Workshop on Mummification and Trove of Enterial Relics Found in Egypt | Smart news

In 2016, Egyptian archaeologists decided to re-excavate a site in the Saqqara necropolis, which was first discovered in the late 19th century . And as Ruth Michaelson reports Guardian the new research has led to some major discoveries: a mummification workshop connected to a multi-chamber funerary well, both filled with relics that give an important insight into the world. Ancient Egyptian burial

The officials announced the huge find at a recent press conference. "We are in front of a mine of information," said Dr. Ramadan Badry Hussein, project director Saqqara Saite Tombs, to reporters, according to Michaelson. "[discovery] is so important that it is vast."

The site dates from the Saite-Persian period of Egypt, which ran from 664-404 BC. The workshop is a rectangular structure built from bricks and limestone blocks, reports Nevine El-Aref of Aham Online. An open area of ​​the workshop contains two large basins connected by a ramp; Archaeologists believe that these basins were once stored in natron, a type of salt used to dry corpses and bandages in linen. The excavation also revealed an underground chamber containing a treasure of pottery, including bowls, containers and cups engraved with the names of the substances that were used during the mummification process.

Preserving a body for the afterlife was a complex undertaking the entrails of the dead person, drying the body and wrapping it. The process could also involve a lot of ointments such as frankincense and myrrh, oils like cedar oil and beef fat, spices like cinnamon and sometimes lichens, wax bee and even onions, according to the Spurlock Museum of Ancient Cultures. Mummification was expensive and, for the most part, it was the skill of Egyptian royalty, nobility and senior officials.

But the discovery at Saqqara shows that there were also distinct hierarchies among the privileged clbades who could afford mummification. In the center of the workshop, archaeologists discovered a large well leading to a complex of funerary chambers that border two corridors. Exploring these chambers, archaeologists have discovered several mummies, sarcophagi and wooden coffins, according to Menna Zaki of Associated Press . The funeral complex was common, but there were clearly clbad differences between the dead who were buried there. Some had private rooms; Others shared their final resting place.

On a seriously rotten coffin, archaeologists have found a gilded mask decorated with gilded silver, encrusted with precious stones and a black stone that can be made of black onyx, writes Angy Essam in . It is extremely rare to find a mask still adorned with gems and metals, since most Egyptian tombs were looted in ancient times. Hussein called the discovery a "sensation", according to the Zaki of AP

Archaeologists were also able to glean some information about the identity of the owner of the mask. Decorations on the wooden coffin where the mask was discovered proclaim that the deceased was the "second priest" of Mut, a goddess mother, and also a priest of Niut-Shaes, a serpent form of Mut.

Artifacts will be on display at the Grand Egyptian Museum, a sprawling institution scheduled to open later this year. Archaeologists will also continue to search the site, making their way into burial chambers that have not yet been opened and, in all likelihood, unblocking other site secrets.

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