The Egyptian authorities have unveiled to the general public new archaeological "treasures" in the necropolis of Saqqara, Egypt.
Among them, about fifty sarcophagi from the New Kingdom over 3,000 years old.
These new unearths in the necropolis south of Cairo were made near the pyramid of King Teti, the first pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, by a team led by the famous Egyptologist Zahi Hawass.
"This discovery rewrites the history of Saqqarah and more particularly the history of the New Kingdom, born 3,000 years ago," assured Zahi Hawass on Sunday, before adding that "70% (of this new discovery) remain to explore ".
"Major" discoveries
The wooden sarcophagi, dating from the New Kingdom (16th-11th century BC), were found in a funeral well.
A stone sarcophagus was also found in another well.
“We discovered a total of 22 funeral wells,” said the archaeologist.
Among the discoveries is that of a "soldier beside whom rested his hatchet", he said.
The Egyptologist also added that his team had found "a papyrus about 5 meters long containing chapter 17 of the book of the dead [...] masks, wooden boats, games played by the ancient Egyptians".
Zahi Hawass considers it a “rare find because most of the pieces found date from the New Kingdom.
In Saqqarah, it is usually more like 500 BC ”.
The Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism had revealed on Saturday evening in a press release the content of these discoveries, which it had qualified as "major".
In the same press release, the ministry indicated that "the mission discovered the funeral temple of Queen Nearit, wife of King Téti, already partially discovered in recent years".
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The Saqqara site, which is just over fifteen kilometers south of the famous pyramids of the Giza Plateau, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known for the famous step pyramid (shaped like a staircase) of Pharaoh Djoser, the first of this type of the Pharaonic era.