The Khentika Tomb Project
Overview
The Khentika Project was launched in July 2025. It focuses on the mastaba of Khentika, located in the Teti Cemetery at Saqqara. The tomb belongs to a vizier who served Pharaohs Teti and Pepy I across a tumultuous period of the Old Kingdom’s Sixth Dynasty (ca. 2345–2287 BCE). It has now been widely supported that King Teti was assassinated and succeeded by Weserkara who ruled for nearly one year before Teti’s son Pepy I became king. As Khentika served both Teti and Pepy I, his tomb offers a unique opportunity to investigate the transitional period of Teti-Weserkara-Pepy I. The project’s main objectives are to document, publish, conserve and restore the tomb. This is planned across three stages: (1) excavation, documentation, and preliminary publication; (2) conservation and restoration; and (3) final publication and preparation of site management.
The eastern facade of the mastaba of Khentika, showing the uncleared sand covering the exterior in January 2025.
The interior of the Khentika mastaba as viewed upon entry, with its reconstructed limestone walls and wooden roof.
