13 Mummies Coffins Unearthed in Egypt

Archaeologists discovers 13 wooden coffins in the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Saqqara.

Transcript

00:00Archaeologists have discovered more than 13 ancient Egyptian coffins piled one on top of the other

00:05within a burial well at the desert necropolis of Saqqara, according to the Egyptian Ministry

00:11of Tourism and Antiquities. These coffins are thought to be 2,500 years old, and while it's

00:16still not clear who was buried in these coffins, archaeologists hope to find out soon once they

00:21start opening them up. The well that held the coffins was very deep, about 40 feet or 11 meters,

00:27and actually archaeologists think that more will be found soon. This newfound discovery of 13 coffins

00:34is the largest since October 2019 at Saqqara, when 30 wooden coffins were discovered in one cache,

00:40according to the ministry. However, these remains are just a minuscule amount of the dead bodies,

00:46both human and animal, that are buried at Saqqara, which is a giant necropolis and pyramid complex at

00:52Memphis, which was ancient Egypt's first capital. Saqqara is located about 20 miles or 30 kilometers

00:59south of Cairo, and it's also the resting place of several kings who ruled during the first and

01:04second dynasties, including Djoser, who was the first king of the third dynasty and had the famous

01:10step pyramid at Saqqara built when he died. Back when these people were alive 2,500 years ago,

01:17it was a tumultuous time for ancient Egypt. Persia had taken over, meaning they were ruled by

01:23foreigners. However, some of the foreigners actually invested in Egypt. For instance,

01:29one of the rulers, known as the Persian king Darius I, actually ordered the construction

01:35of temples and public works, and he readied the legal system and strengthened the economy in Egypt.

01:40Archaeologists hope to learn more about this time period by studying the remains of the people

01:45who died then.