An Egyptian excavation team discovered an intact sarcophagus containing a mummy covered in gold leaf in a 15-meter shaft in the Gisr el-Mudir area of the Saqqara necropolis, located south of Cairo.
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Thursday published the find on its official Facebook page, where it explained that it was “a large rectangular limestone sarcophagus belonging to a man named Heka-Shepes.”
The team also discovered another well, about 10 meters long, which contained wooden statues and three stone statues depicting a man named Fetek.
Next to these statues, a sacrificial table and a stone sarcophagus left over from the mummy were found.
The head of the excavation team that works with the High Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, stressed that this is an important archaeological discovery dating back to the 5th and 6th dynasties of the Old Kingdom.
Hawass noted that “the most important sarcophagus belonged to Khnum-djed-ef, who was a priest in the pyramid complex of Unas”, and the second most important belonged to “Mary, another priest in the pyramid complex of King Pepi I, probably named after Messi, which contained nine beautiful statues.
In addition, research has found numerous amulets, stone vessels, household tools, statues of deities and ceramics.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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