Egypt sees recent archaeological findings as a blessing for a struggling economy

These days, the gods appear to be blessing Egypt’s floundering tourism sector that hinges largely on its ancient past as a cradle of mankind.

Virtually every week, it seems, new aspects of Egypt’s history are being unearthed. Literally.

The country’s antiquities ministry announced Saturday that at least 17 well-preserved mummies were found in a necropolis in the village of Tuna al-Gabal, about 135 miles south of the capital, Cairo. The discovery surprised many because the ancient burial site on the fringes of the western desert was mainly known as an area where thousands of mummified birds and animals had been discovered over the years.