Child Burials at Saqqara: Ptolemaic Necropolis West of the Step Pyramid

The author analyzes the child burials from the Ptolemaic necropolis to the west of the Djeser pyramid in Saqqara. Issues of whether there was a separated child cemetery there in the Ptolemaic period and/or whether the burial practices with regard to children were different from those practiced for adults are discussed. To achieve these goals, the presence and location of possible clusters of child graves at the site as well as type of graves, burial practices and funerary equipment connected with sub-adults interments are examined.