The Oldest Non-Royal Mummy, Dating 1,000 Years Before King Tut, Was Just Discovered in Egypt

The man, who would have been alive more than 4,000 years ago, was named Hekashepes, which researchers determined thanks to hieroglyphics.

Archaeologists have unearthed a groundbreaking discovery in Egypt.

They have found a mummy believed to be more than 1,000 years older than King Tutankhamen, making it the oldest non-royal mummy ever discovered.

“I put my head inside to see what could be inside the Sarcophagus,” Dr. Zahi Hawass, the archaeologist who contributed to the discovery, told CBS News. “A beautiful mummy of a man completely covered with layers of gold.”

The man, who would have been alive more than 4,000 years ago, was named Hekashepes, which was determined by analyzing hieroglyphics.

Researchers believe Hekashepes would have been important, because of his burial site in Saqqara, an ancient city near Luxor that was only recently discovered by Hawass and his team.

“Saqqara is [a] very important place,” Hawass said, “It reveals many important treasures.”

Related Stories