The tomb's walls are painted and carved with images of objects the doctor might have used. Franco-Swiss Archaeological Mission of SaqqaraArchaeologists have excavated an intricately carved and painted tomb in northern Egypt, and they think the 4,100-year-old burial chamber belonged to a prominent, multi-talented royal doctor: a physician who served ancient Egyptian kings as an expert in medicinal plants, dentistry and venomous bites.A team of French and Swiss researchers discovered the tomb in Saqqara, the necropolis of the ancient capital city ofMemphis, according to a statement from Egypts Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.This incredible find adds to Saqqaras rich legacy as one of Egypts most significant archaeological sites, writes the ministry. The tomb is adorned with stunning carvings and vibrant artwork, including a beautifully painted false door and scenes of funerary offerings. Researchers discovered the tomb in the necropolis Saqqara. Franco-Swiss Archaeological Mission of SaqqaraInside the tomb, researchers found a stone sarcophagus bearing the name Tetinebefou in hieroglyphics. The inscriptions also indicate that he was the chief palace physician, priest, chief dentist, director of medicinal plants and conjurer of the goddessSerketan Egyptian deity known for curing venomous snake and scorpion bites.The doctor may have served under Pepi II, a pharaoh of ancient EgyptsOld Kingdom around the 23rd century B.C.E. He was crowned as a child and retained the throne for60 to 90 years. When he died, he too was buried in Saqqara, entombed in a pyramid.The Saqqara necropolis has been extensively looted over the millennia, according to a translatedblog post from the researchers. They found only small fragments of funerary materials, but the painted walls alone made the discovery exceptional. AsLive Sciences Owen Jarus reports, the paintings actually depict objects that the doctor might have used, such as jars and vases. The doctor may have served the pharaohPepi II. Franco-Swiss Archaeological Mission of SaqqaraThe doctors title of conjurer of the goddess Serket means he was a specialist in poisonous bites, as research team leaderPhilippe Collombert, an Egyptologist at theUniversity of Geneva, tells Live Science. The other titles on the sarcophagus are quite rare: Director of medicinal plants has only been found on one other ancient Egyptian artifact, and chief dentist is also very unusual, Collombert says.Evidence for ancient Egyptian dentists is exceedingly scarce, as Roger Forshaw, an Egyptologist at the University of Manchester who wasnt involved in the research, tells Live Science.The ancient Egyptians are known for theiradvances in medical science, and they possessed extensive knowledge of human anatomy. Thousands of years ago, they weretreating brain cancer via surgery, diagnosing the condition now known asdiabetes and buildingprosthetics. The entombed doctor was apparently an expert physician, dentist and healer of venomous bites. Franco-Swiss Archaeological Mission of SaqqaraWe are talking about a society that at the time had the most advanced medicine that ever existed, asEdgard Camars, a paleopathologist at SpainsUniversity of Santiago de Compostela, toldHistory.coms Jesse Greenspan last year.Many ancient Egyptian doctors were specialists, focusing on a single body part or sickness, according to the fifth-century B.C.E. Greek historianHerodotus. He wrote, All the country is full of physicians, some of the eye, some of the teeth, some of what pertains to the belly and some of the hidden diseases.As such, Tetinebefous numerous and rare titles indicate that he held high status during the reign of Pepi. As Collombert tells Live Science, He was certainly the main physician at the royal court, so he would have treated the pharaoh himself.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Ancient Civilizations, Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Artifacts, Cool Finds, Death, Doctors, Egypt, History, Medicine, Pyramids