This undated photo provided by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly, left and Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities inspects a trove of ancient coffins and artifacts that Egyptian archaeologists recently unearthed in a vast necropolis south of Cairo, authorities announced Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, in Saqqara, south of Cairo, Egypt. AP
Egypt will announce a new discovery in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, south of Cairo, in the coming weeks, a statement by the cabinet read on Monday.
According to the statement, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly inspected in the early hours of Monday the ongoing excavations by the Egyptian archaeological mission in the area.
The mission unearthed new burial shafts with colourful and intact coffins over 2,500 years old, and wooden coloured and gilded statuettes.
Madbouly climbed down one of the shafts, accompanied by the tourism and antiquities minister Khaled El-Anany and Mostafa Waziri, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, to inspect the discovery and unearthed coffins.
The discovery will be announced in the coming weeks at a press conference in Saqqara, the statement said.
The visit comes a few weeks after a collection of 59 intact, well-preserved 26th Dynasty coffins were unearthed in Saqqara Necropolis. The coffins maintained their original colours.
Mostafa Waziri, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said preliminary studies showed the coffins belong to 26th Dynasty priests, top officials, and elites. There are mummies in the majority of the coffins.
A collection of 28 statuettes of Ptah-Soker, the main god of Saqqara Necropolis, were found along with a beautifully carved 35cm tall bronze statuette of god Nefertum, inlaid with precious stones. On its base is written the name of its owner, Priest Badi-Amun.
Collections of amulets and ushabti figurines were also unearthed.
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