Mummification workshop and priest tombs discovered in Egypt

Posted by Jordyn Johnson on 27 May 2023

Human and animal mummification workshops and two tombs in Saqqara’s ancient burial ground were discovered in Egypt on Saturday, 27 May.

Reuters reported that Head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri said ‘that the two large embalming workshops date back to the 30th dynasty (380 -343 BC) and Ptolemaic (305 – 30 BC) eras.

After a year-long excavation close to the goddess Bastet’s sanctuary, the discovery was made. Mummified animals and statues were found in the same place in 2019. Waziri said ‘We found embalming workshops, one for humans and one for animals. We found all the tools that they used (in mummification) in ancient times.’

The workshops both had clay pots, natron salt (one of the main mummification ingredients), stone beds, ritual vessels, and linens.

Excavations in Saqqara also ‘led to the unearthing of two small 4 400 and 3 400-year-old tombs nearby, belonging to two priests, Ne Hesut Ba of the Old Kingdom’s fifth dynasty and Men Kheber of the late kingdom’s 18th dynasty respectively.’

Engraved in Men Kheber’s tomb were scenes depicting the deceased in different positions, while Ne Hesut Ba’s tomb had inscriptions of hunting, cultivation, and other daily activities.

Egypt plans to attract tourists back after the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian conflict poorly affected the tourism industry.

Pictures: Getty Images

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