Egyptian mummy floating on the canal

Two ancient mummies were discovered floating in the wastewater stream in a village in eastern Egypt.

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Illegal excavators can hide underwater mummies to avoid restrictions imposed by the government.(Artwork: Wikimedia Commons)

According to the BBC, police discovered two mummies in the village near the city of Minya, about 240km south of Cairo. They are covered with layers of linen in wooden coffins and are in the process of decomposition. They also found the third coffin but it was empty.

"The coffins have many shapes of color decoration, but they have the shape of carved ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs," the Ministry of Antiquities said. According to scientists, two mummies date from the Greek-Roman era (332 BC - 395 AD).

The cause of floating mummies in polluted water has not been clarified yet. Yusuf Khalifa, a ministry official, said that illegal excavation took place and this was a form of concealing. In Egypt, archaeological regulations are very tight. Last October, 7 people were arrested for illegally digging an ancient temple area.

Experts will restore the remains of the mummy and display at Minya's Hermopolis Museum.