The opportunity to explore the 4,000-year-old tomb of Egypt

According to Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, Meru was a high official in the 11th Dynasty, under the pharaoh Mentuhotep II, who ruled until 2004 BC. Like Meru and many other important rulers of the dynasty, the pharaoh Mentuhotep II was buried in the North Asasif necropolis.

Meru’s stone-hewn tomb has been restored by the Center for Mediterranean Archeology of the University of Warsaw in Poland and the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt.

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism quoted the Director General of the Antiquities Authority of Upper Egypt, Fathi Yassin, as saying: “This is the first site from such an early period west of Thebes to be opened to the public. traveler”.

The tomb is located opposite the avenue leading to the temple of the pharaoh Mentuhotep II, with a passage leading to an offering chapel with a large place for the statue of the deceased. A tunnel leads to a burial chamber where a sarcophagus is placed solemnly. According to Mr Yassin, “this is the only decorated room of this tomb, with paintings on the plaster walls”.

According to the Polish archaeological mission, Meru’s tomb has been known since the mid-19th century. Italian conservationists cleaned some of the murals here in 1996.