Archaeologists in Egypt uncovered two mummies and a stone coffin within a cemetery dating back some 5,000 years to the early ancient Egyptian period.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, the discoveries were made at Quesna Cemetery, in the Nile Delta region north of Cairo, in excavations within Monufia governorate.
The experts uncovered a limestone sarcophagus in their excavations. They also partially uncovered a coffin cover and found two mummies "on top of each other." The coffin measured 6.5 feet long and 23 inches in width. The mummies were said to be in poor condition.
Dr. Ayman Ashmawy, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Department at the ministry, said the archaeological mission uncovered part of Quesna Cemetery, which dates from the ancient period in 3100 B.C. up to the Ptolemaic period, which ended in B.C. 30.
In the same area, archaeologists also reported recovering lanterns, a bronze coin dating back to the Ptolemaic period, ceramic pieces and the heads of three symbolic statues representing the Ancient god Horus, the Egyptian falcon god.
In recent years, Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities has been working to publicize ongoing archaeology work in the country in a bid to attract tourism, which has dwindled since the country's 2011 revolution and the extended period of instability that followed.
In March, the Egyptian government announced it had uncovered a village dating 2,500 years before the building of the pyramids at Giza. According to the Associated Press, the Neolithic village, also found in the Nile Delta, in Tell el-Samara, was one of the oldest settlements ever excavated in the country.
The joint French-Egyptian archaeological team at Tell el-Samara uncovered stores containing the bones of animals and the remnants of plants. It also excavated pottery and stone tools that indicated stable human habitation in the area.
The Quesna Cemetery dates back to the reign of King Narmer, who is believed to have unified the kingdoms of Lower and Upper Egypt. He is considered the first ruler of unified Egypt.
The Ptolemaic period was ushered in following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. and ended with the Roman conquest in 30 B.C. and the death of Cleopatra.
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Callum Paton is a staff writer at Newsweek specializing in North Africa and the Middle East. He has worked freelance ... Read more
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