Antiquities Min. Announces Discovery of 18th Family Cemetery

By: Ali Abu-Dashish 

CAIRO, Dec. 14 (SEE)- The Swedish archaeological mission, headed by Dr. Maria Nelson, working in the ‘Selsela’ mountain area at ‘Kom Ombo’ unearthed a cemetery dating back to the age of the 18th Family, during their excavation.

Dr. Mustafa Waziri, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the cemetery is located at a depth of 5 meters, not decorated and consists of a burial chamber and two side-rooms. 

Waziri noted that the cemetry has already been subjected to attempts of stealth that made it full of sand and silt, which caused the inability to assess the damage done to it.

On his part, Abdel Moneim Saeed, Director General of the Antiquiteus of Aswan and Nubia, said that despite the poor condition of the cemetery, three limestone coffins were unearthed, one of them for a baby and another of a small child.

A group of cats, amulets and skeletal remains were also discovered, of nearly 50 people, half of them of adults and the other half of children, indicating an integrated community and their families living in that area.