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Egypt archaeologists find large 'city of the dead'

Necropolis - Level 0

Archaeologists found a big cemetery under the sand near Cairo. It is a 2,000-year-old necropolis - a "city of the dead". It has many statues. Archaeologists found tombs belonging to Thoth. He was a god of the moon. People say he invented writing. Egypt's government said: "This is only the beginning of a new discovery."

Archaeologist Mostafa Waziri said he found eight tombs. He will find more. The tombs contain historic treasures. One includes over 1,000 statues and a sarcophagus (a stone coffin). He hopes the necropolis will bring more tourists to Egypt. Fewer have come since the revolution that happened in 2011.

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Necropolis - Level 1

Archaeologists have found a big cemetery under the sand south of Cairo, Egypt. It is a 2,000-year-old necropolis - a "city of the dead". The necropolis has many coffins and statues. Archaeologists started digging there last year. They found tombs belonging to Thoth. He was a god of the moon and wisdom. People think he invented writing. Egypt's government said: "We will need at least five years to work....This is only the beginning of a new discovery."

Mostafa Waziri, the head of the dig, said his team uncovered eight tombs. He expects to find more. The tombs contain historic treasures. One includes over 1,000 statues, pottery jars and other things. Mr Waziri also said there were 40 sarcophagi. A sarcophagus is a stone coffin. He hopes the new site will help to bring more tourists to Egypt. Fewer have come since the revolution that took place there in 2011.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Necropolis - Level 2

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Archaeologists in Egypt have found a huge cemetery under the sand south of Cairo. It is a 2,000-year-old necropolis. The word necropolis is from ancient Greek and means "city of the dead". The necropolis has thousands of artifacts, including coffins and statues. Archaeologists started digging on the site last year. They found tombs belonging to Thoth. He was the ancient god of the moon and wisdom. People believe he invented writing. Egypt's Antiquities Minister said: "We will need at least five years to work on the necropolis. This is only the beginning of a new discovery."

Mostafa Waziri, the head of the dig, said he was very excited about the site. His team has uncovered eight tombs so far. He expects many more to be found soon. The tombs contain many historic treasures. One includes more than 1,000 statues, and pottery jars with the remains of the internal organs of important ancient Egyptians. Mr Waziri also said there were 40 sarcophagi. A sarcophagus is a stone coffin. Waziri hopes the new site will help to bring more tourists to Egypt. There has been less tourism since the revolution that took place there in 2011.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Necropolis - Level 3

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a huge cemetery hidden under the sands south of Cairo. The 2,000-year-old necropolis was found south of Egypt's capital in the Nile Valley city of Minya. The word necropolis is from ancient Greek and means "city of the dead". The necropolis contains thousands of artifacts, including coffins and statues. Archaeologists started excavation work on the site late last year. They found tombs belonging to priests of Thoth. He was the ancient god of the moon and wisdom. Thoth was also believed to be the inventor of writing. Egypt's Antiquities Minister, Khaled al-Anani, said: "We will need at least five years to work on the necropolis. This is only the beginning of a new discovery."

Mostafa Waziri, the head of the archaeological dig, said he was very excited about the contents of the site. He said he and his colleagues have uncovered eight tombs so far. He expects many more to be found soon. The tombs contain a wealth of historic treasures. One tomb includes more than 1,000 statues and four pottery jars that contain the remains of the internal organs of important ancient Egyptians. Mr Waziri also said there were 40 sarcophagi. A sarcophagus is a stone coffin in which dead bodies were placed. Waziri hopes the new site will help to attract more tourists to Egypt. There has been a downturn in tourism since the revolution that took place there in 2011.

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