Saqqara Bird

by Autumn Studnicka

What is the Saqqara Bird

The Saqqara Bird is a bird-shaped artifact made of sycamore wood, it was discovered during the excavation of the Pa-di-Imen tomb in 1898 in Saqqara, Egypt. It has been dated to approximately 200 BC, and is now housed in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo. The Saqqara Bird has a wingspan of 7.1 inches and weighs 1.380 oz. It is shaped like what we’d recognize as a modern day airplane with the head of a bird.

Discovery

The tomb of Pan-di-Imen was discovered in 1898 by a group of French archeologists. The tomb was filled with artifacts, painted walls, mummies and all of their belongings that were left behind to aid them in the afterlife. In the heaps of artifacts of usual tools, arts, pottery, statues, and more, the archaeologists found a small wooden carved bird. It was found on a table laid there by the some unknown human 2,200 years ago in approximately 200 BC. The little wooden bird was nearly perfectly symmetrical. In the museum records that states that it was found by a French archaeologist named “Lauret."

Discoverer

As stated in the discovery section the Saqqara bird was discovered my a French archeologist named "Lauret" This could be a misspelling of Victor Loret, who excavated at Saqqara in 1898 and uncovered the tomb of Khuit, one of the wives of the Pharaoh Teti. Victor Loret was the head of the Egyptian Antiquities Service. He also discovered many other tombs like tombs KV32, KV33, KV36, KV38, KV40, KV41 and KV42.