A sarcophagus found near Queen Nearit’s funerary temple in Saqqara, which was unveiled on January 17, 2021.

More than two millennia ago, ancient Egyptians were laid to rest in Saqqara, an ancient city of the dead. Their organs were removed, and their bodies wrapped in linens. Priests placed them inside coffins adorned with intricate hieroglyphics.

The mummies stayed buried in those sarcophagi for thousands of years — until their recent discovery by Egyptian archaeologists. In the last four months, researchers have discovered a trove of at least 210 coffins entombed deep within shafts below the Saqqara sand.

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the most recent finding on Sunday: 52 burial shafts containing more than 50 wooden coffins that are estimated to be 3,000 years old. The sarcophagi brought the total number of human coffins found since September from at least 160 to 210 or more.

The sarcophagi were “completely closed and haven’t been opened since they were buried,” according to the ministry. Egyptologists have opened a few of them to analyze and display the mummies inside.

A mummy is displayed during the official announcement of recent findings from Saqqara on January 17, 2021.

The photos below show how archaeologists found the coffins and other artifacts buried beneath Saqqara.

Many of the newly discovered coffins are decorated with illustrations of Egyptian gods and excerpts from the “Book of the Dead.”

One of the 50 wooden sarcophagi found and displayed at Saqqara in January.

“The Book of the Dead” is an ancient manuscript that guides souls through the afterlife.

In one of the burial shafts, alongside the coffins, archaeologists discovered a 13-foot-long, 3-foot-wide papyrus scroll. It contained an excerpt from the “Book of the Dead.”

Findings from inside the Saqqara burial shafts. The far right table contains the 13-foot-long excerpt from the Book of the Dead. 

The archaeologists also discovered artifacts in the shafts, including a bronze axe from a leader of a pharaoh’s army, bird-shaped sculptures, a limestone tableau, and a set of ancient board games.

This new discovery marks the first time 3,000-year-old sarcophagi have been found at Saqqara, according to the ministry.

Decorated wooden sarcophagi from Saqqara on display during the official announcement of the discovery on January 17, 2021. 

The 50 coffins are roughly 500 years older than the most ancient sarcophagi previously found in the city.

The coffins’ age confirms that Egyptians buried their dead in Saqqara during the New Kingdom era, between the 16th and the 11th centuries BCE. That’s far earlier than Egyptologists initially thought.

The underside of a wooden sarcophagus discovered at Saqqara. 

The discovery will “rewrite the history of this region,” Zahi Hawass, head of the Saqqara archaeological mission, said in a statement.

Most of the coffins found at Saqqara are about 2,500 years old. Mostafa Waziri, the general director of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, unveiled at least 100 such sarcophagi in November.

Colored coffins from Saqqara on display October 3, 2020. 

That added to the total of 59 Saqqara coffins that had been found in September and October.

Archaeologists picked one sarcophagus to open live in front of an audience at a small event on November 14.

Archaeologists examine a mummy inside a newly discovered coffin on November 14, 2020 in Saqqara, Egypt. 

Then they conducted an immediate, real-time X-ray of the mummy inside.

The live X-ray event showed the mummy was a male with perfect teeth who was between 5-foot-4 and 5-foot-7.

An Egyptian archaeologist restores a newly discovered ancient sarcophagus at Saqqara, November 14, 2020. 

He was buried with his arms crossed over his chest — a position, Waziri said, that symbolizes royalty.

“Very rich, elite, high ranked people” owned some of the Saqqara coffins, Waziri told NBC News.

Khaled El-Enany, Egyptian minister of tourism and antiquities, and Mostafa Waziri, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, inspect a mummy during a press conference at Saqqara, November 14, 2020. 

Many of the Saqqara coffins were “well-gilded, well-painted, well-decorated,” he said.

November wasn’t the first time that archaeologists publicly opened a coffin: Egyptian officials also opened one on stage in an October press conference.

Newly discovered ancient coffins on display during a November 14, 2020 press conference in Saqqara. 

The November 14 event was, however, was the first time researchers had X-rayed the mummy inside.

In November, archaeologists also unearthed more than 40 artifacts in three burial shafts, according to Khaled El-Enany, Egypt’s minister of tourism and antiquities.

An Egyptian archaeologist restores a newly discovered ancient statue during a press conference at Saqqara. 

These included gilded statues and funerary masks. El-Enany said the artifacts and coffins will be distributed to three museums in Cairo for display.