Egypt new discovery:

Egyptian and German archaeologists found a number of burial chambers, with three wooden coffins, a limestone sarcophagus, and a mummy, as well as grave goods for the afterlife.

Saqqara new discovery:

The discovery which includes a mummification workshop and a shaft, used as a communal burial place, is located at the Saqqara necropolis of Memphis, the first capital of ancient Egypt. Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its vast necropolis are home to a wide range of temples and tombs as well as the three renowned Giza pyramids.

Mummification Workshop:

The ‘laboratory’, found 30 meters underground, dates back to the 26th dynasty. There were found five sarcophagi, 35 mummies, a wooden coffin and several vases for the oils used in mummification. “It is the beginning of a new discovery, we will have to work on the site for a long time”, said the Minister for Antiquities, Khaled al-Anani, during the press conference for the announcement of the discovery.

In the mummification workshop, an embalmer’s cachette holding a large collection of pottery vessels, bowels and measuring cups were found. Archaeologists believe the findings will reveal more about the oils used in the mummification process in the 26th Dynasty.

“We are in front of a goldmine of information about the chemical composition of these oils,” said Ramadan Hussein, the head of the German-Egyptian mission, at the press conference.

The ‘laboratory’, found 30 meters underground, dates back to the 26th dynasty. There were found five sarcophagi, 35 mummies, a wooden coffin and several vases for the oils used in mummification. “It is the beginning of a new discovery, we will have to work on the site for a long time”, said the Minister for Antiquities, Khaled al-Anani, during the press conference for the announcement of the discovery.

The Mask:

Amongst the discoveries was also something extraordinary: one of the coffins contained a mask worn by the mummy, made of gilded silver, with eyes inlaid with calcite, obsidian and a black stone that could be onyx. A mask of this type hasn’t been found since 1939.

The team was able to figure out the identity of the wearer of the mask – he was the Second Priest of the mother goddess Mut and the Priest of the goddess Niut-shaes, a serpent form of Mut. He lived and died during the 26th dynasty, the Saite-Persianfinding of this mask could be called a sensation,Hussein said. “Very few masks of precious metals have been preserved to the present day, because the tombs of most Ancient Egyptian dignitaries were looted in ancient times.”

“It’s only the beginning,” added Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani. He told reporters that the sites will likely yield more discoveries after further excavation
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