 In the 1950s, J. P. Lauer worked in close association with his friend Zakaria Goneim on the step pyramid of Sekhemkhet.Later, in 1959, he helped Goneim clear his name on allegations that he had smuggled a vessel discovered by Lauer and Quibell out of Egypt.In 1963, together with Jean Leclant, he founded the Mission Archéologique Française de Saqqâra which is still active to this day.