Egypt unveils recently discovered ancient workshops, tombs in Saqqara necropolis

Site at ancient capital of Memphis used to mummify humans and animals nearly 2,500 years ago

By AP 27 May 2023, 6:26 pm
An Egyptian archeologist points at a colored painting showing a sacrifice offering at a recently uncovered tomb that was said to belong to a top official of the fifth Dynasty named 'Ne Hesut Ba' (2,400 BCE), at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

CAIRO — Egyptian antiquities authorities on Saturday unveiled ancient workshops and tombs they say were discovered recently at a Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital Cairo.

The spaces were found in the sprawling necropolis of Saqqara, which is a part of Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the workshops had been used to mummify humans and sacred animals. They date back to the 30th Pharaonic Dynasty (380 BCE to 343 BCE) and the Ptolemaic period (305 BCE to 30 BCE), he said.

Inside the workshops, archaeologists found clay pots and other items apparently used in mummification, as well as ritual vessels, Waziri said.

The tombs, meanwhile, were for a top official from the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt, and a priest from the New Kingdom, according to Sabri Farag, head of the Saqqara archaeological site.

In recent years, Egypt’s government has heavily promoted new archaeological finds to international media and diplomats. It hopes that such discoveries will help attract more tourists to the country to revive an industry that suffered from political turmoil following the 2011 uprising.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, displays a recently unearthed ancient wooden sarcophagus at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Visitors pose for pictures on top of recently unearthed ancient embalming workshops at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A visitor is reflected on a panel on which recently unearthed ancient artifacts are placed, as she films at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A colored painting is seen on a recently unearthed ancient wooden sarcophagus at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Canopic jars, which were made to contain organs that were removed from the body in the process of mummification, are seen at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Canopic jars, which were made to contain organs that were removed from the body in the process of mummification, are seen at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A canopic jar, which was made to contain organs that were removed from the body in the process of mummification, is seen at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A recently unearthed ancient wooden sarcophagus is seen at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

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