CAIRO: Egyptian archaeologists have discovered eight mummies dating back over 2,300 years at a pyramid complex south of Cairo, authorities said Wednesday.
“The Egyptian archaeological mission working at the south eastern area of King Amenemhat II’s pyramid in Dahshur Necropolis has uncovered a number of ancient burials with eight coffins,” the antiquities ministry said in a statement.
The mummies, dating from the Late Period of ancient Egypt, are “covered with a layer of painted cartonnage in the form of a human,” the statement said.
“Three of them are in good condition.”
Cartonnage, a material often consisting of a mixture of linen or papyrus and plaster, was frequently used to cover mummies.
The ministry said it planned to eventually put the mummies and the limestone sarcophagi they were found in on display at museums set to be built in the resort hubs of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.
The Dahshur complex, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo, was a major royal burial site that boasts the well-known “bent pyramid” of King Snefru.
In April 2017, the remains of an Egyptian pyramid built around 3,700 year ago were discovered at the complex.
Egypt unearths eight ancient mummies
Egypt unearths eight ancient mummies
- The mummies, dating from the Late Period of ancient Egypt, are “covered with a layer of painted cartonnage in the form of a human”
Turkiye detains 110 suspects in operation targeting Daesh after deadly clash
- In Tuesday’s operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought
ISTANBUL: Turkish police detained 110 suspects in an operation against Daesh on Tuesday, a day after three police officers and six militants were killed in a gunfight in northwest Turkiye, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said.
Police conducted an eight-hour siege at a house in the town of Yalova, on the Sea of Marmara coast south of Istanbul, a week after more than 100 suspected Daesh members were detained in connection with alleged plans to carry out Christmas and New Year attacks. Eight police officers and another security force member were wounded in the raid on the property, which was one of more than 100 addresses targeted by authorities on Monday.
In Tuesday’s operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought, the prosecutor’s statement said. It said various digital materials and documents were seized.
Turkiye has stepped up operations against suspected Daesh militants this year, as the group returns to prominence globally. The US carried out a strike against the militants in northwest Nigeria last week, while two gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach this month appeared to be inspired by Daesh, Australian police have said. On December 19, the US military launched strikes against dozens of Daesh targets in Syria in retaliation for an attack on American personnel.
Almost a decade ago, the jihadist group was blamed for a series of attacks on civilian targets in Turkiye, including gun attacks on an Istanbul nightclub and the city’s main airport, killing dozens of people. Turkiye was a key transit point for foreign fighters, including those of Daesh, entering and leaving Syria during the war there.
Police have carried out regular operations against the group in subsequent years and there have been few attacks since the wave of violence between 2015-2017.
