for National Geographic News Parts of a mummy found inside a
4,300-year-old pyramid could be Queen Seshseshet, the mother of
the first pharaoh of Egypt's 6th dynasty, archaeologists have
announced. A skull, pelvis, legs, and pieces of a torso wrapped
in linen lay inside a 16-foot-tall (5-meter-tall) pyramid—the
third "subsidiary" tomb found next to that of the pharaoh Teti,
who ruled for 22 years before he was assassinated. Two other
previously known pyramids were for his principal wives, Iput I
and Khuit. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme
Council of Antiquities (SCA), noted that there are currently no
plans to run DNA tests on the mummy to confirm its identity. "We
believe the [newfound] pyramid belonged to the queen, the mother
of Teti, because she is the third woman that we know in the life
of the king," Hawass said. Royal moms were revered in ancient
Egypt, as they were literally considered the mothers of a god.
Teti's mother was an especially well-known figure in her day.
"Teti loved his