Egyptian authorities on Wednesday confirmed the latest archeological discovery to come from the ancient city of Luxor— three painted wooden coffins bearing hieroglyphic writings.

"The coffins are dated to 18th dynasty (1550-1295 BC) and are in a good state of conservation," said the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri.

"They bear colored scenes and inscriptions," he was quoted by the local Luxor Times as saying.

A team of French archeologists unearthed the coffins from the necropolis of al-Asasif, on the west bank of the Nile. Last month, Egyptian authorities announced a find of 30 wooden coffins on the same Luxor site, but the objects discovered in October were 500 years younger than the most recent find.

Egypt boasts biggest ancient mummy find in over a century A colorful find Egyptian archeologists unveiled 3,000-year-old coffins in the ancient necropolis of Luxor, saying it was "the first large human coffin cache ever discovered" since the 1800s.

Egypt boasts biggest ancient mummy find in over a century Resting for 3 millennia The cache of 30 coffins contains mummies of priests, priestesses, and children. They were buried in the 10th century BC under the rule of the 22nd Pharaonic dynasty.

Egypt boasts biggest ancient mummy find in over a century Come and see Egypt has announced a series of spectacular finds in recent months, as the country struggles to rebuild its tourism industry. The sector has suffered greatly since the violent uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and the 2013 military coup against the Islamist government.

Egypt boasts biggest ancient mummy find in over a century Decoding the mystery Coffins are intricately carved and painted both on the inside and on the outside. Experts boasted their "good condition of preservation, colors, and complete inscriptions."

Egypt boasts biggest ancient mummy find in over a century Find of the century The southern city of Luxor is a treasure trove for Egyptologists, but discoveries such as the one made in the two-level necropolis at al-Asasif remain rare. The latest discovery prompted comparison with another cache of priests' mummies, which was unveiled in 1891.

Egypt boasts biggest ancient mummy find in over a century Preparing for visitors The coffins are set to undergo extensive restoration and eventually be moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum next to the Giza pyramids, which is set to open in 2020. Author: Darko Janjevic



More unearthed secrets

According to Egyptian official Fathy Yassin, the first of the three newly discovered coffins "belongs to a woman called 'Ti Abo' and measures 195 cm (6 feet 5 inches) in length bearing colored scenes and hieroglyph inscription."

"The second coffins belongs to a woman called 'Rau' and it measures 190 cm in length," he added. The last object is smaller than the other two (180) and covered in gypsum, but has no inscriptions, according to the authorities. The gender of the occupant was not immediately clear.

Egypt has announced a series of sensational discoveries in recent months, in what is seen as a push to renew its troubled tourism industry. On Saturday, the antiquities ministry announced a find of mummified animals near Cairo, including sacred birds and predators believed to be lion cubs.

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