CAIRO – 19 April 2020: Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced a new archaeological discovery on April 18, for the first time via the internet. A shaft measuring 120 x 90 centimeters 11 meters deep has been found, at the bottom of which five sealed stone coffins/sarcophagi, four niches in a room containing wooden coffins and Late Period human burials were uncovered.
A massive anthropoid wooden coffin bearing hieroglyphs written in yellow pigment was
discovered in one of these niches.
Other objects were discovered around this coffin, including: 365 faience ushabti figurines, some of which bear hieroglyphs texts, a small wooden obelisk about 40 centimeters tall, all four of its sides bearing painted scenes depicting the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, and the god Horus; wooden statues of the god Ptah-Sokar-Osiris; three pottery canopic jars in which the viscera removed during mummification were kept, in addition to many other artifacts.
All the small artifacts were removed from the shaft so they can undergo restoration
before being stored.
The discovery is located at the sacred animal necropolis in Saqqara. In this place many
announcements of archaeological discoveries were made along the past two years, by
experts of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The most important of these discoveries were the gorgeously decorated tomb of Wahti
and the cachette of the sacred birds and animals from which many animal
mummies—some extremely rare—were brought to light.
Work began in this area in April 2018, and it is still ongoing. In April 2020, the project is
now in its third season.
On April 18 within the celebrations of the World Heritage Day, Egypt’s Ministry of
Tourism and Antiquities lit the Pyramids of Giza with the slogans launched by
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS ) which are Shared Cultures,
Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility.
The ministry was keen to launch this event from the Giza Pyramids area as it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Egypt’s minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Enany and Egypt’s minister of
information Osama Heikal.
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities organised a lot of events to celebrate the World
Heritage Day.
Egypt’s minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Enany took us in a tour inside the
awe-inspiring tomb of Wahti in Saqqara.
Uncovered in 2018, Wahati tomb is considered one of the most important discoveries of
the decade.
The tomb belonged to a Fifth Dynasty High-Priest of ‘Purification’, making it an
especially apt and timely reminder that cleansing and protecting that which we hold dear is an innate human desire that stretches back through millennia.
World Heritage Day falls on April 18 every year. It is tailor made to increase awareness
about the vitality of cultural heritage and find ways to protect and preserve our heritage.
In 1982 the International Council of Monuments and Sites suggested celebrating heritage on April 18, and it was approved by the General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983.
Also in celebration of World Heritage Day, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
launched a drawing competition for children aged 6-12.
The children are supposed to Chose one of the seven World Heritage Sites found in
Egypt, draw a picture of it and write a short essay to describe it. Each kid will send a
photo of his/her drawing,essay and personal data on this email: moa.cultural.develop@gmail.com.
The ministry will organise an online gallery for the drawings and chose three winners.
The last day to submit the drawings is 15 May 2020.
