New Mummy Discovery

Archaeologists from Australia made an accidental discovery last week that has turned out to be a huge find. While exploring a 4,200-year-old tomb in Egypt, they discovered a secret door that opened to a hidden, 2,500-year-old tomb!

A Colorful Find
Inside the tomb they found three coffins and a well-preserved mummy covered in turquoise blue beads. The excavation site was on a hillside cemetery in Saqqara, a main center for archaeology that is about 15 miles south of Cairo, Egypts capital city.

This ancient wooden coffin and the mummy inside are about 2,500 years old.



Zahi Hawass, a leading archaeologist in Egypt, said the beaded mummy is "maybe one of the best mummies ever preserved."

Uncovering History
"I believe this discovery can enrich us about two important periods in our history," Hawass said. The tomb the researchers were first exploring dates back to the Old Kingdom, or about 4,200 years ago. The hidden tomb they just discovered dates back to the 26th Pharaoh (fair-oh) Dynasty, which lasted from about 672 BC to 525 BC.

The coffins are made of wood. They are called anthropoids because they are in the shape of people. One of the coffins held a mummy, which was covered with many beads. This excited archaeologists because most mummies from the period are missing most of their original beadwork.

Whats Next for the Mummy?
Archaeologists will soon begin testing the mummies to learn more about them. They will use the same tests that have recently been done on one of the most talked about mummies ever King Tutankhamen (Toot-ong-kah-men), who ruled Egypt about 3,300 years ago.

Hawass said on Tuesday that test results show that King Tutankhamen was not murdered as many people once believed. The tests showed that he may have died from an infection caused by a broken leg.

Tutankhamen became the 12th ruler of Egypts 18th dynasty at about age 8. He died around 1323 BC at the age of 19.