Jaromir Krejci on the day he found a queen
Jaromir Krejci is a young Czech Egyptologist, teaching at the Institute of Egyptology of Charles University in Prague. A few years ago, shortly after his graduation, he joined excavation works conducted by Czech Egyptologists in a pyramid complex near the Egyptian city of Abusir, on the site allocated to the Czech Republic by the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities. Here Jaromir Krejci recalls one morning when the Czech team unexpectedly discovered the mummy of a nameless Ancient Egyptian queen.
"It was only two or three months after I finished my MA studies in Egyptology here at Charles University and I took part in the archaeological excavations of the pyramid complex "Lepsius No. 24" at our archaeological site in Abusir. On one day I was appointed as a director of the excavations because our professor was out of Abusir and his deputy was also away. So I was directing the works and in the middle of the burial chamber of this pyramid which was unfortunately very badly destroyed, one morning we found a mummy of a lady. And because we were working in this pyramid, it was clear that it was a mummy of a queen. For me it was very exciting also because at that time there was a rainy period in Egypt, which does not happen very often, but at that particular time it rained every day. It was also a very stressful time because the works had to be done very quickly and the mummy had to be quickly documented and removed to the magazine. For me, this was one of the most emotional moments in my life."
