The mummy, of a man named Hekashepes, featured a “gold-leaf covering” and was in a limestone sarcophagus that had been sealed in mortar. “I put my head inside to see what was inside the sarcophagus: a beautiful mummy of a man completely covered in layers of gold,” Hawass said.

In early 2023, a significant archaeological discovery was made at the Saqqara necropolis near Cairo: the mummy of a man named Hekashepes. This find was particularly groundbreaking because it is believed to be the oldest and most "complete" non-royal mummy ever discovered in Egypt, dating back approximately 4,300 years to the 5th or 6th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. The mummy was found at the bottom of a 15-meter (49-foot) shaft, sealed inside a large limestone sarcophagus with mortar—a rare find as many such tombs were looted in antiquity. When the sarcophagus was opened, archaeologists found Hekashepes completely covered in layers of gold leaf. This opulent burial indicates that he was a person of immense wealth and high social status, likely a high-ranking official or priest. The discovery has provided historians with invaluable data on the mummification techniques and burial customs of the Old Kingdom, which were previously less documented than those of the later New Kingdom.