Scientists Just Found Evidence That Ancient Egypt Had a Female King 5,000 Years Ago

Scientists Just Found Evidence That Ancient Egypt Had a Female King 5,000 Years Ago

 

Vice,  By Luis Prada, September 21, 2026

Over 5,000 years ago, a royal named Meretneith was the big boss of ancient Egypt. She was long known as a major player during the First Dynasty, which scientists figured out because her tomb was loaded with enough gold and rich stuff to put her on par with male pharaohs. But just how important she was during her time wasn’t exactly known.

Now, according to new research published in Prague Egyptological Studies, she was pretty important because she was a full-blown King of Egypt. 

The discovery started with an old black-and-white picture of a mud jar stopper dating back to the 1940s. An Egyptologist named Walter B. Emery found 13 of those stoppers in Saqqara, an Egyptian village home to an ancient mausoleum filled with Egyptian royalty. He claimed the hieroglyphs featured Meretneith’s name wrapped in a serekh, the official royal emblem reserved exclusively for legitimate rulers. Academics have long argued that the photo quality was simply too terrible to make such a definitive claim. Modern researchers just proved Emery right. Scientists Enhanced an Old Photograph and Discovered an Ancient Egyptian King Was a Woman

The research team partnered with a digital technician at Macquarie University to clean up the blurry picture to give themselves a crisp and clear view of the ancient ink. The results confirmed that Emery was right — Meretneith shared the same royal mark as male kings, meaning that she was a king herself, not just some power player sitting on the sidelines watching someone else rule.

This makes Meretneith the second recorded female ruler in Egyptian history to sport the serekh. Her rule was pretty interesting in itself, as she shifted roles from co-regent alongside King Djer to an interim ruler to the mother of another king. She was Girl Boss-ing it long before that cringy term ever existed, which she would have actively rejected anyway, since part of what makes her fascinating is that the researchers say she actively rejected the common titles associated with governing.

From Dot to Cleopatra: A Complete History of Ancient Egypt

 From Dot to Cleopatra on Amazon

rom Dot to Cleopatra: A Concise History of Ancient Egypt is Alun Buffry's historical guide to ancient Egyptian civilisation, first published in 1997 by Frontier and later republished by ABeFree Publishing. The original edition is listed at 232 pages, while the current edition is substantially longer.

What the book covers

The book attempts to take the reader on a journey through the whole span of ancient Egyptian history, beginning before recorded history and continuing through the pharaohs to the death of Cleopatra VII—and, according to the publisher's description, somewhat beyond it. It covers:

• The early development of Egyptian civilisation
• The pharaohs and dynasties
• Egyptian gods and mythology
• The pyramids
• The Sphinx and other monuments
• Obelisks and mummies
• Egyptian geography and the Nomes (administrative regions)
• Archaeological discoveries
• Legends and historical mysteries
• Theories about ancient Egypt
• A guide to visiting ancient Egyptian sites
• Tables listing pharaohs and gods

The British National Bibliography classifies it under Egyptian civilisation and history to 332 BC, although the book's own description extends the story through Cleopatra VII, whose death was in 30 BC.

Buffry's approach

What seems distinctive about the book is that Buffry is trying to make an enormous and complicated subject accessible to a general reader. The publisher describes it as a "plain-speaking guide" that assumes no previous knowledge of Egyptian history. Rather than giving you a highly academic specialist study, it tries to guide you through thousands of years without getting overwhelmed by names, dates and dynasties.

The book also seems to have a balanced-but-curious attitude toward mysteries. The publisher's description says Buffry was trained in science and did not accept claims without evidence, but also did not automatically dismiss theories simply because he disagreed with them.

Why the title is interesting

The title From Dot to Cleopatra is deliberately broad. "Dot" suggests the beginning of everything—before conventional written history—while Cleopatra represents the end of the traditional pharaonic story.

In that sense, the book is really asking: How did one of the world's earliest great civilisations develop, flourish and eventually come to an end?

A useful way to think about the book

I'd describe it as sitting somewhere between:

A history book — because it gives a chronological account of Egypt.

A reference guide — because of its tables of pharaohs, gods and other information.

A mystery book — because it discusses the unanswered questions and theories surrounding ancient Egypt.

A travel companion — because it includes guidance on ancient sites for people visiting Egypt.

That combination makes it potentially useful for someone who wants an accessible introduction to Egyptology, rather than a narrowly academic study. The publisher specifically says it can be read quickly or dipped into repeatedly as a reference.

The other interesting detail is that Buffry himself has a longstanding personal connection with Egypt and later wrote Myhat in Egypt – Through the Eyes of a God and included his Egyptian travels in Heads, Hats and Tall Tales.

