The newly discovered embalming facilities date to about 2,400 years ago and contain stone beds where the embalmers placed deceased Egyptians to undergo mummification.
Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsSaqqara, the sprawling burial complex to the south of Cairo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site layered with thousands of years of Egyptian history. Not only does it have more than a dozen pyramids, it boasts numerous other tombs, courts and halls – and archaeologists keep discovering more.Ancient Egypt and Mummification
The new embalming facilities date to about 2,400 years ago and contain stone beds where the embalmers placed deceased Egyptians to undergo mummification. At the ends of the beds, the scientists found gutters, as well as clay pots to hold organs and viscera, and various other instruments, including linens and natron salt. During the mummification process, all moisture was removed from the body, to stop decomposition.
Ne Hesut Ba served as head of scribes and priest of the gods Horus and Maat, and his tomb walls were covered with scenes of daily life, farming and hunting. Men Kheber also served as a priest, and his tomb contained depictions of himself in the form of rock carvings and a 3-foot-tall alabaster statue.Archaeologists have fielded project after project in Saqqara in recent years, discovering 59 new mummies, seven new tombs and thousands of wooden figurines in the process.span much of Ancient Egyptian history, during which its proximity to the ancient city of Memphis ensured plenty of new tombs and pyramids.
The earliest tombs lie in the northern part of the site, in the early dynastic cemetery, where large mud-brick tombs called mastabas date back about 4,900 years. Wonders to behold, Egypt hopes these ancient sites will increase tourism, which has seen a recent decline from COVID-19.
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