MINYA, EGYPT—According to an Ahram Online report, more than 40 mummies were discovered in a maze of rock-cut burial chambers in the Tuna El-Gebel necropolis, which is located on the western bank of the Nile River, by a team of researchers from Minya University and Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities. Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany said the remains of men, women, and children are well preserved and are thought to have belonged to an upper-middle-class family. Fragments of colored cartonnage covers survive near the feet of some of the mummies. Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said some of the mummies were placed in stone or wooden sarcophagi, while some were laid on the floors or in niches in the walls of the tombs. Pieces of papyri and texts written on fragments of pottery suggest the burials date to the Ptolemaic, early Roman, and Byzantine periods, he added. To read about another recent discovery in Egypt, go to “Mummy Workshop.”
