Ancient Egyptian finds

Last night I watched a fantastic episode of "Nova" on PBS called "Riddles of the Sphynx," and I woke up this morning to news that a 2,ooo-year-old temple to the cat-goddess Bastet has been discovered in Alexandria. So here is a round-up (organized by date of news article) of the many archaeological discoveries of mummies in Egypt over the last few years that I have been compiling:

• 3/21/01 11 1,800-year-old mummies, including that of a small boy whose gold mask depicts him crying, in Bawiti
• 3/4/05 3 mummies from the 26th dynasty (664-525 B.C.) with beaded face masks (3rd photo) in Saqqara
• 5/3/05 A 2,300-year-old mummy in a beautiful sarcophagus (2nd photo) in Saqqara
• 2/10/06 5 mummies from the 18th Dynasty (c. 1539-1292 B.C.) in Luxor
• 6/25/07 A 3,000-year-old mummy, thought to be a high priest, in Luxor
• 6/27/07 A mummy discovered in 1903 in Luxor has been reexamined and may be the body of Queen Hatshepsut
• 2/9/09 24 mummies in a 2,600-year-old tomb in Saqqara
• 4/15/09 10 mummies - one of whom may be Cleopatra - on the outskirts of Alexandria
• 4/26/09 30 well-preserved 4,000-year-old mummies among dozens found in a cache (1st photo) in Fayoum.
• 1/10/10 The 4th-Dynasty (2575 B.C. to 2467 B.C.) tombs of an unidentified number of men who built the Great Pyramids at Giza

This incomplete list tallies more than 80 mummies discovered since 2001 - including (possibly) those of Cleopatra and Hatshepsut. Amazing!