Archaeologists discover ‘door to the afterlife’ in the tomb of an Egyptian prince

The 'door to the afterlife' was made of rare pink granite (Image: https://egymonuments.gov.eg)

A mystical door has been discovered in a 4,400-year-old ancient Egyptian tomb. The door itself stands at 15 feet high and 4 feet wide and resembles a functional door, yet does not actually open.

It is the largest of its kind to be discovered in the country, and hints at the extent to which ancient Egyptians strived to give their deceased eternal rest.

Most false doors of the time period were made of limestone, yet this one was made of pink granite, along with the 13 high-backed chairs and statues discovered alongside it.

This reflects the importance of the owner’s elevated status in society, as the nearest source of pink and red granite was around 650km away in Aswan. 

The hieroglyphics in the tomb detail the prince's life and achievements (Image: https://egymonuments.gov.eg)

There was also a discovery of 13 high-backed chairs and statues (Image: https://egymonuments.gov.eg)

The catacomb was said to belong to a prince called Userefre. The door is decorated with an abundance of hieroglyphic inscriptions detailing the prince’s life and impressive collection of titles, including “Hereditary Prince, Governor of the Buto and Nekhbet Regions, Royal Scribe, Minister, Judge and Chanting Priest.”

The inscriptions also reveal that the royal also went by the name Prince-Waser-If-Re, and was the son of King Userkaf, the founder of Egypt’s Fifth dynasty.

Ronald Leprohon, professor emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Toronto, explained to The Archaeologist that “Before this discovery, we didn’t even know he existed.”

A black granite statue within the tomb from a later time period suggests it has been reused (Image: https://egymonuments.gov.eg)

Dr Melanie Pitkin from Cambridge University explained the significance of the doors in ancient Egyptian culture.

“False doors were intended to serve as portals that allowed the life force - or “ka” - of the deceased to move back and forth between the tomb and the afterlife.

“Family members and priests would come to the tomb where the false door was standing”, Dr Melanie continued, “where they would recite the name of the deceased and his for her achievements and leave offerings.

“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.”

This is supported by the discovery of an offering table also made out of red granite, featuring carved texts describing ritual sacrifice.

There is evidence to suggest Prince Userefre wasn’t the tomb's only user, as within it there was also the discovery of a granite statue with an inscription from a more recent time period.

The actual burial chamber of the prince is still yet to be unearthed by archaeologists.