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Newly discovered undisturbed mummies inside their colorful coffins on display in Luxor, Egypt. (photo credit: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities)
The largest new discovery of ancient Egyptian mummies in over a century has been revealed to the public by Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities at a ceremony in the southern city of Luxor, resting place to hundreds of ancient pharaohs, other royalty, high court officials, and evidently more middle class folks as well.
The discovery, which was the first major find of this type and significance by an all-Egyptian archaeological team, will help shed more light on what both life and the expected after-life were like for inhabitants of Egypt beyond just the royals and the elite.
The intricately crafted and painted wooden coffins remain quite vibrant even on the outside, despite being roughly 3000 years old. Such remarkable preservation is common among undisturbed ancient finds in the region due to the dry desert conditions of the air and ground in which they were entombed.
Not only was the number of mummies found remarkable, but so too was the fact that all of the coffins had been unopened since they were first sealed 3000 years ago. (photo credit: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities)
The mummies inside were also found to be very well preserved. The cache of 30 mummies in all consisted of both male and female adults in addition to two children, which is quite rare.
Given where and how the collection of ancient coffins was found, it is unlikely that this was their original resting place. As later became common practice in ancient times, the mummies were likely moved from their original tombs to another secret location for joint reburial in order to prevent grave robbers from desecrating them in search of jewelry in later decades or centuries.
The discovery of this cache came about after desert erosion wore away enough sand to expose the top of one of the coffins. When the find was reported, professionals were brought in to begin excavations and an additional 29 coffins were eventually unearthed at the same site.
While a discovery of this size and significance is unusual in the 21st century, it reinforces a point I repeatedly make about Egypt both on the Egypt Travel Blog and on the Egypt Travel Podcast – all of Egypt remains an active archaeological site and many more ancient treasures remain hidden underneath the country’s sands to this very day.