They open a 2500-year-old sarcophagus and find it inside – ElSol.com.ar – Diario de Mendoza, Argentina

A 2,500-year-old sarcophagus was inaugurated this Sunday by a live television show during a two-hour special show on the American channel Discovery.

The "Unknown Shipping: Egypt Live" broadcast was broadcast on the outskirts of Minya, on the banks of the Nile and south of Cairo.

Archaeologists have recently discovered on the site a network of galleries leading to several funerary chambers containing 40 Egyptian noble mummies.

After exploring other graves – where they found statues, amulets, jars used to store organs and other mummies – the experts were finally able to access the chamber containing this very detailed carved sarcophagus .

Several people were needed to open it and the efforts were not in vain: inside, there was an immaculate mummy, wrapped in flax and surrounded by treasures, of which 39; gold.

"I can not believe it, it's incredible," said Zahi Hawbad, a famous Egyptian archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities, who led the expedition with American explorer Josh Gates, who directed the transmission.

A spokesman for Discovery had previously confirmed to AFP that the project had been designed in coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.

A deliciously preserved 2,500-year-old mummy inside an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus was discovered tonight #EgyptLIVE. #ExpedtionUnknown pic.twitter.com/k6IeuaiFp7

– Discovery (@ Discovery) April 8, 2019

"Like a real funeral"

Gates said the mummy came from a high priest of Thot, the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom and magic, and that it corresponded to the 26th dynasty of ancient Egypt , the last indigenous dynasty to have ruled until 525 BC. C.

"Toward the end of ancient Egypt, power really came down to the high priests and you can see it here … it's almost a funeral," Gates said.

Cairo has been trying to promote archaeological discoveries in the country with the aim of reviving tourism, hit by political instability after the 2011 revolution against Hosni Mubarak.

Discovery declined to comment on whether he was paying Egypt for permission to film the opening of the sarcophagus.

"It's a show at the end of the day, but it can generate people's love of antiques and it's a good opportunity to promote tourism," said an archaeologist who requested the # 39; anonymity.

The tourism sector has improved, with the arrival of some 8.3 million visitors in 2017, according to official figures. However, the numbers are still far from the 14.7 million arrivals of 2010.

The Discovery show also coincides with a current worldwide interest in Egyptian archeology, sparked by an exhibition on the Tutankhamun pharaoh, which was created in Paris last month and will do a world tour.