Largest intact embalming workshops unearthed in Saqqara, Egypt
Two embalming workshops dedicated to humans and animals have been discovered on Saturday at the Saqqara Necropolis, Greater Cairo, in a discovery unlikely to be the last at the site, the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa, told reporters.
The mission was carried out under the leadership of the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Moustafa Waziri.
Two tombs, one belonging to the Old Kingdom and the second belonging to the New Kingdom, were unearthed as well, along with a collection of artefacts.
According to Waziri, the embalming workshops date back to the 30th Dynasty (380–343 BC) and the Ptolemaic period (305–30 BC).
The human embalming workshop is a rectangular building that includes various rooms with stone beds used in the mummification process.
The second embalming workshop was built with mud walls and stone floors and includes multiple rooms where a number of animal burials and clay pots were discovered.
“According to initial studies, it is believed that this particular workshop was used for the mummification of sacred animals,” said Waziri.
“I assure you that Egypt, especially the archaeological site of Saqqara, has not yet revealed all its secrets, and there are many more to come,” Issa added.
