In a discovery that has electrified the world of archaeology, a team of researchers working in the ancient Saqqara necropolis in Cairo has unearthed a 4,000-year-old tomb containing a monumental pink granite door believed to serve as a symbolic “portal to the afterlife.”
The tomb belongs to Prince Userefre, a previously unknown son of King Userkaf, the first ruler of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty (circa 2465–2458 BC). Until now, no historical records or inscriptions had pointed to his existence.
“Before this discovery, we didn’t even know he existed," said Ronald Lephoron, Professor Emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Toronto, in an interview with The New Archaeologist.
The tomb, located deep in the Saqqara catacombs, includes elaborate inscriptions describing the Prince as a “hereditary prince," “judge," “governor,” “minister,” and “chanting priest.” These titles suggest that Prince Userefre held a prominent administrative and spiritual role during his lifetime.
Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a 4400 year-old tomb belonging to a prince and at its heart lies a towering “false” pink granite door, believed to allow the spirit of the deceased to pass in and out of the tomb.The tomb is attributed to Prince Userefre, son of Pharaoh… pic.twitter.com/aN87yRl6SC
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— Archaeo - Histories (@archeohistories) May 5, 2025
The most striking feature of the tomb is a 15-foot-tall, non-functional granite door carved into the chamber wall. Though it does not open, experts say it represents a ritual “false door,” believed by ancient Egyptians to act as a metaphysical threshold between the living world and the next.
“The joint Egyptian mission, led by the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Zahi Hawass Foundation for Antiquities and Heritage, uncovered the tomb of Prince Userefre, son of King Userkaf, the first king of the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, during the mission’s work in the Saqqara archaeological site, in addition to numerous important archaeological finds from this era and later periods," said Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in a statement.
The Ministry highlighted the uniqueness of the discovery, noting that it is the first time a false door made from pink granite on such a scale has ever been found. “It measures four and a half meters in height and 1.15 meters in width,” the statement said.
The pink granite, quarried from Aswan, was rare and typically reserved for royals or the extremely wealthy, emphasising the prince’s elite status.
According to Dr. Melanie Pitkin of Cambridge University, such false doors held deep religious significance. “The ka of the deceased would then magically travel between the burial chamber and the netherworld. It would come and collect the food, drink, and offerings from the tomb to help sustain it in the afterlife,” she explained.
“Family members and priests would come to the tomb where the false door was standing and they would recite the name of the deceased and his or her achievements and leave offerings,” she added.
As excavations continue, researchers hope the tomb of Prince Userefre will shed new light on the politics, religion, and royal lineage of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty, along with its elaborate spiritual rituals that continue to mesmerize historians today.
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