July 11, 2023
The Egyptian-American archaeological mission working at South Abydos has completed the restoration of Queen Tetisheri’s pyramid. The restoration work, which included conserving, consolidating, and documenting the pyramid started in 2018. The mudbrick pyramid was the last ever pyramid built for a queen from ancient Egypt, after which the royal families chose to be buried in tombs cut from the mountain bedrock.
Queen Tetisheri is an important female figure from ancient Egypt. She is considered the matriarch of the New Kingdom as her husband was King Seqenenre Tao I and together they gave birth to King Seqenenre Tao II who started the fight against the Hyksos. Queen Tetisheri was also the grandmother of King Ahmose, the founder of the New Kingdom and Dynasty 18.
The pyramid was built by her grandson King Ahmose in her honor within his own funerary complex at Abydos. A famous stela erected by Ahmose and his sister-wife Ahmose Nefertari was found in the early 20th century and it mentions the queen as “the mother of my mother, and the mother of my father, great king’s wife and king’s mother, Tetisheri”.
