Cache of Coffins, Conserved Cadavers, Carvings, Cosmetics, Uncovered at Cemetery Close to Cairo
Archaeologists working on a dig at the Saqqara necropolis’ Bubastian cemetery, near Cairo, have uncovered about 250 painted wooden coffins, 150 bronze statues of deities, and other objects from ancient Egypt’s Late Period, around 500 BCE, Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry announced on Monday. The finds include statues of the gods Amun, Anubis, Bastet, Hathor, Isis, Min, Nefertum, and Osiris, along with a headless statue of Imhotep, the architect who built the Saqqara pyramid. Among the other objects were a musical instrument known as a sistrum; a collection of bronze vessels used in rituals for the worship of Isis; and wooden statues of Nephthys and Isis, both with gilded faces, from an earlier period. A collection of cosmetics was found, including kohl containers, as well as bracelets and earrings.
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The coffins were found intact in burial shafts and contained mummies, amulets, and wooden boxes. These coffins will be transferred for display at the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is still under construction near the Great Pyramids of Giza and due to open later this year.
One coffin contained a well-preserved papyrus written in hieroglyphs. It was sent to the laboratory of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo for study, and could include verses of the Book of the Dead, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
