Two Tombs From the 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Minya

An Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission, taking place at El-Bahnasa in the governorate of Minya, has uncovered two tombs dating back to the 26th dynasty - the last native dynasty to rule over Ancient Egypt.

One of the tombs contains a limestone coffin with a cover that had been fashioned after a woman. Two remains had been found in the tomb, each with a gold coin in their mouth. Preliminary studies indicate that the tomb had previously been broken into during ancient times.

The second tomb - which had been totally unopened since it was sealed - contains a well-preserved limestone coffin, and two other coffins containing canopic pots. The tomb also contains 402 ushabti figurines - or funerary figurines - made out of faience, a small set of amulets, and green beads.

The mission is headed by Dr. Maite Mascourt and University of Barcelona's Dr. Esther Ponce, and has been working in the area for over thirty years. The site was once an ancient town called Oxyrhynchus, and has been considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Egyptology due to its wealth of artefacts, tombs and papyrus texts dating back to the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt.