Archeological discoveries in Egypt, Italy and Greece

Archeologists in Egypt found over 100 painted coffins in a necropolis of Saqqara, around 30 kilometers south of Cairo. They come from the 26th (Saite Period) time (about 2500 years ago), and most probably belonged to the wealthiest citizens – as suggested by their good condition. Archeologists expect to uncover an ancient workshop where mummies were prepared soon.

The probable bodies of a rich man and a slave, victims of the Vesuvius eruption from 79 AD, were recently excavated in a villa near the ancient city of Pompeii and close to nowadays Naples. Massimo Ossana, the director of the Archeological Park of Pompeii, called it “an incredible and extraordinary testimony”. Both men died as a result of a thermal shock. The area is a perfect source for archeological discoveries – the catastrophe from 79 AD froze in time the whole city.

Sewage workers found a marble head of Hermes a meter and a half beneath the pavement in Athens. It is a part of an ancient sculpture, dated between the 3rd and 4th century BC. A specialist says it resembles an exhibit from the Benaki Museum and could be the work of a famous artist. Ancient findings are common in Athens, but they are rarely as impressive, and many are lost as well. In the city where artifacts can be encountered anywhere, workers sometimes cover them up, so the archeologists wouldn’t halt the construction of a building.