Egypt disovers 3,400-year-old cemetery in Minya-Xinhua

This photo taken on Oct. 15, 2023 shows a colored mummy coffin unearthed at a cemetery in Minya Governorate, Egypt. A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

MINYA, Egypt, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday.

The cemetary, dating back about 3,400 years to ancient Egypt's New Kingdom, belonged to senior officials and priests, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

The cemetary was discovered in the Al-Ghuraifa area of Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in Minya by an Egyptian archeological mission led by the SCA. It consists of a large quantity of rock-cut tombs, and hundreds of other archaeological finds, said Waziri.

It is the first cemetery finding of the New Kingdom in the 15th nome, a territorial division in ancient Upper Egypt. The region was previously known for cemeteries belonging to the Old Kingdom, the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom.

"We have been looking for this New Kingdom cemetery for seven years and we finally found it in this excavation season," Waziri told Xinhua at the necropolis.

Among the finds was a complete, well-preserved papyrus that is approximately 16-18 meters long, according to preliminary studies, with texts about the Book of the Dead, and an engraved, colored wooden coffin of a daughter of a high priest of Djehuti, an ancient Egyptian god.

The team also found amulets, jewelry, stone and wooden coffins containing mummies, and a group of ushabti figurines made of pottery and wood, according to the SCA chief.

The mission started its work in 2017 in the Al-Ghuraifa area. ■

This photo taken on Oct. 15, 2023 shows artifacts unearthed at a cemetery in Minya Governorate, Egypt. A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

This photo taken on Oct. 15, 2023 shows a papyrus unearthed at a cemetery in Minya Governorate, Egypt. A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

People look at a colored mummy coffin unearthed at a cemetery in Minya Governorate, Egypt, on Oct. 15, 2023. A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

An archaeological worker cleans a mummy inside a rock-cut tomb at a cemetery in Minya Governorate, Egypt, Oct. 15, 2023. A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

This photo taken on Oct. 15, 2023 shows a mummy coffin inside a rock-cut tomb at a cemetery in Minya Governorate, Egypt. A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), poses for photos with an artifact unearthed at a cemetery in Minya Governorate, Egypt, on Oct. 15, 2023. A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

This photo taken on Oct. 15, 2023 shows the painting on a colored mummy coffin unearthed at a cemetery in Minya Governorate, Egypt. A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

This photo taken on Oct. 15, 2023 shows painting on a colored mummy coffin unearthed at a cemetery in Minya Governorate, Egypt. A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), introduces a colored mummy coffin unearthed at a cemetery in Minya Governorate, Egypt, on Oct. 15, 2023. A cemetery dating back to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt was unearthed at Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in southern Egypt's Minya governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Sunday. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)