Archaeologists in Egypt unveiled Saturday some 40 gilded statues and at least 100 ancient coffins dating back over 2,500 years and some contain mummies.
The big picture: The find in a vast pharaonic necropolis at Saqqara, south of Cairo, follows 59 intact sarcophagi uncovered at the site in September and October. Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Anany told a briefing, “Saqqara has yet to reveal all of its contents,” per Al Jazeera. “Excavations are still under way.”
An archaeologist cleans a statue, artifacts uncovered in Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis, where the Giza Pyramids and others are located. Photo: Ahmed Hasan/AFP via Getty Images
Archaeologists inspect a mummy, wrapped in a burial shroud. The antiquities date from the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt from about 320-30 B.C., and the Late Period of 664-332 B.C. Photo: Ahmed Hasan/AFP via Getty Images
Archaeologists clean statues and funerary masks during the unveiling. They were found in three burial shafts at depths of 40 feet. Photo: Ahmed Hasan/AFP via Getty Images
Wooden sarcophagi on display during the unveiling. El-Anany said the discoveries will be moved to “at least three” museums in Cairo, including the Grand Egyptian Museum that’s being built near the Giza Pyramids. Photo: Ahmed Hasan/AFP via Getty Images
Egyptian archaeologists restore the newly discovered antiquities. Photo: Mohammed Fouad/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
The sealed wooden coffins, unveiled on site. Photo: Ahmed Hasan/AFP via Getty Images
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