Egypt announces 'major discoveries' as archaeologists unearth over 50 sarcophagi

Marking another spectacular unearthing, archaeologists in Egypt on January 17 announced that they have discovered an ancient funerary temple along with other items in Saqqara Necropolis, located south of capital Cairo. Saqqara Necropolis, which served as a burial ground in ancient Egypt has led to multiple discoveries including coloured coffins and other wooden statues in the past. Adding to the that is the latest discovery which also includes over 50 sarcophagi, an ornate coffin used by ancient Egyptians to bury their dead.

Mummies, coffins found

In a statement, the Egyptian ministry of tourism and antiquities revealed that the wooden sarcophagi, which date back to the New Kingdom, were found in 52 burial shafts at depths of 10 to 12 meters (40 feet). The ministry said the "major discoveries" made by a team of archaeologists in a site south of Cairo. The mission also discovered a funerary temple of Queen Nearit, the wife of King Teti, part of which was already uncovered in the previous years. Multiple other burial shafts, coffins and mummies dating back to 3000 BC were also found.

“These discoveries will rewrite the history of this necropolis, especially during the 18th and 19th dynasties of the New Kingdom, during which King Teti was worshipped, and the citizens at that time were buried around his pyramid,” the department wrote in a Facebook post.

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Previously, at least 100 ancient coffins, some with mummies inside and also 40 gilded statues in a vast Pharaonic necropolis were discovered south of Cairo, announced Egyptian antiquities officials. According to the reports by AP, colourful and sealed sarcophagi and statues which were buried 2,500 years back were displayed in an exhibit at the feet of the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. Khaled el-Anany, who is the Tourism and Antiquities Minister, said that the items which have been discovered date back to the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt from around 320 B.C. to about 30 B.C.

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He further revealed that the artefacts would be moved to three museums in Cairo. These museums include the Grand Egyptian Museum that Egypt is building near the famed Giza Pyramids. According to the reports by AP, Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities told reporters that the Egyptian archaeologists found other “shafts full of coffins, well-gilded, well-painted, well-decorated”. Archaeologists opened a coffin with a well-preserved mummy which was wrapped in cloth inside. Also, they carried out X-ray to visualise the structures of the mummy. 

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