Egypt unveils ancient coffins and mummies found in huge necropolis

Egyptian antiquities officials have announced the discovery of at least 100 ancient coffins, some with mummies inside, and around 40 gilded statues in a vast Pharaonic necropolis south of Cairo.

Colourful, sealed sarcophagi and statues that were buried more than 2,500 years ago were displayed in a makeshift exhibit at the foot of the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara.

Tourism and antiquities minister Khaled el-Anany told a news conference that the discovered items date back to the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for 300 years — from around 320BC to about 30BC, and the Late Period (664-332BC).

He said experts would move the artefacts to at least three Cairo museums including the Grand Egyptian Museum which is being built near the famed Giza Pyramids. He added that they would announce another discovery at the Saqqara necropolis later this year.

Egyptian archaeologists found other “shafts full of coffins, well-gilded, well-painted, well-decorated”, Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters on Saturday.

The Saqqara site is part of the necropolis at Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis that includes the famed Giza Pyramids, as well as smaller pyramids at Abu Sir, Dahshur and Abu Ruwaysh.

Egypt frequently touts its archaeological discoveries in hopes of spurring a vital tourism industry that has been reeling from the political turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The sector has been dealt a further blow this year by the coronavirus pandemic.