Imhotep is among the most famous figures of the Old Kingdom, and when the Egyptologist Miroslav Bárta wrote about him for ARCE in 2019, his tomb had never been found. Statues of King Djoser and his family have since been found in a prince's tomb at Saqqara. Imhotep built Djoser's step pyramid complex.
A prince's tomb with older statues inside
The statues come from the tomb of Prince Userefre, son of King Userkaf, the first king of the Fifth Dynasty. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities says a joint Egyptian mission, led by the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Zahi Hawass Foundation for Antiquities and Heritage, uncovered it at Saqqara.
According to the ministry, Dr Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities at the time of the announcement, said it was the first time a pink granite false door of such size had been found. It stands four and a half metres high and 1.15 metres wide. Its inscriptions give the prince's name and titles, among them "Hereditary Prince, Governor of the Buto and Nekhbet Regions, Royal Scribe, Minister, Judge, and Chanting Priest".
The ministry also lists a red granite offering table, 92.5 cm across, inscribed with offering lists. In front of the tomb's eastern facade the ministry reports a second entrance, and north of its lintel a discovery it considers the first of its kind in the Saqqara area. It also reports a group of 13 pink granite statues seated on a high-backed bench. A colossal black granite statue, 1.17 metres tall, appears to date to the 26th Dynasty. The ministry takes this to indicate the tomb may have been reused in the Late Period.
The most striking find is older than the tomb. The archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities Dr Zahi Hawass said the mission found a statue of King Djoser, his wife and his ten daughters inside it. The ministry says initial studies show the statues stood in a room next to Djoser's Step Pyramid and were moved to Userefre's tomb during the Late Period. The mission said at the time that it would continue its work to determine why they were moved.
Biblical Archaeology Society's Bible History Daily, reporting on the find in May 2025, also said researchers date the statues several centuries before Userefre. It said it is not certain how they ended up in his tomb.
Why Imhotep comes into it
Imhotep is best known as the builder of Djoser's step pyramid complex. The Egyptologist Miroslav Bárta, writing for ARCE, notes that the only known titles of Imhotep appear on a statue base of Djoser, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. They read "prince, royal seal-bearer of the king of Lower Egypt, high priest of Heliopolis, director of sculptors."
Bárta describes the tomb's whereabouts as a mystery and says most experts agree it should lie somewhere at Saqqara and Abusir. He sets out two theories. One places it within Djoser's burial complex, since Imhotep was probably a member of the royal family. The other puts it somewhere in North Saqqara, where most of the best-known tombs of the period lie. He adds that the British archaeologist W. B. Emery searched North Saqqara and believed the tomb labelled S 3518 to be Imhotep's resting place. Emery's reasoning rested on its elaborate system of cult rooms, votive offerings and seal imprints bearing Djoser's name.
Bárta also says experts agree the tomb might already have been found but never identified, because of deterioration and a lack of surviving evidence. His own view is plain: "I am convinced that the tomb of Imhotep has yet to be discovered."
The Djoser statues in Userefre's tomb
The Djoser statues in Userefre's tomb are intriguing, but when the find was announced the mission said it would continue its work to determine why they were moved there.
Sources
Bárta, M. (2019) 'The Search for Imhotep: Tomb of Architect-Turned-God Remains a Mystery', ARCE, available at: https://arce.org/resource/search-imhotep-tomb-architect-turned-god-remains-mystery/ (Accessed: 27 October 2026).
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (n.d.) 'Discovery of the tomb of Prince Userefre, son of King Userkaf', Discover Egypt's Monuments, available at: https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/news/discovery-of-the-tomb-of-prince-userefre-son-of-king-userkaf (Accessed: 27 October 2026).
Steinmeyer, N. (2026) 'The Prince of Egypt at Saqqara', Bible History Daily, Biblical Archaeology Society, 1 May 2026 (first published 5 May 2025), available at: https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-egypt/the-prince-of-egypt-at-saqqara/ (Accessed: 27 October 2026).
Picture credits
- Top picture: The Step Pyramid complex of Djoser at Saqqara. Image: Step Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara — Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
- Map: drawn from Natural Earth (public domain) and Wikidata.
