...
EgyptSearch Forums Post New Topic  New Poll  Post A Reply
my profile | directory login | register | search | faq | forum home

  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» EgyptSearch Forums » Egyptology » OK Mummies found in newly Dicovered tomb in Saqqara

 - UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!    
Author Topic: OK Mummies found in newly Dicovered tomb in Saqqara
Doug M
Member
Member # 7650

Rate Member
Icon 1 posted      Profile for Doug M     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
quote:

CAIRO — A storeroom housing about two dozen ancient Egyptian mummies has been unearthed inside a 2,600-year-old tomb during the latest round of excavations at the vast necropolis of Saqqara south of Cairo, archaeologists said Monday.

The tomb was located at the bottom of a 36-foot deep shaft, said Egypt's top archaeologist, Zahi Hawass. Twenty-two mummies were found in niches along the tomb's walls, he said.

Eight sarcophagi were also found in the tomb. Archaeologists so far have opened only one of the sarcophagi _ and found a mummy inside of it, said Hawass' assistant Abdel Hakim Karar. Mummies are believed to be inside the other seven, he said.

From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/09/egypt-mummies-found-in-ne_n_165194.html
Posts: 8897 | Registered: May 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
_
Member
Member # 3567

Rate Member
Icon 1 posted      Profile for _     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
I am always looking forward to pictures!!

My guestmother was an archaeologist in Cairo and she took me to several excavations. F.e. I spent several days with her in Buto somewhere in the Nile Delta and another time we drove well into the desert to an area where was previous a lake and there were caves inside the mountains (people lived there before). I wish I would have memorized the name of this place. Anyway we found an enormous amount of broken pottery and animal bones. An AMAZING site not only for a 'hobby archaeologist'!! [Wink]

Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
_
Member
Member # 3567

Rate Member
Icon 1 posted      Profile for _     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
Egypt finds rare intact mummy near Saqqara pyramid


Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:11pm GMT
By Cynthia Johnston


SAQQARA, Egypt, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Egyptian archaeologists found a rare intact mummy dating to pharaonic times when they opened a sealed limestone sarcophagus on Wednesday in the shadow of the world's oldest standing step pyramid at Saqqara.

The well-preserved mummy, which escaped plunder by thieves in ancient times, could contain scores of gold amulets in the folds of its linen wrappings, Egypt's chief archeologist Zahi Hawass said. "It is a typical mummy of the 26th dynasty...This mummy should contain amulets, golden amulets, to help the deceased go to the afterlife," Hawass told reporters after ascending from the mummy's burial chamber, accessible only by a rope pulley.

"To find an intact mummy inside a limestone sarcophagus is not common. It's rare. It's very rare," he said.

Archaeologists found the ancient mummy when they removed the lid of its sarcophagus deep in a burial chamber in the desert on the western side of Saqqara, about 20 km (12 miles) south of Cairo. Thirty other mummies were also found in the same room.

The 26th dynasty ruled Egypt from about 664 to 525 BC, immediately before Persians occupied the area. Hawass said the mummy found in the sarcophagus, believed to be the original owner of the burial room, would undergo scans to determine if it did contain amulets.

It is unusual to find intact burials in well-known necropolises such as Saqqara, which served the nearby city of Memphis, because thieves scoured the area in ancient times.

MORE TOMBS COULD BE FOUND

Hawass said the mummy's burial room, built via a shaft next to a much older burial chamber, was one of three tombs archaeologists had recently unearthed near Saqqara that were thought to be part of a much larger cemetery.

"I always say that we have found 30 percent of the Egyptian monuments, and still 70 percent is buried underneath the ground," Hawass said.

"We expect to discover more tombs. You have to wait. Every week (there) will be a tomb to be discovered in this area. This is the beginning of the cemetery," he said.

The identity of the main mummy found in the tomb was not known, but Hawass said he would have been wealthy. The lid of his sarcophagus was cracked, but Hawass said it had been sealed with mortar in antiquity, preserving the mummy.

"If a mummy is inside the limestone sarcophagus, it means this person is rich," he said.

Of the roughly 30 mummies found inside the burial chamber alongside the limestone sarcophagus and its mummy, Hawass said some would have been poor and some wealthy. They may have been relatives of the original owner.

Most of the additional mummies were found in niches in the walls of the burial room, about 11 metres (34 feet) below ground level, and they included four mummies buried with a dog. But the finds also included two anthropoid wood coffins with hieroglyphic inscriptions.

Hawass found a 26th dynasty mummy in one of the wood coffins when he opened it on Wednesday after brushing away loose sand. The other wood coffin was deemed too fragile, and would be opened later after conservation efforts. (Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Angus MacSwan)


http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFLB28239520090211?feedType=RSS&feedName=egyptNews

Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Djehuti
Member
Member # 6698

Rate Member
Icon 14 posted      Profile for Djehuti     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
Here's an article with accompanying video from MSN

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29137965/?GT1=43001

Posts: 26286 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
   

Quick Reply
Message:

HTML is not enabled.
UBB Code™ is enabled.

Instant Graemlins
   


Post New Topic  New Poll  Post A Reply Close Topic   Feature Topic   Move Topic   Delete Topic next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:


Contact Us | EgyptSearch!

(c) 2015 EgyptSearch.com

Powered by UBB.classic™ 6.7.3