Updated: October 4, 2020 11:10:08 am
Khaled El-Enaby, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, right, and Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, left, react after opening the sarcophagus that is around 2,500 years old at the archaeological site of Saqqara, 30 kilometers away ( 19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday, October 3, 2020. Egypt says archaeologists have unearthed some 60 ancient coffins in a vast necropolis south of Cairo. Egypt’s tourism and antiquities minister says at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies inside were found that had been buried in three pits more than 2,600 years ago. (AP Photo / Mahmoud Khaled)
Egypt’s tourism and antiquities minister said Saturday that archaeologists have unearthed dozens of ancient coffins in a vast necropolis south of Cairo.
Khalid el-Anany said at least 59 sealed sarcophagi were found, with mummies inside most of them, which had been buried in three pits more than 2,600 years ago.
He spoke at a press conference at the famous Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, where the coffins were found. The sarcophagi have been exposed and one of them was opened before the journalists to show the interior of the mummy. Several foreign diplomats attended the announcement ceremony.
A sarcophagus that is around 2,500 years old is displayed at the archaeological site of Saqqara, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday, October 3, 2020. (AP Photo / Mahmoud Khaled)
The Saqqara Plateau is home to at least 11 pyramids, including the Step Pyramid, along with hundreds of tombs of ancient officials and other sites ranging from the First Dynasty (2920 BC-2770 BC) to the Coptic period (395-642).
“I consider this to be the beginning of a great discovery,” el-Anany said, adding that there are an unknown number of coffins that have yet to be unearthed.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, center, reacts after opening the sarcophagus that is around 2,500 years old at the archaeological site of Saqqara, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday 3 October. , 2020. (AP Photo / Mahmoud Khaled)
Egyptian antiquities officials had announced the discovery of the first batch of coffins last month, when archaeologists found 13 of the containers in a newly discovered 11-meter-deep (36-foot) shaft.
One of the tombs discovered at the archaeological site of Saqqara, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, is shown on Saturday, October 3, 2020 (AP Photo / Mahmoud Khaled).
The Saqqara site is part of the necropolis of Egypt’s ancient capital, Memphis, which includes the famous pyramids of Giza, as well as the smaller pyramids of Abu Sir, Dahshur, and Abu Ruwaysh. The Memphis Ruins were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the 1970s.
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 displayed in the new Great Egyptian Museum, which Egypt is building near the pyramids of Giza.
A sarcophagus that is around 2,500 years old at the Saqqara archaeological site is displayed 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020 (AP Photo / Mahmoud Khaled).
The Saqqara discovery is the latest in a series of archaeological finds that Egypt has tried to publicize in an effort to revive its key tourism sector, which was badly affected by the turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising. The sector also received a new hit this year by the global coronavirus pandemic.
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