Archaeologists find over 20 coffins just as ancient Egyptians left them

CAIRO: The Egyptian government is hailing the discovery of more than 20 wooden coffins as “one of the largest and most important” archaeological finds in the past few years. The coffins were found in Assasif, a necropolis on the west bank of the Nile River. Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities tweeted images of the “intact and sealed coffins” Tuesday. The sarcophagi, which were stacked in two layers in a large tomb, still boasted their original carvings of faces and hands and colors of red, green, white and black that have not faded much over time. The Antiquities Ministry tweeted images of the coffins on Tuesday. Egyptian officials have not given the time frame from which the coffins date, but the site where they were found was once part of the ancient city of Thebes. Thebes was the royal capital of the ancient Egypt. Early monuments can be traced as far back as the 11th dynasty, which occurred between 2081 and 1939 BC.