Archeologists discovered the remnants of an ancient Egyptian mansion near the Giza Pyramids. Remains found at the site- including teeth from leopards and bones from cows, suggest the location was home to elite officials, Live Science reported Tuesday.
The house, which had over 20 rooms, was uncovered at an excavation site just a little over 1,000 feet from the Sphinx. Leopard teeth and the back limbs of calves were found in a mound nearby the house structure, Live Science reported. The massive home was part of a city that dates back to 4,500 years ago, around the time when the last Giza pyramid was in construction.
Richard Redding, chief research officer of the nonprofit Ancient Egypt Research Associates, said the animal finds are an eye opener into the lives of the Egyptians who lived there.
"The other thing that is just amazing is almost all the cattle are under 10 months of age...they are eating veal," Redding said, according to Live Science.
Archeologists also found badge-like symbols that identified the owner as a royal official.
One badge was for "the scribe of the royal box," Live Science reported. Another was for "the scribe of the royal school."
"We have very, very, high status individuals," Redding said, Live Science reported.
Although researchers found leopard teeth, they did not come across any leopard bones. Baffled by the missing bones, Redding studied drawings from Egypt's Old Kingdom, dating back to between 2649 and 2150 B.C., Live Science reported.
Redding came across depictions of royal officials, known as "sem" priests, wearing leopard skins with the head still attached. The royal family also wore leopard skins.
The pictures indicate that the officials who lived in the mansion wore the skins too. The teeth could have fallen out of the head while it was worn, thus resulting in the teeth left behind, Live Science reported.
Pictures of the ancient house here.
