A mission led by the Supreme Council of Antiquities has announced the discovery of a pristine Late Period tomb in the Saqqara Necropolis belonging to an elite official named Psamtik-Seneb, who held the title of Master of the Royal Flax-Retting Vats. The burial chamber remains entirely unlooted, featuring vibrant limestone reliefs that depict the complex chemical and biological processes used to produce the highest grades of pharaonic linen.
Most notably, the murals illustrate specialized fermentation vats and the precise timing required for retting flax stalks in Nile water to extract fibers without degradation. These scenes provide Egyptologists with a rare technical manual of ancient textile chemistry, illustrating how the royal household maintained its monopoly on the translucent fabrics reserved for the pharaoh and high priesthood.