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Several sealed coffins were found in a shaft in the necropolis of Saqqara
Photo: - / AFP
2500 years unopened in a burial chamber: a collection of more than 13 intact coffins has been discovered in the Egyptian city of Saqqara.
This was announced by the Ministry of Antiquities.
The coffins were therefore in an eleven meter deep shaft with sealed niches.
Some of them should still have their original color.
According to the ministry, the coffins were stacked on top of each other.
Initial investigations indicated that the coffins are completely sealed and have not been opened.
More coffins would likely be found in the same place, it said.
Mustafa Waziri, the general secretary of the Supreme Council on Antiquities, said it has not yet been determined who exactly the coffins belonged to.
In the course of the excavation work, this question will still be answered.
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According to the Ministry of Antiquities, the identity of the buried remains to be clarified
Photo:
- / AFP
Saqqara is located near Cairo.
Archaeologists have been scouring the ancient Egyptian city of the dead for decades.
Archaeologists have known for a long time that valuable finds can be expected there.
You have already discovered several graves from the fifth dynasty there.
In December 2018, they found a priest's grave around 4,400 years old.
A short time later, they also discovered a gold-plated mummy mask, a 3,200-year-old cheese spread and dozens of cat mummies.
About a year ago, mummified lion cubs were found there for the first time.
Kings and officials were buried in the necropolis of Saqqara from the 3rd millennium BC to the Persian era.
Pyramids were built in Saqqara for several pharaohs.
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