The number of coffins discovered in Saqqara in Egypt has blown up from 13 to 59 in a duration of a month. Moreover, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities claimed in a statement that – there is more to come.
The mummies are still preserved within the coffins. The engraved hieroglyphic writing on the coffins suggests that many of the mummies were priests. These ancient coffins have been preserved since Egypt’s 26th dynasty. As stated by ministry on Oct 3, these coffins were stacked within or near three burial wells. Khalid el-Anany spoke at a news conference at the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara. Several foreigners and tourists attended this announcement. The sarcophagi had been displayed and one of them was opened to show the mummy present inside. “I consider this is the beginning of a big discovery”, el- Anany said, he also added that there is an unknown number of coffins yet to be unearthed.
Although the discovery did not end there as along with the mummies the remains of 28 small statues were also discovered. In regards to this the ministry said that one of the most intriguing statues is a nearly 14- inch tall bronze statue indicating towards one of the early worshipped gods. The bronze statue of a God Nerfertem , who is shown wearing a headdress shaped like a lotus blossom and made of agate stone. The lotus blossom is heavily decorated with turquoise and lapis lazuli.
According to mythology in early times, Nerfertem was a God associated with lotus and flowers. He was the son of Ptah, who was a creator of God and popular in Memphis, the capital of Egypt.
El-Anany also said that Saqqara coffins would be a part of 30 ancient coffins that were discovered in October in the southern city of Luxor. These will also bedisplayed at the new grand Egyptian museum, which is being built by Egypt near the Giza pyramids.
The Saqqara discovery has already gained a lot of publicity among people and further on we are looking forward to more such interesting discoveries in future.
