Ancient Egyptian mummy workshop filled with ancient treasures discovered after 2,500 YEARS hidden buried
Archaeologists made the incredible find near to the Unas pyramid in Memphis, the first capital of ancient Egypt
A MUMMIFICATION workshop which dates back to ancient Egypt near to the country’s Giza pyramids has been unearthed after 2,500 years, it was revealed today.
The discovery of the workshop along with a shaft, used as a communal burial place, was made at the Saqqara necropolis of Memphis, the first capital of ancient Egypt.
Memphis, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and its vast necropolis are home to a wide range of temples and tombs as well as the three renowned Giza pyramids.
The latest find, announced at a press conference today, dates back to the Saite-Persian Period, from 664-404 BC.
The site, which lies south of the Unas pyramid, was last excavated more than 100 years ago, in 1900.
In the mummification workshop, an embalmer's cachette holding a large collection of pottery vessels, bowels and measuring cups were found.
Archaeologists hope the findings will reveal more about the mummification process in the 26th Dynasty.
"We are in front of a goldmine of information about the chemical composition of these oils," said Ramadan Hussein, the head of the German-Egyptian mission.
Among the artefacts found were fragments of mummy masks, jars used to keep the organs removed from the dead during mummification and an array of ancient pottery.
Many will be displayed in the under-construction Grand Egyptian Museum, the first phase of which is expected to be inaugurated later this year.
Archaeologists also found a gilded silver mask on the face of a mummy in a badly-damaged wooden coffin.
The mask, the first to be discovered since 1939, belongs to a priest.
Hussein said: "The finding of this mask could be called a sensation.
"Very few masks of precious metals have been preserved to the present day, because the tombs of most Ancient Egyptian dignitaries were looted in ancient times."
Down the 30-meter-deep shaft are a host of burial chambers carved into the bedrock lining the sides of two hallways.
There lie several mummies, wooden coffins and sarcophagi.
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"It's only the beginning," added Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani.
He told reporters the sites will likely yield more discoveries after further excavation.
Egypt has gone to great length to revive its vital tourism industry, still reeling from the political turmoil that followed a 2011 popular uprising.
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