Egyptian woman archaeologist discovers sarcophagus near Cairo

An Egyptian woman archaeologist has made the rare discovery of a complete sarcophagus in its original tomb close to Cairo.

The giant, granite sarcophagus is covered in inscriptions dedicated to Ptah-em-wia, who headed the treasury of King Ramses II The Observer reported on Sunday. King Ramses II is regarded by many as Egypt's most powerful pharaoh.

The discovery was made by Ola El Aguizy, emeritus professor of the archaeology faculty at Cairo University, at Saqqara, an ancient necropolis about 20 miles south of the Egyptian capital.

"The discovery of this sarcophagus in its original place in the burial shaft was very exciting because it is the sarcophagus of the owner of the tomb... sometimes the sarcophagus is for a different person of a later period, when the tomb was used in later periods. But this time it is not the case," Ola El Aguizy told the British newspaper.

El Aguizy, a grandmother in her seventies, last year discovered a surface-level tomb, before making the astonishing discovery of the sarcophagus in an underground burial chamber.

The sarcophagus is inscribed with emblems of deities, including the sky goddess Nut on the lid, covering the chest with opened wings to protect the deceased, El Aguizy said.

Her team will now study the sarcophagus to try to uncover the full story of Ptah-em-wia’s life.

Peter Der Manuelian, professor of Egyptology at Harvard University, welcomed the sarcophagus' discovery by a local expert.

"There’s a long history of western archaeologists doing this work. So it’s great to see their own discoveries – and the fact that she’s a woman archaeologist, an Egyptian woman archaeologist, is even more welcome," he told The Observer.