Mummies and even golden statues discovered in a vast pharaonic necropolis south of Cairo
Last Saturday 14 November 2020 19. 24 GMT
Egyptian antiquities officials have announced the discovery of at least 100 ancient coffins, some with mummies inside, and some 40 gold statues in a vast pharaonic necropolis south of Cairo.
Sealed sarcophagus and statues that were buried more than 2500 years ago have been exhibited in a makeshift exhibition at the foot of Djoser’s stepped pyramid in Saqqara.
Archaeologists opened a coffin with a well-preserved mummy wrapped in cloth and also X-rays to visualize the structures of the ancient mummy, appearing as the frame had been preserved.
The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khaled el-Anany, said at a press convention that the elements date back to the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for about three hundred years, from 320 a. C. until 30 a. C, and in the past. (664-332 a. C. ).
He said they would move the artifacts to at least 3 museums in Cairo, adding the Great Egyptian Museum that Egypt built near the famous pyramids of Giza.
He said they would announce the discovery in the Saqqara necropolis at the end of this year. The discovery of the famous necropolis is the newest in a series of archaeological discoveries in Egypt. Since September, the ancient government has revealed at least 140 sealed sarcophagus, with a maximum of mummies inside. in the same neighborhood of Saqqarah.
Egyptian archaeologists have discovered other “s full of coffins, gilded, painted, decorated,” said Saturday Mostafa Waziri, general secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Saqqarah is part of the necropolis of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, which includes the pyramids of Giza, as well as smaller pyramids in Abu Sir, Dahshur and Abu Ruwaysh. The ruins of Memphis were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1970.
Egypt promotes its archaeological discoveries in the hope of driving the important tourism industry that has been shaken by the political turmoil that followed the 2011 popular uprising that overthrew autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
The sector has also been hit by the coronavirus pandemic this year.