Archaeologists have found 30 mummies of various ages, including several elderly people with arthritis, children and a newborn baby.
Although the researchers have not yet dated the tomb, they suspect that the family buried their dead in it for centuries.
According to Patricia Piacentini, professor at the University of Milan, Egyptologist and head of the excavations, the burials were most likely made during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, from the first century BC. to the second or third century AD.
The open necropolis is one of 300 burial sites discovered by archaeologists around the mausoleum of the Aga Khan, which is located on top of a small hill near the Nile.
But while most other tombs are underground or dug into rocky hills, this one is unique in that it is in a larger structure above ground. Therefore, it is believed that this necropolis was probably used for sacrifices.
“Because of its location in the valley, this building appears to have been used as a sacred place where sacrifices were made to the fertility god Khnum, who was especially revered in Aswan,” Piacentini said.
“Who better than him will give eternal life to those who rest in this necropolis?”
Ritual objects and ornaments were also found in the tomb.
The head of the excavation noted that they have yet to analyze the finds to determine their age and find other details.