CAIRO, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian archaeologists have discovered on Saturday 17 mummies in catacombs in Minya province, in central Egypt, the antiquities ministry announced on Saturday.
"We found catacombs containing a number of mummies," said Salah al-Kholi, a Cairo University professor of Egyptology who headed the mission that made the discovery in a press conference.
The new discovery was unearthed in Touna el-Gabal district, which is a desert area in Minya province, 234 km far from Cairo.
"This is the first human necropolis found in central Egypt with so many mummies," Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anany told a news conference at the site.
"Such big number of discovered mummies revealed that there will be a large necropolis behind the shafts," the minister added.
A team from Cairo University supervises the mission of the new discovery. The area dates back to the Greco-Roman period between the third century BC and third century AD.
Al-Kholi pointed out that the necropolis was a subject for scavenging by antiquities thieves.
Chairman of Cairo University, Gaber Nassar, said "we will continue to fund the antiquities discoveries in Touna el-Gabal district, and turn it into an important center at the tourist map of Egypt."
The first discovery in Touna el-Gabal was announced in 1931.
