Dr. Khalid El Enani, Minister of Tourism& Antiquities, has announced the first discovery in 2020 at Al Ariqh area near Touna El Jabal on the east bank of the Nile River in Minya Governorate, some 180 south to Cairo.
An Egyptian mission led by Dr. Mustafa Waziry, General-Secretary of the Higher Council of Antiquities ( HCA), is still digging in Minya so far.
The mission succeeded in unearthing a number of family tombs related to senior priests of Jehuti, a deity of Ancient Egypt, and other senior officials of the fifth province of Upper Egypt and its capital of Hermopolis.
Dr. El Enani said today announced the first discovery in 2020 under auspices of Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities.
He affirmed that Mynia Governorate is still a virgin land so that has many unveiled secrets.
Since 2018, four new major discoveries have announced, among them a cache of mummies, a group of tombs containing coffins and funeral furniture at Touna El Jabal.
The minister pointed out the importance of what his ministry did to organize various tourist and archaeological events in Minya Governorate to put it on the map of international tourism.
Mynia reporters were invited to acquaint with some monuments in the governorate where Mallawi Museum was opened in 2016.
He thanked the staff of the HCA for their efforts to declare those discoveries which will attract the attention of the world to Egypt and her various governorates.
He also thanked Maj. Gen. Osama El-Qadi, Minya’s Governor and deputies of the governorate to the House of Deputies for their support of today’s event.
Dr. Waziry made clear that the Egyptian mission celebrates the third season in Minya Governorate where the members discovered 16 tombs containing 20 various coffins, five of them were human-like ones and made of limestone.
The coffins were covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions and some of the coffins carry the names of their owners.
The coffins contain more than ten thousand of figurines ( small-sized statues which put inside the tombs o the nobles in Ancient Egypt to escort their masters in their journey in the other world). Those figurines carry nicknames of their masters.
The mission also found more than 700 spells of various volumes and forms. The spells were made from many materials to embody the winged cobra, the guarding eye, Osier Column and some of them made of pure gold.
The tombs of Minya contain many canopic pots made of colored limestone for funeral use, baskets of palm fronds and hammers.
Other groups consisting of four canopic pots of alabaster for a woman called Sue, and another for a person called Hur, and Ipe, and finally a group of stone dough without inscriptions representing the four sons of Horus.
Dr. Waziri explained that one of the discovered sarcophaguses belongs to a man called "Art Harrow", who was named by many titles, the most important of them is the priest of Osier and Nut, the superintendent of estates and the priest of Hathor, who is the son of Basmatik and who holds the title of royal treasurer.
The second sarcophagus is the one that belongs to Horus with goddess Nut’s inscription as she spreading her wings above the breast.
The lower section of the sarcophagus has inscriptions show titles of the dead, especially Guard of the Royal Treasurer.
The sarcophagus of Epe has three vertical lines of hieroglyphic inscriptions showing the name of the deceased.
The mission of HCA also found sarcophagus of Grand Jehuti Ayov Ankh made of well-polished limestone, which is one of the most important coffins discovered this season due to the nicknames inscribed on the sarcophagus lid (which is the guard of the royal treasurer, bearer of the seals of Lower Egypt and the only companion of the king).
The sarcophagus of Wess has hieroglyphic inscriptions showing the surnames of the deceased, the most important of which is the title of the assistant.
It is noteworthy mentioning that during its previous seasons, the mission had discovered 19 tombs containing 70 stone coffins of various sizes and shapes.
The archaeological excavations will continue in the region to reveal more of its secrets.
Contributed by Ahmed Moamar
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