Ancient Egypt was one of the first great human civilizations and recently at the Saqqara site, archaeologists have uncovered another of its secrets. Experts with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities say they have found two mummification workshops, or places where ancient Egyptians prepared the dead for the afterlife.
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00:00Ancient Egypt was one of the first great human civilizations and recently at the
00:07Saqqara site archaeologists have uncovered another of its secrets.
00:11Experts with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities say they have found two
00:15mummification workshops or places where ancient Egyptians prepared the dead for
00:20the afterlife. The archaeologists say one is from the 30th dynasty which was a
00:24period from 380 to 343 BC as well as another from the Ptolemaic period or 305
00:31to 30 BC. The mummification workshops contain all of the ritualistic vessels
00:35and ingredients they would have used for processing mummies including linen for
00:39wrapping the bodies, clay pots for organs and natron salt for curing them. The whole
00:43area resides around 18 miles south of Cairo and is home to many recent
00:48archaeological finds including the Saqqara catacombs. Those catacombs
00:52include the remains of hundreds of mummified cats all discovered back in
00:562019. Excavators also unearthed two tombs as well including one that is 4,400
01:01years old and another that is 3,400 years old. Each belonged to a priest.
01:05Just the latest in what archaeologists hope are many more artifacts to be
01:09unearthed at Saqqara.