Thirty mummies were discovered on Sunday February 8, 2009 at the necropolis of Saqqara just south of Cairo, Egypt. Saqqara is known for the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the first large scale monument ever built by mankind. Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities, archeologist, and Egyptologist, Dr. Zahi Hawass, says the new tomb was found at the bottom of an eleven meter deep well.
Eight of the mummies were in sarcophagi (stone coffins with decorative inscriptions) and the remaining mummies had been placed in niches in the wall. Excavations have been ongoing at Saqqara for over one hundred years, and this is the latest find. Just two months earlier in November, a pyramid was found buried in sand. Dr Hawass anticipates many more discoveries in the area.
According to archaeologist and Dr. Hawass’ assistant, the mummies vary in age from about 640 BC during the Roman period in Egypt to 2,494 BC of the Old Kingdom. See complete article Mummification Tools and Recent Discoveries of Ancient Egyptian Mummies