More than 50 ancient coffins have been found in a remarkable archaeological discovery near the Egyptian capital city Cairo.
The 3,000-year-old discovery was made at the Saqqara necropolis, south of the city, and included 54 wooden coffins, many of which can be traced back to the New Kingdom period.
The funerary temple of Queen Neit was also discovered near the pyramid of her husband, King Teti of Egypt's 6th dynasty, which dates back 4,200 years, said archaeologist Zahi Hawass, who headed the mission.
In a statement the tourism and antiquities ministry said the sarcophagi was the first dating back to the New Kingdom discovered at the ancient spot, which is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Carved in human form and painted in bright colours, many of them are still intact. Ancient games, statues, and masks were also found.
Archaeologist Zahi Hawass said: "All these discoveries will rewrite the history of Saqqara and the New Kingdom."
Officials will be keen to show off newly discovered artefacts as they grapple with dwindling visitor numbers during the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of tourists visiting the country dropped to 3.5 million last year from 13.1 million in 2019.
The discovery comes just three months after another major find when mummies were found in at least 100 ancient coffins dug up at a huge cemetery in the country.
Colourful, sealed sarcophagi and statues buried more than 2,500 years ago were displayed in a makeshift exhibit at the foot of the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara.
Archaeologists opened a coffin with a well-preserved mummy wrapped in cloth inside at the huge city of the dead south of Cairo.
They also carried out X-rays of the structures of the ancient mummy, showing how the body had been preserved in the necropolis.
Tourism Minister Khaled el-Anany said that the discovered items dated back to the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for some 300 years — from around 320 BC to about 30 BC, and the Late Period (664-332 BC).
