D’étranges sphères en calcaire à Saqqârah

Abstract

A collection of limestone spheres, dating back to the Old Kingdom, was recently uncovered in the necropolis of Pepy I^st, at Saqqara. Ranging from 0.46 to 0.49 meters in diameter and weighing between 95 and 110 kilograms, these spheres exhibit imperfect spherical shapes, indicating manual carving with lithic tools. Despite their lack of perfect symmetry and absence of wear, it appears unlikely that they were employed as rolling or percussion tools. Several functions can be attributed to these objects, but, due to the lack of parallel, any interpretation remains speculative.The fact that the spheres were buried within the masonry suggests that they held little value and were likely discarded due to being unfinished and not worth the effort to complete.