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History & Heritage

7.16.2018

Egypt: Major Archaeological Discovery Made in Saqqarah

During excavations in Saqqara, Egypt, archeologists have unearthed a funeral shaft and a mummification workshop. Regarding the inestimable value of these ancient objects, this is clearly an important discovery.

A German-Egyptian team of archeologists has just discovered a thirty-meters-deep funereal shaft containing mummies and funerary objects of precious metals and a mummification workshop dating back over 2 500 years. It is nowadays very rare to make such finds since the ancient treasures of Egypt have been looting for centuries.

Promising finds for archeological research

This discovery is located in Saqqara, the center of the Memphis necropolis, known as the first capital of Egypt and World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Alongside the pyramids of Giza and other important monuments, the funerary shaft is a very promising discovery for archaeologists. Indeed, in this communal burial place, mummies from very different social classes are arranged the one next to the other. In fact, archeologists observed great differences in opulence between the various sarcophagi, some are very simple and others sumptuous. For instance, they have found a gilded mask, the highlight of this discovery. It was made in silver, a metal twice as precious as gold at the time. It belonged to a priest who lived between the 7th and the 5th century BC.

The team also found a mummification workshop that could significantly lead to knowledge progress in the field of embalming techniques. Tools and jars, in very good condition, were also found there, containing traces of oils used in the process of embalming. A real gold mine to learn more about the techniques and products used at the time!

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Archaeology: How ancient rocks in Saudi Arabia reveal men and dogs bod

Another treasure for Egyptian heritage

Such finds are very rare, even though experts estimated that only half of Ancient Egypt’s treasures have already been unveiled. The new acquisitions for the Egyptian heritage will be stored at the Grand Egyptian Museum to be inaugurated very soon. They reward and incite the efforts of the Antiquities Ministry to restore country’s ancient monuments and treasures, in line with the government’s policy to revitalize tourism.

Published on 16 July 2018

#archaeology