Egypt announces astounding new archaeological discoveries

An Egyptian archaeological mission has made significant discoveries at Queen Hatshepsut's funerary temple (Deir el-Bahari) on the west bank of Luxor, revealing artifacts from various periods of Egyptian history. 

The excavations uncovered a vast Ptolemaic cemetery in the Asasif area, dating from 305 BC to 30 AD. This cemetery contained mud brick tombs with chambers designed for family gatherings and funeral rituals, family tombs with gabled roofs accommodating multiple individuals, and simple surface burials for the less wealthy. 

Among the important discoveries were bronze coins bearing Alexander the Great's image and Ptolemy I's name, terracotta statues of animals, birds, and human figures (children's dolls), a pottery vessel depicting the god Bes, cosmetic containers, bodies preserved with natron salt and wrapped in linen, and wealthier mummies covered in decorated cartonnage showing scenes from the Book of the Dead. 

The excavation revealed numerous instances of architectural elements being repurposed, including a coffin built from sandstone slabs taken from a chapel of Divine Wives of Amun, a funerary stela for a scribe named Padi-Hor used in a tomb floor, and stones from Queen Hatshepsut's Valley Temple incorporated into Ptolemaic tombs. 

The mission continues excavating in the northern area, hoping to discover statues of Queen Hatshepsut that may be buried in a cache similar to one found by Herbert Winlock near the upper temple entrance.