Egypt Announces New Archaeological Discoveries

Africa News

Archaeologists in Egypt have announced new discoveries at the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo.

The new discoveries include two human and animal embalming workshops as well as the tombs of two priests.

"We found two big workshops, one for human and then used in mummifying animals, while the second workshop is for humans only, we found also beds, mummification tools, and materials". (...) 

"During the excavation we also found a tomb that belonged to Ne Hesut Ba, a priest who served in the fifth dynasty of the old kingdom, 4,500 years ago", announced Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Recently, Egypt has unveiled a string of major archaeological discoveries.

The discoveries have been a key component of Egypt's attempts to revive its vital tourism industry.

"This is the first time we discovered embalming workshops (in Saqqara, Ed.) associated with the temples, all the previous embalming workshops were  related to Apis (old Egyptian God of fertility and death, Ed.) in Memphis (part of Giza governorate now, Ed.), that means it is an important discovery to have found embalming workshops here in Saqqara", said Mohamed Youssef, director of the Saqqara archaeological site.

The site director added: 

"We also found many statues representing the masterpieces of the art in the old kingdom which date back 4,500 years, and we also discovered antiquities and pieces dating back 3,300 years that represent the new kingdom, plus some jewellery and accessories. Also we found cheese made by ancient Egyptians who used to store it in pottery jars and put it behind the dead". 

Egypt aims to draw in 30 million tourists a year by 2028, up from 13 million before the Covid pandemic.

The crowning jewel of the government's strategy is the long-delayed inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum at the foot of the pyramids in Giza.