2,500-year-old mummification workshop found in Egypt

SAQQARA, EGYPT — During a dig in Saqqara, Egypt, a team of Egyptian and German archeologists discovered a mummification workshop dating back more than 2,500 years, according to a press statement released by Egypt's Ministry of State of Antiquities.

The statement added that an embalming workshop contained labeled bowls and measuring cups, which held oils and substances that were used in the mummification process.

Two basins were also found, which archaeologists believe may have been used to dry the mummies and prepare the bandages used to wrap them.

A 30-meter burial shaft was also discovered near the mummification workshop in the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt.

Five mummies with their sarcophagi were found. Archaeologists found a mummy with a gilded silver mask with eyes containing calcite, obsidian and a black gemstone inside one of the sarcophagi.

Shabti figurines, which were placed with the dead to accompany them into the afterlife, and alabaster vessels were also found at the excavation site.

More excavations in the area are expected to take place this year.

The findings will soon be displayed in a museum, with Egypt hoping the discoveries will attract more tourists to the country.