Two 4,500-Year-Old Homes Found Near Giza Pyramids

[Judi Lynn]

By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | July 3, 2018 07:35am ET

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Credit: Copyright 2016 by Ancient Egypt Research Associates


Archaeologists have discovered two ancient homes near the Giza pyramids in Egypt. The structures may have housed officials responsible for overseeing the production of food for a paramilitary force more than 4,500 years ago.

The residences were found in an ancient port at Giza that flourished at a time when the Pyramid of Menkaure was being constructed at Giza. (Menkaure was a pharaoh who reigned from around 2490 B.C. to 2472 B.C.)

One of the structures may have housed an official who oversaw the containment and slaughtering of animals for food, while a priest who was part of an institution called the "wadaat" may have lived in the other home, archaeologists said. [See Photos of the Excavation Site and Giza Residences]

Seals found near the suspected priest's residence mention the wadaat, an ancient Egyptian institution whose priests could be high-ranking officials in government, said Mark Lehner, the director of Ancient Egypt Research Associates, the organization that led excavations at the two homes. This residence is attached to a structure that may have been used for malting, suggesting that its occupant oversaw brewing and baking operations at the time, Lehner said.

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