00:00Dozens of pre-dynastic tombs have recently been discovered by Egyptian archaeologists working along the Nile River.
00:11These tombs appear to be even older than the Pharaonic Kingdom or more than 5,000 years old.
00:18The archaeologists uncovered 68 tombs from the Butoh period which began in 3300 BC and 5 from the Nakata III period just before Egypt's first dynasty emerged in 3100 BC.
00:33The archaeologists also found 37 tombs from the Hyksos period which dates back to 1650 through 1500 BC.
00:43Each historical period had different tomb shapes and designs.
00:47The Butoh tombs were oval-shaped pits with corpses in a squatting position on their left side and their heads pointing west.
00:56Some of the Nakata tombs contained pear-shaped and cylindrical vessels.
01:01The Hyksos tombs were largely semi-rectangular with bodies lying in an extended position and heads also pointing west.
01:09The archaeologists also found ovens, stoves and pottery vessels.
01:14They also found amulets which were made from semi-precious stones and jewelry.
01:19Salima Ikram, an Egyptologist at the American University in Cairo noted that this is an extremely interesting cemetery because it combines some of the earliest periods of Egyptian history with another important era, the time of the Hyksos.
01:35The question now is to determine how the two groups lived together and if traditions were shared.
