Tomb Karenen at Saqqara
Description:
In 1906 Quibell resumed the excavations around the Teti pyramid that he has commenced the previous season. One of these was to the east of the Teti Pyramid where he had been looking at a number of shafts that had been dug around a mastaba associated with the pyramid.
Quibell-1908 p.5:To the east of the southern niche of the mastaba are several square shafts of Old Kingdom tombs, all very thoroughly robbed. In the side of one of these, close to the mastaba, the workmen observed a hole and looking through it saw a chamber containing a coffin and some wooden statuettes, evidently an undisturbed Middle Kingdom tomb.Above the chamber was some brickwork, the nature of which we had not before understood, filling the space between the outer and inner casings of the mastaba. It was the brick lining of the shaft leading to the tomb into which we had looked,so the Old Kingdom shaft was temporarily filled in again and the Middle Kingdom shaft cleared.
When the floor was reached, at a depth of 5 metres below the top of the masonry at that point and1 1 metres below the Greek pavement close by, to the west, the openings of two chambers were disclosed, one to the north, one to the south.
The north door was of blocks of stone and had been disturbed in ancient times [...] The blocking of the southern chamber was of brick and had not been violated and the clearing of this tomb gave us active occupation for some weeks.
[...]
The first glance showed that the tomb had suffered nothing from man but very much from the white ant, as will be seen from the photograph reproduced in plate XII, which was taken before any one entered the tomb.
Plan showing the locatoion of the tomb and a photo of the contents (Quib. Pl XII).The tomb contained two burials, that of Karenen and that of Nefersemdet.
Excavation Report
Quibell-1908, pp. 6-15Reference (Bibliography)
Quibell JE, Lacau P, Excavations at Saqqara (1906-1907), Cairo, IFAO, 1908Burials:
