2,500 YEARS OLD 250 COFFINS WITH MUMMIES EXCAVATED FROM SAQQARA; LEARN IN DETAILS
250 coffins, 150 bronze statues, and other objects dated back around 500 BC have been excavated, a collection of cosmetics was also found , know what cosmetics were used by women of those times..
Saqqara(The Quiver): Archaeologists have found a treasure trove of ancient Egyptian artifacts which have been released to the world for the first time. The artifacts are around 2,500 years old which have been unearthed at the famed necropolis of Saqqara near Cairo.
The Saqqara site is part of a sprawling necropolis at Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis that includes the Giza Pyramids and the smaller pyramids at Abu Sir, Dahshur, and Abu Ruwaysh. The ruins of Memphis was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in the 1970s.
Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities informs that the 250 coffins, 150 bronze statues, and other objects dated back around 500 BC.
EXCAVATED ARTICRACTS FOUND
The artifacts found includes statues of the gods Anubis, Amun, Min, Osiris, Isis, Nefertum, Bastet, and Hathor along with a headless statue of the architect Imhotep, who had built the Saqqara pyramid.
Mostafa Waziri, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that bronze statues of ancient deities and bronze vessels used in rituals of Isis, the goddess of fertility in ancient Egyptian mythology have been excavated with the artifacts .
A headless bronze statue of Imhotep, the chief architect of Pharaoh Djoser who ruled ancient Egypt between 2630 B.C. and 2611 B.C was also displayed.
“The painted wooden coffins were found intact in burial shafts and contained mummies, amulets, and wooden boxes. Wooden statues of Nephthys and Isis from an earlier period were also found, both the statues have gilded faces. One of the coffin contained a well-preserved papyrus written in hieroglyphs,perhaps verses of the Book of the Dead, is sent to the laboratory of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo for study”, said Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
A collection of cosmetics was found, including kohl containers, as well as bracelets and earrings.
The artifacts will permanently exhibited at the new Grand Egyptian Museum, a mega project is still under construction near the famed Giza Pyramids, just outside Cairo.
Egypt has been heavily promoting recent archaeological finds to attract more tourists to the country. Its tourist sector is a major source of foreign currency . However the sector has suffered from years of political turmoil and violence.
