By the end of the New Kingdom, Saqqara was also used by the Memphite middle-classes. They often re-used older tombs for entire families. The mummies found there will prove to be an interesting source for scientists studying the human condition in Memphis of that era.

Private burials of the upper and middle classes would continue at least until the early Roman Period. This is shown, among others, by the enormous shaft-tombs of the 26th Dynasty that were built in the forecourt of the funerary temple of Userkaf.

During the Roman Period, the number of burials at Saqqara decreased. With the coming of Christianity, the cult of the ancient gods and the related burial of sacred animals became less and less popular and from 391 AD on, was forbidden. Funerary practices changed as well.

The ancient practice of mummification and the creation of beautifully decorated temples and tombs for the deceased were considered demonic by the early Christians, who preferred to simply commit their dead to the grounds. With the Roman occupation and more with the general acceptance of Christianity throughout Egypt, the pharaonic culture ceased to be. And with the end of the pharaonic culture, so ends our story of more than 3000 years of Ancient Egyptian burials at Saqqara.
(Jacques Kinnaer)