Ancient Egyptian painting stolen from Saqqara tomb

A limestone pharaonic painting has gone missing from Egypt’s famed Saqqara necropolis, becoming the latest artifact to disappear in a country known for its rich and lengthy history.

The painting was in the tomb of Khentika in the Saqqara necropolis outside Cairo, Mohamed Ismail, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said Sunday. The mastaba tomb was found in the 1950s and hasn’t been opened since 2019.

Ismail’s statement said prosecutors were investigating the circumstances of the painting’s disappearance and didn’t give further details.

Egyptian media reported the painting exhibited the ancient Egyptian calendar that divided the year into three seasons mirroring the Nile River’s ebb and flow. It included the flooding season, Akhet, the planting season, Proyat, and the harvest season, Shomu.

The tomb dates to the sixth dynasty of the ancient Old Kingdom — roughly from around 2700 B.C. to 2200 B.C.

Cairo 24 news outlet reported that a British mission working in the tomb discovered the painting was missing in May.

The tomb is one of the few mastaba tombs of ancient Egypt to have a curse inscribed on its facade. The inscriptions warned intruders they could face divine punishment, according to British Egyptologist Harry James, who co-authored a research paper on the tomb in the 1950s.

The Saqqara site is part of a sprawling necropolis at Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis that includes the famed Giza Pyramids, the step pyramid of Djoser, as well as smaller pyramids at Abu Sir, Dahshur and Abu Ruwaysh. The ruins of Memphis were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in the 1970s.

Sunday’s announcement came less than a month after an ancient pharaoh’s bracelet was stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and melted for its gold.

The gold bracelet with a lapis lazuli bead belonged to Pharaoh Amenemope, who reigned about 3,000 years ago. It was stolen on Sep. 9 while officials at the museum were preparing artifacts for an exhibit in Italy. Authorities said it was taken from a restoration lab at the museum and funneled through a chain of dealers before being melted down.