Mysterious 'keeper of the secret' tomb found in Egypt

Complete granite statue of Kaires detail. (Credit: Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University)

An ancient Egyptian tomb, dating back more than 4,000 years, has been discovered. It belongs to a priest named Kaires, who was the "sole friend" of an Egyptian pharaoh yet to be determined. Kaires is described as "the steward of the royal palace" and the "keeper of the secret of the Morning House."

The tomb was discovered in a burial site near a pyramid at Abusir, according to LiveScience.

"The burial chamber of Kaires has been looted already in antiquity, but in front of the limestone sarcophagus, his granite statue with remnants of colors and further titles has been somewhat miraculously preserved in its original location," a statement detailing the findings said. "It is these titles that indicate Kaires’ exceptional career."

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The burial site contains the remains of a small chapel and a tomb with inscriptions referring to Kaires.

It's unclear what pharaoh is being referred to in the inscriptions, but it could be Neferirkare, the statement noted. "Kaires was ... inspector of the priests serving in the pyramid complexes of kings Sahure and Neferirkare," the statement said.

It may never be known if Kaires was "the sole friend" to Neferirkare, his predecessor, Sahure or additional pharaohs, but given his burial, it's clear that he had a prominent place in history.

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"Even though the expedition is still running and the final analysis of all data and information collected will take a much longer time, it can be said even at this stage of works that this is a unique discovery of a tomb of an exceptional figure of the history of Egypt of the 3rd millennium BC," the archaeologists wrote in the statement.

They continued: "Kaires’ titles place him at the level of the viziers (prime ministers) of the time, whereas the architecture of his tomb completely exceeds the contemporary customs, and the full appraisal of this fact will only be possible after further investigation."

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