Egyptian archeologists unveil ancient burial ground near Cairo

[Forkboy]

ILLAHUN, Egypt - Egyptian archeologists yesterday unveiled mummies, brightly painted sarcophagi, and dozens of ancient tombs carved into a rocky hill in a desert oasis.

The 53 tombs - some as old as 4,000 years - were discovered recently on a sandy plateau overlooking farming fields in the village Illahun, in the Fayoum oasis about 50 miles southwest of Cairo.

Archeologists gave journalists a rare tour of the ancient burial site, which is next to the nearly 4-millennia-old pyramid of Pharaoh Sesostris II.

"At the beginning of the excavation I said that we may rewrite the history of the site, and I was right," said Abdel-Rahman el-Ayedi, the deputy secretary of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities who oversaw the dig.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2009/04/27/egyptian_archeologists_unveil_ancient_burial_ground_near_cairo/

[semillama]

1. Very cool

It's great to find sarcophagi that haven't been broken up and destroyed by looters.