Coffins, grave masks and a funeral temple were discovered during an archaeological mission in Saqqara, a massive necropolis about 20 miles south of Cairo that experts say will “rewrite” the region’s history.
Three mud brick warehouses – built to store provisions, offerings, and tools used in the queen’s tomb – were also discovered attached to the temple.
A mummy is on display during the official announcement of the mission discovery at the Egyptian necropolis of Saqqara south of Cairo on January 17.
Khaled Desouki / AFP / Getty Images
Excavated decorated wooden sarcophagi on display during the official announcement of the discovery of a new treasure trove in Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo on Jan. 17.
Khaled Desouki / AFP / Getty Images
52 burial shafts were also discovered, measuring between 10-12 meters deep and containing hundreds of wooden coffins dating back to the New Kingdom period. The discovery marks the first time coffins dating back 3,000 years have been found in the Saqqara region, Al-Ahram said.
Scenes of gods worshiped during the period and fragments from the Book of the Dead, believed to help the dead enter the other world, were painted on the surface of the coffins, with experts noting that the latter find was the old site confirms that Saqqara was used as a burial site during the period of the new kingdom – between the 16th and the 11th centuries BC – and not only during the late period.
A cache of 50 anthropoid wooden coffins, in good condition, was also discovered by archaeologists, along with wooden burial masks, a shrine dedicated to the god Anubis, bird-shaped artifacts and a bronze ax.
The latest discoveries will rewrite the history of Saqqara during the New Kingdom and confirm the importance of the worship of King Teti during the 19th dynasty of the New Kingdom, Zahi Hawass, the head of the Egyptian archaeological mission, said according to the news site.
The new finds “will rewrite the history of this region, especially during the 18th and 19th dynasties of the New Kingdom, in which King Teti was worshiped and civilians were buried around his pyramid at the time,” the statement added.