Zahi Hawass. AP.
Archaeologists announced the discovery of a 4300-year-old mummy on Thursday.
The mummy was found in a limestone sarcophagus at the bottom of
a 15-meter shaft near the Step Pyramid in the Saqqara necropolis.
- The
mummy was inside one of the several tombs that date back
to Egypt's fifth and sixth dynasties, according to team director Zahi
Hawass, who is also a former minister of antiquities.
- The mummy, of a man named Hekashepes, may be "the oldest and most complete mummy found in Egypt to date," Hawass told reporters.
- Another
tomb discovered at the site, which is near the capital city of Cairo,
was decorated with scenes of daily life and belonged to Khnumdjedef, a
priest and senior official who served under the last pharaoh of the
fifth dynasty.
- Egyptian authorities have announced a series of discoveries in recent years amid efforts to revive the country's struggling tourism sector.
- In 2021, Egypt held a procession
for the bodies of ancient Egyptian kings and queens as they were
relocated to the country's new National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation.
- The country plans to open its Grand Egyptian Museum later this year.
