Chamber of Egyptian Queen Found

[Judi Lynn]

March 3, 2010
Chamber of Egyptian Queen Found
Archeologists Discover Texts Related to Afterlife of 4000 Year-Old Queen

http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com.nyud.net:8090/images/2008/06/06/image4158748g.jpg

The necropolis of Saqqara outside
Cairo has yielded a string of new
discoveries as 10 different teams
excavate a previously untouched area
of these burial grounds were used
continuously for more than 2,000
years until Roman times.
(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

(AP) French archaeologists announced Wednesday the discovery outside Cairo of the burial chamber of a mysterious queen from Egypt's Old Kingdom more than 4,000 years ago.

The necropolis of Saqqara outside Cairo has yielded a string of new discoveries as 10 different teams excavate a previously untouched area of these burial grounds were used continuously for more than 2,000 years until Roman times.

French mission head Philippe Collombert said the mummy of Queen Behenu was destroyed, but the chamber contained green hieroglyphics picked out on white stone known as the "Pyramid Texts."

"We are excited because the texts are well conserved," he told The Associated Press, adding that the queen's titles were written on the walls of the 33 by 16 foot burial chamber inside her small pyramid.

More:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/03/tech/main6263083.shtml