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TRIBUNNEWS.COM – Dozens of mummified cats and a rare collection of mummy beetles have been found in seven sarcophagi.
Some are known to be more than 6,000 years old, on a site bordering the pyramidal complex of Saqqara, south of Cairo.
Egypt's anti-aging minister, Khaled El-Enany, said the discovery was made by the Egyptian archaeological mission during excavations that began in April.
"Three of the graves were used for cats, while one of the other four sarcophagi found on the site was not opened," he said, quoted by The Guardian Sunday (11 / 11/2018).
"The tomb comes from the fifth dynasty of the Old Kingdom and is unusual because the facade and the door are still intact, which means that the content is still intact," said Mohamed Youssef, director of the Saqqara region .
He added that experts plan to explore it in the coming weeks.
For his part, Mostafa Waziri, president of the Supreme Council of Egyptian Antiquities, said the mission also found the first mammals found in the area.
The two mummies were found in a rectangular limestone sarcophagus with a domed lid, adorned with three black beetles, he said.
Read: Scientists surprised when mummies discovered in Egypt are not human bodies
Another collection of mummified beetles was found inside the smaller sarcophagus.
"Scarab is something very unique – it's something very rare," Waziri said.
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