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Egypt Makes 'Major Discoveries' at Saqqara Archaeological Site

There has been a flurry of excavation in recent years in the Saqqara necropolis south of the Egyptian capital Cairo that have brought to light a trove of ancient treasures - AFP
There has been a flurry of excavation in recent years in the Saqqara necropolis south of the Egyptian capital Cairo that have brought to light a trove of ancient treasures - AFP
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Egypt Makes 'Major Discoveries' at Saqqara Archaeological Site

There has been a flurry of excavation in recent years in the Saqqara necropolis south of the Egyptian capital Cairo that have brought to light a trove of ancient treasures - AFP
There has been a flurry of excavation in recent years in the Saqqara necropolis south of the Egyptian capital Cairo that have brought to light a trove of ancient treasures - AFP

Egypt announced Saturday the discovery of a new trove of treasures at the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, including an ancient funerary temple.

The tourism and antiquities ministry said the "major discoveries" made by a team of archaeologists headed by famed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass also included more than 50 sarcophagi.

The wooden sarcophagi, which date back to the New Kingdom, were found in 52 burial shafts at depths of 10 to 12 meters (40 feet), the ministry said in a statement.

It quoted Hawass as saying that the "funerary temple of Queen Naert, the wife of King Teti" as well as three warehouses made of bricks were found on the site, AFP reported.

Saqqara, home to more than a dozen pyramids, ancient monasteries, and animal burial sites, is a vast necropolis of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In November, Egypt announced the discovery of more than 100 intact sarcophagi, in the largest such find of the year.

The sealed wooden coffins, unveiled alongside statues of ancient deities, dated back to more than 2,500 years and belonged to top officials of the Late Period and the Ptolemaic period of ancient Egypt.

At the time, Antiquities and Tourism Minister Khaled al-Anani predicted that "Saqqara has yet to reveal all of its contents."

In the statement released Saturday, Hawass said the latest discovery could shed new light on the history of Saqqara during the New Kingdom, between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC.

The discovery was made near the pyramid where King Teti, the first pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, is buried.

Egypt hopes archaeological discoveries will spur tourism, a sector which has suffered multiple shocks, from a 2011 uprising to today's coronavirus pandemic.

Later this year, and after several delays, authorities hope to inaugurate a new museum -- the Grand Egyptian Museum -- at the Giza plateau, home to the famed Giza pyramids.

There has been a flurry of excavations in recent years in Saqqara, home to the step pyramid of Djoser, one of the earliest built in ancient Egypt.

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Varieties

Urban Mosquito Sparks Malaria Surge in East Africa

Bed nets -- up to now the prime weapon against malaria -- may be much less effective against the urban mosquito. YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP/File
Bed nets -- up to now the prime weapon against malaria -- may be much less effective against the urban mosquito. YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP/File
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Urban Mosquito Sparks Malaria Surge in East Africa

Bed nets -- up to now the prime weapon against malaria -- may be much less effective against the urban mosquito. YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP/File
Bed nets -- up to now the prime weapon against malaria -- may be much less effective against the urban mosquito. YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP/File

The spread of a mosquito in East Africa that thrives in urban areas and is immune to insecticide is fueling a surge in malaria that could reverse decades of progress against the disease, experts say.
Africa accounted for about 95 percent of the 249 million malaria cases and 608,000 deaths worldwide in 2022, according to the most recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which said children under five accounted for 80 percent of deaths in the region, AFP reported.
But the emergence of an invasive species of mosquito on the continent could massively increase those numbers.
Anopheles stephensi is native to parts of South Asia and the Middle East but was spotted for the first time in the tiny Horn of Africa state of Djibouti in 2012.
Djibouti had all but eradicated malaria only to see it make a slow but steady return over the following years, hitting more than 70,000 cases in 2020.
Then stephensi arrived in neighboring Ethiopia and WHO says it is key to an "unprecedented surge", from 4.1 million malaria cases and 527 deaths last year to 7.3 million cases and 1,157 deaths between January 1 and October 20, 2024.
Unlike other species which are seasonal and prefer rural areas, stephensi thrives year-round in urban settings, breeding in man-made water storage tanks, roof gutters or even air conditioning units.
It appears to be highly resistant to insecticides, and bites earlier in the evening than other carriers. That means bed nets -- up to now the prime weapon against malaria -- may be much less effective.
"The invasion and spread of Anopheles stephensi has the potential to change the malaria landscape in Africa and reverse decades of progress we've made towards malaria control," Meera Venkatesan, malaria division chief for USAID, told AFP.
'More research is needed'
The fear is that stephensi will infest dense cities like Mombasa on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast and Sudan's capital Khartoum, with one 2020 study warning it could eventually reach 126 million city-dwellers across Africa.
Only last month, Egypt was declared malaria-free by WHO after a century-long battle against the disease -- a status that could be threatened by stephensi's arrival.
Much remains unknown, however.
Stephensi was confirmed as present in Kenya in late 2022, but has so far stayed in hotter, dryer areas without reaching the high-altitude capital, Nairobi.
"We don't yet fully understand the biology and behavior of this mosquito," Charles Mbogo, president of the Pan-African Mosquito Control Association, told AFP.
"Possibly it is climate-driven and requires high temperatures, but much more research is needed."
He called for increased funding for capturing and testing mosquitos, and for educating the public on prevention measures such as covering water receptacles.
Multiplying threats
The spread of stephensi could dovetail with other worrying trends, including increased evidence of drug resistant malaria recorded in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Eritrea.
"The arrival of resistance is imminent," said Dorothy Achu, WHO's head of tropical and vector-borne diseases in Africa.
WHO is working with countries to diversify treatment programs to delay resistance, she said.
A new malaria variant is also evading tests used to diagnose the disease.
"The increased transmission that stephensi is driving could potentially help accelerate the spread of other threats, such as drug resistance or another mutation in the parasite that leads it to be less detectable by our most widely-used diagnostics," said Venkatesan at USAID.
Another added challenge is the lack of coordination between African governments.
Achu said WHO is working on "a more continental approach".
But Mbogo in Kenya said "more political will" was needed.