Egypt: discovery of more than a hundred intact sarcophagi, a "treasure" - France 24

Saqqarah (Egypt) (AFP)

Egypt unveiled on Saturday a hundred sarcophagi over 2,000 years old in perfect condition, discovered in the necropolis of Saqqara south of Cairo, the largest "treasure" unearthed in the country since the beginning of the year .

The sealed wooden coffins, unveiled with fanfare during a ceremony, belonged to senior officials of the Late Period (between 700 and 300 BC) and the Ptolemaic period (323 to 30 BC). .-VS.).

They were discovered in the necropolis of Saqqara, south of Cairo, where about sixty intact sarcophagi over 2,500 years old were unveiled last month.

"Saqqara has not yet revealed all that it holds. It is a treasure," said Khaled el-Enani, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, during the ceremony.

The site of Saqqara, which lies just over fifteen kilometers south of the Pyramids of the Giza Plateau, is home to the necropolis of Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt.

It is classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The hundred sarcophagi unveiled on Saturday were discovered in three burial shafts, 12 meters deep.

"Excavations are still in progress. As soon as we empty a funeral shaft with sarcophagi, we discover another," added Mr. Enani.

Archaeologists opened one of the coffins inside which lay a mummy wrapped in a shroud adorned with colorful hieroglyphics.

More than 40 statues of ancient deities and funeral masks were also found, according to the minister.

Two wooden statues were also found in the tomb of a judge from the Sixth Dynasty, dating back more than four millennia, according to the secretary general of the General Council of Antiquities, Mostafa.

These finds will be distributed in several Egyptian museums, including the Great Egyptian Museum which is to open on the outskirts of Cairo near the pyramids of Giza.

According to Enani, these recent findings are the result of increased excavation work in recent years.

Another discovery in the necropolis is to be announced in the coming weeks, he warned.

Archaeologists also hope to soon discover an old workshop for making coffins for mummies, according to Waziri.

Egypt hopes that all these finds and its new museum will revitalize tourism undermined by political instability and the attacks after the 2011 revolution that drove Hosni Mubarak from power, and by the Covid-19 pandemic.

© 2020 AFP