CAIRO, EGYPT—According to a report in The Guardian, more than 50 wooden coffins have been discovered in more than 20 burial shafts in the Saqqara necropolis by a team of researchers led by archaeologist Zahi Hawass. Many of the brightly painted coffins have been dated to the New Kingdom period, from 1550 to 1070 B.C. Games, statues, and masks dated to the New Kingdom period were also recovered at the site. These are the first artifacts from the New Kingdom period to be unearthed in Saqqara, Hawass explained. The team members also uncovered the funerary temple of Queen Neit near the 4,200-year-old pyramid of her husband, the Old Kingdom pharaoh Teti, who ruled during the Sixth Dynasty from about 2323 to 2291 B.C., in addition to three warehouses made of bricks. For another recent discovery from Saqqara, go to "Mummy Cache," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2020.
