What is South Saqqara Stone?
[[File:SouthSaqqaraStone.png|thumb|280px|The ''South Saqqara Stone'']] The '''South Saqqara Stone''' is a large piece of stone. Written on the stone is a list of the [[pharaoh]]s of the [[Sixth dynasty of Egypt|6th dynasty]] of [[ancient Egypt]]. The list includes Teti, [[Userkare]], [[Pepi I]], [[Merenre]] and [[Pepi II]]. The list finishes with Pepi II which means it was probably written during his rule. The list is a record of the events which took place during each kings rule. However the stone was used later as the lid of [[sarcophagus]]. This was for the burial of the ancient Egyptian queen [[Ankhenespepi I|Ankhenespepi]]. A lot of the writing can not be read any longer. ==Discovery== The South Saqqara Stone was discovered in 1932-33 by [[Gustave Jéquier]]. It was in a storeroom, south of the pyramid of Queen [[Iput II]]. This is part of the pyramid complex of [[Pepi II]] at [[Saqqara]]. Saqqara was the main burial area for the city of [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]].<ref> Introduction to Saqqara. Egyptian Monuments,. (2009). Introduction to Saqqara. Retrieved 25 May 2015, from https://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/introduction-to-saqqara/</ref> ==Description== The stone is a piece of [[basalt]], 2.43 metres by 0.92 metres and 20 centimetres thick.<ref name=ssq>South Saqqara Stone: Sixth Dynasty Annals Xoomer.virgilio.it,. 2015. 'South Saqqara Stone: Sixth Dynasty Annals '. Accessed May 25 2015. http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/ssannals.htm</ref> It has writing on both sides, but much of the writing has been removed and is unreadable. ==Significance== The writing on the South Saqqara Stone means it is an important object. The list of pharaohs has details about the annual or biannual [[cattle count]]. This matches details in other lists such as the [[Turin King List]]. This allows [[archaeologist]]s to work out how long each king ruled. From the information on the stone it can be worked out that Teti ruled for at least 12 years, Userkare 2-4 years, Pepi I 49-50 years and 11-13 years for M