Twenty carved stone sarcophagi in a cemetery in Al Qabal

Twenty carved stone sarcophagi

in a cemetery in Al Qabal

An underground cemetery or tomb containing numerous mummies has been discovered near Minya a major city in central Egypt. A major discovery in 2017 at Egabal has made it a significant archaeological site revealing ancient tombs from various eras. The abandoned tombs date back to three dynasties during the late Pharaohs period twenty limestone sarcophagi were found at Egabal Egypt the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Thursday the discovery of 16 ancient tombs along with 10,000 blue funerary statues also known as Ushabati statues approximately 20 sarcophagi and thousands of other burial artifacts including stone sarcophagi clay sarcophagi and model ships.

Papyrus scrolls were also found The sarcophagus lids were molded into the shape of male mummies Twenty limestone sarcophagi inscribed with hieroglyphs and five wooden sarcophagi dating from 664-399 BC. were found yielding dozens to over a hundred mummies Further discoveries have been made in the central Nile River valley of Egypt the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery in the village of Tuna al-Gabal near Minya. Archaeologists uncovered 16 ancient Egyptian tombs filled with sarcophagi and other artifacts from a large cemetery estimated to date from the Greek-Roman period to later indicating a long and continuous historical period this massive cemetery is still undergoing further excavation in the Benihasan necropolis central Egypt located approximately 20 kilometers south of present-day Minya.

Benihasan After the end of the pyramid construction era and the Roman conquest of Egypt Minya became a center of the Egyptian cotton trade and was inhabited by Greek and Roman cotton owners and traders greek settlement was widespread the limestone cliffs on the eastern desert overlooking the Nile River bend were ideal locations for carving tombs today these thirty-nine rock-carved tombs can be visited carved into the limestone cliffs above the village of Beni Hasan the walls of these Beni Hasan tombs reveal information about life in Egypt 4,000 years ago although not as magnificent as other ancient Egyptian monuments the Beni Hasan tombs are significant these rock-carved tombs at Beni Hasan are the remnants of that era.