• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Scientists have discovered hidden 'City of the Dead' containing more than 300 tombs

Home> News> Science

Published 19:45 28 Jun 2024 GMT+1

Scientists have discovered hidden 'City of the Dead' containing more than 300 tombs

The team have been working on the site in Egypt for five years

Jess Battison

Jess Battison

Let’s be honest, a ‘City of the Dead’ sounds like the name of an Indiana Jones movie.

And actually, the real story would be fitting for a plot line of one of the legendary films. That’s because scientists have discovered a new hidden ‘City of the Dead’ containing more than 300 tombs.

Yep, the team has nicknamed this massive burial site in Egypt that after uncovering so many tombs and mummies.

They’ve been working there for five years now, making findings at the city of Aswan which was established over 4,500 years ago. However, while it is known to have been a vital trade, quarry and military zone, not much has ever been discovered about the lives of the actual people there.

Advert

Recently, archaeologists uncovered 36 tombs that were reused for 900 years. Therefore, each of them held 30 to 40 mummies each, with plenty of them containing families who probably died from infectious diseases.

Multiple mummies are found in the tombs. (University of Milan)
Multiple mummies are found in the tombs. (University of Milan)

DailyMail.com spoke to University of Milan archaeologist Patrizia Piacentini who explained that this absolute mega burial site spans nearly 270,000 feet.

The place houses up to 10 terraces of ancient tombs all arranged in layers on the hill near the modern Mausoleum of Aga Khan III.

“This was a really spectacular find, very unique in Egypt," said the Egyptologist.

Advert

“[The people who once lived in Aswan] covered the hill with tombs. It is kind of a City of the Dead.”

READ MORE:

FIRM PLANNING TO RESURRECT EXTINCT ANIMALS

WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO DIE ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH

Aswan is found in the south of Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile river. One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities (since 650 BC), it was once home to quarries that supplied granite for many of the ancient Egyptian landmarks that are still standing today.

Advert

“Aswan was a crossing point since forever,” Piacentini explained.

“People were coming from the east to the west. People came here because it was the border, products from the south arrived in Aswan and then dispersed everywhere else.”

Researchers have been looking into the tombs and the people who are buried there. (University of Milan)
Researchers have been looking into the tombs and the people who are buried there. (University of Milan)

In 2019, researchers uncovered the first tomb with four mummies inside.

Picentini said: “At the beginning, we thought they were mother and child, but new CT scans showed they are two children. “But we recently found a woman near them who was likely their mother and the remains of a man, likely the father.”

Advert

The five years of their excavation also uncovered that people were buried dependant on class, with elites laid to rest on top of the hill.

The latest dig brought more secrets to light about the people who lived in the city all those years ago, with the 36 tombs dating between 6th century BC and 9th century AD.

Some are carved into mountain rock while others have an open courtyard and a casket entrance.

While the team are studying the tombs and remains, Piacentini assures they will be respectful.

“This is their resting place,' she explained. “We uncover their story and then we put them back and close the tomb. For me, it was important from the beginning."

Featured Image Credit: University of Milan

Topics: History, Science

Jess Battison
Jess Battison

Jess is a Senior Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include asking everyone in the office what they're having for tea, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021.

X

@jessbattison_

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
4 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Britain's worst ever drink driver had enough alcohol in system to put him in a coma

    The 39-year-old drank a ridiculous amount of alcohol

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Three generations of family nearly died after eating vegetables that left their blood 'chocolate coloured'

    An innocent mix-up in the kitchen caused the family to become gravely ill

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    People unsettled as Trump announces 'secretary of war' sparking more WW3 fears

    Donald Trump praised US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth following his recent war drone announcement

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    Mounjaro user explains strange ‘magic mushroom’ effect they got when starting the weight loss drug

    One Mounjaro user had a very unusual reaction to using the medication

    News
  • Scientists discovered Ötzi the Iceman suffered worse death than previously imagined 5,300 years ago
  • Simulation shows terrifying reality of moment plane lost roof while mid-flight with more than 90 people onboard
  • Haunting photo shows tourists caught by first tsunami wave of disaster that claimed more than 220,000 lives
  • Scientists warn that thousands of mini black holes could be hidden in your house