SAEDNEWS: Archaeologists have uncovered a rare mummy near Saqqara, pictured below.
According to SAEDNEWS: quoting Hamshahri Online:
Egyptian archaeologists who have spent years excavating the ancient Saqqara site near Cairo have recently made several new discoveries dating back to the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties of Egypt’s Old Kingdom—over 4,000 years ago.
One of the most significant of these findings was a rectangular limestone sarcophagus which, according to Dr. Zahi Hawass, director of the Egyptian excavation team at Gisr el-Mudir in Saqqara, weighed around 45 tons, with the lid alone weighing about 5 tons.
The lid had been sealed with mortar and remained in place exactly as it had been left 4,300 years ago. It took archaeologists two hours to open the sarcophagus and access its contents. Inside, they discovered the oldest non-royal Egyptian mummy ever found. According to Hawass, it is also the oldest known mummy wrapped in gold leaf. Although the mummy was not a pharaoh, the elaborate preparation for the afterlife indicates he was far from an ordinary person. The name inscribed on the top of the coffin reads: HqA-Sps, or Hekashepes.
Hawass stated:
“When someone is buried 15 meters underground in such a sarcophagus, it means they were a very important individual.”
Among other artifacts presented by Hawass and his veteran Egyptian team were 14 stone statues found in a separate shaft about 10 meters deep. These date back to the Old Kingdom—often called the Age of the Pyramids—between 2700 and 2200 BCE, and are possibly even older than the mummy of Hekashepes.
Hawass noted:
“These statues are unique. This is the first time in the 21st century that such a large number of statues has been found in Saqqara.”
He added:
“This discovery gives us more information about Old Kingdom art, mummification practices, and also about the individuals who worked in that area. One of the tombs belonged to a priest who was in charge of the pyramid complex of King Unas, the last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty.”
