SCI-TECH-ARCHAEOLOGY: Archaeologists uncover trove of ancient Egyptian mummies

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STORY: Archaeologists have uncovered

a trove of ancient Egyptian mummies

Location: Giza, Egypt

Mummies, amulets and boxes

were found in painted wooden coffins

Officials say the 250 coffins and 150 bronze statues found

date back to the Late Period, about 500 BC

MOSTAFA WAZIRI, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES:

“In one of the wooden sarcophagi, we found, for the first time, a complete and sealed papyrus. Immediately, this papyrus was moved to the Egyptian museum for sterilization and in order to conduct the needed studies. I think this papyrus is similar to the ones that were discovered 100 years ago that talk about the Book of the Gates and the Book of the Dead.”

The discovery happened at a cemetery

in Saqqara, south of the Giza pyramids

In recent years, Saqqara has provided a

stream of archaeological discoveries

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