Tomb of Ramses II’s Treasurer (2021)
Cairo University archaeologists digging at the Saqqara site discovered the tomb of Ptah-M-Wia, the Royal Treasurer under Ramses the Great (1292 – 1190 BCE). His coffin contained treasures of a different sort. While not the gilded Indiana Jones- style treasure, the documents and drawings found in the tomb shed new light into the life of Egyptian society and how their economy worked, and revealed Ptah-M-Wia’s closeness to King Ramses. Archaeologists found Ptah-M-Wia in his original sarcophagus and original tomb, which is quite rare for Egyptian antiquities. Tomb raiders burgled the tombs, sometimes multiple times, leaving sarcophagus empty. Emptied sarcophagus provided an opportunity for someone who was not the original occupant to spend eternity in luxury.