New Discovery, Saqqara "5": Egypt announced the discovery of 13 completely sealed coffins dating back more than 2,500 years.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced Sept. 7 the discovery of 13 completely sealed coffins dating back more than 2,500 years in a deep burial shaft in the ancient Saqqara region of the Giza governorate, south of Cairo.

According to Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled al-Anani, the burial shaft is about 11 meters (36 feet) deep. The shaft contained wooden coffins with paint still intact and stacked on top of each other. Anani posted video footage from the archaeological discovery site on his Instagram account, with a caption that read, “An indescribable feeling when you witness a new archeological discovery. Stay tuned for the announcement of a new discovery in Saqqara. Thank you to my colleagues in the ministry.”

According to the ministry's statement published on its Facebook page, a preliminary study showed that the coffins are completely sealed and have not been opened since they were buried. It is likely that more coffins will be discovered in the niches near the shaft, it added. One of these niches was opened and wooden coffins and archaeological pieces were also found.

Al-Monitor spoke to Mostafa Waziry, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities who is currently leading the Egyptian archaeological mission in Saqqara. He said, “Saqqara is a promising region. It is one of the most important archaeological regions that still has unrevealed secrets. More work and more archaeological excavations are required to uncover more of its secrets and treasures. Work is underway to define the identity and titles of the occupiers of these 13 coffins, which were found after 2,500 years.”

He explained that a team of Egyptian restoration workers began restoring the 13 archaeological coffins, adding that archaeological excavations are continuing in the region, and that indications are promising and usher in more new discoveries.

Waziri noted that this new discovery is not the first in the archaeological region of ​​Saqqara, as archaeological discoveries have remarkably increased during the past years. “This has resulted in many international archaeological missions working in this region to race against time trying to explore hidden treasures,” he added.

He said the increase in the number of archaeological discoveries recently is due to the resumption of foreign archaeological missions after a hiatus of a number of years. “There are currently 300 archaeological missions from 25 countries, including some that are operating for the first time in Egypt such as the joint Egyptian-Chinese archaeological mission. Add to this the increase in the number of Egyptian archaeological missions, which for the first time in the history of Egypt reached about 50 missions working in various archaeological sites across the country.”

Waziri praised these Egyptian missions made up of prominent workers, technicians and archaeologists, and hailed their work to reveal the ancient Egyptian civilization to the world.

The Egyptian antiquities missions resumed excavation works in August, after they were suspended in April due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While taking into account preventive measures, the missions are now operating in four regions, namely Tuna El-Gabal in Minya, the Saqqara antiquities region, the Pyramids in Giza and al-Asasif region, west of Luxor, according to Waziri.

In September 2019, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities had announced its approval of the work of about 240 foreign archaeological missions, including one Spanish and one American mission, in addition to 40 Egyptian archaeological missions, at various sites during the new archaeological season.

The 2019 announcement came at the launch of the winter excavation season. Although expectations were high that the archaeological season would be exceptional, the coronavirus outbreak ended the work of all foreign missions.

In recent years, the Saqqara region has witnessed several important archaeological discoveries. The ministry announced in December 2018 the discovery of a tomb that belongs to Wahtye, a high priest who served during the reign of King Neferirkare in the Old Kingdom’s Fifth Dynasty. The 4,400-year-old tomb was intact and well preserved with distinguished colors. It measures roughly 10 meters (33 feet) in length and three meters (10 feet) in height. The tombs’s walls are decorated with colorful scenes showing the royal priest alongside his mother, wife and other members of his family. It contains large colored statues of Wahtye carved in rock.

In July 2018, excavation works in Saqqara carried out by the Egyptian-German mission of the University of Tubingen uncovered a mummification workshop with connected burial chambers dating back to the 26th and 27th dynasties (664-404 B.C.). The announcement was made during the archaeological survey works in the Cemeteries of the Sawy Age, located south of the Pyramid of Unas in Saqqara. The mission also found a gilded mummy mask inlaid with semiprecious stones that covered the face of one of the mummies in one of the attached burial chambers. 

The Egyptian archaeological mission also found in April 2019 a tomb in Saqqara for a person named Khuwy who was one of the nobles living in the era of the Fifth Dynasty in the Old Kingdom. The mission uncovered this tomb while documenting the collection of pyramids that belong to King Djedkare Isesi, a ruler of the Fifth Dynasty.

At the end of last year, the ministry unveiled a huge cache of ancient artifacts and mummified animals in Saqqara. The discovery consisted of a tomb with a number of mummified cats and a statute of a big cat. Crocodiles, cobras and scarab beetles are among the other mummified creatures found at the site, along with statues of other animals and birds. The discovery of the cache, which dates back to the seventh century B.C., includes wooden boxes decorated with hieroglyphics.

                        

Source: al-monitor

New Discovery, Sakkara "4":Dozen of 2,500-year-old untouched mummies discovered in Egypt.

At least 13 coffins believed to contain human mummies were unearthed from a well in Egypt where they had rested undisturbed for more than 2,500 years.

The trove of sarcophagi was uncovered last week during an excavation in the Saqqara necropolis, an ancient burial ground about 20 miles south of Cairo, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said.

“[It is] an indescribable feeling when you witness a new archeological discovery,” said Khaled El-Enany, Egypt’s minister of tourism and antiques.
Authorities suspect the well-preserved wooden containers, some which still feature original detailed designs, had remained sealed since their burial.

