An Egyptian archaeological mission at the Saqqara Necropolis has managed to unearth a collection of 250 painted wooden coffins and the largest bronze hoard ever seen containing a collection of up to 150 statues of ancient Egyptian deities of varying sizes.
The secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, explained in a press conference held on Monday that the discovered statues "represent the gods Bastet, Anubis, Osiris, Amunmeen, Isis, Nefertum and Hathor, as well as instruments used during the Rituals of Isis like the Sistrum”, a kind of rattle.
A headless carving of the engineer Imhotep was also discovered, Waziri added, as well as a collection of intact painted wooden coffins - and with the mummies inside - dating from the Late Period (around 2,500 years ago). All these discoveries appeared inside burial pits along with amulets, wooden boxes and statues with golden faces in the Bubasteion cemetery.
This complex of Ptolemaic and Roman temples is dedicated to the goddess Bastet (representing protection, love and harmony) on the edge of the Saqqara desert, south of the pyramid of Teti. In Arabic, the place is called Abwab el-Qotat, meaning "The Gates of the Cats."
The researchers, who have been working at the necropolis since 2018, also found "a painted statue representing the distinguished duo formed by the deities Isis and Nephthys mourning the dead," Mostaza Waziri said. During the excavations, in addition, a papyrus written in hieroglyphics that may contain verses from the Book of the Dead appeared inside one of the coffins.
The document has been transferred to the laboratory of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to be studied and discover what its inscriptions explain. A collection of cosmetics was also found, including combs, eyeliners, containers, bracelets, earrings and necklaces of seeds, along with some tools used in daily life.
Waziri explained that the coffins will be transferred to the Great Egyptian Museum, also known as the Giza Museum, and that it will be entirely endowed with collections from Ancient Egypt. The center will be inaugurated soon and it is expected that the finds made in Saqqara will occupy a main part of the exhibition.
