Ancient Egyptian Coffin With Two Mummies Inside Found In 5,000-Year-Old Cemetery

Egyptian archaeologists uncovered an ancient stone coffin located in a cemetery that’s 5,000-year-old. The discovery was made at Quesna Cemetery in the Nile Delta region which is north of Cairo. What’s so peculiar about the finding is that the two poorly conditioned mummies that were inside of the coffin were lying on top of each other and covered with gold chips. The limestone coffin measured 6.5 feet long by 23 inches wide.

Dr. Ayman Ashmawy, who is the head of the Egyptian Antiquities Department at the ministry, stated that the part of the Quesna Cemetery that was uncovered during the archaeological mission dates back to 3100 B.C. up to the Ptolemaic period.

The Ptolemaic period, which began not long after Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C., ended in 30 B.C. because of the Roman conquest as well as the death of Cleopatra.

Satellite image of the Nile Delta

There were other discoveries found in that area, including lanterns, pieces of ceramic, fragments of bronze nails, a bronze coin that dates back to the Ptolemaic period, and three heads of statues that represented Horus who was the Egyptian falcon god.

Mostafa Waziri, who is the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the coffin had been moved to the antiquities warehouse that’s located in Kafr al-Sheikh.

The Quesna Cemetery has been around since the reign of King Narmer who is said to have unified Upper and Lower Egypt, meaning that he was the first ever ruler of the unified country.

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities has been attempting to make the archaeological work public in order to try to get more people to visit the country, as Egypt’s tourism has diminished since its 2011 revolution as well as their long period of instability.

Pyramids of Giza

Just last month, the Egyptian government announced that they had discovered an ancient village that dates back 2,500 years before the Pyramids of Giza were even built. In fact, the Neolithic village that was uncovered in the Nile Delta area of Tell el-Samara is one of the oldest settlements that have ever been excavated in Egypt. The archaeological team uncovered the remains of plants and animal bones, as well as stone tools and pottery which indicate that humans lived there.

Click here to see pictures of the discovered artifacts as well as the limestone coffin.

Jocelyne LeBlanc (CLICK HERE TO READ AND SEE MORE)