Discovering Historic Treasures: 4,500-Year-Old Tombs Next to Egyptian Pyramids Hold Mummified Cats, Say Archaeologists
DOZENS of mummified cats have been unearthed in Egypt after archaeologists discovered a huge burial ground near the pyramids south of Cairo.
The collection was found in seven tombs which experts have been working on for the past six months on the edge of the King Userkaf pyramid complex at Saqqara, south of the capital.
As they were preparing the site to present the latest discoveries, archaeologists found the door of another tomb that remains sealed, Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters.
The tomb dates from the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom and is unusual because the facade and door are intact, meaning its contents may still be untouched, said Mohamed Youssef, director of the Saqqara area.
He said experts plan to open the tomb in the coming weeks.
The Fifth Dynasty ruled Egypt from about 2,500 BC to 2,350 BC, not long after the great pyramid of Giza was built.
The tombs lie in a buried ridge that has only partially been uncovered and could offer many more similar discoveries, Waziri said.
Excavations in the area had halted in 2013 before resuming earlier this year.
Saqqara served as the necropolis for Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt for more than 2,000 years.
