by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 10:00 AM ET, Thu August 17, 2017
A trio of new tombs has been discovered in Egypt, each more than 2,000 years old.
The tombs were found about 125 miles south of capital city of Cairo, in the Nile Valley province of Minya, in an area called El-Kamin El-Sahrawi, Associated Press reported.
The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery, telling the Egyptian news outlet Ahram Online that the tombs contain multiple sarcophagi, as well as clay fragments.
Studies of the clay fragments suggest the tombs span from the 27th Dynasty (525 to 404 B.C.) to the Greco-Roman era, Ayman Ashmawy, head of the ministry's Ancient Egyptian Sector, told Ahram Online.
The area where the tombs were discovered is believed to have been a large cemetery. According to Ashmawy, the significant discovery reveals more secrets from the El-Kamil El-Sahrawi archaeological site.
They are not, however, the first tombs to be unearthed at the site.
[READMORE]READ MORE: Egypt Unearths Trove of Mummies, Sees Tourism Gold[/READMORE]
Previous excavations uncovered about 20 tombs built in the catacomb architectural style, which was widespread during the 27th Dynasty and the Graeco-Roman era, according to National Geographic.
The new discoveries, however, represent a different architectural style. Details of the new tombs include:
- The first tomb is made up of a perpendicular burial shaft engraved in rock that leads to a burial chamber containing four sarcophagi with anthropoid lids. Nine burial holes were also uncovered in this tomb.
- The second tomb also contains a perpendicular burial shaft but includes two burial chambers. The first chamber is located to the north and runs from east to west, with the remains of two sarcophagi.
-A collection of six burial holes were also discovered, including one for a small child.
Examination of the bones from the sarcophagi determined they are from men, women, and children of different ages, further supporting the possibility that the tombs were part of a large cemetery for a large city, rather than a military cemetery of some sort, according to National Geographic.
Excavations at the site began in 2015 and are ongoing.
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