The coffins come from the New Kingdom, the oldest to date in the necropolis.
Egypt unveils a burial temple and the oldest coffins ever found in Saqqara, unlocking more secrets in the ancient cemetery and indicating another important discovery in the vast necropolis south of Cairo.
The country said a mission led by prominent Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, the former minister of antiquities, had excavated the burial temple of Queen Nearit, the wife of King Teti – the first pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt.
The mission also excavated 52 tombs with more than 50 wooden coffins. They date back 3,000 years, the oldest sarcophagi found in Saqqara.
“These coffins are of wood and anthropoid … many of the gods worshiped during this period have been represented on the surface of the coffins, in addition to various extracts from the Book of the Dead which help the deceased to travel through the journey of the to go to another world, “the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement.
In recent months, Egypt has unearthed hundreds of coffins of top officials and priests in Saqqara, all dating back to the more recent Late and Ptolemaic periods.
The ministry said the new discovery was distinguished because older sarcophagi had been found in the New Kingdom. The period of the New Kingdom lasted from the 16th century BC to the 11th century BC, which covers the 18th, 19th and 20th Egyptian dynasties.
“The discovery confirmed that the Saqqara area was used not only during the late period for burials, but also during the New Kingdom,” the statement said.
Another “luxury mudstone sanctuary” was also discovered at a depth of 24 meters below ground level, the deepest shaft yet to be found. Hawass said the excavation will continue until the burial chamber is discovered.
“Within the shafts, the mission discovers a large number of archaeological artifacts and a large number of statues representing gods such as the god Osiris and Ptah-Soker-Osiris,” the ancient ministry added.
Egypt has carried out extensive digging operations in Saqqara over the past few years, leading to a series of discoveries, including the excavation of a 4400-year-old tomb of the royal priest Wahtye in 2018 and the discovery of hundreds of mummified animals and statues per years later.
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany said in November that Egypt could ‘find tombs and tombs at every location in this area’, referring to Saqqara, which is also home to 13 pyramids.
Egypt hopes the findings could help revive the important tourism industry, which suffered a new blow due to the COVID-19 pandemic just as it began to recover from the uprisings and civil unrest in 2011 and 2013.
Hawass said the latest discoveries in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara will make it an important tourist and cultural destination.
“It will also rewrite the history of Saqqara during the New Kingdom,” he added.