Egypt said Saturday it has discovered a number of ancient burial chambers containing some 40 mummies in the desert province of Minya, south of Cairo.
According to the Associated Press, officials told reporters at the site that the chambers, which were cut out of rock, belonged to a middle-class family who probably lived during the Ptolemaic, early Roman or Byzantine period.
The mummies are in good condition and at least 10 are of children. Some were decorated with "demotic handwriting" — a form of ancient Egyptian script used by ordinary people. Pottery, papyri and colorful mummy cases were also unearthed.
