EGYPT: Archaeolgists uncover tombs from third century, including a female mummy adorned with jewellery

Record ID: 572424

  • Title: EGYPT: Archaeolgists uncover tombs from third century, including a female mummy adorned with jewellery
  • Date: 18th April 2010
  • Summary: OASIS, EGYPT (APRIL 15, 2010) (REUTERS) WIDE OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE IN THE NAUTICAL OASIS WORKERS STANDING SIGN READING 'SKELETON' ARCHAEOLOGIST WORKING CLOSE OF ARCHAEOLOGIST CLEANING A SKELETON BY BRUSH DISCOVERED ROMAN POTTERIES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GENERAL DIRECTOR OF THE NAUTICAL MONUMENTS, KHALED SALAH, SAYING: "We have found in this tomb a mummy for a Roman lady, who is very beautiful, with inlaid eyes, wearing a Roman dress and a shawl, holding a shawl in her hand, and wearing some jewellery, and we discovered golden pieces in the site as well, and pottery pots and other stuff, so the site will add a great value." OPENED COFFIN AND SKELETON INSIDE CLOSE OF A SKULL CLOSE OF A SKELETON IN A TOMB CLOSE OF A TOMBS ENTRANCE WORKERS DIGGING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MONUMENTS INSPECTOR, MOHAMED OMAR, SAYING: "We started working from November 2009, and we discovered fourteen tombs yet, which all carved in stones and represent a new style we never seen it before in the oasis, and it dates back to the Roman age three hundred years BC., and it represent a new type of tombs it is unique in the oasis." VARIOUS SHOTS OF A RESTORATION OF A ROMAN STATUE WIDE OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE IN THE NAUTICAL OASIS
  • Embargoed: 3rd May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: History,Lifestyle
  • Reuters ID: LVAE4J56PJHDZ6SFRIGYGQQQ91JV
  • Story Text: Egyptian archaeologists carrying out excavations at the site of a planned youth center have found 14 tombs dating back to the third century BC, including one with a female mummy adorned with jewellery.
    The Greco-Roman tombs, in Bahariya Oasis, 300 km (190 miles) southwest of Cairo, were discovered during probes that indicated they may be part of a much larger necropolis, as the Director of the Oasis monuments Khaled Salah announced: "We have found in this tomb a mummy for a Roman lady, who is very beautiful, with inlaid eyes, wearing a Roman dress and a shawl, holding a shawl in her hand, and wearing some jewellery, and we discovered golden pieces in the site as well, and pottery pots and other stuff, so the site will add a great value".
    A 97-cm (38-inch) tall female mummy, found in the stair-lined interior of one of the rock-hewn tombs, was cast in colored plaster inlaid with jewelry and eyes.
    Archaeologists, who dug at the site ahead of the planned construction of a youth center, found the tombs contained other treasures as well. The area has now been turned over to Egypt's antiquities authority, and the tomb represent a new style that never been discovered before according to the inspector Mohamed Omar:
    "We started working from November 2009, and we discovered fourteen tombs yet, which all carved in stones and represent a new style we never seen it before in the oasis, and it dates back to the Roman age three hundred years BC., and it represent a new type of tombs it is unique in the oasis," Omar said.
    The four sons of Horus -- Imsety, Duamutef, Hapi and Qebehsenuef -- were ancient Egyptian gods. The engravings show the influence of Egyptian religion well into the Greco-Roman period.
    The gods were believed to protect the stomach, liver, intestines and lungs of mummified bodies.
    Bahariya Oasis is home to Egypt's famed Valley of the Golden Mummies, where a collection of 17 tombs with about 254 mummies was discovered in 1996.
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