Riqqeh

Riqqeh ( ar-Riqqa ) is a village in Egypt , near which there are ancient Egyptian cemeteries.

Cemetery complex

Overall, these are probably the cemeteries of the ancient Egyptian town of Gereg , which were excavated by Reginald Engelbach in a four-month campaign from 1912 to 1913 . It consists of various smaller cemeteries that range from the Naqada culture to the present day. The burials of the 12th Dynasty and the New Kingdom were particularly rich . The cemetery of the Naqada culture was found near Gerzeh and is therefore usually known by this name.

The graves found here are usually simple shaft graves, only a few are more monumental. Some of the richer tombs contained inscribed steles , canopic jars, and statues , and numerous richly decorated coffins date from the 12th Dynasty. The grave with the number 124 became famous. Numerous gold jewelry was found here, but above all two skeletons were found in the burial chamber. The reconstruction of the findings revealed that one skeleton can be assigned to the person buried here, while the other skeleton belonged to a grave robber who died when the grave was looted; he was robbing the body when the ceiling of the burial chamber collapsed and buried him.

literature

• R. Engelbach, MA Murray, H. Flinders Petrie, WM Flinders Petrie: Riqqeh and Memphis VI , (British School of Archeology in Egypt and Egyptian Research Account Nineteenth Year, 1913), London 1915, online (PDF)
• J. Richards: Society and Death in Ancient Egypt , Cambridge 2005, pp. 98-106, 118-124 ISBN 0521840333

Coordinates: 29 ° 26 '  N , 31 ° 13'  E