My overall impression: From Dot to Cleopatra seems best understood as Buffry's attempt to make the entire story of ancient Egypt approachable, while retaining a sense of wonder about the things we still don't know. It isn't presented as a conventional specialist Egyptology textbook; its appeal is the breadth of the journey and the author's willingness to explore both established history and the enduring mysteries of Egypt.

AncientA 

Scientists Found a 4,000-Year-Old Tomb—With a Door No Living Human Could Open

 Scientists Found a 4,000-Year-Old Tomb—With a Door No Living Human Could Open 

POPULAR MECHANICS
 By Elizabeth Rayne Published: Sep 16

The false door inside was meant for the soul to enter and leave the afterlife at will.

 Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:

• Buried in the necropolis of Saqqara around 4,000 years ago, Sekhentyu-Ptah was an elite of society whose tomb was recently discovered by archaeologists excavating the area.
• Inscriptions on funerary objects indicate that he had several roles, including priest and supervisor of the king’s works and documents.
• There was also a false door in the tomb, not to fool potential looters, but instead for the deceased to enter and leave the afterlife at will.

---

Among the sands of the Egyptian desert lies Saqqara, a necropolis where the first pharaohs and elites of the Old Kingdom were buried in tombs known as mastabas that were carved out of limestone. It was in one such tomb that the mummified body of a high-ranking official known as Sekhentyu-Ptah began his journey to the afterlife. While the tomb has long since been looted, it still offers a glimpse into life and death at the dawn of pharaonic rule 4,000 years ago.

According to Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, archaeologists discovered Sekhentyu-Ptah’s tomb while excavating the Bubasteion necropolis at Saqqara. The necropolis takes its name from the Bubasteion, a temple complex dedicated to the cult of Bastet, where worshippers from the Nile Delta city of Bubastis venerated the feline goddess and left offerings. Although the temple itself was built long after Sekhentyu-Ptah’s time, there’s evidence that the cult of Bastet had already formed during the Old Kingdom: vessels depicting the goddess in her cat and lioness forms have been found at the Step Pyramid of Djoser, built around 2650 B.C.E. And while the tomb may not have been directly associated with the cult of Bastet, its surviving artifacts illustrate the life and afterlife of an official who held many senior titles in Egyptian society.

More From Popular MechanicsTypes of Vacuum Brush Rolls

When the archaeological team investigated this tomb, they encountered a false door in the remains of a funerary chapel. A common sight in Egyptian tombs, “doors” like this one were once thought to deter and confuse grave robbers, but they were actually intended for the dead instead of the living. Ancient Egyptians believed that the deceased could enter and exit the afterlife at will through a door that no human alive would be able to open. In front of the false door, priests or mourners placed several funerary objects, among them a purification basin, an offering table, and an offering disk. Hieroglyphic inscriptions on these items identified them as belonging to Sekhentyu-Ptah and listed his titles, of which there were many: a royal chamberlain, supervisor of the king’s works, supervisor of the king’s documents, supervisor of scribes, and priest of the goddess of order and justice Ma’at, according to a statement from the ministry.

 Priests of Ma’at functioned as judges. They sought to resolve disputes by upholding the principles of truth and balance, which every Egyptian was expected to live by (rather than strict legalities), and dishonesty was a severe violation. Serving Ma’at must have helped Sekhentyu-Ptah in the afterlife. Egyptians feared the consequences of the goddess weighing the sins in their hearts against a feather and finding the heart was heavier, in which case the soul would be thrown down to the jaws of Ammit, the crocodile-headed devourer of the dead with the forelegs of a lion and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. Embalmers sometimes placed a scarab over the heart of the deceased in the process of mummification, so any questionable deeds could be hidden and the heart would appear pure enough not to outweigh the dreaded feather.

Saqqara is a UNESCO World Heritage site for good reason. It is an archipelago of tombs that includes relics of the Old Kingdom and burials from later periods. Also revealed near the tomb of Sekhentyu-Ptah was a network of burial shafts that looters also raided in antiquity, but which still contained human remains and funerary objects. Archaeologists also uncovered more than a hundred shabti figures, servant statuettes intended to take on every task in the afterlife while their master luxuriated in the Field of Reeds. Shabtis originated as a humane alternative to sacrificing a pharaoh’s actual servants, and at first they accompanied only royals to the tomb. But after artisans devised a way to mass-produce the figures—crafted from faience, an earthenware coated in blue, green, or turquoise glaze—they eventually became accessible to most Egyptians.

