house painting that cover the wall . as luck would have it for the project ’s archaeologists , the murals remain in remarkably good condition considering their old age .
Along with draw Hetpet herself in unlike hunt and sportfishing shot , other parts of the mural show scenes of fashion metals , pick fruit , and the construction of papyrus boat . The walls also depict two rapscallion scene , one picture a scamp dancing in front of an orchestra . scamp were commonly keep as darling at the time so it ’s not rare to see them in paintings , however , this style of depiction is particularly strange .
" Such scenes are rare … and have only been witness previously in the ( Old Kingdom ) tomb of ' Ka - Iber ' where a picture shows a rapscallion dancing in front of a guitarist not an orchestra , " Mostafa Waziri , secretaire general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities , toldAFP .
" A German expeditiousness had found in 1909 a collection of antiquities carrying this lady ’s name , or a noblewoman who has the same name , and these antiquity were moved to the Berlin museum at the time , " he impart . " And 109 years later , we find out this grave that carries Hetpet ’s name . "
Meanwhile , the excavation continues . The ministry plan to continue digging on the situation and remain totally positive that they ’ll find more treasures from the ancient past " very soon " .
