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Photo: A mummy in a sarcophagus from Saqqara
A news report from Egypt is announcing the discoveries of several mummies at the vast necropolis of Saqqara south of Cairo. The following is an excerpt from the news report:
A storeroom housing about two dozen ancient Egyptian mummies has been unearthed inside a 2,600-year-old tomb during the latest round of excavations at the vast necropolis of Saqqara south of Cairo. The tomb was located at the bottom of a 36-foot deep shaft. Twenty-two mummies were found in niches along the tomb’s walls, he said.
Eight sarcophagi were also found in the tomb. Archaeologists so far have opened only one of the sarcophagi – and found a mummy inside of it.
In the photo above, released Monday, Feb. 9, 2009 by Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, a newly-discovered Egyptian mummy in a sarcophagus is seen in a tomb at Saqqara, south of Cairo, in Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009. Egyptian archaeologists say they have discovered 30 mummies inside a 2,600-year-old tomb, discovered at an even more ancient site dating back to the 4,300-year-old 6th Dynasty.
Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
Tags: Archaeology, Egypt, Mummies, Saqqara
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Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament 
>I remember reading recently about a collection of mummies. Apparently they were all relocated to this new tomb, sans treasure, because the priests realized and/or feared that they couldn’t guarantee safety from tomb-robbers. Abandoning their original tombs, they moved the mummies to a non-descript location, reasoning that they could at least preserve the mummies for the afterlife even if they couldn’t secure all the wares and possessions that were intended for the use of the deceased. At least that was the hypothesis.
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>t-ham,Thank you for this information. Are you implying that these mummies were relocated from a previous tomb? Let me know.Claude Mariottini
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>Dr. M, The idea may have been included as a tangential bit of information in a documentary, possibly about Saqqara. I may be mixing up several programs but I recall several subjects being discussed; 1. The newly discovered base of a huge pyramid on a bluff to the west of the Giza complex 2. A seemingly royal mummy, enbalmed in a different manner than the usual, without identification inscriptions(odd because Egyptians believed you couldn’t enter the next world without your name) 3. A female, possibly a queen, unidentified If I’ve made a jumble of this, I apologize, Egyptology isn’t my sport, I just find it, and most ancient history, very interesting.
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