Discovered the tomb of the mysterious Egyptian queen

French archaeologists have found the almost intact coffin of an Egyptian queen in a tomb dating back over 4,000 years.

The overall picture of Queen Behenu's pyramid in the Saqqara desert.Photo: Reuters.

The tomb is located in the graveyard of the Saqqara desert - about 30 km south of Cairo. Reuters quoted Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, who said the man in the tomb was queen Behenu. Behenu's tomb was severely destroyed, except for two walls inside the grave. On the two walls there are mantras written in hieroglyphs to help the queen rise to heaven.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the souls of those in the royal family could go to heaven with the help of mantras. Hawass said archaeologists always found mantras in the emperor's tombs and royal members of the fifth and sixth dynasties. The 5th dynasty in Egypt existed from 2465 to 2323 BC, while the sixth dynasty existed from 2323 to 2150 BC.

Tomb of Queen Behenu.Photo: Reuters .

Philippe Collombert, the excavation team leader, said the queen's mummy Behenu was damaged, but the mantras did not seem to be affected by time.

'Hieroglyphs are almost intact. The titles of the queen are engraved on two 10x5 m walls inside the sarcophagus' container , AP quoted Collombert.

According to Collombert, Queen Behenu is a mysterious character because no one knows she is the wife of King Pepi first or King Pepi II. Both pharahohs ruled Egypt for a long time and belonged to the sixth dynasty.

Collombert's group has excavated in the Saqqara desert since 1998 and found the pyramid of 7 Egyptian emperors of the sixth dynasty. Behenu's pyramid was discovered in 2007.