Image: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images

Clearly, Tuna al-Gabal was a site of some importance. However, nothing could have prepared archaeologists for what they found next. Using radar, the Cairo University team subsequently began scanning the site, hoping to discover other secrets that lay buried there.

Image: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images

Incredibly, what they ended up finding was one of the most important archaeological discoveries that the region has ever seen. When their radar revealed a substantial chamber underneath the ground, the team began an extensive excavation beneath the village.

Finally, in May 2017, the researchers revealed their amazing find. After digging down some 25 feet, they had discovered another necropolis. Yet rather than housing the mummified bodies of animals, this burial chamber was filled with human remains.