The latest discoveries include about 150 bronze statues of ancient Egyptian gods, such as Anubis, a god of the dead often depicted with the head of a jackal Osiris, the king of the dead Amon-Min, a fertility god usually depicted with an erect phallus Nefertem, the beautiful son of Bastet Isis, the wife of Osiris and goddess of fertility and Hathor, an extremely popular goddess who was deemed the protector of women.

The Achaemenid Persians ruled Egypt as a province of their empire throughout the Late Period, but Egyptian culture flourished during their reign and many temples were built, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Today's news is the fifth major announcement of artifacts that have been found there - including 59 mummies found in 2020, as Live Science previously reported - and there are still many years of work left to carry out. The ancient burial ground has been the site of extensive excavations by Egyptian archaeologists since 2018. The necropolis at Saqqara is near the edge of a desert plateau about 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) south of Cairo. Mummy pictures are also extremely rare to uncover due to theft, with the last known specimens recovered in the 1880s.Egyptian authorities revealed the discovery on Monday (May 31), lining up the mummies, statues and other artifacts in front of Saqqara's Step Pyramid of Djoser for the announcement.

Researchers believe the deceased was likely middle-class or privileged since commissioning bespoke paintings of their likenesses would have been prohibitively expensive at the time. Mummy PortraitsĪrchaeologists discovered two complete lifelike mummy portraits, as well as other fragmentary pictures of those buried in the cemetery while excavating a necropolis in the ancient Egyptian city of Philadelphia.

One piece of jewelry struck out for its etching of Bes, often known as the 'god of joy,' which can be seen in ancient depictions across Egypt. A Treasure Trove of Gold ArtefactsĪrchaeologists discovered a treasure trove of gold objects, including a necklace and three rings, while excavating a burial site in Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna), a city south of Cairo. They said that the 'masterpiece' features a pied kingfisher ( Ceryle rudis), a red-backed shrike ( Lanius collurio), and a white wagtail ( Motacilla alba). The 3,300-year-old Painting of Birds in FlightĪ painting depicting detailed pictures of birds in flight and perched next helped modern researchers to identify the exact species depicted in the 3,300-year-old work.

Egyptian mummy gold