Doctor Philippe Collombert is the head of the French mission which is currently working at Saqqara, a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis. The team has recently uncovered the burial chamber of Queen Behenu whilst they were working within the necropolis of Pepi I.
Collombert attained his diploma in museology from the Ecole du Louvre in Paris in 1991 and was a graduate of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris in 1994. He was also formerly a scientific member of the French Archaeological Institute in Cairo from 2000-2003.
King Pepi I, otherwise known as Pepi I Meryre was the 3rd king of the 6th dynasty of Egypt. He reigned from 2332 – 2283 BC and held the throne name Neferdjahor meaning Beloved of Re. His reign was marked by aggressive expansion into Nubia, which led to the spread of trade to areas such as Lebanon and the Somalian coast. Pepi I was a great builder who ordered extensive construction projects in Upper Egypt.
His two most important wives were Ankhesenpepi I and Ankhesenpepi II, however it is believed that Queen Behenu, who's pyramid has recently been discovered, may also have been a wife to the king. Pepi I is buried in his Pyramid located in the necropolis at South Saqqara.
The Pyramid of Behenu belonged to Queen Behenu, who was thought to be the wife of either Pepi I or Pepi II. These kings ruled over Egypt during the 6th dynasty reigning from 2232-2283 BC and 2278–2184 BC respectively. The Pyramid of Behenu which is 25 metres in length and hold fragments of engraved hieroglyphic texts.
The pyramid was discovered by French archaeologists under the direction of doctor Philippe Collombert, who were working within the necropolis of Pepi I at Saqqara which is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis.
A French archaeological team digging at Saqqara has discovered the burial chamber of 6th Dynasty Queen Behenu, wife of either Pepi I or Pepi II. The burial chamber was revealed while the team was cleaning the sand from Behenu's pyramid in the area of el-Shawaf in South Saqqara, west of the pyramid of King Pepi I.
The burial chamber uncovered by the French mission is badly damaged, apart from two inner walls which contain engraved Pyramid Texts. Those texts were widely used in royal tombs – carved on walls as well as sarcophagi - during the 5th and 6th Dynasties (circa 2465-2150BC).
Saqqara is situated 30 km from modern-day Cairo in Egypt and is a well known place for the famous Step Pyramid of king Djoser. It is a huge burial ground which served as the Necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis. The area has served as the necropolis for almost 3,000 years and has proved to be the birth place of new architecture of pyramid styles.
This necroplis holds the Pyramid of Pepi I, who ruled over Egypt during the 6th dynasty reigning from 2332 – 2283 BC. The pyramid lies towards the south of Saqqara and is almost completely destroyed due to stone raids throughout the centuries. The pyramid contains around 2500 stone blocks which hold hieroglyphic texts.
Little is known about Queen Behenu, however she was thought to be the wife of either Pepi I or Pepi II who ruled over Egypt during the 6th dynasty reigning from 2232-2283 BC and 2278–2184 BC respectively. The queen's burial chamber has recently been discovered in the area of el-Shawaf in South Saqqara which is located west of the pyramid of King Pepi I and is a pyramid complex built by Djedkare Isesi, originally called Beautiful is Djedkare-Isesi. What remains of the Queen's burial chamber are two inner walls which hold engraved pyramid texts.
Submitted by Nick Gilbert on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 18:27
I'm sure, given you're the sort of person who comes to Heritage Key, that like me you've walked around your local or national museum and thought to yourself:
“Hmm, that bust of Diocletian would look lovely on my fireplace”, or “That middle kingdom Sarcophagus would really set off the dining room wall paper.” Sadly for most of us, in these convalescent economic times, we must make do with Ikea.
Indeed, the recession hit collectors across the board, and unsurprisingly, with big spenders spending less, the recession hit auctioneers hard, and in 2009 Christie's announced significant job cuts.
But let's escape from these times of frugality, back to the days when antiquities were fetching record prices in the glamorous auction rooms of the world, with a this compilation of great sales from the rich history of Christie's auction house:
As well as being the second most famous brown fedora-sporting archaeologist of all time, Dr Zahi Hawass could also run Indiana Jones close in the screen-time stakes. The Director General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities is yet to star in his own movie (although we suspect he would like to), but on the web at least, his appearances are prolific, and always informative and entertaining.
Here we pick out ten of our favourite online video clips starring Dr Hawass. They range from tours of the Great Pyramid together with the leader of the free world, to revelations on the life and death of King Tut, and nostalgic tales of early archaeological digs way back in the days when denim shirts were actually fashionable. If you like these, you can find loads more films featuring Indy – ahem, sorry, Zahi – on the Heritage Key videos page.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Mon, 01/04/2010 - 11:03
Two large tombs have been discovered at the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Saqqara - one of which is the largest ever found at the site. The 26th Dynasty tombs, likely robbed during the Roman era, are nonetheless filled with important arefacts including coffins, skeletons, pottery and mummified eagles.
The tombs, discovered by an Egyptian archaeological mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities, are at the Ras El Gisr area of Saqqara, near the landmark's entrance. Both tombs are cut into the hills of the region: the larger first tomb is hewn from limestone while the other is mud-brick.
A French archaeological team digging at Saqqara has discovered the burial chamber of 6th Dynasty 
I'm sure, given you're the sort of person who comes to Heritage Key, that like me you've walked around your local or national museum and thought to yourself:
