Egypt’s Min. of Tourism & Antiquities prepares for new archaeological announcement in El-Wahat

CAIRO – 11 February 2021: Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities is preparing to make an announcement of a new archaeological discovery in El-Wahat, made by one of the foreign missions operating in the region.

The details will be revealed soon, as the discovery boasts a group of important artifacts, found in good condition.

The last discovery announced by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities included 16 burials in "Lockley" rock-cut tombs, and was made by the Egyptian-Dominican mission of the University of Santo Domingo, operating at the Taposiris Magna Temple in western Alexandria.

Inside the burials, a number of mummies in poor state of preservation were found, which highlights the characteristics of mummification in the Greek and Roman eras.

Remnants of golden cartonnage and a set of gold foil amulets in the form of a tongue were also found placed in the mouth of a mummy. This is a special ritual to ensure the deceased’s ability to speak in the after-life before the Osiri court. Archaeologists speculate that the real tongue of the deceased was removed by embalmers, and that the golden tongue was put in place during funeral rites.

Also, among the most prominent mummies discovered were two mummies that kept the remains of scrolls. The first had traces of gilding and bears gilded decoration showing Osiris, the deity of the underworld for ancient Egyptians.

The other mummy was found wearing a crown, decorated with horns, and a cobra snake at the forehead. On the chest of the mummy there is a gilded decoration representing the wide necklace from which hangs the head of a falcon, the symbol of the deity Horus.