In another impressive discovery, archaeologists in Egypt have found as many as 59 sealed and well-preserved sarcophagi at the Saqqara dig site in Giza over the past few weeks.
According to an Al Jazeera report, as many as 40 of the coffins were displayed to the media at the burial ground of Saqqara. Upon opening one of the sarcophagi, the team of archaeologists revealed the mummified remains inside which were wrapped in a burial cloth that had hieroglyphic inscriptions.?
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Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khalid el-Anany, said that the sealed sarcophagi which were discovered were found buried in three wells. He mentioned that there are still many unknown coffins in the same area that are yet to be unearthed.?
Based on initial studies, the coffins were made for top officials, priests, and elites from the Pharaonic Late Period (664-525 B.C.), said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Aside from the ancient coffins, the archaeologists also discovered 28 statuettes of Ptah-Soker and a well-carved bronze statuette of God Nefertum.?
Ever since the news of the coffins being opened surfaced online, social media was full of netizens commenting that this is not the year for doing this (unearthing mummies). People are freaking out and claiming that an ancient curse will be upon us if we open any preserved mummies and honestly, at this time, anything bad is believable. 2020 feels cursed already, right?
Here's what people are saying!
This discovery has come less than a month after archaeologists found as many as 13 coffins from Saqqara that were believed to have been sealed for 2,500 years. Reportedly, the large burial complex was hidden deep in the desert Necropolis of Saqqara. The discovery was impressed many experts as the coffins were extremely well-preserved even though they are 2,500 years old.?
Sharing the news on social media, Egypt's minister of tourism and antiques, Khaled El-Enany had written, 'It was?an indescribable feeling when you witness a new archeological discovery'.
The country opened its archaeological sites and museums in September after being under lockdown since March due to the novel coronavirus.?
More than 1 million people work in the tourism sector in Egypt, a country where tourists bring in a lot of revenue. In 2019, Egypt witnessed more than 13.6 million visitors.?
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments if you think 2020 is the year to unearth mummies.