Ancient Egyptian mummies found in Kiev Caves Lavra

Moscow, May 4, 2017

Photo: Foma.ru

Two ancient Egyptian mummies, two painted sarcophagi, and several funerary canopic vessels were discovered by chance in the collections of the National Kiev Caves Historical-Cultural Reserve, located on the territory of the Kiev Caves Lavra, reports Foma, with reference to the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture.

The find came in early 2017 during a review of the collections by the reserve’s vice director, archaeologist Sergei Pivovarov.

One mummy was found at first, and then it turned out there were several unique artifacts that wound up in Kiev at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. It was later established that all the artifacts were at first preserved in the Church archeology museum, and then were located in the Museum of Atheism, which was located within the Kiev Caves Lavra during Soviet times.

Several unique finds have been kept in the reserves over the past few decades, but have been essentially forgotten.

An official presentation of the Ancient Egyptian collection will be held in the National Kiev Caves Historical-Cultural Reserve tomorrow, May 5, 2017.