The coffins are from the New Empire, the oldest found in the necropolis so far.
Egypt discovered a funerary temple and the oldest coffins ever found in Saqqara, revealing more secrets in the old cemetery and marking another major discovery in the vast necropolis south of Cairo.
The country said a mission led by prominent Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, a former minister of state for antiquities, unearthed the funeral temple of Queen Nearit, wife of King Teti – the first pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt.
The mission also dug up 52 graves with more than 50 wooden coffins found inside. They date back to 3,000 years, the oldest sarcophagus found in Saqqara.
“These coffins are made of wood and anthropoid … many of the gods that were worshiped during this period were represented on the surface of the coffins, in addition to several excerpts from the Book of the Dead that help the deceased to go through the journey from the other world,” said the Ministry of Tourism and Antiques in a statement.
In recent months, Egypt has unearthed hundreds of coffins of high officials and priests in Saqqara, all dating from the most recent Late and Ptolemaic periods.
The new discovery stands out because older sarcophagi from the New Kingdom were found, the ministry said. The New Empire period lasted from the 16th century BC to the 11th century BC, encompassing the Egyptian dynasties 18, 19 and 20.
“The discovery confirmed that the Saqqara area was used not only for burial during the late period, but also during the New Empire,” the statement said.
Another “luxurious clay brick sanctuary” was also discovered at a depth of 24 meters below ground level, the deepest well ever found. Hawass said the excavation work would continue until the death chamber was discovered.
“Within the wells, the mission discovered a large number of archaeological artifacts and a large number of statues representing deities such as the god Osiris and Ptah-Soker-Osiris,” added the antiquities ministry.
Egypt has carried out extensive excavation operations at Saqqara in recent years, which has resulted in a number of discoveries, including the discovery of a 4,400-year-old tomb of the royal priest Wahtye in 2018 and the discovery of hundreds of mummified animals and statues a year more evening.
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany said in November that Egypt can “find tombs and tombs everywhere in this area”, referring to Saqqara, which also houses 13 pyramids.
Egypt hopes that the findings can help revive the vital tourism industry, which suffered a new blow because of the COVID-19 pandemic, just as it began to recover from the consequences of uprisings and civil unrest in 2011 and 2013.
Hawass said the latest discoveries at the old necropolis “will make Saqqara an important tourist and cultural destination”.
“It will also rewrite the history of Saqqara during the New Empire,” he added.