Ancient ‘City of the Dead’ Discovered by Archaeologists in Egypt

Over 300 mummy graves were found in a “City of the Dead” near Aswan, Egypt, according to archaeologists. 

Established more than 4,500 years ago, the almost 270,000-foot complex served as a trading post and military outpost. Approximately 100,000 mummies were found within the little graveyard when the tombs were discovered. 

Aswan also housed a vast granite quarry along the Nile River, which allowed for the transport of enormous slabs of rock.

The inhabitants of the old city, which was once called Swenett, made use of the location for about nine hundred years, from the sixth century B.C. to the ninth century A.D. Products from the south arrived in Aswan and were distributed elsewhere, and travelers heading from the east to the west crossed the Nile at this point.

Infants and young children who died of ailments including TB, anemia, and organ disease make up an estimated 30 to 40 percent of the remains, according to the ministry. Funeral offerings, including ceramics and wood sculptures, adorned several tombs. 

The majority of the bones will be returned to their original locations, while the best-preserved mummies will be given to museums for display.

Additionally, the excavations uncovered the ancient Egyptian practice of interring the mummified remains of the general-in-chief of Aswan and middle-class citizens under the pyramidal tombs of the elite that occupied the hilltop. 

The burial ground was active from the sixth century BC to the ninth century AD. According to studies, thirty to forty percent of the buried people died when they were quite young, either as infants or teenagers. 

In addition to the mummies, archaeologists found the remains of a mother and her young kid, who were found inside a stone coffin, seemingly bound together. A portion of the bones were encased in cartonnage, a type of paper mache.