AKIPRESS.COM - Dozens of cat mummies have been discovered along with a rare collection of mummified scarab beetles in seven Pharaonic Age tombs near Cairo, Egypt, Sky News reports.
The discovery was made by an Egyptian archaeological mission during excavation work that began in April, antiquities minister Khaled el-Enany said.
The seven sarcophagi, some dating back more than 6,000 years, were found at a site on the edge of the pyramid complex in Saqqara, south of the Egyptian capital.
Three of the tombs had been used for cats, he said, while one sarcophagi belonged to Khufu-Imhat, overseer of the buildings in the royal palace.
Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the mission had also uncovered the first mummies of scarabs to be found in the area.
Two were found inside a rectangular limestone sarcophagus with a vaulted lid and decorated with three scarabs painted black, he said.