Ancient Egyptian cemetery with 40 mummies and 1000 statues found in the Nile Valley

AN ANCIENT Egyptian cemetery has been discovered near the Nile Valley city of Minya, with 40 mummies just one of the finds from the previously hidden site.

AN ANCIENT cemetery containing 40 mummies and a necklace inscribed with the message “Happy New Year” has been in found Egypt.

The country’s Antiquities Ministry announced the discovery of the necropolis near the Nile Valley city of Minya, south of Cairo, reports The Sun.

The large cemetery, which holds a range of family tombs and graves, is located north of Tuna al-Gabal area.

Archaeologists started excavation work in the area late last year and found tombs belonging to priests of Thoth, the ancient god of the moon and wisdom.

One tomb includes more than 1000 statues and four well-preserved alabaster jars designed to hold the mummified internal organs of their owner.

According to Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Enany the cemetery contains a gold mask, 40 sarcophagi, about 1000 statues, pottery, jewellery and other artefacts. Picture: Samer Abdallah/dpa/Alamy

The priest’s mummy was also found decorated with blue and red beads and bronze gilt sheets.

Archaeologists also uncovered 40 coffins, known as sarcophagi, believed to belong to the priest’s family members, some bearing the names of their owners in hieroglyphics.

Another tomb includes several coffins, statues depicting ancient priests and other funerary artefacts.

Mostafa Waziri, head of the archaeological mission, said that four amulet necklaces with semiprecious stones were found.

Skulls are seen at a recently found ancient Egyptian cemetery south of Cairo. Picture: EPA/Ibrahim Youssef

One of the amulets was engraved with the phrase “Happy New Year”, reports the Egypt Independent.

Waziri said eight tombs have been uncovered so far and he expects more will be discovered soon.

“We will need at least five years to work on the necropolis,” Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Enany said. “This is only the beginning of a new discovery.”

It is the latest find in an area known to house ancient catacombs from the Pharaonic Late Period and the Ptolemaic dynasty.

One of 40 sarcophagi that were found. Picture: EPA/Ibrahim Youssef

In 2017, the ministry found a necropolis holding at least 17 mummies in the area of Tuna al-Gabal.

The area is also known to include tombs, a funerary building and a large necropolis for thousands of mummified ibis, as well as other animals.

Egypt hopes that recent discoveries across the country will help spur the vital tourism sector, partially driven by antiquities sightseeing, which was hit hard by political turmoil following the 2011 uprising.

This story first appeared on The Sun and is reproduced here with permission.