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| The mummy was wrapped in turquoise beads and limited by black linen |
Australian archaeologists have discovered three coffins and an exceptionally well-preserved mummy dating back approximately 4,200 years in an ancient tomb while moving two statues and uncovering a secret door at the Saqqara necropolis, located about 8 km south of Cairo, Egypt.
After opening the secret door behind a statue, the Australian search team found the mummy of a man believed to be a priest from the 6th dynasty of Pharaoh Pepi II, dating back around 4,200 years. The team also explored several other tombs, and inside one of them, they found a tomb from the 26th dynasty with three intact coffins, each containing a mummy.
“The chest of the mummy is wrapped in beads. Most mummies from this period, around 500 BC, are missing their beadwork, but this mummy is complete. The mummies are wrapped in turquoise beads and confined by black linen,” said Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s chief antiquities official.
“I believe this discovery could provide us with more insight into two significant periods in our history, the ancient dynasties around 4,200 years ago, and the 26th dynasty which was 2,500 years ago,” Hawass stated. Traditionally, Pharaoh Pepi II – the last ruler of the 6th dynasty – reigned from 2278 to 2184 BC, one of the longest reigns in ancient Egyptian history.
Naguib Kanawati, the leader of the archaeological team from Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia), noted that the recently excavated site had previously been forgotten after the reign of Pharaoh Pepi II and was buried under 15 meters of sand until it was reused as a tomb 2,600 years later. “At that time, the art of mummification reached its peak,” archaeologist Kanawati commented.
Archaeologists will begin examining the mummies to learn more about their medical conditions, including the use of CT scans, as they did when studying King Tutankhamun, Hawass said.
QUOC DUNG (According to AP)
