New pharaonic tombs and 4,000-year-old mummy found in Egypt

Egypt on Thursday unveiled four tombs of pharaonic dignitaries and a more than 4,000-year-old mummy at Saqqara near Cairo, the latest of discoveries announced with great fanfare by a country keen to bring tourists back.

It was in the necropolis of Saqqara, known for the famous step pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser, that archaeologists unearthed these tombs sealed under the 5th and 6th dynasties, between 2500 and 2100 years BC.

During the excavations, 15 meters underground, archaeologists found a limestone sarcophagus “in the exact state where the ancient Egyptians left it 4300 years ago”, assured Zahi Hawass.

When they opened it, they discovered a mummy covered in gold, “one of the oldest and best preserved in Egypt outside of the royal mummies”, said the man, his head covered as usual with his famous Indiana Jones hat.