A team of archaeologists has unearthed what may be the “oldest” and “most complete” mummy ever discovered in Egypt, the excavation director said on Thursday.
Archaeologists suspected that they were the remains of a man named Hekashepes and found the 4,300-year-old mummy in an ancient tomb near Cairo dating from the country’s Fifth and Sixth Dynasties – dating back to 2500 BC. to 2100 BC Minister of Antiquities, said in a statement.
“I stuck my head in to see what was inside the sarcophagus: A beautiful mummy of a man completely covered in layers of gold,” Hawass said reporter at the excavation site.
The centuries-old mummy was found at the bottom of a 15-meter shaft near the step pyramid in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Saqqara Necropolis. A “great masterpiece of architectural design,” Saqqara is located in Memphis, the first capital of ancient Egypt.
Several other “important archaeological discoveries” have been made, Hawass said, including tombs of Meri, a “keeper of secrets” in the royal palace, and Khnum-djed-ef, a priest in the pyramid complex of Unas.
Numerous statues of deities, amulets, tools of daily life and stone vessels have also been uncovered.
“This discovery is so important because it connects the kings with the people around them,” said Ali Abu Deshish, another archaeologist on the excavation team. after BBC News.
This comes just a day after another team of archaeologists ruins discovered another ancient city called Luxor, south of Cairo.
earlier this week, scientist “digitally unpacked‘ the 2,300-year-old mummy of the ‘Golden Boy’ from CT scans.
The scans revealed new insights into how ancient embalmers used valuable amulets to protect the dead.
There were a number of majors Archaeological finds throughout Egypt highlighted as part of a growing push in recent years Promotion of the country’s tourism industry.
The industry has been suffering from increasing political unrest in the country and travel restrictions since 2011 COVID-19 Pandemic.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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