A new, extensive, and well-preserved collection of mummies discovered in southern Egypt near Luxor has both archaeologists and tourism officials buzzing with excitement. The cache of 30 mummies encased in colourfully painted wooden sarcophagi is believed to be over 3000 years old and is the largest discovery of mummies in over 100 years.
An all-Egyptian team of archaeologists excavated the find, which is likely to yield significant new knowledge about life outside of the immediate royal court in ancient Egypt.
While the general area in which the find was made is rich with hundreds of royal and noble burials, both discovered and undiscovered, the way in which the sarcophagi were placed in the ground indicates that they may have been moved and reburied at some point in antiquity. As EgyptTravelBlog.com notes:
Given where and how the collection of ancient coffins was found, it is unlikely that this was their original resting place. As later became common practice in ancient times, the mummies were likely moved from their original tombs to another secret location for joint reburial in order to prevent grave robbers from desecrating them in search of jewelry in later decades or centuries.
egypt travel blog – “New Major Mummy Discovery Unveiled in Luxor”
Luxor residents are now arguing to keep the exciting find local to help increase interest in visiting the Luxor Museum, which is often overlooked by tourists visiting the more famous tombs and temples in and surrounding Luxor. However, officials have stated that the new Grand Egyptian Museum would be a much better repository for the mummies because it is better equipped to preserve and display the cache than the Luxor Museum.