Archaeologists found the coffins stacked on top of each other in a burial shaft nearly 40 feet deep. More discoveries are expected at the site in coming days.

Saqqara boasts several archaeological treasures and landmarks, including the Step Pyramid, believed to be the world’s oldest. Tombs there have been subject to looting and unsanctioned excavations over the years, making the new discovery even more remarkable.

Source: New York Post

New Discovery, Sakkara "3": Egypt discovers 13 mummies believed to be 2,500 years old.

Egyptian authorities have discovered a collection of more than a dozen coffins believe to hold human mummies that are more than two millennia old.

The 13 chambers were uncovered piled up in a well in Saqqara, an ancient site located around 20 miles south of Cairo, Egypt's capital, according to Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

After being found almost 40 feet deep underground, archaeologists said the chambers were protected from weathering, leaving original details visible on the coffins' exteriors.

Khaled El-Enany, Egypt's minister of tourism and antiques, said it was "an indescribable feeling when you witness a new archeological discovery" in a Twitter post.

In a Facebook video, one of the archaeologists says it is a unique find. "I have never seen this before," he says.

Egypt only last week opened its archaeological sites and museums after months of closures because of the coronavirus pandemic. Such finds are not only crucial to Egypt's heritage but also its economy.

Archaeologists also found four caskets holding mummies in Saqqara earlier this year.

Source:thenational

New Discovery in Saqqara "2": Egyptian Authorities Have Discovered 13 Completely Sealed 2,500-Year-Old Coffins.

An unusual cache of at least 13 wooden coffins dating back to 2,500 years ago has been discovered in the desert necropolis of Saqqara in Egypt.

What makes these coffins so special among the thousands interred in the tomb complex is the fact they have remained intact for millennia, and are still completely sealed - hundreds of years after their inhabitants died.

According to Egypt's recently minted Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the coffins were found in a burial shaft 11 metres (36 feet) below the ground, stacked on top of each other. They're so well preserved, even some of the colours painted on the wood are still intact. An initial analysis has found that the coffins have likely been sealed since they were buried.

Inside the burial shaft, three sealed niches were also found. Minister Khaled Al-Anani said that it's likely there are more coffins in the shaft yet to be discovered.

Saqqara is believed to have served as the necropolis for Memphis, once the capital of ancient Egypt. For 3,000 years, the Egyptians interred their dead there; as such, it's become a site of much archaeological interest.

It's not just the high-ranking nobility and officials buried there, with their grave goods, their cartouches, their mummified animals, and their richly appointed tombs. Those are more likely to be found, since their interment was more elaborate - but recent excavations have turned up simpler burials, likely of people from the middle or working class.

Even the rich burials are not immune to outside influences. Over the millennia, many such tombs have been looted. So finding a cache of coffins that have been undisturbed and unopened for all that time means the possibility of untouched grave goods inside.

Given that the coffins are made of wood, and were buried in a dry location, the possibility of any eerie liquid preserved within is probably quite low.

The potential grave goods, however, could not only tell us who was buried, but how important they were. The discovery is likely to add to our ever-growing understanding of ancient Egyptian funerary customs.

The names and identities of the people buried in the coffins are yet to be discovered. But, as excavation work at the site continues, this information is expected to be found soon, as well as the total number of coffins buried in the shaft.

Meanwhile, the Ministry is set to release a series of promotional videos on the discovery - the first adventure-themed promo you can watch above features Indiana Jones-esque music, complete with a cliffhanger about a future announcement.

Egypt reopened cultural tourism to museums and archaeological sites on 1 September, so we can probably expect more announcements from the Ministry in the coming days and weeks, as the government works to renew tourist interest in visiting Egypt's antiquities.

Source: Sciencealert

New Discovery, Sakkara"1": Egypt discovers 2,500-year-old intact coffins

Egypt announced on Sunday the discovery of a collection of more than 13 intact sealed coffins dating back to 2,500 years ago.

According to a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the coffins were found at an archeological site in Saqqara necropolis in Giza

The coffins, along with three sealed niches, were unearthed inside an 11-meter-deep shaft, the statement added.

Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anany and Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), visited the site on Sunday and inspected the excavation work in the shaft.

“The discovery marks the largest number of coffins found in one burial place since the discovery of the Asasif Cachette,” the minister said, referring to the discovery of 30 ancient coffins in October 2019 at Asasif cemetery in Upper Egypt’s Luxor Province.

“The discovery in Saqqara includes a wonderful collection of colored wooden coffins whose colors and inscriptions are still in a good condition despite the passage of 2,500 years,” Waziri, who leads the Egyptian archeological mission in Saqqara, told Xinhua news agency.

Waziri said the exact number of the unearthed coffins, as well as the identity and

titles of their owners, have not yet been determined, but they will be found out in the coming few days as the excavation work still continues.

 

“The mission continues excavation work on the site and it is expected to result in many other new discoveries of shafts, colored wooden coffins, and statues,” the SCA chief added.

Initial studies revealed that the coffins are completely sealed and have not been opened since they were buried inside the shaft, according to the ministry.

Source: CGTN 

 

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Exclusive Video: Inside the Newly Discovered Tomb in Sakkara

Exclusive video showing Dr. Mostafa Waziry talking about the discovery and the tomb. 

Who is the tomb owner? What was his job? The description of the tomb contents? What is yet to be discovered?