A team of scientists discovered a huge cemetery containing more than 300 graves in Egypt, which they called the new "City of the Dead."
The city of Aswan, located on the eastern bank of the Nile River, was an important commercial and military area when it was founded more than 4,500 years ago, but the lives of its inhabitants have long remained a mystery.
Scientists have been working at the site for 5 years, and recently discovered 36 tombs that were reused for 900 years, each containing 30 to 40 mummies, and many of them also contain families who may have died due to infectious diseases.
The tombs date back to between the sixth century BC and the ninth century AD.
The burial site includes about 10 terraces of ancient tombs arranged in layers on the hill near the modern mausoleum of the Aga Khan III, Patrizia Piacentini, an archaeologist at the University of Milan, told the Daily Mail.
She added: "This was a truly amazing discovery, and very unique in Egypt. The people who once lived in Aswan covered the hill with tombs. It is sort of a city of the dead."
“Aswan has been a transit point since time immemorial,” Piacentini continued. “Products from the south would arrive in Aswan and then be distributed everywhere else.”
The first tomb was discovered in 2019, and contains four mummies inside, two of which are believed to be a mother and child buried together.
Excavations revealed that the elite were buried on top of the hill, including the mummified remains of the commander-in-chief of Aswan, while the middle class were buried below.
While the research team found dozens of graves with each excavation, the latest analysis has revealed more secrets about the mysterious people who lived more than 2,000 years ago.
Initial studies of the remains showed that "some had infectious diseases, while others had bone disorders," Piacentini said.
Other mummies showed signs of chest and intestinal disease, and some of the women appeared to have osteoporosis.
The newly discovered graves contain many small families buried together.
"We found two or three of these small groups, probably dead from an infectious disease," Piacentini explained.
She revealed that the research team will clean the tomb and then return the rest of the mummified human remains inside, where they were initially placed, before resealing the tomb.