Egypt still keeps many historical secrets. Two months after a team of archaeologists discovered the country’s 30 mummies in the stepped pyramid of Saqqara, another team has unearthed a necropolis in the region of Al Fayum, near the pyramid of the same name, in an archaeological site known as Al Lahun. This was reported by Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The necropolis consists of 53 tombs, carved into the rock, and contains dozens of mummies that are painted in turquoise, ochre, and gold. The mummies could be over 4,000 years old. Four of them date back to the 22nd dynasty (931-725 BC) and can be considered the most beautiful mummies ever found, according to Zahi Hawass. The rest of the pieces dates back to the Middle Kingdom (2061-1786 BC).

In the graves were found several decorated wooden sarcophagi which are in good condition, along with 15 masks, amulets, and containers of baked clay.

Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said that some of the graves had a single burial chamber, while others displayed a more elaborate setting that consists of an entrance hall leading to a second upper space that, in turn, can be accessed from a third compartment located at a lower level.

Abdelrahman Al Ayedi, the head of the team of archaeologists, also confirmed the discovery in the area of a funerary chapel of the Middle Kingdom that was probably reused during the Roman era (30 BC-337 AD).

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Via FRANCE 24