The outer sarcophagus was discovered in very poor condition, the archaeologists said. He added it would undergo further restoration once it arrived.

Mohamed Abdellatif, at the Minister of Antiquities and the Head of the Coptic and Islamic Antiquities Sector, said emergency conservation work had to be carried out on the outer sarcophagus to preserve it before it was transported to the provincial capital of Fayoum. On the mummy's chest, images of the goddess of health Isis were painted and at its feet devotees had painted further images of regional wildlife.Įxperts have said the mummy and sarcophagus date back to the Graeco-Roman period of rule in Egypt, which lasted from between 332 B.C. The mask was decorated with an anthropomorphic face and a scene depicting the pharaonic sky god Khebr. The mummy, preserved in linen wrappings, had its head covered by the burial mask made of cartonnage-papyrus strips tightly glued over one another to form a hard material. Related: Ancient Egyptian papyrus reveals pharaohs knew secret of advanced ink technology 2,000 years ago Archaeologists working in Egypt have uncovered an ancient sarcophagus containing a startlingly well-preserved mummy wearing in an intricately painted gold and blue burial mask.Įgypt's Ministry of Antiquities said in a statement that a joint Russian and Egyptian team of excavators uncovered the mummy in the governorate of Fayoum, some 50 miles south of Cairo.

The mummy blue gold scene