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A photographer films a silver-tone mummy mask found on the face of the mummy of Mut's second priest, as it is exhibited at a press conference in front of the Saqqara Step Pyramid , Giza, Saturday, July 14, 2018. Archaeologists say they have discovered a mummification workshop dating back to 2,500 years in an ancient necropolis near the famous pyramids of Egypt. (Amr Nabil / Associated Press)
CAIRO – Archaeologists in Egypt have stumbled upon a new discovery dating back more than 2500 years near the famous Egypt pyramids in an ancient necropolis south of Cairo.
The discovery which includes a mummification workshop and a well, used as a communal burial place, is located in the vast Saqqara necropolis part of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Memphis, the first capital of ancient Egypt, and its great necropolis shelter a wide range of temples and tombs as well as the three pyramids of Giza.
The latest discovery, announced at a press conference on Saturday, belongs to the Saïtes. -Persian Period, 664-404 BC The site, which lies south of the Unas pyramid, was last excavated more than 100 years ago, in 1900.
Among the artifacts found included a mummified gilded silver mask, mummified cardboard fragments, canopic cylindrical jars and earthenware cups. Many of them will be on display in the Egyptian Museum under construction, whose first phase is expected to be inaugurated later in the year.
In the 30 meter deep well are several mummies, wooden coffins and sarcophagi. The tree is composed of funeral chambers dug in the rock that covers both sides of the corridor.
In the mummification workshop, there is an embalmer hiding place which, according to archaeologists, will reveal more about the oils used in the mummification of the 26th dynasty. 19659011] "We are in front of a mine of information on the chemical composition of these oils," said archaeologist Ramadan Hussein at the press conference
"This is only 39%. a beginning, "said Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani. He told reporters that the sites will probably give more discoveries after further excavations.
Egypt has made great efforts to revive its vital tourism industry, still under the political shock that followed the popular uprising of 2011. He hopes that such discoveries, as well as the inauguration of the museum on the Giza Plateau, will help encourage more tourists to visit.
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