Newly Found Ancient Tombs in Egypt Revealed 40 Mummies of More Than 2,000 Years Old

A recent discovery unearthed a maze of tombs in Egypt where archaeologists found tens of mummies of more than 2,000 years old. The tombs date back to the Ptolemaic Dynasty which ruled over Egypt between 305 and 30 B.C.

“The mummies, which likely belonged to a family from the elite middle class, were discovered at the Egyptian archaeological site called Tuna el-Gebel, which lies to the west of the Nile River, the Egyptian antiquities ministry announced. The burials date back to a line of rulers descended from Ptolemy Soter, who was one of Alexander the Great’s generals,” Live Science reported.

According to Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany, all the mummies are well-preserved, and some of them are of kids wrapped in linen decorated with an ancient Egyptian script called Demotic writing. Also, some of the men and women were buried there with their companion animals. “These animals were so dear to their owners that they buried them in their tomb,” said Archaeologist Mohamed Ragab.

Newly Found Ancient Tombs in Egypt Revealed More Than 40 Mummies of More Than 2,000 Years Old

“The newly discovered tombs are a familial grave which was probably for a family from the upper middle class,” reported Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany for Ahram Online, an Egyptian news portal.

“The grave consists of a number of burial chambers containing a large number of human mummies of different genders and age, including children. All are in a good conservation condition, and some are wrapped in linen, or decorated with Demotic handwriting. There are over 40 mummies. Some of them still have fragments of colored cartonnage covers near their feet,” reported Ahram Online, citing Khaled El-Enany.

“The methods used in burying the mummies inside the maze of tombs vary in style,” added Mostafa Waziri, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt.