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 of Tourism and Antiquities.

00:13These coffins are thought to be 2,500 years old, and while it's still not clear who was buried in these coffins,

00:19archaeologists hope to find out soon once they start opening them up.

00:22The 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.

00:31This newfound discovery of 13 coffins is the largest since October 2019 at Saqqara,

00:37when 30 wooden coffins were discovered in one cache, according to the Ministry.

00:42However, these remains are just a minuscule amount of the dead bodies, both human and animal,

00:48that are buried at Saqqara, which is a giant necropolis and pyramid complex at Memphis,

00:53which was ancient Egypt's first capital.

00:55Saqqara is located about 20 miles or 30 kilometers south of Cairo,

01:00and it's also the resting place of several kings who ruled during the first and second dynasties,

01:06including Djoser, who was the first king of the third dynasty

01:09and had the famous steppe pyramid at Saqqara built when he died.

01:14Back when these people were alive 2,500 years ago,

01:17it was a tumultuous time for ancient Egypt.

01:19Persia had taken over, meaning they were ruled by foreigners.

01:24However, some of the foreigners actually invested in Egypt.

01:28For instance, one of the rulers, known as the Persian king Darius I,

01:33actually ordered the construction of temples and public works,

01:36and he redid the legal system and strengthened the economy in Egypt.

01:40Archaeologists hope to learn more about this time period

01:43by studying the remains of the people who died then.