Photo: In this photo released today by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt's top archaeologist Zahi Hawass examines a newly-discovered Egyptian mummy in a sarcophagus in a tomb at Saqqara, south of Cairo, in Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009. Egyptian archaeologists say they have discovered 30 mummies inside a 2,600-year-old tomb, discovered at an even more ancient site dating back to the 4,300-year-old 6th Dynasty, in the latest round of excavations at the vast necropolis of Saqqara south of Cairo. (Supreme Council of Antiquities/AP Photo).

Un equipo de arqueólogos egipcios ha descubierto una tumba faraónica, que contiene treinta momias y varios ataúdes de madera y de piedra, de hace aproximadamente 4.300 años, en la localidad de Saqara, al suroeste de El Cairo.

Vía: EFE, El Cairo | TeleCinco.es, 9 de febrero de 2009

El Consejo Supremo de Antigüedades (CSA) anunció hoy en un comunicado que la tumba fue hallada en la zona de Gisr al Modir , al oeste de la pirámide escalonada, construida como tumba del faraón Zoser (2.650 años a.C) por el arquitecto y médico Imhotep.

La tumba, de piedra caliza, pertenece a un hombre religioso llamado Sengim, que vivió durante la VI dinastía del Imperio Antiguo (2575-2150 a.C).

Foto: Una de las treinta momias descubiertas en la localidad monumental de Saqara, al sur de El Cairo, de unos 4.300 años de antigüedad. Un equipo de arqueólogos egipcios ha descubierto una tumba faraónica, que contiene treinta momias y varios ataúdes de madera y de piedra, de hace aproximadamente 4.300 años, en la localidad de Saqqara, al suroeste de El Cairo. EFE.

Según el secretario general del CSA, Zahi Hawas, un pozo de once metros de profundidad fue hallado también dentro de la tumba, cerca de la cámara mortuoria, mientras que al este fue descubierto otro pozo, que data del año 2640 a.C.

Dentro de la cámara mortuoria los arqueólogos encontraron treinta momias y esqueletos, además de un ataúd de madera de 180 centímetros de longitud y decorado con escrituras jeroglíficas, que contiene una momia que data del año 640 a.C.

Hawas reveló, además, que otros cuatro ataúdes de piedra fueron descubiertos en la misma tumba, de los cuales uno sigue cerrado, aunque se espera que sea abierto esta semana.

En Saqqara, cuyo área monumental cubre una extensión de siete kilómetros cuadrados, se ubicó la necrópolis de los primeros faraones, por lo que el recinto acoge las tumbas más antiguas de Egipto, entre ellas la pirámide escalonada del faraón Zoser.

Foto: Sarcófago de madera hallado junto a otros féretros, momias y esqueletos de la XVI dinastía en la necrópolis de Saqqara, al sur de El Cairo (Egipto), el 11 de febrero de 2009. EFE / Mike Nelson.



30 mummies found in 2,600-year-old tomb

Tomb discovered at Egyptian site dating back to 4,300-year-old 6th Dynasty

By Maggie Michael | Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. Feb. 9, 2009

CAIRO - A storehouse of 30 Egyptians mummies has been unearthed inside a 2,600-year-old tomb, in a new round of excavations at the vast necropolis of Saqqara outside Cairo, archeologists said Monday.

The tomb was located at the bottom of a 36 foot deep shaft, announced Egypt's top archaeologist Zahi Hawass and eight of the mummies were in sarcophagi, while the rest had been placed in niches along the wall.

Hawass described the discovery as a "storeroom for mummies," dating to 640 B.C. and the 26th Dynasty, which was Egypt's last independent kingdom before it were overthrown by a succession of foreign conquerors beginning with the Persians.

The tomb was discovered at an even more ancient site dating back to 4,300-year-old 6th Dynasty.

Most of the mummies are poorly preserved and archeologists have yet to determine their identity or why so many are in a single room. One of the sarcophagi is made of wood and bears the name Badi N Huri, but no title.

"This one might have been an important figure, but I can't tell because there was no title," Hawass" assistant Abdel Hakim Karar told The Associated Press.

He added that the rest of the sarcophagi — including four which are tightly sealed — have yet to be opened yet.

Karar added that it was quite unusual for mummies of this late period to be stored in rocky niches.

"Niches were known in the very early dynasties, so to find one for the 26th Dynasty, is something rare," Karar said.

Excavations have been ongoing at Saqqara for 150 years, uncovering a vast necropolis of pyramids and tombs dating mostly from the Old Kingdom, but including sites as recent as the Roman era.

In the past, excavations have focused on just one side of the two nearby pyramids — the famous Step Pyramid of King Djoser and that of Unas, the last king of the 5th Dynasty. The area where the current tomb was found, to the southwest, has been largely untouched by archeologists.

Photo: Two camel riders pass the excavations at the Saqqara burial site of the rulers of ancient Memphis, about 20 kilometres south of Cairo in December 2008. Egypt's top archaeologist says two pharaonic tombs discovered this year at Saqqara indicate the sprawling necropolis south of Cairo is even larger than previously thought. (Nasser Nasser/Associated Press).

But despite the years of excavation, new finds are constantly being made. In December last year, two tombs were found near the current discovery. The two were built for high officials — one responsible for the quarries used to build the nearby pyramids and other for a woman in charge of procuring entertainers for the pharaohs.

Photo: Nasser Nasser/Associated Press.

In November, Hawass announced the discovery of a new pyramid at Saqqara, the 118th in Egypt, and the 12th to be found just in Saqqara.

Photo: Nasser Nasser/Associated Press.

According to Hawass only 30 percent of Egypt's monuments have been uncovered, with the rest still under the sand.