Saed News: Scientists have discovered a 4,100-year-old tomb belonging to a physician who personally treated the Pharaoh, in the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt.
According to the analytical news platform Saed News, archaeologists excavating at the Saqqara necropolis have discovered a 4,100-year-old tomb that served as the burial place of the Pharaoh’s personal physician.
The ancient tomb belonged to a doctor named Tetinebefou, and the Swiss-French excavation team that discovered it published a translated blog post about their findings. Although the tomb's artifacts had been looted, the archaeologists managed to uncover and study wall paintings and hieroglyphic inscriptions on-site. These inscriptions describe the doctor’s role as the Pharaoh’s personal physician and depict a collection of objects likely used in his medical treatments.
Tetinebefou was also given the title “Magician of the Goddess Serket” (also spelled Selket), a deity associated with scorpions, believed by ancient Egyptians to protect people from their sting. This title suggests the physician specialized in treating venomous stings. This finding was announced by Philippe Collombert, the team leader and Egyptologist at the University of Geneva.
The inscriptions further reveal that Tetinebefou held the title “Director of Medicinal Plants”, a designation previously recorded only once in ancient Egyptian discoveries. In addition, the physician was also titled “Chief of Dentists”, another extremely rare title.
Roger Forshaw, Honorary Professor at the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology at the University of Manchester, who was not involved in the study, commented:
“Evidence of ‘dentists’ in ancient Egypt is extremely rare.”
These titles collectively suggest that Tetinebefou was at the top of his profession. Collombert explained:
“He was undoubtedly the chief physician of the royal court and therefore personally treated the Pharaoh.”
The tomb was decorated with colorful wall paintings, and the excavation team found various containers including jars and what appeared to be a vase. The paintings included vivid abstract designs and geometric shapes.
In their blog post, the archaeologists wrote:
“The walls are completely adorned with colorful and striking paintings! It’s easy to forget they’re 4,000 years old!”
It remains unclear exactly which Pharaohs Tetinebefou served, but possibilities include Pepi II (who reigned around 2246–2152 BCE) or several others who ruled shortly after.
Although Egypt remained unified during Pepi II’s reign and continued pyramid-building, the nation began to fragment after his rule, as provincial governors (nomarchs) gained power. This led to what Egyptologists call the First Intermediate Period, which lasted from about 2150 to 2030 BCE.
No human remains were found in the tomb. Aside from the paintings and inscriptions, it had been almost completely looted.
Archaeologists plan to conduct further investigations and provide more detailed analysis of the tomb in the coming months.
