Several burials have been unearthed by an Egyptian-Japanese team in Saqqara.
The team, made up of members of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and experts from Waseda University have made several discoveries including the remains of an adult male with a face mask and those of a young child.
SCA Secretary-General Mostafa Waziry said the design of the tomb and the ceramic items suggest that the tomb dates back to the Second Dynasty (2890-c. 2686 BC).
Head of the Egyptian side of the team Mohamed Youssef said a coffin from the 18th Dynasty was also found. While the coffin is in a poor state of preservation, the alabaster vessel inside it is in an excellent condition. Other remains dating from the Late Kingdom and Ptolemaic periods have also been found.
Nozomu Kawai, head of the Japanese side, said two terracotta statues of the goddess Isis and of the god Harpocrates, the child, riding a bird are among the latest discoveries, plus a mask with remnants of green and white colouring, and fragments of two amulets in faience belonging to the goddess Isis and the god Bes.
Among the finds is a portion of a limestone ushabti (figurine placed inside someone’s tomb) bearing traces of hieroglyphic inscriptions, a clay lamp, and potsherds with hieratic inscriptions.
