Photo: lastatalenews.unimi.it
One of the mummies found in West Aswan
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Scientists suggest that members of the same family were buried in the underground tomb for centuries.
In Aswan, Egypt, they discovered the entrance to an ancient family tomb, hidden in a building scorched by fire. The unique find of archaeologists was reported by the journal Live Science.
Researchers have not yet dated the burial, but they suspect that one family buried the dead in it during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods – from the 1st century BC to the 2nd or 3rd century AD.
Inside four deeply dug chambers, 30 mummies of various ages were found, including several elderly people with arthritis, as well as children and a newborn.
The discovered necropolis was one of 300 graves found by archaeologists in the area of the Aga Khan Mausoleum, located on the top of a small hill along the Nile. However, most of the other tombs are underground or dug into rocky hills, and this one is located inside a larger above-ground structure.
It is assumed that the necropolis was used for sacrifices to the god of fertility Khnum, who was especially revered in Aswan.
Egyptologist Patricia Piacentini of the University of Milan and her team found traces of fire on the walls of the building. Inside, animal bones, remains of plants, fruits, fragments of a vase, a necklace and other items were found.
The head of the excavation noted that they have yet to analyze the finds in order to establish their age and find out other details.
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