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- GIZA - Tomb of Khentkaus I The grandiose ancient monument, which in its early stages of research was considered to be the fourth Pyramid of Giza and the resting place of Shepseskaf - the last King of the IV Dynasty, is located closely to the Pyramid Complex of the King Menkaure in the Great Necropolis of Giza.
The first studies of this structure, along with many other ancient monuments of Giza, were started in 1837 by British Egyptologists Howard Vyse and John Shae Perring, but except the describing of the external features of the building in the form of a pyramid, no any large-scale archaeological work was done at that time.
The first researcher, who provided some detailed description of the monument was Karl Richard Lepsius - the German Egyptologist, who identified it as a private tomb, and added it into the Catalogue of Ancient Egyptian Buildings under the code number LG 100. (According the modern classification, the tomb is listed as G8400).
Only in 1932-33 after the large-scale excavations, undertaken by the Egyptian archaeologist Selim Hassan, it became clear, that this Tomb belongs to the Queen Khentkaus, who lived during the IV-V Dynasty. Till now no one had yet succeeded in establishing her exact genealogical tree, but most probably, she was the daughter of the King Menkaure, the wife of Shepseskaf - the last King of the IV Dynasty, and then the wife of the King Userkaf - the founder of the V Dynasty. She also was the Queen of the Upper and Lower Egypt and the mother of the King Sakhure.
The outer walls of the building were originally decorated with a number of niches, resembling the false doors. The entrance to the Tomb, located in its south-eastern corner, was represented with a massive doorway, made of pink Aswan granite and decorated with inscriptions, bearing the name and titles of the Queen Khentkaus.
Her title "Mut-Nesu-Bity-Nesu-Bity", according to the translation from ancient Egyptian sounds like "Mother of two Kings of Upper and Lower Egypt." The bas-relief of Khentkaus is accompanied with the images of the Royal symbols:
The underground part of the Tomb resembles the interior plan of the Pyramid of Menkaure, and also has some similarities with the Mastaba of Shepseskaf in South Saqqara. It consists of a large Antechamber, six small magazines and a Burial Chamber, lined in pink granite.
За исключением некоторых небольших фрагментов алебастра, которые возможно являлись осколками саркофага, следов захоронения Царицы, как и ее мумии обнаружено не было. Подробное описание внутренней архитектуры Гробницы Хенткаус представлено в статье британского исследователя Проекта ИСИДА, Кейта Гамильтона: Except a few small fragments of alabaster, which may have been the fragments of the sarcophagus, no any traces of the Queen's burial were found, as well as her mummy.
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