New Workers' Tombs Discovered Near Egypt's Pyramids in Giza
By STAN PARCHIN
January 10, 2010
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| The Sphinx viewed from the east with Khafre's pyramid in the background. Photograph by Jon Bodsworth. |
Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities revealed today that native archaeologists discovered a new set of tombs that belong to paid laborers who died while building the pyramids on the Giza Plateau. According to Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, the Old Kingdom structures date to the 4th Dynasty (2575-2467 B.C.). Similar graves were first found there in 1990.
Regarding the new finds, Hawass said, "These tombs were built beside the king's pyramid, which indicates that these people were not by any means slaves. If they were slaves, they would not have been able to build their tombs beside their king's.''
Most pyramid workers' tombs from the 4th Dynasty, made of mud brick with white plaster, are cone-shaped. The most important new one found, that of a man named Idu, is rectangular, encased in plaster-covered mud brick and features white limestone burial shafts. Other nearby graves contain skeletons and clay pots.
The site's evidence indicates that some 10,000 laborers, who worked in three-month rotations, consumed 21 cattle and 23 sheep daily.
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