Egypt’s tourism and antiquities minster
said on Saturday archaeologists have unearthed dozens of ancient coffins
in a vast necropolis south of Cairo.
Khalid
el-Anany said at least 59 sealed sarcophagi, with mummies inside most of
them, were found that had been buried in three wells more than 2,600
years ago.
The Saqqara plateau hosts at least 11 pyramids,
including the Step Pyramid, along with hundreds of tombs of ancient
officials and other sites that range from the 1st Dynasty (2920
B.C.-2770 B.C.) to the Coptic period (395-642).
Mostafa
Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said
initial studies show that the decorated coffins were made for priests,
top officials and elites from the Pharaonic Late Period (664-525 B.C.).
The
Saqqara discovery is the latest in a series of archeological finds that
Egypt has sought to publicize in an effort to revive its key tourism
sector, which was badly hit by the turmoil that followed the 2011
uprising. The sector was also dealt a further blow this year by the
global coronavirus pandemic.
“I consider this is the beginning of
a big discovery,” el-Anany said, adding that there is an unknown number
of coffins that have yet to be unearthed in the same area.
He
spoke at a news conference at the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser in
Saqqara where the coffins were found. The sarcophagi have been displayed
and one of them was opened before reporters to show the mummy inside.
Several foreign diplomats attended the announcement ceremony.
He said archaeologists also found a total of 28
statuettes of Ptah-Soker the main god of the Saqqara necropolis, and a
beautifully carved 35 cm tall bronze statuette of god Nefertum, inlaid
with precious stones.
The name of its owner, Priest Badi-Amun, is
written on its base, he said.
Egyptian antiquities officials had announced the discovery of the first batch coffins last month, when archaeologists found 13 of the containers in a newly discovered 11 meter-deep (36 feet) well.
Egyptian antiquities officials had announced the discovery of the first batch coffins last month, when archaeologists found 13 of the containers in a newly discovered 11 meter-deep (36 feet) well.
El-Anany said the Saqqara
coffins would join 30 ancient wooden coffins that were discovered in
October in the southern city of Luxor, and will be showcased at the new
Grand Egyptian Museum, which Egypt is building near the Giza Pyramids.
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