More than 40 mummies were newly discovered last February 2 at the Tuna El-Gebel archeological site in Minya, a desert province located 150 miles to the south of Cairo, Egypt. The extended family, with 10 of them being young children, are now shedding light to the lives of the “upper middle-class” that dates back to 323-30 BC which was the Ptolemaic Period, or more popularly known as the ‘arc of Egyptian and Greek interaction.’ Although the identities are not known, The secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, said “we have not found names written in hieroglyphics.”
The unearthed grave, which consisted of numerous burial chambers is one of the largest and most important discoveries because it provides more information about ordinary people and their day-to-day lives up until the death of Cleopatra in 30 B.C. Waziri mentioned that all mummies were in good condition due to the sophistication of the mummification method. The graves also contained fragments of Papyri which will help reveal the dates of when the graves were made and filled. He also stressed that the discovery was led by his ministry and Research Center for Archeological Studies at Minya University, as a source of pride for the local people.
Aside from this discovery, the Minister of Antiquities, Khaled El-Enany also cited two other burial sites that were founded during his leadership in his speech during the inauguration at the Tuna El-Gebel. He promised that there would be more discoveries to come.
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