The
sarcophagus houses a mummy and dates back to the Ptolemaic era or the Late
Period. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.
The
Tourism and Antiquities Police in Saqqara caught four criminals red-handed as
they attempted to sell a sarcophagus. Ayman
Ashmawi, head of the Ancient Egyptian antiquities department at the ministry,
said that the criminals were trying to sell the sarcophagus for EGP 250,000.
An
archaeological committee from the Ministry of Antiquities was then formed to
examine the sarcophagus and inspect its authenticity, he said Ashmawi
said that the committee confirmed that the sarcophagus housed a mummy and it
could be dated back to the Ptolemaic era or the Late Period, and it had not
been stolen from the ministry’s storage or museums.
It
has an anthropoid lid with the face of a woman wearing a wig and its lower part
is painted with different ancient Egyptian scenes depicting the winged god
Horus and the mummification process.
A
hieroglyphic text is also carved on the lid, while both sides of the
sarcophagus itself are adorned: a snake wearing the crown of Lower Egypt on the
right side, and the crown of Upper Egypt on the left side, as a symbol of
protection. The
sarcophagus is now being held for research and restoration.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article.