The tomb of Pharaoh’s physician was discovered

Archaeologists excavating in Saqqara, Egypt, discovered the 4100-year-old tomb of a physician named Tetinebefou, who personally treated Pharaoh.

Although the tomb’s objects were looted, the group of Swiss-French archaeologists who made the discovery were able to study the tomb’s frescoes and hieroglyphic inscriptions that describe the position of the physician and various objects that may have been used in healings, LiveScience wrote. They have depicted that his medicine has been used.

This doctor had the title of “the hand of the goddess Sarket” (an ancient Egyptian goddess who was associated with the scorpion and was believed to be able to protect against scorpion stings).

“Philippe Colombert”, the head of the Swiss-French exploration group and Egyptologist at the University of Geneva, said in an interview with “Live Science”:

Having this title meant that this doctor specialized in treating poisonous bites.

According to “Columbert”, according to the inscriptions, this doctor was “superintendent of medicinal plants”, a title found in only one other discovery from ancient Egypt. In addition to these titles, the inscriptions mention that he was the “chief dentist”; Another rarely seen title.

According to Roger Forsha, Honorary Lecturer at the Center for Biomedical Egyptology at the University of Manchester, evidence of ancient Egyptian dentists is very scarce. The title suggests that Tetinebefou was at the height of his profession.

“Columbert” explained that he was definitely the main physician in the royal court, so he personally treated the pharaoh.

The “Tetinebefou” tomb is decorated with colorful wall paintings that depict different types of vessels such as jars and something like a vase. Colorful abstract images and geometric shapes are also seen in these murals.

The walls are painted with bright and lively colors! It’s easy to forget that they are 4,000 years old! It is not known which pharaohs this doctor served. He may have served under Pepys II (ruled from 2246 BC to 2152 BC) or one or two other pharaohs who ruled in later years.

No human remains were found in this tomb.