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Egyptian antiquities officials have announced the discovery of nearly 100 ancient coffins, some with mummies inside, and around 40 gold statues in southern Cairo.
The remains, buried in colorful sealed sarcophagi, were buried more than 2,500 years ago in the Pharaonic necropolis.
They have been exhibited in a makeshift exhibit by Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara.
The artifacts discovered by archaeologists will be moved to at least three museums in Cairo
Archaeologists discovered a well-preserved mummy wrapped in cloth, which they then radiographed to find out how the body had been preserved.
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anany said the items date back to the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for 300 years, from around 320 BC. Until around 30 a. C. and the Late Period (664-332 a. C.).
He added that the artifacts would be moved to at least three museums in Cairo, including the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is currently being built near the Giza pyramids.
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He also mentioned that another discovery would be revealed at the Saqqara necropolis later this year.
Saqqara has been in the center of other recent discoveries.
Since September, antiquities experts have found around 140 sealed sarcophagi, with mummies inside nearly all of them.
Archaeologists discovered other “wells full of coffins, well gilded, well painted, well decorated,” said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The Saqqara site is part of the necropolis located in the ancient capital of Egypt, Memphis, which includes the famous pyramids of Giza.
The items are said to date back to the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for 300 years.
Egyptian authorities have exhibited archaeological discoveries in hopes of boosting the country’s tourism industry, which has been decimated since the 2011 uprising that resulted in the removal of Hosni Mubarak.
It has also been greatly affected by COVID-19 pandemic this year.
