Egyptologist asserts Saqqara necropolis unleashing new discoveries

Egyptologist El Sayed Ali Taha underlined that it shows how Saqqara is an essential historical site which tells the history from the 1st Dynasty to the Roman one

In the light of the new discovery of the ancient tomb of Ptah-M-Wiah which was recently unearthed in Saqqara necropolis, Egyptologist El Sayed Ali Taha underlined that it shows how Saqqara is an essential historical site which tells the history from the 1st Dynasty to the Roman one, pointing that a lot of treasures was found and more will be uncovered as it is a virgin place for exploration.

In a phone call with (The Breakfast Show), Taha added that the discovery of Ptah-M-Wiah’s tomb is particularly significant as it shed light on a high-ranking ancient Egyptian official and head of the treasury during the reign of King Ramses II.

Highlighting Ptah-M-Wiah’s prestigious roles as he took a high position in Ramses II’s Cabinet, Taha said that Wiah headed the whole kingdom's livestock and he also oversaw all the ritual sacrifices at the temples in Thebes (Luxor), which was the religious centre of the kingdom at the time.

Saqqara is truly an open-air museum, one that has all of ancient Egyptian history on display, he added. Teams of researchers from Cairo University had been working in this area for years, Taha asserted, believing that such a discovery is an addition to what has been unearthed lately.

The Egyptologist referred to the 100 wooden coffins uncovered in Saqqara last year and earlier the tomb of a Fifth-Dynasty royal purification priest named Wahti from the reign of King Nefer Ir-Ka-Re. A large collection of 75 wooden and bronze cat statues of different shapes and sizes was also found, he said, mentioning other excavations as the large scarab made of stone, statues of crocodiles, 73 bronze statuettes depicting the god Osiris and a collection of statuettes of cobras, amulets, faience amulets of different shapes and sizes, wooden and clay masks of mummies.

An Egyptian archaeological mission has uncovered a collection of 100 perfectly preserved intact, sealed, anthropoid ancient Egyptian wooden coffins with intricate painted designs, some of which contain mummies, and 40 wooden statues of Saqqara goddess Ptah Soker, some of which have gilded faces, along with golden funerary masks.

"These discoveries were uncovered completely by Egyptian missions", El Sayed Ali Taha stressed, hailing Dr. Zahi Hawas who has established the school of excavation and restoration. “We now have professional groups working in that field,” he said, highlighting the restoration of the Great Hypostyle Hall in Karnak temple which has been completed explaining that the development work turned the hall into an architectural and artistic masterpiece, with its original colors restored.

The Breakfast Show is aired on Nile TV International and this episode is conducted by Sherine Adel.