Inscriptions on Nefret's sarcophagus, or coffin, also identified her as the mother of a priest who presided over a cult devoted to Pharaoh Menkaure, the 4th-dynasty king who was buried in the third biggest Pyramid of Giza. (See a photo of the Giza pyramids.)
That means a woman of the 5th-century B.C. was buried in a tomb built in the 12th century B.C., in a shaft made with carved stone slabs from the 26th century B.C.
Meanwhile, her son led the worship of a ruler from the 25th century B.C.
Nefret's family continued to use this tomb for burials well into Egypt's 30th dynasty (380 to 343 B.C.).
"It seems at this time there was a revival of religious activity—that they worshipped the old kings, restored the old buildings," El Aguizy told National Geographic News.
The new activity brought the necropolis, as it were, back to life.
Nefret's sarcophagus was empty. Her body was likely taken by grave robbers, El Aguizy said, as they likely robbed several other sacrophagi found in shafts even deeper into the tomb.
One plain sarcophagus did contain the bottom half of a mummy, she added.
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