14 DAY TRIAL // Quite a while ago, archaeologists carrying out excavation work in Egypt came across a cemetery containing the remains of well over 1 million people who lived in the area in ancient times.
This rather impressive archaeological site, officially known as Fag el-Gamous, is sometimes referred to as the million-mummy cemetery, Live Science informs.
What's interesting is that, despite spending about 30 years excavating the site, researchers with the Brigham Young University in the US have until now unearthed the bones of just one child.
Specialist Kerry Muhlestein and colleagues say the child lived well over 1,500 years ago, during a period in history when Egypt was under the control of the Roman Empire.
For the time being, the researchers cannot say for sure whether the child was a boy or a girl. Still, they say that the infant passed away when merely 18 months old.
When laid to rest, somebody carefully put a necklace around the toddler's neck. Besides, bracelets were found adorning the child's arms. Hence, it is possible that this 18-month-old Egyptian was a girl.
What's more, it appears that the infant was buried wearing a tunic. Kerry Muhlestein and fellow researchers say that its body was carefully placed in the ground, probably by somebody who cared deeply about its fate.
Evidence indicates that folks in this child's community even went the extra mile and tried to mummify its body. Thus, is it understood that the child's toes, its nails, and even its brain are incredibly well preserved.
Although they have been excavating this site in Egypt for decades, the Brigham Young University archaeologists behind this research project are pretty much clueless about where the people buried here all came from.
Thus, although evidence indicates that the cemetery was established next to an ancient village, there is no way such a small community could have ever sustained a population large enough to leave behind over 1 million mummies.
