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SAQQARA (AFP) – Archaeologists in Egypt said they had found 59 well-preserved and sealed wooden coffins in recent weeks that were buried more than 2,500 years ago.
Opening one of the lavishly decorated sarcophagi to the assembled media on Saturday (October 3), the team revealed mummified remains wrapped in burial cloth that bore brightly colored hieroglyphic inscriptions.
The dramatic find was unearthed south of Cairo in the sprawling cemetery of Saqqara, the necropolis of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, a Unesco World Heritage site.
“We are very happy with this discovery,” said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Since the discovery of the first 13 coffins was announced almost three weeks ago, more have been discovered in wells at depths of up to 12 meters.
An unknown number of additional coffins may still be buried there, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani said at the site, near the 4,700-year-old Pyramid of Djoser.
“So today is not the end of the discovery, I consider it the beginning of the great discovery,” he said.
The coffins, sealed more than 2,500 years ago, date back to the Late Period of ancient Egypt, around the 6th or 7th century BC. C., added the minister.
In recent years, excavations at Saqqara have unearthed treasures of artifacts, as well as mummified snakes, birds, beetles, and other animals.
The discovery of the coffins is the first major announcement since the Covid-19 outbreak in Egypt, which led to the closure of museums and archaeological sites for about three months from the end of March.
Anani said that all the coffins will be taken to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) which will open soon on the Giza plateau.
Egypt expects a surge of archaeological finds in recent years and the GEM to boost its vital tourism sector, which has suffered multiple shocks since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, most recently the pandemic.
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