Foto: © Sandro Vannini

Un equipo de arqueólogos egipcios ha descubierto dos tumbas construidas hace 2.500 años, las más antiguas halladas hasta la fecha en el sitio arqueológico de Saqqara, situado a 25 kilómetros al sur de El Cairo.

Vía: EFE, El Cairo | ADN.es, 4 de enero de 2010

Ambos mausoleos, situados en la zona de Gisr El-Mudir, se encuentran enterrados y tienen grabados en varios de sus muros, según explica una nota del Consejo Supremo de Antigüedades (CSA) difundida hoy.

Una de las dos construcciones funerarias es la de mayores dimensiones hallada en la zona hasta el momento e incluye numerosos pasillos, habitaciones y salas, explicó Zahi Hawas, secretario general del CSA.

Esta tumba está precedida por dos grandes fachadas, una de piedra caliza y otra de ladrillo, según el comunicado.

Dos de sus habitaciones, que se encontraban llenas de material de construcción y de tierra, conducen a una sala en cuyo interior han sido hallados varios esqueletos y vasijas de cerámica.

En otra sala pequeña fue descubierto un pozo con una profundidad de siete metros.

En la parte norte de la tumba también han sido encontradas varias momias de halcones que se encuentran en un buen estado de conservación.

Según Hawas, la tumba fue utilizado en más de una ocasión y fue expoliada en el siglo V después de Cristo.

En el segundo sepulcro, de menores dimensiones, aunque también compuesto por varias salas, fueron halladas numerosas vasijas de cerámica.

El experto en arqueología expresó su satisfacción por los nuevos descubrimientos, que han probado que la zona de Saqqara, donde se encuentra la pirámide escalonada de Zoser, todavía esconde muchos secretos.

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Press Release - New Tombs Found at Saqqara

Vía: Blog Dr. Hawass, 5 de diciembre de 2005

Two large 26th Dynasty tombs have been found in Saqqara by an Egyptian excavation mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Culture Minister Farouk Hosni announced today.

Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA and the head of the mission, said that the two newly discovered tombs were found at the Ras El Mudir area at Saqqara, near the entrance point of the archaeological site. He explained that both tombs are cut into the limestone rock of the hill and the first one is the largest yet found at Saqqara. It is composed of a large rock-hewn hall followed by a number of small rooms and corridors. Outside the tomb on its eastern side are two large walls, the first is made of limestone while the other is of mud brick.

Foto: Dr. Hawass examines a find from one of the new tombs. (Photo: SCA)

Dr. Hawass said that during excavation the team found two rooms full of dust that lead to another hall where a number of coffins, skeletons and pots were found. This hall has a corridor that leads to a smaller room with a seven-meter deep burial shaft. At the tomb’s northern end the team found a room full of clay pots and fragments along with ancient coffins and mummies of eagles.

Early investigations, said Dr. Hawass, reveal that the tomb can be dated to the 26th Dynasty and it was reused several times during its history and was likely robbed at the end of the Roman period.

As for the second tomb, continued Dr. Hawass, the team found a number of Saite Period clay pots and coffins scattered inside a sealed limestone room.

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VIDEO: The intact tomb at Saqqara
Vía: Dr. Hawass.com


This past year we found a new tomb in Saqqara, in the Gisr el-Mudir area. I was there when we opened a sealed limestone sarcophagus. Before the event, I could not sleep because I could not stop thinking about the excitement of that moment. When I arrived, I came down about 11 meters underground, where we began to open the sarcophagus, which had not been touched in 2600 years.

If there was to be a mummy inside the coffin, they would have to be rich, because the limestone of the sarcophagus was very high quality, which means it would have been very expensive. To remove the lid, which is very heavy, many people had to work together to shift it.

When you open something like this it is very exciting, You never know what amazing secrets are hidden inside. The only way to truly understand the feeling is to experience it for yourself.

The mummy inside the coffin was kept safe, it is beautifully preserved. We plan to examine it using the CT scan machine to see inside, because most mummies of this period contained many amulets on the body inside the wrappings. The purpose of the amulets was to protect the deceased and help them to safely reach the afterlife. The CT scan will reveal the amulets and their locations without damaging the mummy.

Entering this room with its 30 mummies was incredible. I could see four mummies in one corner, and saw that one man buried his dog next to himself. We opened the anthropoid wooden coffin of a child for the first time and then opened the 10-ton sealed limestone sarcophagus for the first time. When we opened it, I eagerly looked inside and discovered a mummy. This was a beautiful moment in my life. When I saw the mummy was in great condition, I was so happy, it is part of the passion I have for archaeology.