Archaeologists unveil treasures found in ancient burial ground

Tombs contained sarcophagi and other artifacts

MINYA, Egypt (KYMA, KECY) - Archeologists in Egypt on Thursday unveiled just some of the priceless artifacts recovered from a recently discovered burial ground.

The burial ground is near the city of Minya in the Nile Valley in central Egypt. It dates back to the Pharonic late period.

Among the treasures discovered: 20 sarcophagi made from limestone and etched with hieroglyphics, five wooden coffins, hundreds of amulets, and 10,000 funerary statues.

Many ancient tombs fall prey to looters. Others suffer significant decay over the centuries. However, the head of Egypt's archaeological mission says these were in surprisingly good condition.

Researchers are still looking for clues to confirm to whom the tombs belonged, but they suspect the burial ground was used by high priests and other senior officials.

"Excavations are still running, we expect to find more and more in this area, some are still asking 'who are they'? Those are the high priests of the late period starting from the dynasty number 26, 27, 28 some of them had the titles of the high priests, some of them had the titles of the seal carriers." said Mostafi Waziri, the Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

It's believed the priests buried in the tombs served "Toth." He was the ancient Egyptian god of writing and wisdom.