Egyptian worker holds torch by one of eight revealed sarcophagi inside a 26th Dynasty limestone tomb along with other mummies at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, south of Cairo, Egypt on 2/11/09. A completely preserved mummy has been unveiled inside limestone sealed around the time of the Buddha, 2,600 years ago, during pharaonic times (AP/Nasser Nasser).
SAQQARA, Egypt – Egypt's chief archaeologist (antiquities chief Zahi Hawass) has unveiled a completely preserved mummy inside a limestone sarcophagus sealed 2,600 years ago during pharaonic times.
The mummy was exposed for the first time Wednesday. It lies in a narrow shaft 36 feet below ground at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara outside of Cairo. It's part of a burial chamber discovered three weeks ago that holds eight wooden and limestone sarcophagi, along with 22 other mummies from the 26th Dynasty — Egypt's last independent kingdom.
Laborers used crowbars to lift the sarcophagus' lid and exposed the linen-wrapped mummy inside. Hawass says the mummies are an important discovery and much of Saqqara has yet to be unearthed.
- SLIDESHOW: Anthropology & Archaeology
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