Egyptian mummy floating in the canal

Two ancient mummies were discovered floating in sewage in a village in eastern Egypt.

Illegal excavators may hide mummies underwater to avoid government restrictions. Photo illustration: Wikimedia Commons

Police discovered two mummies in a village near the city of Minya, about 240km south of Cairo. They were wrapped in layers of linen in wooden coffins and were in an advanced state of decomposition. They also found a third coffin, but it was empty.

"The coffins have many colorful decorations, but they lack ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions," the Ministry of Antiquities said. According to scientists, the two mummies date back to the Greco-Roman era (332 BC - 395 AD).

The cause of the mummies floating in polluted water is not yet clear. Yusuf Khalifa, an official at the Ministry of Antiquities, said that illegal excavations had taken place and that this was a way to cover up the traces. In Egypt, regulations on archaeology are very strict. Last October, seven people were arrested for illegally digging an ancient temple area.

Experts will restore the remaining parts of the mummy and display them at Minya's Hermopolis Museum.

According to VnExpress