⁍ Two mummies of high-status individuals who lived at the time of Cleopatra have been uncovered at Taposiris Magna.
⁍ Although the burial chamber had been undisturbed for 2,000 years, the mummies are in a poor state of preservation because water had seeped through.
⁍ They were originally completely covered with gold leaf, a luxury afforded only to those from the top tiers of society.

– Archaeologists have made a “sensational” discovery at the ancient temple of Taposiris Magna in Egypt: the undisturbed remains of two mummies. The male and female mummies were X-rayed, and it’s possible they were priests who played a key role in maintaining the pharaohs’ power, the Guardian reports. “Although now covered in dust from 2,000 years underground, at the time these mummies would have been spectacular,” says a senior lecturer in Egyptology. “To be covered in gold leaf shows they … would have been … important members of society.” The mummies are in a poor state of preservation because water had seeped through, but they were originally covered with gold leaf, a luxury afforded only to those from the top tiers of society. Perhaps these two individuals had interacted with Cleopatra herself, archaeologists suggest. The opening of the first-ever intact tomb found at Taposiris Magna was witnessed by cameras for a new Channel 5 documentary, The Hunt for Cleopatra’s Tomb, to be screened on Thursday. The Hunt for Cleopatra’s Tomb will be shown on Channel 5 on Thursday 16 July at 9pm.