Video: They open an ancient Egyptian tomb live and find an intact mummy

A live broadcast from an Egyptian crypt has allowed followers of the Discovery Channel to virtually attend the opening of an ancient sarcophagus containing a mummy.

The burial has proven to be well preserved, with gold plates and a carved beetle placed on the deceased. According to archaeologist Zahi Hawbad, former Minister of Antiquities (under Hosni Mubarak's last government), he is a famous priest whom he called the discovery "unbelievable".

Archaeologists attributed the mummy to a high priest of Thot, god of wisdom and supreme symbol of the Moon, and dated it from the period corresponding to the XXVIth Dynasty, the last born of the Egyptian Empire ( from the 7th to the 6th century BC). The body is wrapped in flax, completely intact, and scientists on the scene have emphasized this advantage, without touching its envelope.

The transmission took place from the banks of the Nile in the province of Minya, south of Cairo, where archaeologists had discovered a multiple burial site a year and a half ago and are still digging. The burial is part of a group of burial chambers that may contain dozens of mummies of the nobility.

Meanwhile, the same team has opened two more sealed sarcophagi, reports Ahram Online. One of them contained a female mummy decorated with blue pearls and another belonged to a father of a noble family.

A huge sandstone sarcophagus was discovered in the area in 1927 and on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Hawbad said. However, the site was later forgotten and its rediscovery promises now 50 years of excavations, according to the specialist.

RT.