Egypt uncovers 3,200-year-old sarcophagus

A sarcophagus of more than 3,200 years old has been discovered by a mission of Cairo University's Faculty of Archaeology in Saqqara, southwest of Cairo, the official MENA news agency reported Tuesday.

Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni said the big sarcophagus dating back to the reign of King Ramses II (1279-1213 BC) was made of rosy granite, bearing hieroglyphic signs and different titles of the deceased.

He added the sarcophagus belonged to an overseer of stables during the reign of Ramses II.

Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the mission found the sarcophagus inside a tomb unearthed in the 1980s.

Ramses II was given the throne at 20 and ruled for 67 years, which made him the second longest ruling Pharaoh in ancient Egypt.

Ramses II is famous for his love of architecture as he erected more monuments and temples than any other Pharaoh, one of them Abu Simbel temple in southern Egypt.

Source: Xinhua