The newly-discovered cemetery at the Ezbet Al-Walda necropolis in Helwan dates back 5,000 years, revealing the unique architectural style of these early dynastic people who made careful preparations for the afterlife, Nevine El-Aref reports. At Ezbet Al-Walda -- believed to be the major burial ground for early residents of the ancient city of Memphis -- an Australian-Egyptian team has unearthed 20 well-preserved tombs dating from the first and fourth dynasties. The tombs are divided into two groups; the first consisting of small, undecorated and empty graves and the second of larger ones equipped with an overwhelming amount of the deceased's funerary objects. Among them were alabaster, copper, limestone and clay utensils, along with remains of gold jewellery. "This is a very important discovery and gives us a vision of how the Ancient Egyptians of the early Pharaonic age built their tombs," Culture Minister Farouk Hosni says. The first group of tombs consists of 10 small mud brick mastabas (bench tomb) built in a rectangular shape, while the second group consists of 10 wide, subterranean structures located 5.5 metres below ground level and with a stepladder leading to the burial chamber. The walls of these subterranean tombs were decorated with paintings showing the deceased in front of various deities or performing religious rituals, and also contain a number of niches. Early studies carried out on the site have confirmed that the tombs in the first group belonged to ordinary people, while those in the second were those of the social elite. Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said the limestone relief featuring a seated woman before an offering table and bearing a few lines of hieroglyphic text was one of the most significant examples of the archaeological evidence ever found to show that people in the Second Dynasty were the first to use hieroglyphic writing. "This is not the only relief to be found, but one among several discovered during the past excavation seasons," Hawass said. He added that the team had found two large limestone tombs dating from the Old Kingdom, suggesting Ezbet Al- Walda's continued position as the area's official graveyard from the Pre-dynastic period right through the Old Kingdom. Christian Kohler, head of the excavation mission, said the discovery highlighted Helwan's important role as a necropolis throughout the Pre-dynastic era. She said there was a duty to protect this magnificent archaeological site from urban expansion, which represented a major threat to its monuments. Ezbet Al-Walda was first recognised as a major archaeological site in 1941, when Egyptologist Zaki Saad unearthed more than 10,000 graves and an abundance of funerary objects. Since then this historically rich spot has been virtually re-buried by neglect. Without supervision or barriers to protect the site, the residents of Helwan began building houses round the site, and urban sprawl has almost infiltrated the burial ground itself. In 1984, the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation, now the SCA, was forced to cede the land to Helwan residents. Modern villages have already engulfed part of the archaeological area and construction projects further threaten the site. However in January 2000, in order to save the necropolis, the Australian-Egyptian team set up an accurate rescue plan aimed at surveying and selective re-excavation. The team is now studying the architectural style of the tombs and recording the artefacts they have found.
