The Guardian

'A goldmine': mummies' secrets uncovered in Egypt

Archaeologists find mummification workshop in the Saqqara necropolis
A gilded silver mask at the dig site near the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters

Deep below the sands of the Saqqara necropolis, archaeologists have uncovered a unique discovery they say reveals the secrets of the ancient Egyptian mummies.

A mummification workshop and adjoining burial shaft as well as five mummies, their bejewelled sarcophagi, figurines, and a gilded silver and onyx mummy mask were all unearthed at the site, which archeologists say provides a wealth of new knowledge about the mummification process.

“We are standing before

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