Thirty ancient Egyptian mothers were discovered, revealing a fascinating mother-daughter duo that was huddling together.
Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities has announced a major archaeological discovery in the southeast of the country. An international team has discovered 30 Egyptian mummies that are approximately 2,000 years old. The mummies include adults, children and babies and were found in a network of burial chambers. A room full of objects related to ancient funerary practices also came to light. It is hoped that this discovery will help us better understand Ancient Egypt during a crucial period of change.
The mummies were found by a team of Italian and Egyptian archaeologists working in Aswan, Egypt. It was once an important frontier post on the Nubian border and was known in ancient times as Swenett.
The area where the discovery was made is named after the nearby Aga Khan Mausoleum, which contains the remains of an imam revered by the Nizari Ismali sect of Islam.
In this place there are several dozen burial sites, from various periods. Over the past four years, the team at this location has “mapped around 300 graves, 25 of which have been excavated in the past four years,” according to Geek.com.
While investigating a previously unexcavated area, archaeologists found a rock-cut tomb. This burial site was found hidden behind a stone wall and, surprisingly, had not been discovered by grave robbers. The experts entered and found that there was a large tomb and several connected burial chambers, one of the tombs had been dug into the ground. Other rooms were also located. The experts found a writing that indicated that it belonged to an individual named Tjt.
In total about 30 mummies were found, still wrapped in linen bandages. They included corpses of men, women and children. According to Newsweek, they found the remains of “children hidden in a hole on the side” of the main tomb. In one area what is believed to be a dead mother was found with a baby in her arms. Four other mummies were also discovered in a structure that contained several jars still containing food.
Many objects were found in the tomb complex. All artifacts date from the Hellenistic and Roman period (333 BC to 300 AD). This was a time when Greco-Roman influences fused with native Egyptian culture to create syncretic religious and funerary practices.
In one room, team members found evidence that funerary trade was practiced in the tomb. Experts found a variety of items used in the mummification process, such as bitumen and thread.
A stretcher made of palm wood and pieces of linen was also found, presumably for transporting mummies.
They found a remarkable figure of a Ba-Bird, which has a bird’s body and a human head. This represented the soul or immaterial being of the deceased.
A funerary workshop in the tomb In the same room they also found a lot of cardboard, material made from strips of cloth, papyrus and layers of plaster. They also found some half-finished funerary masks. It seemed that workers made the cartouche here and transformed it into masks and other funerary items, which were hand-painted with brightly colored symbols and designs. The team investigated the numerous mask and coffin fragments in the tomb complex and provided invaluable information.
The discovery of a series of perfectly preserved burial chambers is an important find. Mummies may offer new insights into funerary practices and religious beliefs in the classical period. Furthermore, the workshop or warehouse is helping us understand the funerary trade in Ancient Egypt. Many more interesting finds are expected to be made in the area of the Aga Khan mausoleum in Aswan.