With all these spectacular discoveries, there is still more to unearth, but urban development and sprawl threaten this cultural heritage. By no means has everything been explored and excavated around the Pyramids and its surroundings. The same is true of the great catacombs and tombs like the one in Saqqara.
For over 3,000 years, it was the main cemetery of the Egyptian capital, Memphis. If we were to look at old maps from the early 19th century, we could see that there are many sites to be excavated; archaeologists just haven’t gotten around to it until now.
100 More Coffins
The Egyptian antiquities authority has published a discovery of at least 100 ancient coffins, some with mummies still inside, and about 40 intricate statues in a huge Pharaonic necropolis south of Cairo.
Sealed sarcophagi and statues that were laid to rest more than 2,500 years ago were presented in a makeshift display at the feet of the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. Archaeologists opened one coffin, with a well-preserved mummy encased and bound in cloth.
The Latest Findings
Khaled el-Anany, the tourism and antiquities minister, said in a news interview that the objects date back to the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for 300 years from about 320 BC to about 30 BC.
He clarified that they would move the artifacts to at least three museums in Cairo, including the Grand Egyptian Museum, which Egypt is building near the famed Giza Pyramids. This acquisition at the renowned site is the latest in a range of archaeological findings in Egypt.
It's a Race Against Time
Even with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities' active support, the teams of archaeologists and scientists are under tremendous time pressure. It seems that many people are considering going to Egypt as well at some point because of these fascinating discoveries.
Nowadays, there are far more sight-seeing opportunities than there were just a few decades ago. And that, of course, is also always a good reason to go back to Egypt.
How to Read Hieroglyphics
Those cool picturesque writings found in the pyramids hide a wealth of stories in them. While this wasn't the main writing system in Egypt (that was hieratic), hieroglyphics are still fascinating. But how do you even start? Which direction did the Egyptians read from? Well, all over. Hieroglyphics can be read from left to right, right to left, or top to bottom, depending on the will of the storyteller.
Here's the trick: look at the birds and the men. They face the direction of the start of the text. So, if they are facing left, then you read the story from left to right. If they are facing right, you read the story from right to left. It doesn't tell you if the writing is to be read from top to bottom or from bottom to top, but it's a start.