In an official press statement, The Ministry of Antiquities described the seemingly well-preserved sarcophagi as being found just “as the ancient Egyptians left them,” and is considered “one of the largest and most important” discoveries in recent years.
The sarcophagi were found in Al-Assasif, an ancient necropolis on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, not far from the Valley of the Kings. The wooden coffins still retained their brightly-colored decorations and were stacked in two layers with the ones on top across those below.
The coffins were spread out over two levels of a large tomb.
Ministry of Antiquities
The site once formed part of the ancient city of Thebes and is where nobles and officials in ancient Egypt were buried. The cemetery has previously yielded archaeological finds dating back to Egypt’s 18th dynasty, which began in around 1539 B.C.
Minister of Antiquities Khaled Al-Anani and Dr. Mustafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities take a closer look at the coffins.
Ministry of Antiquities
Officials have yet to say which period the coffins may date from, however, further details on the discovery are expected to be revealed at a news conference in Luxor on Saturday.
Ministry of Antiquities
Ancient industrial area also found
Saturday’s news conference also comes one week after the ministry announced the discovery of an ancient industrial area, firmly dated to the 18th Dynasty, in the Valley of the Monkeys in Luxor’s West Valley. The area included “houses for storage and the cleaning of funerary furniture, with many potteries dated to the 18th Dynasty,” reports the BBC.
“Each workshop had a different purpose,” said archeologist Zahi Hawass, who led the excavation, in a phone interview. “Some were used to make pottery, others to produce gold artifacts and others still to manufacture furniture.”
Ministry of Antiquities Egypt
Also discovered was a large kiln, a water storage tank used by workers, and various coffin decorations—including some depicting the wings of the god Horus, who’s associated with death and resurrection. “They represent the first evidence of funerary items being produced on an industrial scale in Egypt,” archeologist Zahi Hawass told CNN. He added the excavation will “shed a light on the tools and techniques used” to create royal tombs.
