Pyramid find to shed light on last pharoah dynasty

The archaeological world is hailing the discovery of a pyramid in the desert, south of Cairo. It is thought to belong to Queen Sesheshet, the mother of a pharaoh who ruled more than 4,000 years ago. All other tombs of Egyptian queens have been found.

Top Egyptian archeologist Zahi Hawass said: “This pyramid is the most complete subsidiary pyramid ever found at Saqqara because a big part of the casing – about two metres wide – was found, showing that this pyramid was beautifully cased. And the other important thing is that this is the first pyramid to be discovered with a superstructure five metres high.”

The pyramid – the 118th found in Egypt – was uncovered at Saqqara, a burial ground for the rulers of ancient Egypt.

Archaeologists plan to enter one of the monument’s chambers within two weeks. They expect most of its contents to have been taken by thieves, but hope that it will still reveal much about ancient Egypt’s last great dynasty.

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