Including the tomb of “Messi” .. the discovery of pharaonic tombs and mummy covered with gold in Egypt

Today (Thursday), the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of several pharaonic tombs and a complete mummy dating back to the era of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties that ruled the country about 4,500 years ago, and the discovery of a fake door for a person named (Messi) who was the priest of the pyramid group of the pyramid of King Pepi I in Saqqara. Near the pyramids of Giza.

Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass said that the excavation work carried out by the Egyptian mission, jointly with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in the area of ​​Jisr al-Modir in the Saqqara cemetery, resulted in the discovery of tombs dating back to the era of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties of the Old Kingdom.

Hawass added that the discovered tombs indicate the existence of a huge cemetery with many tombs, pointing out that the first of the discovered tombs belonged to “Khnum Gedf”, who was working as an inspector of employees, a supervisor of nobles, and a priest of the hierarchical group of King Unas, the last king of the Fifth Dynasty.

He explained that the second tomb belongs to “Mari”, and he holds many titles such as Keeper of Secrets and Assistant Commander of the Great Palace. Another tomb was found for the priest of the hierarchical group of King Pepi I, one of the kings of the Sixth Dynasty, and nine colored limestone statues were also discovered.

He added that the mission found 12 colored statues that did not bear the names of their owners, and after that a fake door was discovered for a priest called (Messi), who was the priest of the hierarchical group of the pyramid of King Pepi I of the Sixth Dynasty, which indicates that nine of the discovered statues belong to this person.

He explained that the other three statues of a person called (Fatak), who was a judge and a scribe, were next to them an offering table and a closed coffin of limestone for the owner of the statues.

He said that a well of about 15 meters deep was discovered, and at the bottom of the well a room was found containing a limestone sarcophagus of a person called (Haka Shabis), and many finds were found around the sarcophagus.

He added that this sarcophagus had not been touched and that it had been completely closed for about 4,300 years, and when the lid of the sarcophagus was opened, a mummy of a man covered with gold foil was found, indicating that it is considered the most complete and oldest non-royal mummy found so far.

The Saqqara cemetery, which derives its name from the god (Suker), who was believed by the ancient Egyptians to be the god of the entrance to the other world, is the only archaeological area that includes tombs extending from the beginning to the end of Egyptian history, in addition to antiquities from the Greek and Roman eras.

Hawass said that he began working in the area of ​​​​the manager’s bridge in Saqqara and the pyramid of King Titi since 2007, with the aim of searching for the pyramid of King Huni, the last king of the Third Dynasty in the Old Kingdom.

He expressed his confidence in the presence of the pyramid in this area, as he believes that it will be found soon, and that its discovery may not be less important than the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

And last week, Egypt revealed a complete ancient residential city from the Roman era dating back to the second and third centuries AD, during the excavations of the Egyptian mission on the eastern mainland in Luxor Governorate, in the south of the country.