Incredible Discovery: 2,000-Year-Old Mummy Found in a Trash Can [+Photos]

According to Saed News’ social affairs service, citing the Young Journalists Club, a mummy believed to be around 2,000 years old was discovered in a trash bin in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, in a mutilated state.

Yemen’s General Organization of Antiquities and Museums (GOAM) on Wednesday blamed tomb robbers and antiquities traffickers for the desecration of this ancient artifact.

The body was found in a fetal position, wrapped in animal skins, as was customary in mummification practices in the region. According to Arabic news reports, traffickers had opened the corpse’s abdomen before discarding it.

The discovery has sparked outrage among locals, who have watched their rare historical artifacts fall under threat amid the country’s prolonged civil war. GOAM stated that the mummy has been transferred to the National Museum in Sana’a for preservation, and experts will work to repair the damage inflicted.

Yemenis were the third people, after the Egyptians and Chileans, to practice mummification. The newly discovered mummy, found in a trash bin, likely dates back to the 4th century BCE, suggesting that the individual may have lived during the legendary Kingdom of Sheba, believed to be the land of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

The people of Sheba leveraged their proximity to the sea and strategic location to build a prosperous, wealthy empire, transporting goods such as frankincense and myrrh across the desert. Abdullah Mohsen, a Yemeni researcher tracking antiquities trafficking, wrote on Facebook that ancient mummies can be found in caves and stone tombs across Yemen’s Sheba, Himyar, Qataban, Awsan, Ma’in, and Hadramaut provinces.

Amid one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises after decades of conflict, Yemenis are striving to preserve this ancient heritage. A 2017 report noted that electricity shortages could threaten the preservation of 12 mummies housed at the University of Sana’a Museum in the capital.