Archaeologists in Egypt have opened an ancient mummy sarcophagus that was sealed 2,500 years ago. The huge discovery is all over social media, but people are talking more about Brendan Fraser in 1999’s The Mummy. The 59 sealed coffins of ancient Egyptian priests were opened up over the weekend as viewers looked on, which seems pretty sketchy for 2020. Who knows what else they brought out into the world when they unsealed the coffins. It is believed that the coffins date back to the Egyptian society of the 26th dynasty.
The mummy tomb, which has been sealed for 2500 years, has been opened for the first time. pic.twitter.com/KWGT95girv
— Psychedelic Art (@VisuallySt) October 5, 2020
Video footage of the first coffin unsealing features an “ornate burial cloth, which had been decorated to resemble the deceased priest’s face.” The 59 coffins were discovered in the “necropolis of Saqqara, south of Cairo near Memphis, the former seat of Ancient Egypt’s power.” Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said, “We are very happy about this discovery.” He went on to note that sarcophagi are “in perfect condition,” and that the discovery is “the gift of the century.”
All of the coffins will be on display at the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is currently under construction on the Giza plateau. This discovery is massive and it’s bringing Brendan Fraser back into the headlines. Fans of the The Mummy actor were surprised to see his name trending on social media and even more shocked when they saw why. The movie follows Fraser’s adventurer Rick O’Connell character as he travels to Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, with a librarian and her older brother, where they accidentally awaken Imhotep, a cursed high priest from the reign of the Pharaoh Seti I of 1290 B.C.
The discovery of the 59 coffins takes place at a time when Egypt was dealing with the public health crisis, which shut down its museums. This is the first significant discovery since the crisis took hold, adding to the public interest in it. Additionally, dozens of statues were also found in the area “including a bronze figurine depicting Nefertem, an ancient god of the lotus blossom.” Brendan Fraser has not yet commented on the new discoveries in Egypt, but one can imagine that he’s having a good laugh at the moment.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is set to finally open in 2021 after a series of setbacks. No official date has been announced as of this writing, but people are going to want to see all 59 of the coffins on display when it does open for business. As for if these mummies will go on to haunt 2020, that is also unclear at the moment, but if they do, calling Brendan Fraser might be our best first line of defense. Science Alert was one of the first places to report on the 59 unsealed coffins. You can check out video of one of the coffins being opened above.
