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Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a 4300-year-old sarcophagus containing what could be the oldest mummy ever found in the country.
Possibly ‘oldest’ mummy yet found in Egypt
Egyptologists have uncovered a Pharaonic tomb near the capital Cairo containing what might be the oldest and most complete mummy yet to be discovered in the country, the excavation team leader says.
The 4300-year-old mummy was found at the bottom of a 15-metre shaft in a recently uncovered group of fifth and sixth dynasty tombs near the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Zahi Hawass, director of the team, told reporters.
The mummy, of a man named Hekashepes, was in a limestone sarcophagus that had been sealed in mortar.
“This mummy may be the oldest and most complete mummy found in Egypt to date,” Hawass, one of Egypt’s former ministers of antiquities, said in a statement on Thursday.
