Egypt, site with 40 mummies discovered. It is the first discovery of 2019

Egypt ’s Ministry of Antiquities has announced the first discovery of 2019: a mission from the same ministry and the Research Center for Archaeological Studies at the University of Minya (Egypt) discovered, at the archaeological site of Tuna El-Gebel in Minya, several rock-cut burial chambers filled with mummies of different shapes, ages and genders. This is a family tomb that probably belonged to a wealthy family. All the mummies (forty in all) are in a good state of preservation, and among them are mummies of children wrapped in linen, or decorated with inscriptions in Demotic, a form of writing used by the people.

The secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, explained that fragments of shards and papyri found in the tomb will help reveal the dating of the mummies, which could date back to the Ptolemaic, Roman or Byzantine periods (for now, in short, the range is very wide). Waziri further explained that the mummies were buried in different systems: some were inside sarcophagi, some had been buried in sand, some under floors, and some inside niches.

The discovery was announced directly in Minya by Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities, Khaled El-Enany, along with Minister of Tourism, Rania Al-Mashat, Minya Governor Kassem Hussein, and Secretary General Mostafa Waziri, who spoke in front of cultural figures from eleven different countries, including Malta, the Czech Republic, Spain, Serbia, Ireland, Russia, and China. During his speech, Minister El-Enany explained that this is the third consecutive year in which discoveries are being made in Minya.

Pictured are some of the mummies discovered. Ph. Credit Ministry of Antiquities of Egypt

Egypt, site with 40 mummies discovered. It is the first discovery of 2019

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