The 4,300 Year Old Mummy

Archeologists have uncovered what is being called the oldest and most complete mummy to be found in Egypt yet. Archeologists believe that this mummy dates back to over 4,000 years ago. The mummy was found at the bottom of a shaft (near the Pyramid at Saqqara) in a set of tombs that date back to the fifth/sixth dynasties of the Old Kingdom. The mummy is of a man named Hekashepes. When seen by archaeologists, he was inside a limestone sarcophagus and covered in “layers of gold”.

Hekashepes was not the only mummy these archaeologists found. In fact, there were four other tombs in this burial site. One of the tombs belonged to a priest inspector, supervisor of nobles, and king of the last dynasty named Khnumdjedef. The second tomb belonged to a man who was known as the pharaoh’s “secret keeper” (refers to priestly). The third tomb belongs to a priest, and the fourth one included a writer and judge named Fetek Hawass. 

Egypt has uncovered many discoveries in the past: the great pyramid, valley of the golden mummies, etc. These discoveries help us learn more about Egyptian civilization. Ancient Egyptian civilization is credited with many inventions, a lot that we use to this day like ink and calendars.