Egypt Shows X-Ray Of One Mummy Found In More Than 100 Coffins In Saqqara

Egyptian officials performed an X-ray on one of the mummies found in more than 100 coffins unearthed in the necropolis of Saqqara. The event served as the highlight of a press conference done to announce the country’s largest archeological find in 2020.

Khaled El Enany, Egypt’s minister of tourism and antiquities, and Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, presented the painted coffins, many of which still containing mummies, to the public on Nov. 14. The tombs date as far back as 2,500 years.

As for the mummy that was X-rayed, Waziri said it could belong to the Ptolemaic era. It was also found that the mummy was most likely a man in his 40s.

However, the most interesting aspect of the discovery was that the coffins were found to be in perfect condition of preservation, suggesting that they belonged to higher-ranking families.

"This discovery is very important because it proves that Saqqara was the main burial of the 26th Dynasty," Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian Egyptologist, said during the press conference as per Egypt Today. The massive discovery will improve Egypt’s understanding of mummification and religions during the era.

"Saqqara is as important as the Pyramids of Giza as it houses the first Step Pyramid in the world," Enany added during the same press conference.

The burial site also contained 40 statues, potteries, sarcophagus and ushabtis. The last are figurines of funerary servants that ancient Egyptians put in coffins to accompany deceased loved ones to the afterlife.

The discovery of these tombs followed a string of historical finds in Saqqara that were announced in October and September. At the time, authorities unearthed 59 and 13 coffins, respectively.

The coffins found could come from the Late Period, which was around 664 to 332 B.C., and the Ptolemaic period around 305 to 30 B.C. The latter was known in history as the time when Greeks ruled as pharaohs in Egypt.

Authorities now look forward to more historical finds in 2021.

Saqqara is among Egypt's popular archaeological sites. It is situated about 20 miles south of Cairo. The ancient burial ground houses the famous pyramids of Giza, which were used for burial for over 3,000 years.