An initial excavation yielded 105 mummies, some adorned with gilded masks and chest plates, others buried more simply in terracotta, plaster or linen coverings.
In the mid-1990s, a team of archaeologists uncovered a vast necropolis near Bawit, south of Cairo. An initial excavation yielded 105 mummies, some adorned with gilded masks and chest plates, others buried more simply in terracotta, plaster or linen coverings. Dubbed the “Valley of the Golden Mummies,” the ancient cemetery has since yielded hundreds of other mummies, representing various social classes; experts believe it may contain as many as 10,000 mummies in all.