A joint Spanish-Egyptian archaeological mission has uncovered a tomb complex dating to the late Fifth Dynasty at Saqqara, revealing new evidence about senior officials and funerary practices during the closing years of the dynasty.
The discovery was made during the mission’s 2026 excavation season in an area north of Saqqara. The location had been explored by French archaeologist Auguste Mariette in the 19th century, but had not previously undergone systematic excavation and archaeological documentation using an integrated scientific methodology, according to HeritageDaily Archaeology.
The newly excavated structure is a medium-sized mastaba containing two funerary chapels. The northern chapel belonged to an official named Yunmin. Inscriptions identify him as a judge, director of the court and head of the scribes responsible for examining petitions and complaints.
Yunmin’s father, Ity, was commemorated in the southern chapel. He held scribal positions connected with the administration of agricultural land and offerings.
The mission reported that Yunmin’s chapel has a distinctive architectural façade decorated with funerary inscriptions and offering formulae, along with a depiction of Yunmin in an official pose. Its walls contain high-quality reliefs showing agricultural activities and processions of offering-bearers approaching the tomb. Traces of the original colours remain in many of the scenes.
Ity’s chapel includes a false door and painted scenes showing the presentation of offerings. Much of its decoration, however, has been lost.
The work is being conducted through a joint scientific project involving the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. Dr Hisham El-Leithy, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the tomb provides archaeological evidence for the architecture and artistic styles of funerary monuments, as well as the administrative roles held by senior state officials during the late Fifth Dynasty.
Dr Josep Cervelló Autuori, the mission’s head from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said both chapels open onto the mastaba’s eastern wall, with Yunmin’s principal chapel positioned on the northern side. Excavation and research are continuing in the area north of Saqqara.
