Egypt on Saturday opened two ancient pyramids south of the capital Cairo and unveiled a collection of newly found sarcophagi, some containing well-preserved mummies. Antiquities Minister Khaled Al-Anani told reporters the Bent Pyramid of King Sneferu, the first pharaoh of Egypt's 4th dynasty, and a nearby pyramid would be reopened to visitors for the first time since 1965. He also said a team of archaeologists had uncovered sarcophagi and the remains of an ancient wall dating back to the Middle Kingdom some 4,000 years ago. The finds were made during excavation work in the royal necropolis of Dahshur on the west bank of the Nile River, in an area home to some of Egypt's oldest pyramids. "Several stone, clay and wooden sarcophagi were found and some contain mummies in good condition," the Antiquities Ministry said in a statement. The ancient wall stretches some 60 meters and is situated south of the pyramid of 12th dynasty pharaoh King Amenemhat II, also in the Dahshur necropolis. The finds also included funerary masks as well as tools dating back to the Late Period — which spanned almost 300 years up to Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt in 332 BC — used for cutting stones, the ministry said. Egypt has in recent years sought to promote archaeological discoveries across the country in a bid to revive tourism, which took a hit from the turmoil that followed its 2011 uprising. Tourists will now be able to clamber down a 79-meter (86 yards) narrow tunnel from a raised entrance on the pyramid's northern face, to reach two chambers deep inside the 4,600-year-old structure. They will also be able to enter an adjoining 18-meter high "side pyramid", possibly for Sneferu's wife Hetepheres, opened for the first time since its excavation in 1956. The "Bent" Pyramid is one of two built for Fourth Dynasty founding pharaoh Sneferu in Dahshur, at the southern end of the Memphis necropolis that starts at Giza. Its appearance is unusual. The first 49 meters, which have largely kept their smooth limestone casing, are built at a steep 54 degree angle, before tapering off in the top section. The angular shape contrasts with the straight sides of Sneferu's Red Pyramid just to the north, the first of ancient Egypt's fully formed pyramids and the next step towards the Great Pyramid of Giza. Architects changed the angle when cracks started appearing in the structure, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. "Sneferu lived a very long time...the architects wanted to reach the complete shape, the pyramid shape," Mohamed Shiha, director of the Dahshur site, said. "Exactly where he was buried — we are not sure of that. Maybe in this (Bent) pyramid, who knows?" Archaeologists also unveiled the nearby tomb of Sa Eset, a supervisor of pyramids in the Middle Kingdom, which has been closed since its excavation in 1894 and contains finely preserved hieroglyphic funerary texts. — Agencies
