Cairo: Famous Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass has announced the discovery of a 4,300-year-old mummy in the Saqqara necropolis near the pyramids of Giza. This mummy is of a male. A news agency quoted Hawass as saying at a press conference, this mummy is the oldest mummy found in Egypt to date. The mummy, covered with gold leaf, was found inside a large rectangular limestone sarcophagus in a room located at the bottom of a 15-metre-deep shaft, the archaeologist said.
He said several stone vessels were seen around the sarcophagus, which were sealed when discovered by the mission. The oldest mummy is part of an important discovery of a group of tombs from the fifth and sixth dynasties of the kingdom, said Hawass, director of the Egyptian excavation team working with the Supreme Council of Antiquities in the Gisr el-Mudir area in Saqqara.
He explained that the new discoveries indicate that the site included a large cemetery. The most important of the new discoveries, according to Hawass, is a tomb that belonged to Khanumjedef, the last king of the Fifth Dynasty. The tomb of Khanumdjedef is decorated with inscriptions from daily life. The second largest tomb was that of Mary, the keeper of secrets and assistant to the great leader of the palace. The mission also found a third tomb for Messi. In which there are nine beautiful idols.
Hawass said the mission uncovered another 10-metre-deep shaft, which contained a set of beautiful wooden statues, three stone statues representing a man named Fetek, a table and a stone sarcophagus. In which there was a mummy. He said the Egyptian mission also found numerous amulets, stone vessels, tools of daily life and figurines of the funerary deity Ptah-Sokar at the site.
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