INTRODUCING FROM DOT TO CLEOPATRA, A CONCISE HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT BY ALUN BUFFRY

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Egypt discovers 4,300-year-old body wrapped in pure gold inside limestone coffin

 Egypt discovers 4,300-year-old body wrapped in pure gold inside limestone coffin 

Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a 4,300-year-old mummy wrapped in gold inside a sealed limestone coffin at the Saqqara necropolis, south of Cairo, in a discovery that highlights the enduring link between gold, power and belief in one of Africa’s most historically influential civilisations.

According to Earth.com, the mummy was found at the bottom of a 15-metre shaft inside a rectangular limestone sarcophagus that had remained sealed with ancient mortar for more than four millennia.

Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, working with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, identified the deceased as Heka-shepes based on inscriptions within the burial chamber.

The tomb dates back to Egypt’s Fifth and Sixth Dynasties during the Old Kingdom period.

Gold as a symbol of divinity and status

Earth.com reported that the body was wrapped in sheets of gold leaf that had remained undisturbed since burial. In ancient Egypt, gold symbolised the flesh of the gods and eternal life.

Artisans hammered the metal into thin sheets and pressed it onto the wrappings using resin, a process reserved for a small elite.

The use of gold in burial rites signalled both immense wealth and spiritual aspiration. Most Old Kingdom tombs were looted over time, making intact discoveries of this scale rare.

For modern Egypt, gold remains economically strategic. The country is among Africa’s notable gold producers, with mining exports contributing to foreign exchange earnings.

The ancient association with gold continues to shape Egypt’s global brand as a cradle of wealth, craftsmanship and civilisation.

The mummy belonged to Heka-shepes and dates back to the Old Kingdom’s Fifth and Sixth Dynasties.

Cultural capital and tourism

The discovery comes as Egypt expands its tourism offering with the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, a landmark project near the Giza Pyramids that is now welcoming visitors.

The museum, one of the largest archaeological museums in the world, houses more than 100,000 artefacts and is expected to significantly boost visitor numbers.

Tourism remains a key foreign currency earner for Africa’s second-largest economy, and high-profile discoveries often fuel renewed global interest in Egypt’s heritage.

Saqqara, located near the Step Pyramid of Djoser, has produced a series of major finds in recent years. Each announcement reinforces Egypt’s soft power and its status as a global centre of ancient civilisation.

Officials say conservation teams are now working to stabilise the mummy and associated artefacts. Preserving fragile materials such as wood, textiles and pigment requires controlled conditions and detailed scanning before items are moved or displayed.

For Egypt, the gold-wrapped mummy is more than an archaeological milestone.

It is a reminder that gold has long been intertwined with the country’s wealth, belief systems and global standing, from the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom to modern export markets across Africa and beyond.

Archeologists find ancient tomb of temple guard near Giza Pyramids

 Archeologists find ancient tomb of temple guard near Giza Pyramids

AYAT AL-TAWY

Wed, 12 April 2023

Archeologists find ancient tomb of temple guard near Giza Pyramids

A 3,200-year-old tomb belonging to Panehsy, the guard of the temple of Egyptian deity Amun, has been uncovered in Saqqara necropolis, south of the Egyptian capital Cairo, the tourism ministry said on Wednesday.

The temple-shaped tomb, dating back to ancient Egypt's 19th dynasty (1292-1189 BC), was discovered by a team of Dutch and Italian archeologists.

Saqqara, one of the most important burial sites of ancient Egypt, has seen a series of archaeological discoveries in recent years.

Egypt aims to show off newly discovered artifacts as it seeks to revive its vital tourism industry, a key source of foreign currency and jobs for the struggling economy. The country attracted 11.7 million visitors in 2022.

"The new find sheds light on the development of Saqqara necropolis during the Ramesside era, and lifts the curtain on new individuals not yet known in historical sources," said Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The tomb resembles a freestanding temple with an entrance, an inner courtyard of columned porticoes, a shaft leading to underground burial chambers, and three chapels. It borders the tomb of Maya, a high-ranking official during the reign of ancient Egypt's boy-king Tutankhamun.

Inside the tomb, archeologists found a stela picturing Panehsy and his wife Baia, who was the singer of Amun, in front of an offering table, as well as several other drawings of priests and religious offerings.

PHOTO: Egyptian antiquities workers dig at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser, Jan. 26, 2023. (Omar Zoheiry/picture-alliance/AP, FILE)

The team also unearthed four small chapels during excavation work in the area, two of which bear well-preserved reliefs of funeral scenes and drawings of the resurrection of a mummy to live in the afterlife, officials said.

The team includes archeologists from the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden (RMO), whose mission has been excavating the area since 1975, and the Egyptian Museum in Turin (Museo Egizio), which joined the excavation project as a main partner in 2015.