egypt-museum:

30 ‘Cachette of the Priests’ Mummies Discovered in Egypt

Archaeologists have unearthed 30 sealed wooden coffins with mummies inside at “El-Assasif,” an ancient necropolis near Luxor, Egypt, Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities announced this morning (Oct. 19) at a press conference.

Called the “cachette of the priests” because some of the mummies appear to be those of ancient Egyptian priests, the coffins date back about 3,000 years.

Vividly colored paintings on the coffins are so well-preserved one can make out the complex patterns, Egyptian deities and hieroglyphic writing they depict. When discovered, the coffins were arranged in two layers, with 18 coffins on the top layer and 12 coffins on the bottom layer, said Mostafa Waziri, the general secretary of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, who is leading work at El-Assasif. Read more.